A scenic drive down Ocean Boulevard, just minutes away from the famed Worth Avenue and the many vibrant destinations and luxury shopping the Palm Beaches has to offer. Photos courtesy; Four Seasons of Palm Beach
THE PALM BEACHES HAS IT ALL!
By Peter Williams
Video courtesy; ©Discover The Palm Beaches | The Official Tourism Marketing Corporation for Palm Beach County
West Palm Beach Airport is your gateway to days of sunny climes in the idyllic Palm Beaches filled with endless choices of activities to entertain the entire family with iconic hotels, eclectic restaurants, sporting venues, art galleries, and museums. Culture, Entertainment, Shopping, Dining, Polo and more.
The Breakers Hotel, with its roots from the late 1800s, is the grand dame of hotels in the Palm Beaches and is the place to be seen in town. Its opulent Italianate facades, glamourous entertaining halls, and intimate spaces to unwind beside the endless ebbs and flows of the breaking waves of the Atlantic Ocean, sets the tone for a memory-filled holiday. The Flagler Club, the ultra-exclusive boutique hotel within this 5-star resort, pampers guests with exclusive food offerings, luxury European bathroom amenities, and a range of personalised services, and would be home for my wife and me for the next few days as we discovered the Palm Beaches.
With some ten dining restaurant options, we were spoiled for choice. As the refreshing sea breeze stirred our senses, the choice of dining for the evening had to be the hotel’s Seafood Bar, as it overlooked the ocean with its embellishments befitting a superyacht. The seasonal menu showcased tropical marine fare, and stone crabs were in season which made for a delectable meal paired with a Sauvignon Blanc from to Connoisseurs Collection of sommelier hand-selected wines.
After dinner, entertainment in the HMF is a must as it is a ‘waterhole’ for the social glitterati in plush surroundings with an endless selection of cocktails, wines, liquors, and beers. Named after Henry Morrison Flager — the industrial tycoon who invested in Florida’s infras-tructure — the social club is one of the hottest gathering spots in the Palm Beaches, with the pumping beats of the resident DJ notching up the volume of pulsating rhythms as the night progressed.
Worth Avenue Shopping And Michelin Star dining
The following morning breakfast was at The Circle, a large solarium room with soaring 30-foot frescoed ceilings and murals depicting Renaissance landscapes with views of the ocean from the windows. After, we took the house car — a Tesla — to Tiffany & Co. on Worth Avenue for a morning of shopping indulgence. With too many cufflinks already at home, I enquired of the store manager what jewellery pieces and accessories men were now wearing, and he showed me a selection of brooches, with my eye catching a platinum diamond studded dragonfly. My wife was enamoured by the High Jewellery Collection by Jean Schlumberger, pointing out a piece, hinting for it to be her next anniversary gift. The Avenue is one of the most sophisticated shopping venues in North America with a blend of international and local names with clothing shops from Italy’s Loro Piana to the USA-based Maus & Hoffman, yacht builders, rare books, and art galleries, to name a few.
Famished after shopping, lunch was with friends at Florie’s restaurant at the Four Seasons Palm Beach whose menus are created by the three Michelin star Chef Mauro Colagreco. To accompany meals on its Mediterranean menu the resident water sommelier wowed us with a selection of specialised water ahead of our wine order. I chose Svalbaroi polar iceberg water for its taste of ‘snow in the air’ velvet-smooth mouthfeel. This water is perfect for mixing drinks and used in ice cubes as it will not alter the gastronomic taste of your favourite drinks, like a Bourbon Pappy Von Winkle’s Family Reserve which I ordered as a special treat for my friends to toast our long friendship over the years.
Sporting fun on land and sea
Back at the Breakers I worked on my swing at the John Webster Golf Academy with the resident pro, before heading to the golf course to play a few rounds on the fairways on Florida’s oldest golf courses where each hole offers a ‘different little twist’ to keep you on your toes.
As the sun began to set we joined a group of holiday makers on a chartered yacht for a sun downer cruise to enjoy the last flickers of sunlight across the gently rolling waves of the ocean. With our favourite spirits in hand we danced to ‘Margueritaville’ style tropical rhythms played by our onboard DJ. With the night setting in, we ventured further offshore as our yachting theme now moved from lively onboard action to a quiet cozy venue. Some guests headed indoors to play table and card games, while others, including me, donned wind breakers and selected rods to line fish for the prized catch of the night — billfish, which eluded us for small catch that we returned to the sea after hooking and landing on deck.
Culture and the Arts
The next morning we dressed up to attend the reception for the reopening of the expanded Norton Museum of Art design-ed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Lord Norman Foster. With a collection of more than 7,000 works from Europe, North America, and China including Monets, O’Keefes, and Picassos, the Norton has entered a new age of contem-porary sophistication. Indoor displays are complemented by a sweeping outdoor sculpture garden on manicured lawns, with exotic trees and colourful shrubs. The piece d’resistance could arguable be seen in the Chinese galleries as it pulled the crowds with its display of a rare 10th century BC jade rabbit pendant. So extensive are the collections, a family day outing is recommended to discover its many displays at leisure.
After so much walking around, we had worked up an appetite and headed to the restaurant on the top floor of Restoration Hardware, an innovative retail space over-looking Palm Beach, to dine at their Restore + Refuel in a garden setting under a magnificent cut glass domed ceiling. Furnishings are presented in a gallery setting spread over several floors accessible by grand staircases and lit by chandeliers in a decor appealing to villa owners. Lunch was Scandinavian themed with a range of smoked fish, enhanced with Mediterranean salads, and tasty American bistro style food offerings.
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Boca + Polo here we come
In the afternoon we checked into the Boca Raton Resort & Club, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel with arresting views of Lake Boca with boats bobbing in the surf. With access to the Commodore’s Lounge on the top floor, we savoured flutes of champagne while enjoying the views of the Atlantic Ocean, Intercoastal Waterway, and marina ahead of our spa treatment.
The design of the spa is inspired by Spain’s Alhambra Palace with its exquisite Moorish motifs throughout. My first treatment was a Moroccan bath ritual comprised of hydro massages and salt scrub in a plunge pool, giving me an energetic buzz. Next I had a Swedish massage with aromatic oils, then relaxed in the spa lounge for the next few hours before dinner, savouring herbal teas and reading from their selection of magazines.
Dinner that evening was at Lucca, a Tuscan inspired restaurant at the hotel — one of over 10 restaurants and lounges at the Waldorf — headed by Chef Adam Pile. We dined on the fregola followed by breaded veal accompanied by a smooth Tuscan Rossa red wine. Then we headed to Mizner’s Monkey Bar for cocktails and live music in the adjoining Bocce Garden, a perfect night cap after a leisurely day.
The following morning we headed to the International Polo Club in Wellington, first for a refresher course at the Polo School on polo “ponies”. Then with mallets in hand we had a friendly match in which both the men’s and female team scored even. On our way out as we headed to lunch we passed an arena with Gladiator Polo playing — a mix between Field and Arena Polo — where spectators are encouraged to cheer the teams on throughout the entire match. This match of shorter chukkas with less horses, in a smaller area, originated in Wellington and attracts enthusiastic crowds as it can be played indoors and at night, for the entire family to enjoy.
Pulling into the porte-cochere of the Eau Palm Beach Hotel we headed to the Breeze Ocean Kitchen and took a table overlooking the Atlantic Ocean with sunlight dancing over the rippling waves. In this relaxed setting of lapping waves we ordered from the menu inspired by the flavours of the Caribbean and Latin America, first with a seafood platter followed by sandwiches of grouper, lobster, tuna, and shrimp.
On returning to the Waldorf we took the hotel’s ferry across to the resort’s Boca Raton Beach Club. There, we soaked up the afternoon sunshine on the beach while attendants pampered us with hand and foot massages in our cabana — sheer bliss as the sunlight slipped away and dusk set in. This was a perfect ending to our stateside vacation in the sun. We will be back soon to discover more of the Palm Beaches with kids in tow and grandparents joining in for sunny days filled with smiles and lots of laughter.
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