One of the most famous fishing resorts in the Florida Keys has a new owner. Bass Pro Shops confirmed on June 16 that it has acquired the Cheeca Lodge & Spa in Islamorada, folding the nearly 80-year-old property into its growing collection of nature-based resorts.
The retailer did not put a number on the deal. What it did spell out was the plan: link Cheeca with the adjacent World Wide Sportsman Store & Marina, which Bass Pro has owned since 1997, and run the two as a single fishing-and-hospitality destination on the water in Islamorada — a town that bills itself as the "sportfishing capital of the world."
Cheeca opened in 1946. Today it offers oceanfront cottages and lodges, three tropical pools, a spa, a 9-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed par-3 course and a 525-foot fishing pier. Bass Pro says it will upgrade the resort without stripping out its heritage, pointing to its Big Cedar Lodge in the Missouri Ozarks — a property that draws 7.5 million visitors a year — as the template.
Company founder Johnny Morris cast the purchase as a return to familiar water, recalling a teenage trip that hooked him on the Keys.
"I will never forget dreaming about and then getting to catch my first tarpon on a fly. I was 16 years old fishing with my best buddy, my Dad and Capt. Sonny Eslinger on Buchanan Bank out of Bud N' Mary's Marina," Morris said.
"I have come to have enormous respect for the history of Islamorada, and the generations of anglers and families who have made memories here," Morris said. "We're humbled and honored to have the opportunity to help protect it and carry that story forward."
Morris, who holds the Audubon Medal, has tied his resorts to conservation before; over half of Big Cedar's 24,000 acres are permanently protected through the Johnny Morris Conservation Foundation. Bass Pro says Cheeca will also serve as a base for guests exploring the Everglades and the surrounding Keys.
The Everglades Foundation welcomed the change of hands. Its chief executive, Eric Eikenberg, said Bass Pro and Morris "have always understood the importance of protecting the Everglades and celebrating our fishing heritage, making them outstanding partners for the future of the Keys."
There is a financial backdrop, too. The seller, Northwood Investors, had been shopping the resort, which a Bloomberg News report in April pegged at roughly $300 million — part of a broader run in which luxury hotels have been outpacing the rest of the lodging sector. For an outdoor brand built on fishing, a marquee saltwater resort next to its own marina is an obvious fit.
The open question for longtime Cheeca guests is tone. Bass Pro has promised to "enhance" the resort while keeping its character intact. How those two goals balance out — old-Florida charm versus a polished upgrade — will define what the lodge feels like under its new owner.
