The Legacy Of The McCabe Family And The Carnelian Hotel To Debut In Naples

Photo Credit: Carlos FrancoThe McCabe family has built a legacy in Naples, Florida, marked by resilience, determination, innovation, and a focus on enhancing the local community for residents and tourists alike. The McCabe legacy in Naples begins with Philip J. McCabe Sr., a hotelier, real estate developer, entrepreneur, and the founder and CEO of Gulf Coast Commercial Corporation, who has impacted the Naples community for more than 40 years.

Phil grew up with five children and two adults living in one bedroom in the working-class neighborhood of Dorchester in Boston, where he lived in the attic with his three brothers. His mom was a secretary, and his dad was a teacher in Boston. He is a second-generation American with grandparents from Ireland, and he has an Irish passport and enjoys visiting Ireland. Reflecting on his first job, Phil says, “I started working as a caddy when I was 12 years old at a golf course nearby. That is when I started to learn the concept of ‘work and save, work and save, work and save,’ and that’s what I did, and I never stopped.”

Phil left Dorchester when he was 18 and went into the military. As far as where his entrepreneurial spirit stems from, Phil expresses, “I’m a born entrepreneur, and it’s in my DNA. I don’t know where it came from. There’s nobody else or anybody that sprouted the way I did. It started appearing when I was in the Air Force. I could have made a career out of the Air Force, but I didn’t. I stayed in there for three years, which was the obligation during the Vietnam War. I spent my time in Pakistan and then Omaha, Nebraska, in the intelligence services of the Air Force.”

When Phil got out of the Air Force, he left without a warrant or desire to stay, but he believes to this day that the military is a wonderful career for many people. Phil reflects, “I got out but wasn’t ready to start a business. The CIA recruited me to work in the command center in Omaha for my last two years in the Air Force. The CIA then offered me a job, and I went to work for the CIA for just over four years. At age 26, my entrepreneurial spirit emerged; before that, I had no idea what I was going to do.”

When Phil was with the CIA, he worked mostly overseas on what they call per diem, so there were no expenses, and everything went into the CIA’s credit union. Phil adds, “I had a huge savings at the time, and I felt quite secure and independent and ready to go. It was a grand total of $25,000. The CIA gave me the launching pad to go out and seek new opportunities.”

Photo Credit: Carlos Franco

Phil’s real estate and hospitality journey began when he bought his first lodging business in Scarborough, Maine, when he was 27. The property was bankrupt and about five acres on the beach. Phil immediately thought to himself, “Location, location, location,” which has been a huge part of his career success. His summer business of cottages on the beach quickly turned into a year-round business where Phil was operating his cottages in the winter and on a monthly basis because there was no such thing as an Embassy Suites or Residence Inn by Marriott back then. There was a lot of migration in Portland at the time, and companies needed housing. Phil believes and understands that a very significant component of being a thriving entrepreneur is understanding the financial aspects of every project, managing a balance sheet, and the importance of building upon your assets. His entrepreneurial genes were really boiling while he was in Maine. Fortunately, he had excess capital from the income of the cottage business that he plowed back into other things, including buying land in Kennebunkport, Maine, out of bankruptcy during a financial crisis in New England, along with a historic property called the cigar factory in Manchester, New Hampshire. Phil currently owns 60 acres of land in Kennebunkport, Maine, where he enjoys spending his vacations creating lasting memories with his sons.

Phil moved to Naples in 1984, where he was between Maine and Naples for a couple of years. When he opened his first boutique hotel in Naples, the 99-room Inn of Naples, in 1986, he moved full-time to Naples. From his cottage business in Maine, he had learned the ins and outs of hospitality management, construction, and maintenance, so when he got to Naples, he made the decision to make Naples his home. Phil’s goal of moving to Florida was to build a new hotel. Phil expresses, “I had my vision of a boutique hotel. It was quite different than owning a Maine property, but I ended up locating and buying a piece of land in Naples, gaining zoning approval, and going through the whole process all by myself. My vision was to build an independent boutique hotel. I had no problem taking charge of the whole thing from the beginning to the end of it and operating it myself.”

In 1992, Phil opened the Inn at Pelican Bay in north Naples. Reflecting on this hotel and the Inn of Naples, Phil remarks, “When I drove down Fifth Avenue in 1985, I didn’t buy downtown. I bought uptown because I didn’t have any faith in the downtown area. When I sensed an opportunity downtown, I strategically bought a bank building that became the Inn on Fifth, starting with a vision to develop this area.”

In 1998, McCabe purchased the site for the Naples landmark and destination hotel Inn on Fifth. Over the next 25 years, he transformed the site into a luxury anchor and AAA Four Diamond status hotel on Fifth Avenue South. He also redeveloped the commercial property across the street from the Inn on Fifth in 2010 to create the 32-Club Level Suites.

“All of the property I have built, including the Inn of Naples, the Inn on Pelican Bay, the Inn on Fifth, and the Club Level Suites at the Inn on Fifth, were all becoming a higher- and higher-level property. I kept myself on the leading edge of that market and demographic of Naples, which has gone higher and higher. You must recognize and build into the market.”

Photo Credit: Carlos Franco

Phil continues to expand his ventures in Naples, including the recent completion of a 14,000 square-foot hangar at the Naples Airport, with an adjacent office building that serves as the headquarters for his company, Gulf Coast Commercial Corporation, a boutique real estate company specializing in the holding, development, and management of boutique hotels, restaurants, residential, mixed-use, and commercial buildings. Innovation thrives under the leadership of Phil Sr., as he collaborates and works side by side with his two sons, 28-year-old Philip McCabe Jr., Director of Operations, and 29-year-old Joseph McCabe, VP of Development at Gulf Coast Commercial Corporation.

“It is a small, family-owned business,” Joseph remarks on the work dynamic. “You have got to have thick skin to work with us. When we go on family vacations, there’s always an element of work to it. So, even when we’re traveling, we’re always studying other hospitality products and construction projects around the world. Work never leaves my personal life, and my personal life never leaves my work, so everything is blended and integrated into my whole life.”

Photo Credit: Carlos Franco

Joseph serves on the board of the Fifth Avenue South Business Improvement District (BID), teaches golf as the assistant golf coach at the Community School of Naples (CSN), and is the founder and owner of Naples Jet Sales, providing a concierge-level service in the aircraft industry that fulfills specific customer requests by finding aircraft around the world tailored to each buyer’s needs. Naples Jet Sales is run solely by Joseph, who he calls his one-man band that is focused on personal relationships at the center of his business model. His love for airplanes began at an early age. Joe reflects, “As a kid, I loved playing with paper planes, and I had built remote-controlled airplanes when I was seven years old. I have always loved airplanes and flying in general, having been surrounded by airplanes my whole life. When I was young, my dad bought a Cessna 172 Skyhawk airplane to take lessons on because he wanted to get his pilot’s license for another airplane that he was buying. I would go up with him, and the entire time, he would end up looking at real estate, so I pretty much ended up taking the lessons.”

Fast forward to his post-graduate years from High Point University, where Joseph studied business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship, he began to manage the sales and acquisitions of his dad’s airplanes with another broker. Now, he is embarking on receiving his pilot license. Reflecting on his skill set for the aviation world, Joseph states, “I have almost a photographic type of memory for stats and specs of airplanes. For instance, I could look at an airplane and tell you what it is, approximately what year it is, what type of engines it has, what kind of maintenance intervals there are, the calendar versus hourly inspections, and more.”

Joseph brings his entrepreneurial skills and strengths to Gulf Coast Commercial’s development team, focusing on logistics and construction. On future projects, Joseph exudes, “We own land in Anguilla, roughly 100 acres down there encompassing a mile and a half of coastline and about 3500 linear feet of beach. We just went through the memorandum of understanding (MOU) process with the government of Anguilla. We’ve been approved for entitlements for a large resort, hotels, and a marina.”

Photo Credit: Carlos FrancoPhil’s youngest son, Philip McCabe Jr., grew up shadowing his dad in the hospitality business from a very young age, working at the legendary now-closed McCabe’s Irish Pub located next to the Inn on Fifth, then later working as a concierge at the Club Level at The Inn on Fifth during his high school summer. Ten years later, he opened Naples’ first speakeasy, The Vine Room, on Fifth Avenue South in 2021, which has now become a sought-after destination bar and nightlife hotspot in Southwest Florida with lines wrapping around the block. Philip Jr. offers a strong skill set in creative hospitality, seeking inspiration globally from his travels to the world’s top hotels, cocktail bars, spas, and restaurants to give his customers a luxurious and unforgettable experience-driven visit.

Photo Credit: Carlos Franco

What’s next for the McCabe family?
Their latest business endeavor is a five-star boutique hotel and private club in Naples, Florida, breaking ground this fall and slated for opening in late 2026. The catalyst for their upcoming boutique hotel was the purchase of the Beacon Bowl that came to the McCabe’s when the owners were looking to move and build a bigger, better bowling alley elsewhere. Together, Phil Sr., Joseph, and Philip Jr. studied the opportunity for a boutique hotel, including the entire commercial corridor of Trail Blvd (running parallel to US/41) and its stark difference to the quality of development and landscaping on the west side of 41 with Waterside Shops and Artis—Naples.

Philip Jr. states, “We concluded that in order to position a boutique hotel at a five-star level, we would need to reenvision the south end of Trail Blvd at large, creating a linear park and high-quality landscaping. We believe this will be transformative for the commercial district, which runs from 7-Eleven to Ridge Dr, adding greater pedestrian friendliness and an attractive aesthetic for customers and guests of the neighboring businesses, including our hotel.”

The Carnelian Hotel will encompass an all-club level, all-suite boutique hotel with 70 rooms, creating an intimate B&B experience at a five-star level. Guests will enjoy tailored services, including butler service, private chef dining in the larger suites, in-house chauffeur service, and more. The ground floor will feature an impressive motor court, a small retail area, and two significant restaurants that will be open to the public. The second to sixth floors and the rooftop will be private to members and guests only.

“We believe Naples is lacking in the boutique segment of hotels, specifically independent hotels with no brand or flag that create unique experiences for its guests,” states Philip Jr. “At the Inn on Fifth, we built the Club Level suites across the street, which are 32 suites with exclusive use of a club lounge and a rooftop. The lounge serves complimentary all-day snacks and continental breakfast, as well as a top-shelf bar and hors d’oeuvres in the evening. We are taking that building and component of the Inn on Fifth and making it the concept of the entire hotel. We are perfecting the typical suite with a generous living area, a bar, a 5-piece bathroom, and a walk-in closet, which will all be standard in our suite.”

The second floor of The Carnelian Hotel will feature a 20,000-square- foot wellness club with state-of-the-art facilities. The wellness club has three pillars dedicated to a mission of overall well-being: active, recovery, and relaxation. To activate, The Carnelian Hotel will have a state-of-the-art fitness center with complimentary personal training. The wellness locker rooms will house significant recovery methods, including a ThermoSuite with hydrotherapy (cold plunge, hot plunge, HydroMassage, and more), as well as multiple types of saunas and steam rooms. For relaxation, the hotel will showcase a 10,000-square-foot full- service spa with experiential treatment rooms and individualized spa lounges for pre- and post-treatments. Levels three through five are hotel suites equipped with wonderful views of the Gulf of Mexico, starting on level four.

“Our Wellness club at Sterling’s will really be the first of its kind in Naples and beyond,” says Philip. “Longevity and anti-aging therapies will be at the forefront of our mission. We are incorporating the latest technologies with proven holistic offerings, along with a 5-star spa to offer a robust wellness solution for our members.”

The sixth floor of Sterling’s will feature 19,000 square feet of luxurious hospitality venues and experiences for members only, including the Sterling’s club restaurant, a lounge and jazz bar, and The Vine Room’s sister speakeasy. The 20,000-square-foot rooftop will feature two experiential pools, one reserved for adults and the other welcoming children. Additionally, guests can enjoy a stunning poolside bar and restaurant with views of the Gulf of Mexico and the Naples skyline.

Sterling’s club members will delight in unique experiences, including nightly entertainment and exclusive events such as chef’s tables, wine tastings, cooking classes, TED talks, and over-the-top holiday events such as a New Year’s Eve gala, a Halloween costume party, and Christmas spectacular. Sterling’s will collaborate with cultural venues such as Artis—Naples and Gulfshore Playhouse for entertainment offerings, and Waterside Shops for retail experiences. The rooftop will also host events such as cookouts with top chefs, music and theatre, and holiday fireworks shows.

“In studying the location of the property, we realized this is really the center of Naples, between downtown and North Naples and Bonita,” says Philip Jr. “There are more than 38,000 households within a five-mile radius, many without a clubhouse, convenient dining and nightlife, or even a gym or significant wellness offering. We know there are a lot of golf clubs in Naples, but we feel an ‘everything but golf club’ would resonate well, especially in this location and at this scale.”

Gulf Coast Commercial Corporation is working with world-renowned AvroKO for the interiors of the hotel and private members club. For creative and branding, they are working with New York-based agency, King & Partners. The hotel’s three central design pillars are Nouveau Continental, Paradise Coast, and Collector’s Sanctuary, using different reds from the Carnelian stone throughout the suites and public spaces, as well as Carnelian itself.

“There is a synergy between the three of us,” expresses Phil. “We have an amazing team of imagineers, architects, engineers, designers, and consultants. Everybody is working as a team, and that’s what makes it a success. You’ve got to be able to constructively work with those teams of professionals who hopefully know more than you do, and that’s what I try to teach my two boys. We want to bring in people who know more than us.”

Reflecting on the longevity of his career and his exciting new boutique hotel project, Phil shares, “My vision now going into The Carnelian Hotel and Sterling’s club is based on all of my previous career, and I would characterize it as iconic. Now it’s my crowning of my career achievement here. It is going to be fun. We are going to have architecture that will be iconic, and that will take precedence for that location. We will change that whole location as I did with Fifth Avenue.”

5400 Tamiami Trail N, Naples, FL 34108