Water Street's JW Marriott to debut 27th-story rooftop bar
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Aug 21, 2023

Water Street Tampa’s JW Marriott hotel will open a rooftop bar on the 27th floor.

Beacon will open in September. The rooftop bar was always part of developer Strategic Property Partners’ vision for the JW Marriott, which opened in December 2020. The space Beacon will occupy was vacant until construction started earlier this year.

SPP is controlled by Cascade Investment LLC, the investment fund of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik sold his share of SPP to Cascade in June.

It will be Tampa’s highest rooftop bar and the second highest in Florida. As far back as 2015, Vinik spoke publicly of a vision of activated rooftops throughout the district. SPP built a central cooling plant to free up Water Street’s rooftops.

“Beacon represents the culmination of our commitment to providing extraordinary experiences for locals and visitors alike,” Ron McAnaugh, JW Marriott general manager, said in a statement. “We are excited to unveil this captivating rooftop lounge, where visitors will be able to soak in the energy of Tampa’s buzzing Water Street neighborhood from above.”

It will open daily at 5 p.m. It will serve craft cocktails; the food menu includes items such as “house-baked tartines topped with crème fraiche, caviar and smoked salmon” and “artisanal charcuterie selections,” according to a release.