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  4. Jimmy Buffet's 'Margaritaville' has built an empire. Here's what it's like to visit its resorts and RV parks, and sail on its cruise line.

Jimmy Buffet's 'Margaritaville' has built an empire. Here's what it's like to visit its resorts and RV parks, and sail on its cruise line.

Brittany Chang   

Jimmy Buffet's 'Margaritaville' has built an empire. Here's what it's like to visit its resorts and RV parks, and sail on its cruise line.
  • Legendary musician and entrepreneur Jimmy Buffett died September 1.
  • The Margaritaville hospitality empire will continue to carry on Buffett's legacy.

Musician and entrepreneur Jimmy Buffett died September 1 aged 76 but his rapidly expanding hospitality empire will continue to pass on his renowned tales of tropical paradise.

Very few songs — if any — have left a lasting impact on the travel and hospitality industry like the legendary singer's "Margaritaville." When the song was released in 1977, it was just a straightforward and undeniably catchy tune about getting drunk in paradise.

But since then, the simple phrase "Margaritaville" has transformed into a behemoth chain of restaurants, hotels, resorts, casinos, bars, retirement communities, RV parks, and even a cruise line — and that's not including any of the branded merchandise lines.

It's no secret Margaritaville's properties have been as much of a hit as the original song. Over 20 million people visit the brand's venues annually, amounting to "an annual system-wide sales of $1.7 billion," The New Yorker reported in March 2022. And of course, this translated into financial success for Buffett: In April, Forbes listed the American singer as a billionaire with part of his fortune coming from an estimated $180 million stake — 28% — in Margaritaville.

Despite the brand name's implication of booze, people of all ages are welcome to "waste away" at Margaritaville. This is what it's like visiting its cruise ship and some of its resorts and RV parks.

Margaritaville's hotels are a complete immersion into the world of Jimmy Buffett

The company's first branded hotel opened in Pensacola Beach, Florida in 2010. Now, there are Margaritaville hotels in what seems like almost every major vacation destination in the US from San Diego, California to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. In 2021, the tropical brand even launched a New York City hotel near the not-so-tropical Times Square, an over $300 million project.

Inside, the 234-room hotel is a 32-floor homage to Buffett's discography, from the 5 O'Clock Somewhere Bar to the Landshark Bar and Grill. And while it's not a waterside resort, the New York City outpost still has many typical Margaritaville accouterments like blue, beige, and light wood-decorated hotel rooms, a bright restaurant, and Buffett's lyrics painted on the wall.

In honor of its location, there's also a towering 32-foot recreation of the Statue of Liberty in the heart of the hotel's Margaritaville Restaurant. But instead of its iconic torch, Lady Liberty is holding a glass of — what is safe to assume — booze.

Visiting and drinking at Margaritaville Times Square has even become an ironic and kitschy trend on TikTok with videos about the hotel amassing over 34 million views. However, it hasn't been all fanfare for the Margaritaville outpost — the hotel recently filed for bankruptcy.

Besides hotels, the brand also has unique accommodations like RV parks with tiny homes

The first Camp Margaritaville RV resort — which focuses on "upscale camping" — opened in Georgia in 2019 as a "surprise" hit, Jim Wiseman, the president of development at Camp Margaritaville, told Insider in 2021. Since then, the brand's RV arm has expanded into five markets like Auburndale, Florida and Crystal Beach, Florida with another location set to open in Pennsylvania's Poconos Mountains.

Depending on the location, the RV parks' amenities can include swimming pools, children's play areas, and even mini-golf courses. But these aren't reserved just for owners of tiny homes on wheels.

Its 35-acre RV resort in tourist town Pigeon Forge, Tennessee also has a sprawling hotel with "glamping" rooms. And while Camp Margaritaville in Auburndale, Florida — located outside of Orlando — doesn't have a resort, it does have rows of cabanas that function as bookable tiny homes.

Margaritaville's portfolio is so diverse, it even ventured off-land and into the ocean

The cruise industry is back and stronger than ever with record bookings and wildly hyped upcoming mega cruise ships. So it's no surprise Margaritaville wanted a piece of this pie at sea too.

In 2022, Margaritaville launched its first cruise vessel, the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise. The company only offers two-night cruises from Florida's Port of Palm Beach to the Bahamas' Freeport, Grand Bahama island.

To create this floating Margaritaville hotel, the brand refurbished the over 30-year-old flagship vessel of budget cruise line Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, which has since rebranded to Margaritaville at Sea. In May, the company then spent millions of dollars updating its guest spaces and "behind the scenes' routine maintenance and opportunistic upgrades," a spokesperson told Insider at the time. This included new amenities like a pickleball court and refreshed staterooms.

Like Margaritaville's on-land offerings, a handful of the ship's spaces feel like a true Margaritaville immersion, including the alfresco 5 o'Clock Somewhere Bar and Grill and the giant flip flop that greets passengers as they board the ship. At night, entertainment like "Radio Margaritaville: LIVE! At Sea" entertains guests while watering holes like the License to Chill bar keep them happy and "wasting away."



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