A hotel that has anchored Tampa's downtown riverfront since 1968 is about to shed its old identity entirely. Hotel Cala, a seven-story, 281-room urban resort, is set to debut in January 2027 along the Tampa Riverwalk, bringing a Rockwell Group redesign, two new restaurant concepts and a resort-style pool deck to a stretch of the Hillsborough River that has seen a wave of hospitality investment in recent years.
According to a release distributed via PR Newswire, Hotel Cala will offer 281 guestrooms, including 16 expansive suites, inside a property that was transformed by the design firm Rockwell Group. The hotel's lobby overlooks the Riverwalk, and the release describes the space as drawing architectural and aesthetic inspiration from Tampa's waterfront setting, its tropical character, and the city's Italian and Cuban heritage. The property will join Hilton's Curio Collection and will participate in Hilton Honors, allowing members to earn and redeem points during their stay, per the same announcement.
Before it became Hotel Cala, the building was known as the Hotel Tampa Riverwalk, according to a Newmark press release detailing the property's financing. Newmark describes the site as sitting along the 2.6-mile Tampa Riverwalk and directly overlooking the Hillsborough River — the same stretch of waterfront the PR Newswire announcement highlights as central to the redesign.
New Ownership, New Money Behind the Overhaul
The repositioning is being driven by Newbond Holdings, which owns Hotel Cala and describes itself as a real estate and hospitality-focused investment platform whose principals have invested more than $20 billion across real estate assets and related operating and technology businesses, per the PR Newswire release. Newbond Holdings and Apollo Global Real Estate Management refinanced the property for $94.36 million, according to the Business Observer. Newmark's release adds that the financing was provided by Bain Capital and Smith Hill Capital, and that the sponsor is pursuing a full renovation and rebranding of the asset into a luxury lifestyle hotel under the Curio Collection flag.
Neil Luthra said the project gives the ownership group a chance to start fresh. “Hotel Cala gives us the opportunity to reimagine it for a new generation,” Luthra said, according to PR Newswire. The hotel will offer dining, gathering, stays, meetings, weddings and social celebrations once it opens, per the same release.
LAVO and BarOnda Bring Tao Group's Dining Playbook to Tampa
Tao Group Hospitality will manage Hotel Cala's two culinary offerings, both arriving as new names on Tampa's restaurant scene. LAVO will make its Tampa debut with a coastal Italian dining concept, offering fresh house-made pastas, whole-grain pizzas and a Wagyu, Italian sausage and veal meatball dish, the release states. BarOnda, meanwhile, is billed as a more casual, vibrant waterfront setting for curated cocktails and bites.
Noah Tepperberg said the two concepts were designed to complement each other rather than compete. “LAVO and BarOnda will bring two distinct experiences to Hotel Cala,” Tepperberg said, per the release. The hotel's amenities also include a central circular bar and pool deck, with the resort-style pool area featuring cabanas and lounge seating, plus a 24-hour fitness center overlooking the pool and direct access to the Riverwalk.
Event Space and a Timing Discrepancy
Hotel Cala will include 10,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor event space spread across seven rooms, accommodating up to 450 guests, according to the release. Hotel Cala is set to be managed by Schulte Hospitality once it opens.
Not every account of the project agrees on timing. While the PR Newswire announcement sets a January 2027 debut, a Visit Tampa Bay listing for what appears to be the same 281-room Curio Collection property on the Riverwalk says it is “coming late 2026.” That listing also describes 10,000 square feet of meeting space anchored by a 4,500-square-foot ballroom for up to 400 people — figures that don't precisely match the seven-room, 450-guest configuration described in the Hotel Cala announcement. It's unclear whether the discrepancies reflect updated plans or distinct descriptions of the same project.
Part of a Broader Riverwalk Building Boom
Hotel Cala's debut would land amid a broader run of hospitality investment along Tampa's downtown waterfront. Pendry Tampa, a luxury condominium and hotel development also being built on the Riverwalk, is slated to open in 2027 and is moving forward with $520 million in construction loans, according to the Tampa Bay Times. That project, which started in 2022, is expected to include four restaurants, 10,000 square feet of conference and ballroom space, and a 14,000-square-foot spa — giving the Riverwalk two major new hospitality properties converging on similar timelines just blocks apart.
