The New Restaurants at the Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón Arrived on a Tournament Clock

The resort at the center of Tiburón spent the summer under renovation and stayed open the whole time. On Oct. 5 it showed off the results: a new lobby, redone guestrooms, a new event room and three new places to eat. The timing was planned. The opening comes about six weeks before the LPGA's season finale tees off on the Gold Course and about nine weeks before the Grant Thornton Invitational follows it in December.

So for people who live inside the gate or nearby, the schedule is simple. The new rooms are open now. The fairways fill up in mid-November. Between those two dates there are a few weeks when Tiburón has its new restaurants and none of the tournament crowds.

What Parker Torres Changed Inside

The renovation began in May 2026. Hotel Online's April announcement said the resort would stay fully open throughout, and it named Parker Torres Design to lead the work. The same firm had already redone Tiburón's beachfront sister property, The Ritz-Carlton, Naples.

The biggest visual change is the dark wood, which is gone. According to the resort's Oct. 5 release, the 295-room property now has bright, residential-style interiors drawn from Southwest Florida's mangroves, the Audubon-certified grounds and birding trails, and local craft traditions. The lobby has marble inlays at the entry, a custom alabaster chandelier, and turned wood screens that let you see through into the new main restaurant.

The resort also added Swaying Palm, a new 2,700-square-foot event space that looks out over the golf courses. For Tiburón households, it's one more option for a milestone birthday, a wedding or a club-style gathering that doesn't require a drive.

Three New Rooms to Eat In, and One Familiar One

The food matters most to anyone who lives within a cart ride of the lobby. Here is the lineup as of this week:

• Fenrose serves French breakfast with an emphasis on egg dishes, in a room that mixes European café style with warm, organic finishes.
• Café Fenrose sits next door. It's an all-day market and espresso bar done in butter yellow, mint and cream, with terrazzo floors. The resort's dining page bills it as somewhere to grab something "to carry to the course."
• Palmera is the new bar and restaurant, run by Executive Chef Jared Young. The menu is built on Gulf Coast ingredients, from Naples farms to St. Augustine Datil peppers and regional citrus.
• Ría is still serving Latin American food from Mexico, Peru and Argentina. The resort lists it as open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and you can book a table through SevenRooms.

Palmera is the one people will talk about. The release names a Florida Blue Crab Toast with grapefruit aioli, an Espresso Lobster Cocktail served tableside over ice with smoke, and a yakitori-grilled roasted chicken with a Datil pepper Basquaise ragout. There's also a Strawberry Pavlova torched at the table. The bar is topped in orange quartzite and lit by antique brass palm-leaf lamps.

Sources disagree on whether Palmera is serving yet. The resort's release called it open on Oct. 5. A USA TODAY Network report published Oct. 6 said Fenrose and Café Fenrose had opened and Palmera would "follow later this month." The resort's own dining page still lists all three as "Opening October 2026." Before you plan a Friday dinner around the crab toast, call the resort at 239-593-2000.

You don't need a room key to eat at any of them. The same USA TODAY Network report described the new restaurants as "open to all" and said the resort is inviting the local community, not just hotel guests, to be among the first to try them.

Why October, and Why That Matters for the Next Few Weeks

General Manager Andrew Roberts explained the timing back in April, when the project was announced. His comments to Hotel Online named Tiburón homeowners as one of the groups the project was for:

"This evolution is more than a redesign; it is a milestone moment for our Ladies and Gentlemen, our loyal guests, the Tiburón homeowners, and the vibrant Naples community we have called home for decades."

In the same statement, he said the new spaces would be unveiled this fall, "perfectly timed to welcome the world for our championship golf tournaments."

The resort says its two Greg Norman courses host three professional tournaments a year, in partnership with the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tour. This year, two of the three fall within a single month, from Nov. 16 to Dec. 13, so the new restaurants get only a short run before the first crowds arrive. Here is the fall at Tiburón, starting from the day this post is published:

From the Thursday this post is published, Oct. 22, to the first CME practice round on Nov. 16, the resort has a little over three weeks with its new rooms open and no tournament traffic.

CME Week Looks Different From the Parking Lot This Year

The CME Group Tour Championship is the LPGA's season finale. According to the official event page, the top 60 players in the Race to the CME Globe standings, plus ties, will compete for an $11 million purse, and the winner takes home $4 million. Tiburón Golf Club says the Gold Course hosts the event every year.

Spectator parking has moved since last year. In 2025, daily parking was at the Italian American Club of Naples on Airport-Pulling Road. The tournament's 2026 Know Before You Go page now lists two lots, one for Thursday through Saturday and another for Sunday:

• Thursday through Saturday: First Baptist Church Naples, Lot C, 3000 Orange Blossom Drive
• Sunday: Community School of Naples, Lot D, 13275 Livingston Road
• Cost: $10 a day, cash only, with frequent shuttles from the lot to Tiburón Golf Club

Shuttle traffic for the first three rounds will come from the Orange Blossom Drive side. On Sunday it moves to Livingston Road. For anyone planning a final-round dinner at the resort, the Sunday switch is the detail to know. The same page lists gate times next to the old 2025 dates, so go by the tournament's schedule of events for which days are which.

If you plan to walk the course, the ticket page offers daily and weekly general admission. You can also upgrade to the Corona Premier Oasis or the Globe Lounge, and both include food and drinks. Juniors 17 and under get in free with a ticketed adult, though they still need a ticket. Current and former U.S. military members get free grounds tickets, and so does an accompanying spouse, partner or dependent.

The fan activities are built for families. They include the Nikon Floating Green Challenge on the pond, free 10-minute lessons from LPGA teaching professionals in the LPGA Lesson Zone, and Autograph Alley, where players meet young fans after their rounds. Once your ticket is scanned, you can't leave and come back in. The tournament is also running a St. Jude x CME auction of golf memorabilia and experiences to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Then the Men Arrive in December

Fifteen days after the CME's final round, the Grant Thornton Invitational takes over Tiburón Golf Club and the resort. It runs from Dec. 7 to 13, and the PGA Tour lists Dec. 11 to 13 as its official dates. It's a mixed-team event with 16 LPGA players and 16 PGA Tour players. They play three rounds in three formats: a scramble, foursomes or alternate shot, and modified four-ball.

Practice rounds are on Monday and Tuesday, and the Wednesday and Thursday Pro-Ams are closed to the public. Spectators can attend Friday through Sunday. The tournament's ticket page offers daily or weekly grounds passes plus hospitality upgrades, sold online ahead of time or at the main entrance during tournament week.

That leaves two stretches outside tournament weeks to try Palmera or Fenrose: from now until Nov. 16, and the two weeks between the CME's Nov. 22 finish and Dec. 7.

For the families who make Tiburón home, The Whitcomb Group pays close attention to what is opening, moving and changing around the Gold and Black courses. If you'd like to hear how this season is shaping up inside the gate, contact us. We're glad to share what we're seeing.