What will Kentucky’s $133.6 million Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville Resort have?
A major new tourism attraction is coming to Northern Kentucky and creating hundreds of new jobs.
A Margaritaville Hotel Resort, a family-friendly entertainment destination, will be built at Newport on the Levee in Campbell County, according to the state.
The name refers to a song by the late singer Jimmy Buffett, who owned the trademark “Margaritaville.” Buffett, who died Sept. 1, 2023, licensed the name to a Florida developer who created the hotels and related concepts such as 5 O’Clock Somewhere bars. There are about 40 Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts in the U.S. and internationally with more coming soon.
Gov. Andy Beshear said the $133.6 million project “will help drive visitors to the Campbell County area, boosting the local economy and creating 282 new jobs for Kentuckians.”
The project, a partnership between North American Properties, Stormont Hospitality Group and High Street Real Estate Partners, is expected to be completed by the fall of 2026.
What will the new Margaritaville Resort in Kentucky have?
The resort on the Ohio River in Newport will include:
▪ a full-service hotel with 264 rooms;
▪ a JWB Grill, the namesake restaurant of Buffett;
▪ a License to Chill Bar;
▪ a 12th-floor pool with an adjacent 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar and Grill overlooking downtown Cincinnati;
▪ retail space;
▪ and more than 10,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a 2,000-square-foot rooftop space.
The Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority on Wednesday gave preliminary approval for nearly $33 million in tax incentives for the project, which still must receive final KTDFA approval. Through the Tourism Development Act, qualifying tourism-related projects can recover up to 25% of approved development costs through sales tax generated by the development.
