The Reimagined Ritz-Carlton Tiburón Now Keeps Evening Hours, and This Season's Calendar Is Built Around Them

The new lobby at The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón has turned wood screens set into its wall, and they are designed to let you see through to Palmera. Palmera is the resort's new restaurant and bar. Its long bar is topped in orange quartzite and lit by antique brass palm-leaf lamps. The resort officially unveiled the renovation on Oct. 5. In its announcement on PR Newswire, General Manager Andrew Roberts said, "We are excited to welcome our guests and neighbors to a destination where they can gather, play and unwind."

For anyone whose home sits along the Greg Norman-designed fairways, the word that matters there is neighbors. The Naples Daily News reported that the new dining is open to all. The renovation gave the resort rooms that run from early morning until well after dark. Between now and Christmas, the best days at Tiburón link a morning on the golf course with an evening in one of those rooms.

The resort's day now runs from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

When the sun goes down, the resort now has more to offer than its open-air Ría. Ría, the Latin American restaurant, stays on the dining list with daily hours of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The three new venues fill in the rest of the day. Here are the posted hours from the resort's dining page:

• 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Café Fenrose: an all-day market and espresso bar, done in butter yellow, mint and cream over terrazzo floors.
• 7 to 11 a.m., Fenrose: a French-style breakfast room next to the café, built around egg dishes.
• 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Ría: the open-air Latin American menu, which draws on Mexico, Peru and Argentina.
• Noon to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m., Palmera: lunch and dinner every day.

The resort notes that hours may vary by season, so the list above is a starting point rather than a promise for every week of winter.

Palmera is the room that keeps the resort busy at night. Executive Chef Jared Young runs a Gulf Coast menu built on ingredients from Naples farms, St. Augustine Datil peppers and regional citrus, and the kitchen aims to use every part of each product. Dishes the resort has highlighted include Florida Blue Crab Toast with grapefruit aioli, an Espresso Lobster Cocktail served tableside with a smoke service, and yakitori-grilled roasted chicken over a Datil pepper Basquaise ragout. For dessert, a Strawberry Pavlova is torched at the table. For reservations, call the resort at 239-593-2000.

The rest of the property has changed too. The Naples Daily News' Oct. 16 look inside pointed out a new tile roof, new landscaping and a sanctuary walkway. Inside, the redesign swaps dark wood for lighter, residential-style rooms inspired by native mangroves and the property's Audubon-certified grounds and birding trails.

Swaying Palm is taking Thanksgiving bookings ahead of its debut

The fourth new space is Swaying Palm, a 2,700-square-foot event room with wide views of the championship courses. Its finishes include raw metal accents, alabaster lighting and walls of shell-inspired art. The resort's enhancements page still describes the ballroom as "Soon debuting."

The room is already on the holiday calendar, though. The resort is taking bookings for a Thanksgiving Table with Chef Jared Young at Swaying Palm, served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in two-hour seatings. That makes Thanksgiving Day the first time many neighbors will see the room, with the same golf views a ballroom built for galas and weddings was designed around.

Two tournament weeks with seven public days

Tiburón Golf Club hosts two professional events between mid-November and mid-December. The calendar shows two full weeks of activity, but most of those days are closed to spectators. Here is how the two compare, based on each event's official site:

The CME Group Tour Championship is the LPGA's season finale. The field is the top 60 players plus ties in the Race to the CME Globe, and it becomes final after The ANNIKA. The tournament's Oct. 15 announcement named Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, Haeran Ryu and Jeeno Thitikul. According to the LPGA, Thitikul's win last November was her second in a row, and it came with the $4 million first prize. Military members, current and former, can get free grounds tickets. The event also supports St. Jude, which reports raising $2,425,197 through it in 2025. Of that, $440,000 came from 22 aces made by LPGA players during the season.

The Grant Thornton Invitational pairs LPGA and PGA Tour players as 16 mixed teams. Its Oct. 22 release named the full field, which includes Nelly Korda with Michael Brennan, Lydia Ko with Jason Day, Brooke Henderson with Corey Conners, Lexi Thompson with Harris English, and Patty Tavatanakit with Jake Knapp. Korda and Ko are entered in both events, so if you only make it to one of them, you can still see either player on the same course. The Monday and Tuesday practice days and the Wednesday and Thursday Pro-Ams are closed. Gates open at 8 a.m. on Friday, 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. on Sunday. The event's charitable beneficiaries include several Collier County names: Warrior Homes of Collier, Golisano Children's Hospital, Florida Gulf Coast University and Palmetto Ridge High School.

Same parking lots, different bag rules

Both tournaments run spectators through the same offsite system. General parking costs $10 per vehicle at two lots, with shuttles to the course:

• Lot C, First Baptist Church Naples, 3000 Orange Blossom Dr.: Thursday through Saturday of CME week, and Friday and Saturday of Grant Thornton week.
• Lot D, Community School of Naples, 13275 Livingston Rd.: Sundays at both events.
• Rideshare: a designated drop-off and pickup area at Tiburón Golf Club, 2620 Tiburon Dr.

CME's posted guidance says parking there is cash only. Some of the gate dates on the CME Know Before You Go page still reflect last year's schedule, so it is a good idea to check that page again the week of the event.

The bag rules differ, and they catch people who attend both events. CME does not allow backpacks, apart from drawstring bags and diaper bags, and it does not allow purses larger than 12 by 12 by 12 inches. The Grant Thornton Invitational is stricter. It allows opaque bags no larger than 6 by 6 inches, clear bags up to 12 by 6 by 12 inches, or a one-gallon clear resealable bag. A purse that gets you into the November event may not get you into the December one.

Where the golf calendar and the resort calendar meet

The two schedules line up closely, and on several dates a day at the course can end with an evening at the resort. Dates come from the resort's event listings and the tournament sites:

1. Nov. 19–22: CME Group Tour Championship public rounds. Palmera serves dinner until 10 p.m. every night of tournament week.
2. Thanksgiving Day: the Thanksgiving Table at Swaying Palm, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
3. Nov. 27: the resort's Turkey Trot, a 5K open to all ages from 8 to 11 a.m. benefiting Children's Miracle Network. Registration is $100 for ages 13 and up and $50 for ages 2 to 12.
4. Nov. 27–29: Gingerbread Decorating School, 10 to 11 a.m. Booking is $300 per group of up to four.
5. Dec. 6: an ugly-sweater cocktail evening at the resort, 5 to 8 p.m.
6. Dec. 11–13: Grant Thornton Invitational public rounds.
7. Dec. 12: the fullest day of the season. The tournament's Health & Wellness Day offers a free Burn Boot Camp at 8 a.m. and Fairway Yoga at 9 a.m. at Tiburón Golf Club. That evening, Live Fest brings Riley Green, Tyler Hubbard, Hannah McFarland and Rock Republic to the driving range from 5 to 10 p.m., with separate tickets.
8. Dec. 13: the final round, and the first night of Twelve Days of Christmas Cocktails at Palmera. It runs nightly through Dec. 24 from 5 to 10 p.m., with free admission and cocktails ordered à la carte.
9. Dec. 19–21: a second run of Gingerbread Decorating School.
10. Dec. 25: the Christmas Grand Buffet with Chef Jared Young, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., by online reservation.

Tournament Sunday on Dec. 13 sums up the new arrangement. Gates open at 8 a.m. on Tiburón's own course, and by 5 p.m. the first holiday cocktail is being poured at Palmera, a short distance away.

Michelle knows Tiburón as a place people spend their days, from the Mouratoglou Tennis Center courts to the fairways that bring tour pros to Naples every season. If you're weighing how the resort's new rooms and the tournament calendar fit into life at Tiburón, Michelle Trawick would be glad to talk it through over coffee at Café Fenrose. Let's Connect.