Where to Travel Spring 2014:
Waterfront Getaways in the U.S.A.
In Search of… Tasteful Tropics
Palm Beach, FL
Class and cash on the Florida coast
The lush landscaping at Palm Beach’s Brazilian Court Hotel & Beach Club.
Vibe: Florida has many personalities, and love it or hate it, we still flock there, because it’s our shortest trip to paradise. Which makes a visit to Palm Beach even more special—this tiny barrier-island enclave has history, and classy wealth, and nothing to do with strip malls or Shamu. (You can cross the bridge for that.) The Atlantic is Caribbean-blue here, and all the architecture is straight out of the Mediterranean.
Stay: In 1926, a famed New York architect built the Brazilian Court’s first luxury rooms around a lush courtyard in the heart of town; almost a century later, the hotel still boasts a Hollywood-on-vacation vibe that’s blissfully more Cary Grant than Kimye. There’s a palm-shaded pool, mahogany furnishings, and an on-site spa from Frédéric Fekkai. In-season rates start at $499.
561-655-7740.
Eat: The Brazilian Court has an outpost of star-chef Daniel Boulud’s eatery, Café Boulud, which has an outside lounge that was made for pre-dinner cocktails. In town, Cucina Dell’ Arte is a low-key Italian restaurant that turns into a go-to nightclub.
One of the many tree-lined streets in town.
Robin Hill/Photolibrary/Getty Images.
Be a tourist: You don’t need to buy anything on Worth Avenue—Palm Beach’s shopping drag—to get buzzed on its high-end storefronts, colorful courtyards and beautiful people. Wind down at the Breakers, the historic hotel built by oil magnate Henry Flagler.
Be a local: Even in Palm Beach, the best things are free. The Four Arts Botanical Gardens are a colorful enclave of local flora built in 1938 to demonstrate to Northern transplants their new tropical landscaping possibilities.
Water time: The hotel is a few short blocks from the ocean, but book a sightseeing cruise with Majestic Princess Cruises. A narrated two-hour ride takes passengers by the historic estates and yachts of the well-heeled and the sea life in Lake Worth Lagoon. (You’ll see a manatee if you’re lucky).
Another option: Go westward to Naples, and stay at the newly renovated Ritz-Carlton Naples, which is oceanfront and has pools, golf, tennis and more. —Annie Monjar
Palm Beach’s most noteworthy pads
Star Search
Rush Limbaugh: The radio host broadcasts his show from this 2.2-acre estate, which features four guesthouses and a putting green. (He reportedly paid $500,000 in property taxes last year.)
Jimmy Buffett: This island-hopper has three properties in town—the last was purchased in 2013 for just over a million, likely as a guesthouse or, as the rumor goes, a surfboard storage facility.
Bernie Madoff: His manse was actually modest by Palm Beach standards—except for the 80-foot dock for his 55-foot fishing yacht. It was all auctioned off in 2009 as victim restitution.
Rod Stewart: Stewart’s bright yellow $12.5 million “bungalow” has more than 17,000 square feet and a private pool and beach.
