Let’s pretend that, under the influence of margaritas, you sign up at a Grant Park Summer Shade Festival tent to tour a new Margaritaville-themed downtown building and listen to a timeshare spiel in exchange for an (almost) free Caribbean cruise.
By sheer, cruel coincidence, that tour happens to come mere hours after Jimmy Buffett, the so-called Mayor of Margaritaville, slips into the eternal Gulf Stream, shocking and saddening legions of fans around the world.
Talk about awkward.
But intent to make spiked lemonade of lemons, you realize the tour affords unique views of this beautiful city during a festive holiday weekend, and glimpses into a dual-branded downtown tower with accommodations as condo-quality as advertised. A barrage of photos ensues.
Inside a roomy one-bedroom Margaritaville condo with a decidedly parrothead-friendly aesthetic. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
The 22-story “urban oasis” on Centennial Olympic Park Drive—officially called Club Wyndham Atlanta, and Margaritaville Vacation Club by Wyndham-Atlanta—opened in summer 2022, offering what’s described as a contemporary take on the timeshare model with Atlanta’s first vacation club resort property.
Perks at the 200-suite building include a 22nd-floor lounge and Bar ATL, a 19th-floor hangout with a large terrace and pool with skyline views. The base of the building features a two-story Margaritaville Restaurant designed to open up to street life and frame views of Centennial Olympic Park across the street.
Rooms are available for both Club Wyndham owners and non-owners who’d like to “test drive the vacation ownership life” for varying amounts of time. The building’s two options include the sleeker Club Wyndham that “reflects the city’s forward-thinking approach as the modern hub of the New South,” and the Margaritaville “casual luxury” rooms, which come with a Frozen Concoction Maker® and roomier, relaxing living areas, according to Wyndham Destinations.
Before the resort project could break ground in 2020, historic preservationists, a handful of city leaders, and thousands of Atlanta petitioners rallied against construction to save a century-old structure at 152 Nassau Street where country music’s first hit song is widely believed to have been cut in a former recording studio. A legal saga to save “the birthplace of country music” began in 2017, lasted two years, and eventually became national news. Ultimately, the two-story structure and a neighboring surface parking lot were removed three years ago, clearing the site for its high-rise replacement.
Developed by Strand Capital Group, the Margaritaville/Club Wyndham property is managed by Wyndham Destinations, the world’s largest vacation ownership business. (Packages presented during the aforementioned tour ranged between about $20,000 and $31,000 total, with maintenance dues around $1,500 annually to continue in perpetuity.) The chain counts more than 245 club resorts globally, with access to hundreds of others at additional costs and a roster of more than 850,000 owners.
Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
As is plainly visible from the rooftop pool party zone and many rooms, the building neighbors the SkyView Atlanta Ferris wheel, with marquee tourist attractions including Georgia Aquarium, CNN Center, World of Coca-Cola, and the College Football Hall of Fame within a few minutes’ walk. Atlanta’s NFL football, MLS soccer, and NBA basketball arenas are also a few blocks to the west.
Mosey up to the gallery for changes in altitude.
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