We all know that 2025 is a new exploration for us all. But what has not changed is that when we travel, we want a place that we can feel safe, be ourselves, and have a good time.
Now the being ourselves and what type of fun we are having will vary across our rainbow family, our likes and loves, our inner beasts and desires. As the number of blue states dwindle and the blue cities flicker, we will seek out some of those purple and fuchsia spots. We will need to weigh if these places are gay enough, gay friendly enough, visitable, or places to pass by.
One city we recently explored was Naples, Florida.
Naples, Florida Gets High Marks On…
U.S. News & World Report announced in November 2024 that Naples, Florida, ranks No. 1 among the best places to retire in the United States. It’s never too early to consider where to hang up your rainbow when that time comes. Naples topped 149 other cities considered in the 2024-25 report, which is very impressive considering it finished No. 28 in the 2023-24 report.
The methodology used in the study compared 4 major indexes:
Quality of Life Index – 32%,
Value Index – 27%,
Desirability Index – 19%,
Job Market Index – 22%.
The report also looked at the subcategories of Desirability, Health Care Availability, Tax-Friendly, Housing Market, along with:
- Beautiful Weather – Average temperature for the year is 78.04 degrees Fahrenheit. Spring average highs are in the 70s and 80s, with lows in the 60s. Summertime averages between 83 and 90 with Winter temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees.
- Beaches – Naples sits along the Gulf Coast with a coastline stretching nearly 9 miles, offering access to 40 beaches.
- Low Crime Rate – Naples and Collier County have the lowest crime rates among metropolitan counties in Florida.
We experienced Naples back in November of 2022 when we drove a short 1.45 hours across the state from Fort Lauderdale to the Gulf Coast to have a nice retreat for Thanksgiving.
Related Post: Picturesque Naples Is Open for Business
This time we were looking for a quick place to drive around the Christmas Holiday season.
Where to Stay
Inn on Fifth. You’re in the heart of it all, there will be no better treatment of you by the staff, and it’s just a perfect hub for excitement, relaxation, and convenience. But if you want something on the beach or a golf course, this may not be for you, even though the beach is just about a 10 to 15 minute walk.
What I loved about the Inn on Fifth was it’s location above all. You’re in the heart of the city, of the downtown, of the shopping, great restaurants, galleries, people. Being all of this, it wasn’t crowded or loud.
Club Level Suite – Some of the finer hotels have an option of being on a club level, which sometimes is actually 2 levels or a separate building. Both was the case with Inn on Fifth. We were across the street from the main building in an additional building where the hotel occupied the second and the third floor.
On the third floor was the club area, where an ample hot breakfast buffet greeted you daily, a lunch spread was placed out each afternoon, hot and cold appetizers were presented for the dinner hours and an open bar, pour your own libations were open daily until 9 PM. t was a great place to fuel up, meet people, and chat with the concierge about the area, get assistance with reservations, or hear wonderful suggestions.
Our spacious room was just that. Covering 550 square feet (felt like 1,000), the our Club Level King Suite was sleek and ornate. The soaking tub and large shower were hard to leave. There was a fridge in the room, but with the club level offerings just outside our room, we had everything we needed and then some.
Where to Eat
Within the same main building of Inn on Fifth is Ocean Prime. You go here to be seen, to have your anniversary, an amazing date night, or to just splurge and rack up a $200 bill all on your own, It’s an experience, and my waitress Martha, well we had an amazing time. A great server knows how to help you pace a meal and enjoy every bit.
From the Surf N Turf appetizer of Scallops, Braised Short Rib, Gremolata to the Australian Wagyu Steak to the 10-layer carrot cake with some excellently recommended cocktail, wine, and a port, the dinner was decadent.
Seasonal Celebrations
If you want to be in the heart of Naples, then you are going to aim your auto to Fifth Avenue. It’s their downtown strip with fine restaurants, great hotels, elevated shopping. The other road to make note of is in the Old Town Naples area on Third Street. Both were well decorated for the holidays.
The Victoria Park neighborhood was also a great place to see all the houses lit up. If water is your space, then the Naples Boat Parade would have been a sight for you. The Ritz-Carlton graced the community with holiday events along with the gingerbread house presentations. If ever over in that area again, be sure to check out naplesfestive.com.
The Arts
And no matter what time of year, keep the Naples Botanical Garden in mind as every season, every turn of the calendar, they seem to have something enjoyable for all. The Baker Museum and the Naples Art District are also notable cultural hubs to pay attention to and examine their events calendar. The Gulfshore Playhouse just opened their new theater and is worth checking out. And the city’s community theatre, The Naples Players also add to the community.
What About the Gay?
We of course will be involved in the Arts so see above for some gay stuff. But what about living in Naples. Is there a robust gay life?
When we were there, we revisited Bambusa Bar & Grill. Always great food, great people, even some pretty good Karaoke. That night, we were told we should make reservations as there was to be the Bambusa Babes Drag Show with a special birthday celebration. Drag queens from the community and some from Olrando put on a great show.
Both of Bambusa’s owners were there that night, Mel and Steve. It was nice to catch up with both of them and talk about business and personal things. It was loud and we didn’t talk as much as we did last time.
Mixing in what Mel and I discussed during my last trip and with what I’ve felt, what I pulled in from other conversations and knowing southern Florida, Naples is a more conservative and republican part of the state. That is a given, a known, and just what it is. People can be openly gay here, but don’t expect a rainbows and unicorn environment like Wilton Manors or Provincetown.
The crowd at Bambusa is much more mixed gay/straight than what I am used to in the full-on gay bars in Fort Lauderdale. But that is how a business needs to be in a more conservative setting, invite in everyone, make all feel welcome. And everyone was having a good time. Maybe one of my new lesbian friends was having an off night as a much older straight man could not believe she was a lesbian and kept asking her to go home with him. We get spooky gay people at the gay bars, too.
Little did I know, that might have been my last visit to Bambusa in Naples. On its website was the message:
The End of an Era
As of the close of business on February 25th, 2025, Bambusa will cease operations at our current location.
We had talked about their plans for a retirement home, but the business never came up or when this would happen. It does say “current location” so it is unknown if there will be a new Bambusa in a different location soon after February.
Other Gay Stuff
While we were there that weekend, we did stop by Fleischman’s Park on Sunday for the Rainbow Kickers Kickball League. Saw some fun games and a great crowd in the hot December sun.
The Naples Pride Center held its Holiday Party with an Ugly Sweater Contest, a screening of The Muppet Christmas Carol, pizza, pop corn and more. It was a family event for people that work so hard to show Pride in Naples year round.
Delicious Treats: Pizza and popcorn.
Future of Gay Stuff?
With Bambusa closing soon, where will the gays go? As mentioned, the bar was not a gay bar, but where you would find gay clientel. No other bar in the area had a prominent gay following.
But what about Pride? When I had visited 2 years ago, the belief was Pride celebrations were under a great deal of pressure to be not too gay. Now in 2025 the Naples City Council is pushing for Pride to not be seen or even happen fully the way celebrants wish. Money is the root of all evil and the City Council seems to be treading on some Supreme Court history with its inflated security bill they are wanting to charge Naples Pride. See the image below that was posted on the Naples Pride website, but for more details, click here.
What Do We Do with Naples?
I enjoyed my time in Naples. The shopping, gardens, walking around the million-dollar home neighborhoods, the beaches, the art shows in the parks, the open art galleries at night with live-art creation, the variety of food, the weather (even with the famous Florida west coast 5-minute showers), all of it was enjoyable. Inn on Fifth and Ocean Prime are both top class offerings with some great staff that still treated me amazing well, even though they knew I liked fellow men in that way. Top of the line lodging and splurging a little on dinner, I would do it all again.
I enjoyed the gay stuff I did. Some of the “dating-apps” were active, the drag show was great, watching the kickball tournament was a new experience, but there was nothing over-the-top gay or overly unique in Naples.
And with the Naples City Council upping the cost of security to an alleged illegal level for an event they are forcing inside and putting an age requirement on, the cutting of pride budgets elsewhere, the closure of Bambusa, it seems that the gays are becoming less welcome, or, hey, you’re welcome to be here, but don’t bring it out in public or ask for anything “extra”. Don’t be extra. And even many of the gays feel that way in similar overly republican areas. We’re here, we’re queer, but we’re just doing that stuff in our bedrooms and we’re melding in with the straights when out in public.
Naples is not my first choice of a large city to go to in Florida. For the feeling of welcoming and acceptance, with a nightlife that hasn’t been straight-washed or overly straight-mixed (we still have ur spaces) and I can be myself and so many colors of the rainbow can be themselves, I would say Wilton Manors (Fort Lauderdale) is first, St. Pete is second, Key West would be third. Naples would be after Tampa and even West Palm Beach, Miami, and Orlando, which I have not decided what order those would be in yet.
Naples is a great place to visit, take what you need from it, enjoy it on your level. But as a gay man, I do not see me moving there any time soon for gay culture, gay climate, a gay future. And maybe that is the point of the Naples City Council – make it less inviting so less queer people come and show their faces. Politics is politics.
Future Gay Travel – Us and You
We all need to be more vocal about these destinations, share warnings, true feelings, great experiences, and correct reviews. We at Instinct travel quite a bit, and we write about where we visit. If you are reading it here, we have personally visited these places. If you want us to visit and be honest about our experiences, send an email to customerservice@instinctmagazine.com or visit instinctmagazine.com/contact-us/ and we will look into it.
But as the political climate keeps changing, we will continue to travel and cover blue, purple, red destinations and give you our big ol’ gay feedback.