Zota welcomes first guests Friday

The Zota Beach Resort on Longboat Key will welcome its first guests on Friday, the company said.

The 187-room resort at 4711 Gulf of Mexico Drive passed its final inspections last week with the state’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants. A news release from the resort said it would open to the public on Friday.

The resort was initially set to open in December, but construction delays pushed the project’s completion into 2017.

The resort, built at the site of the former Hilton, features a new 84-room hotel tower in addition to a renovated 103-room hotel. The project also includes a new lobby, pool and pool area, restaurant and wine bar and meeting space.

A check of room rates show prices through Dec. 24 range from $284 for a king room with a partial-water view to $411 for a one-bedroom suite, when booked before June 30. Rates rise to between $379 and $549 when booked after June 30.

The Zota Beach Resort project was the first to take advantage of a pool of 250 tourism units town voters approved in 2008.

Delray Beach-based Ocean Properties owns more than 100 hotels, including the Resort at Longboat Key Club, which it purchased in 2012. It also owns Lido Beach Holiday Inn, Lido Beach Resort and Sandcastle Resort at Lido Beach.