Margaritaville expands in Texas with 2 resorts

Dive Brief

Developers are bringing projects to Galveston and Denison, Texas, amid the brand’s continued growth in the state.

Published Jan. 30, 2024

First published on

Dive Brief:

• Two additional Margaritaville resorts are coming to Texas: one on the beachfront in Galveston, and another in Denison, which will anchor a $6 billion master-planned community.  
• The $250 million Galveston development will span 300,000 square feet, while the $100 million Denison resort will offer pier access at Lake Texoma. Margaritaville previously opened its first Texas resort, at Lake Conroe, in 2020. 
• Several Texas markets are seeing visitor booms and attendant increases in hotel activity. The two planned resorts will be designed to capture leisure travelers amid Margaritaville’s continued growth in the state. 

Dive Insight:

Galveston, in particular, is seeing a surge in travelers. The island saw over 8 million visitors in 2022, a 25% increase over 2021 and an 11% increase over 2019. The Greater Houston Partnership, an economic development organization, dubbed the island’s tourism growth and hotel development a “hospitality renaissance.” 

Private real estate development firm RREAF Holdings LLC and beachfront hotel developer Innisfree Hotels will develop the Galveston Margaritaville resort, which they plan to break ground on early this year. 

“We had been looking in the Galveston market for some time,” Jim Wiseman, Margaritaville’s president of development, told Hotel Dive. “Once RREAF showed us the property, we were very excited about it. Having the Houston metro nearby with its millions of people is just great for our brand. And the proximity to the beach there is important, so we feel very good about the market.”

The resort will include 334 rooms, a 2.5-acre waterpark with beach views, four restaurants and a ballroom. The property also offers beach access.

“The Galveston market has exponential growth opportunities stimulated by its economy and the evolution of people moving to Texas in the past two years,” said Kip Sowden, CEO of RREAF Holdings, calling the development a “well-positioned hospitality asset.”

In North Texas, Margaritaville will anchor a $6 billion planned community on Lake Texoma’s Preston Harbor, according to the Dallas Morning News. The community, developed by Texas firm Craig International, will also include 7,500 omes, retail space, restaurants and an upscale marina. 

In a statement, Wiseman said the company is “excited about our continued growth throughout the state of Texas.”

David Craig, founder and CEO of Craig International, said it would be “a monumental project for North Texas and one of the largest land purchases in Grayson County history.”

Groundbreaking for the community is expected to take place later this year.

A representative of North Texas-based real estate investment firm Horizon Capital Partners told the Dallas Morning News that Margaritaville had “been looking to get into North Texas for years.”

Margaritaville recently opened its first-ever ski resort in South Lake Tahoe, California, and earlier last year, a hotel in downtown San Diego. Despite the loss of its founder, singer Jimmy Buffett, last year, the company is continuing to expand across the U.S.