Classic South Florida with a Touch of Modern Luxury
(Photo: Tony Dee, owner of the Schubert Resort)
By Bob Kecskemety
Long before the concrete wall of high-rise Hiltons, Ws, Ritz Carltons and Hyatts lined the beachfront, residential neighborhoods in northeast Fort Lauderdale of Lake Ridge and Victoria Park, were interspersed with small to medium-sized mom and pop “apartment” buildings which were used to house vacationers in our area. Most only had 2 floors and many had only 3 or 4 units which could be rented by the week, month or season, few had a swimming pool but one thing they almost all had in common was lush tropical landscaping and great, personalized service from the hosts. Sparked by the tourism boom in Fort Lauderdale, these establishments, built in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s were much more common here than any established hotel chain; except perhaps Holiday Inns.
As laws regulating hotels and motels grew more restrictive in our area, the small properties started to be replaced with familiar big establishment names on the beach, most of these apartment buildings fell to disrepair and most have since been torn down, many being replaced by high rise apartment buildings and hotels.
The Schubert Apartments, built in 1953, survived the movement to “bigger is better” and is now better known as the Schubert Resort, a historic gay property located behind the Gateway Shopping Center in Victoria Park, Fort Lauderdale.
Real estate mogul, Tony Dee bought the Schubert on July 11, 2003 with plans to turn it into a first-class gay resort in the Gateway area of Fort Lauderdale. Dee was no stranger to gay business ownership in Fort Lauderdale, having opened Chardee’s restaurant on Wilton Drive (one of the earliest gay businesses in Wilton Manors) and owning several of the strip shopping centers on “The Drive.”
“I thought it would a super place for gay people,” said Dee. “It was straight and run-down to the point I put two and half million dollars into it to renovate the property. It worked.”
However, purchasing the Schubert was Dee’s first problem. He had to deal with the people already staying at the resort.
“The resort was mostly straight,” said Dee. “We had straight reservations we had to honor. We were advertising in the gay publications and the gays didn’t want to be the straights and the straights didn’t want to stay with the gays.”
Dee was forced to make a decision that no businessperson wishes to make. He refunded all the money back for the straight reservations that had been taken. From that point on, the Schubert Resort has been 100-percent gay.
Despite the renovations and much of the modernization made by Dee, the Schubert retains much of its old-Florida retro charm. The colors on the outside, though upgraded, remain the colors used in the rainbow of house colors used at that time and are still commonly used in the older portions of northeast Fort Lauderdale.
The pool area has all been replanted along with the addition of an outdoor spa. The large covered patio area to the south of the lobby is available to accommodate large groups of people all within a covered tropical setting.
Dee explains that the Schubert would have had a rough time that first year had it not been for the other gay guesthouses in the area during Thanksgiving and Christmas time. “When people would call them and make a reservation and the other guest house was full, they would tell the caller to try the Schubert, the new guy in town. They were very good to us.” Dee says that 98-percent of their bookings now come from the Internet.
The Schubert itself has become something of a star, having been used since Dee’s purchase and renovation, in several Hollywood major motion pictures including Ali staring Will Smith and Gays Gone Wild.
Times have been tough for the hospitality industry down here explains Dee. “Anybody who tells you, especially in the gay resort industry that their business is way up is lying,” said Dee. Dee explained that the regular season was very good but generally after the Fourth of July holidays, bookings slow down everywhere. However, he’s expecting things to pick up again in October right before regular tourist season beings. He also does a good pre- and post-cruise business.
“They stay here for three nights before the cruise and when they come back many stay another two or three nights after the cruise. So that works out good.”
For more information or to Book a Reservation, please visit Schubert Resort on Mark’s List
