JLL Arranges Sale of Cheeca Lodge & Spa to Bass Pro Shops as Northwood Investors Exits Iconic Florida Keys Resort

MIAMI — July 13, 2026 — JLL's Hotels & Hospitality Group has arranged the sale of Cheeca Lodge & Spa, a 254-room resort situated at 81801 Overseas Highway in Islamorada, Florida, to Bass Pro Shops. The seller, Northwood Investors, was represented by JLL in the transaction, which the firm characterized as one of the most significant hospitality deals in Florida Keys history.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

A Legacy Asset Changes Hands

Founded in 1946, Cheeca Lodge & Spa holds AAA Four Diamond status and occupies a 27-acre oceanfront estate at mile marker 82 on the Overseas Highway — roughly the midpoint between Miami and Key West. The property's 254 guestrooms are structured as a mix of 169 fee-simple hotel rooms and 85 third-party owned condominium units participating in the resort's rental program.

The resort's amenity package includes seven dining venues anchored by the Atlantic's Edge flagship restaurant, a 5,700-square-foot spa with six treatment rooms, a Jack Nicklaus-designed nine-hole golf course, six lighted sport courts, three swimming pools including a zero-entry oceanfront pool with the adjacent tiki bar 25 South, and a 525-foot fishing pier described as the longest in the Florida Keys. The property also includes approximately 15,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and six outdoor event venues, along with 33 on-site employee housing units providing 106-bed capacity.

The transaction also encompasses the adjacent Morada Bay properties, located across U.S. 1 from the main resort campus, which include Pierre's Restaurant, Beach Café & Bar, and retail shops on approximately 3.5 acres.

Northwood's 15-Year Capital Program

Northwood Investors, a privately held real estate private equity firm that has completed approximately $20 billion in acquisitions since inception, held the asset for roughly 15 years. During that period, the firm undertook a series of capital improvements and adjacent acquisitions that expanded and repositioned the resort.

Improvements included the addition of 43 premium oceanfront suites, 11 casitas and an oceanfront property, a 10,000-square-foot conference center, and the zero-entry oceanfront pool and tiki bar. Northwood also acquired the adjacent Casitas and Morada Bay properties — including Pierre's Restaurant and retail shops — to broaden the resort's footprint and amenity base.

Following the sale, Northwood Hospitality, Northwood's affiliated hotel management company, will continue to operate the property. Northwood Hospitality manages a portfolio of independent lifestyle boutique hotels, luxury resorts, and select-service properties across the United States and has executed more than $500 million in capital improvement projects since 2006.

Bass Pro Shops Expands Its Resort Platform

Bass Pro Shops, which operates nearly 200 retail locations across North America and united with Cabela's in 2017, already operates resort assets including Big Cedar Lodge. The company also operates White River Marine Group. The acquisition of Cheeca Lodge & Spa adds a full-service oceanfront resort in one of the country's most supply-constrained leisure markets to that platform.

Islamorada is marketed as the "Sportfishing Capital of the World," a positioning that aligns with Bass Pro Shops' outdoor and conservation brand identity. Cheeca Lodge & Spa has historically attracted anglers, athletes, and public figures, with the property's press materials citing visits by President George H.W. Bush, President Harry Truman, Ernest Hemingway, Zane Grey, and Ted Williams.

Supply Constraints Underpin Florida Keys Hospitality Values

The transaction reflects continued investor appetite for resort assets in markets where new supply is structurally limited. Monroe County enforces a Rate of Growth Ordinance that caps residential construction at 197 annual permits, with similarly stringent restrictions on commercial development designed to protect the barrier reef and critical habitats. Those regulations make ground-up hotel development in the Florida Keys exceptionally difficult, reinforcing the value of existing, well-positioned resort assets.

The property sits approximately 90 minutes from Miami International Airport, which serves more than 50 million passengers annually across 199 nonstop destinations, and within a six-hour drive of more than 15 million residents.

JLL Brokerage Team

The JLL Hotels & Hospitality team that represented Northwood Investors in the transaction included Americas President Daniel Peek, Senior Managing Directors Andrew Dickey and Chris Drew, and Senior Director Maciej Polek.

JLL's Capital Markets group operates globally with more than 3,000 specialists across nearly 50 countries, providing investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, mergers and acquisitions, loan sales, equity and fund placement, and related services. JLL (NYSE: JLL) reported annual revenue of $26.1 billion and employs more than 113,000 people across operations in over 80 countries as of March 31, 2026.