Palm Beach hotels and restaurants heat up for 2021
Palm Beach is back.
While many of its top hotels and restaurants shuttered earlier this year due to the pandemic, and sell my house fast jacksonville most new openings were delayed, the famed Florida enclave is beginning to reawaken.
Vibrant new spots are joining refreshed favorites just in time to welcome guests for the winter season. Here are some of the more exciting new offerings to explore.
Hotels
When it’s completed in December, this We buy houses Jacksonville stylish 277-room hotel (across from the ocean and near the shops and restaurants of Delray’s Atlantic Avenue) will be one of the buzziest openings in the county. The luxe lobby is sure to draw a social scene, thanks to its terrazzo floors, sky-lit fountain and Monkey Bar outpost. A rooftop restaurant, Drift, will serve coastal cuisine, while a spa will offer everything from a salt inhalation room to hydro facials. The hotel boasts a magnificent pool, along with a set of luxury villas outfitted with private pools — perfect for longer stays.
This chic Palm Beach island outpost of the Nantucket, Massachusetts, boutique hotel finally unveiled its 13 rooms and 19 suites last month. The property is dotted with impressive art, including pieces by Robert Rauschenberg. Its restaurant, Lola 41, also made the transition from Nantucket, but guests who want to dine off-property can make the short walk to the Royal Poinciana Plaza (whose iconic surfboard Christmas tree and holiday decor will be reimagined this season by world-renowned mixed-media artist Ashley Longshore). Those who’d prefer to wander farther afield will have use of the hotel’s complimentary BMWs.
The rooms at this tony boutique property on Palm Beach island were updated earlier this year to make them brighter and more welcoming. But the hotel’s real draw remains its magical courtyard and seasonal French restaurant by Daniel Boulud.
West Palm Beach is on the rise as a destination, and this stylish hotel, which opened last February, has been leading the charge. Its charms include a spectacular roof with a lounge, a pool, yoga classes and views of the Intracoastal and Palm Beach island. Carnivores should book a table at the hotel’s signature restaurant, the chophouse Proper Grit.
Canopy West Palm Beach Downtown
Another entry onto the booming West Palm scene, this new boutique property from Canopy (Hilton’s lifestyle brand) stands out with a six-story living green wall set against reclaimed barnwood. Rooftop restaurant Treehouse — the highest in Palm Beach county — offers stellar poolside views along with live entertainment from local musicians on Thursday evenings. The Latino-Caribbean-inspired lobby restaurant, Banter, serves dinner on weekends only (for now).
Restaurants
Named after the tasty sea creature (which, like blowfish, is a potentially poisonous delicacy), this sophisticated new spot originated in San Diego, California, and opened in Delray, Florida, last September. Along with an array of fresh, sustainable catches (like coal-grilled cobia), the menu features sushi, ceviche (including lionfish), hot plates (try the butter-poached king crab legs with caviar) and entrees (whole steamed Florida pompano and grilled lamb chops with mint chimichurri).
Known as much for its clubbish social networking as its authentic French fare (including escargot, steak au poivre and coq au vin), this New York bistro opened an outpost on Palm Beach in October, with decor that twins its northern sibling.
The tony island’s most famed hotel, The Breakers, debuted a second off-property restaurant (the first was Echo) in addition to the eight it hosts on premises. Henry’s, on Royal Poinciana Way, is a celebration of comfort food, ranging from classics like beef Wellington and chicken potpie, to originals such as pigs-in-a-pretzel-dough-blanket.
Swifty’s — a favorite social gathering spot in New York that shuttered in 2016 and rose like a phoenix last season at the Colony Hotel on Palm Beach island — has expanded this year with poolside seating. Martha Stewart, Aerin Lauder and Michael Kors are some of the regulars who have enjoyed the restaurant’s meatloaf, jumbo lump crabcakes and other signature dishes. The Colony also debuted a Bluestone Lane cafe over the Thanksgiving holiday.
This bistro, which first won fans in Bridgehampton in 2001 before unveiling a second location in New York’s Flatiron District in 2008, unveiled its Palm Beach spinoff last February. While the COVID-19 pandemic forced the newcomer to close just a month later, it has now finally reopened for the season. Signature dishes like steamed mussels with white wine, roast chicken and steak frites Bordelaise have made the journey south, along with the New York tradition of meatless Mondays.
The main attractions at this offshoot of the popular Boca spot include live music and panoramic views of the North Palm Beach Country Club’s golf course and pool, not to mention the acclaimed healthy fare. Among the favorite dishes are quinoa meatballs on spaghetti squash, grass-fed short ribs with mushroom Bordelaise and “everything”-crusted tuna steak with warm tabbouleh.
This popular Delray restaurant — known for its dry-aged steak, homemade pastas, seafood and salad — is opening a second location on the West Palm Beach waterfront in early January. This new branch puts the focus on alfresco dining, with an outdoor pizza oven, bar and two vintage gazebos, along with a regulation-sized bocce ball court.
Beauty and wellness
The elegant salon and spa in Royal Poinciana Plaza is now bringing cult-favorite Biologique Recherche products and treatments to Palm Beach island, including facials, hand treatments and scalp therapies. A trichologist is also on hand to keep manes lush and healthy, offering procedures such as microneedling with LED lights.
One of the area’s most sophisticated oceanfront resorts, Eau Palm Beach has revamped its fitness and dining options to adapt to the COVID era. Guests can now book private “Peloton suites” (for spinning in the comfort of their rooms) and private cabanas for healthy bites near the beach.
It was always uplifting to exercise at The Breakers while gazing out over the Atlantic, but an update of the resort’s fitness center, completed in October, has truly upped its game. Get your chic sweat on with new Technogym cardiovascular equipment, an expanded outdoor workout terrace and a complete HVAC system upgrade, which uses ionization to help disinfect and improve air quality.