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Staycation: Palm Beach Part 1

STaycation South Florida

Note from Karen July 13, 2020: I’m off to Palm Beach this week for an updated Staycation so stay tuned, including information on what’s new.

 

Palm Beach is perfect. Lawns immaculate as putting greens. Flowers and trees landscaping homes that look like they’re straight out of Departures or Architectural Digest magazines.  Worth Avenue with its charming European-style garden courtyards, balconies overflowing with well-tended bougainvillea and shop sales staff that look like they just walked out of a Ralph Lauren ad.  And then there’s The Breakers, that’s one of the best landmark hotels in America. They said they reinvest a minimum of $25 million a year to keep it that way and that makes all the difference. Here’s the first in what will be a series on staycation South Florida.

 

With all of the craziness in the world, I felt I needed to do a weekend break close to home and light years away in feeling, so off we went for a Palm Beach staycation. If you haven’t been there in more than 6 months, you’ll notice some very welcome additions like the uber luxe Flagler Club, a hotel within a hotel, a newly renovated spa that oozes seaside sophistication, and roomy, ice cream colored wooden poolside beach bungalows for extra comfort and convenience poolside. Also, stay tuned for some finds you may not have known about.

Staycation South Florida

Try to stay in one of the premium oceanfront suites corner suites with full window views of the ocean and pool area. At 900 square feet, they’re super spacious with a full size living room area, large bedroom, and dressing area. Or if you’re really flush, you may want to try the new private access Flagler Club, an exclusive  boutique hotel with just 25 rooms. It has the works —  its own dedicated staff and hotel managers at your personal service, and lounge where breakfast, a light lunch, hors d’oeuvre, cocktails and dessert are served daily; a huge club terrace with panoramic view ideal for watching the sunset;  and – my favorite amenity – the use of a chauffeur driven Tesla to go anywhere within a six mile radius of the resort. Oh yes, how could I forget the beds — the adjustable kind that do everything but sing you to sleep.

Staycation South Florida
Stunning floral centerpiece in the lobby of The Breakers Resort

 

This time of year is ideal for walking, so we took a long walk on the several mile long beach (something we seldom do though should in Miami), followed by a swim in one of four beachside heated pools. The next day we varied the fare by taking one of the resort’s complimentary bikes, passing on trying the new fitness center with its snazzy equipment and oceanfront treadmills, to work off calories to get ready for Sunday Brunch. We’re not golfers, but there are two championship golf courses and 10 Har Tru tennis courts. I also should mention exceptional camp programs/daily activities, and a Family Entertainment Center for kids and teens that’s popular with adults as well. One especially good feature is a Family Entertainment Center adjacent to The Italian Restaurant so if they get fidgety, they can just pop off to the playroom and the parents can continue their meal.

Staycation South Florida
New spa suite

We had been to the Norton Museum to see the outstanding Chinese art collection during Art Palm Beach, so this trip went to Antique Row on US 1, shop after shop of not only vintage furniture and accessories, but also contemporary furnishings and jewelry. Later the same day it was on to the Worth Avenue area where I did some minor damage at Acento fashion jewelry, ending the day with an espresso in one of the garden courtyards and doing some serious people watching.

Staycation South Florida
New poolside beach bungalows

Be sure to have dinner at HMF, one of nine restaurants, which recreates the gilded age with a twist.  The area of the bar itself brought to mind one of my favorite bars in America, the King Cole at New York’s St Regis, and the bartenders do their part for the theme. Order a martini and they give the whole show,  making the silver cocktail shaker sing and fill the glass up to the top, completing the package with three super plump olives. The menu is about global cuisine and small bites which is a hit with locals and visitors, many from overseas. Don’t miss the Warm Brussels Sprout Caesar salad or the Gianduja Chocolate Torte with Caramel Sea Salt Gelato.

Staycation South Florida
Enjoying my full of caviar, creme fraiche and blinis, Sunday brunch in the grand Circle Room at The Breakers Resort

We ended our weekend with a late brunch at The Circle, a rotunda with a domed, fresco painted 30 foot high ceiling.  Live music, too. Find just about any gourmet specialty you could wish for – from caviar and blinis and a raw bar that alone is worth the price of the brunch to prime rib with the bones on the side (you can see me digging in to the bone), charcuterie and cheeses, and an entire section for desserts plus champagne and bellinis. At $105 per person plus tax and gratuity, it was worth every penny. Open Table named the brunch one of the top 100 in America.

Staycation South Florida
One of four swimming pools, this the lap pool, beachside

We left wishing we could stay another few days but alas, time to go home. The good news is that The Breakers is under a two hour drive away so we’ll be back soon — and in the summer, when rates can drop by as much as 50%, and include complimentary daily benefits.

Rates in season start at $699 for the main hotel and are $2100 for the Flagler Club; off season (May 1 to October 31) starting price is $369 per-room, per night (Sunday-Thursday), and $950 for the Club. There’s also a special summer promotion that brings with it a slew of complimentary daily benefits including: Full American Breakfast Buffet for all guests, Kids’ Meals, Tennis and Golf on the Ocean Course and The Breakers Rees Jones® Course. as well as savings on many of the resort’s amenities and experiences. For more details, click here.

 

Other picks in Palm Beach:

Table 26, 1700 S.Dixie Highway (T. 561-855-2660), a few miles from Worth Avenue, is a casual local hangout with very good food and well priced considering the location (entrees in the 20’s and 30’s). We were invited to dinner on a Friday at 6:15 and thought we’d be the only ones there. It was packed. Recommended dishes: horseradish crusted salmon (we liked it so much, made it at home) and their novel kale salad with pomegranate arils, forest berries, red onion, candied walnuts, black radish, and blue cheese with kumquat vinaigrette.

Belle and Maxwell’s café in Antique Row, a favorite with the designer set,  playfully stylish décor made so with all sorts of stained glass windows and serving  very good salads and sandwiches that can be shared.

Mark Borghi Fine Arts Gallery on Worth Avenue, serious taste and serious museum-quality art in the six and seven figures – names like deKooning, Wesselmann, Chamberlin, and Alex Katz. The piece de resistance was a Joan Mitchell selling for $5 million.

The Society of the Four Arts has a wonderful lecture series along with art exhibits and concerts. Earlier this winter I attended a panel discussion with designer, fashion icon and author Iris Apfel along with fashion designer of choice for Michele Obama, Naeem Khan.

Coming up, Palm Beach International Film Festival, April 6-14.

And then there are the consignment shops. Oh the consignment shops. Look for tomorrow’s blogpost on a guide to the best of the bunch in the new series, staycation South Florida.

Karen Escalera

Karen Escalera

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