July 29, 2026

First Beach Front Roof Top Lounge Coming to Orange Beach

By Isabella Gomez
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Region News

July 29, 2026

GULF SHORES, Ala. As the demand for fancier hotels, upscale restaurants and unique nightspots continue to grow along Alabama’s Gulf Coast, current and future business owners must become more creative and outdo their competitors.

There are dozens of restaurants, hotels and bars of all types that currently line our beaches from the Flora-Bama to the furthest point of Gulf Shores, but creativity and uniqueness is what drives people’s curiosity and a new business coming to our beach will surely do just that.

The AC Hotel Orange Beach, a six-story, 100-room Marriott hotel, is expected to feature a 3,500-square-foot rooftop lounge that will be open to the public when the project opens in the second quarter of 2028.
This feature alone is different for our area because it’ll be the first rooftop lounge on the beach in our area.

Zach Hoyt, president of Gulf Shores-based A&R Development, which is developing the Marriott-branded hotel, said the rooftop lounge is designed to be the property’s signature attraction and will welcome both hotel guests and the public.

He called it an “experience that doesn’t exist anywhere in the market today.”

“Orange Beach has grown into one of the premier destinations in the Southeast and it deserves a hotel that matches that,” Hoyt said.

Rooftop bars have become a staple, a must have in recent years, drawing visitors and locals alike to enjoy dinner, or a cocktail and conversation while taking in the sights, the vibe and the outdoors.

The Orange Beach City Council addressed several concerns about the venue located at 23370 Perdido Beach Blvd including operating hours and noise and loud bands, but it does seem to have support from the council and will most likely be approved.
This location was once the Romar Beach Baptist Church that was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, rebuilt in 2008 and then heavily damaged again during Hurricane Sally in 2020.

Hoyt told council members the rooftop venue is intended to function more as a lounge than a bar. It will connect to eight of the hotel’s guest rooms and have a maximum occupancy of 100 people. He said it is far from being considered a “raucous or rowdy bar” and is expected to close around 11 p.m.

The lounge’s outdoor patio will close around 10 p.m., Hoyt said.

Hotel occupancy continues to outpace vacation rental occupancy in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, according to June destination indicators provided by the local tourism agency. While vacation rentals that typically require longer stays averaged between 50% and 55% occupancy during the spring months, hotels averaged between 74% and 77%.

Beth Gendler, president and CEO of Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism, called the addition of a rooftop lounge an attractive addition to the coastal region’s growing portfolio of lodging options.

The AC Hotel Orange Beach is expected to begin construction later this year.

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