Margaritaville Resort Times Square

Margaritaville Resort Times Square opened on July 6, 2021, dropping 234 island-themed guestrooms into a 32-story tower on Seventh Avenue, steps from the theater district. Developed by Soho Properties as a $370 million bet that New York was ready for Jimmy Buffett's brand of tropical escapism, it arrived as the city's hospitality sector was still climbing out of pandemic shutdowns, betting on novelty and volume rather than restraint.

The place

The hotel sits at the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 40th Street in Midtown Manhattan, a block from Times Square and within walking distance of Bryant Park, the Port Authority terminal and the core of the Broadway theater district. It is a location built for maximum footfall — tourists, theatergoers and conference visitors moving through one of the densest pedestrian corridors in the country — rather than for quiet or exclusivity. Soho Properties, which also developed the Park51 site downtown, chose the site precisely for that visibility: a 32-story tower designed to announce itself on a skyline already crowded with competing hotel brands.

The concept

Margaritaville Resort Times Square is the flagship urban property for Margaritaville Enterprises, the hospitality arm built on Jimmy Buffett's music and lifestyle brand, and its first large-scale entry into New York City. Architecture came from Stonehill Taylor, with interiors by The McBride Company, and the design leans fully into theme: a two-story restaurant anchored by what the developers call New York's largest tiki bar, a 32-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty holding a margarita in place of a torch, and custom LED screens pairing Buffett's music with Manhattan imagery. The positioning is unambiguous — an "island oasis in the middle of Manhattan," aimed at leisure travelers and groups who want spectacle over subtlety, at a category (upscale/lifestyle) and price point accessible to a broad tourist audience rather than the luxury segment competing nearby. The property also includes street-level retail carrying Margaritaville-branded merchandise and flexible event space for up to 1,000 guests, positioning it as much for group business and conventions as for individual leisure stays.

Dining & wellness

Food and beverage spans five outlets: the two-story Margaritaville Restaurant with its landmark Tiki Bar, LandShark Bar & Grill overlooking the rooftop pool, License to Chill Bar on the seventh-floor lobby level with indoor-outdoor seating and fire pits, Joe's Merchant Coffee & Provisions for daytime service, and 5 o'Clock Somewhere Bar spanning the 31st and 32nd floors with 360-degree skyline views. The rooftop pool is marketed as the only year-round outdoor heated pool in Times Square, giving the hotel a warm-weather amenity none of its immediate Midtown competitors can match.