Grace and Grandeur on Florida’s Gold Coast

Florida's Gold Coast

I’ve been hanging out in Aspen for nearly two weeks now.  I often spend a part of off-season here with my dad in his condo where he resides part-time.  We both enjoy this in-between time when the crowds have gone home and life is no busier than the patio of Mezzaluna on a bright, spring day.  (Still totally manageable.)  There’s also more to do and see here than in Telluride during the shoulder season, especially with Aspen Highlands remaining open an extra two weekends in April.  (More on that later.)

As our high-altitude sun melts the winter snow, however, I can’t help thinking about how nice it would be to find myself on a beach.  Thankfully I’m able to live many wonderful travel experiences through friends and contributors that dutifully report back to me.  So when I can carve out the time to travel some distance, I know exactly where I want to find myself.

A Colorful Cozy Nook at The Colony Hotel & Cabana Club

I recently sent my friend Peter, from Resort Maps, to The Colony Hotel & Cabana Club in Delray Beach, Florida.  He selected Delray Beach; I zeroed in on The Colony.  Both proved to be winning choices.  (Resort Maps exist in some of the most charming travel destinations in the U.S. and Peter was headed there on business which proved to me that Delray Beach was a place to report on.)  Known as an artists’ colony during the 1940s, Delray Beach is still considered to be a hip, trendy destination today.  I recommended Peter stay at The Colony Hotel & Cabana Club, an historic landmark built in 1926 that is a member of Historic Hotels of America (a clear sign of distinction!).  I didn’t know that this part of Florida’s Gold Coast exuded so much history and grace, but clearly there’s a surplus of it in Delray Beach as well as at The Colony where Old Florida meets today’s sunny chic.  One of the highlights of The Colony is lunch at the Cabana Club, an unpretentious haven of calm along the Atlantic where lunch is served to hotel guests and club members only.  Peter enjoyed a hamburger there with friends while I drooled over the pictures.

Boca Raton Resort & Club

He experienced an even more elevated culinary experience at Morimoto, a stunning sushi restaurant, headed by Masahuru Morimoto (of Iron Chef fame), located within the tony confines of the Boca Raton Resort & Club.  Boca—like nearby Delray—is steeped in history and the Boca Raton Resort & Club radiates all the glamour and glitz of its roaring Twenties era.  And then some.  Built the same year as The Colony by legendary architect Addison Mizner, this icon of elegance blossomed from a 100-room hotel (the most expensive ever constructed at the time) to a 1,000 plus-room resort now part of The Waldorf-Astoria Collection.  Modeled after a Spanish castle, I liken this impressive assemblage of buildings and outcroppings to The Broadmoor, the Grande Dame of the Rockies in Colorado Springs.  Fortunately I can speak about the Broadmoor from firsthand experience, although my Boca Raton Resort & Club information has come from a variety of sources including Carole Boucard, P.R. Director of the resort.  Carole recently chatted about Boca and her fine property on Travel Fun and the feedback from members of my audience was remarkable.  Both the radio interview and its announcement prompted many people to write in about their memorable experiences at the resort and its environs.  Clearly the Boca Raton Resort & Club ranks as one of America’s more treasured places of lodging.  And their selection of dining options places them as an important culinary destination along Florida’s Gold Coast as well.

Morimoto: One of Many Superlative Restaurants at the Boca Raton Resort & Club

Carole rounded out our program by informing me about some of the hotel’s great summer deals, many of which must be booked by May 10th.  I quickly thought about the often chilly string of days that typically occur here in the Rockies during July and August, the period so aptly named monsoon season.  For me, the current so-called mud season is just a small puddle to cross compared to those months.  I’m happy to hole myself up in Aspen as the warm days of spring emerge between a torrent of wet, snowy days.  But I’m thinking about more balmy locales nonetheless and Delray Beach and Boca Raton, both just a short distance from easy-to-get-to Miami, have recently been added to my must-see list of destinations.  And, of course, I’m a sucker for historic properties every time.

Porch Days Are Calling at the Boca Raton Resort & Club

The Colony Hotel & Cabana Club, 525 East Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, 561-276-4123, www.thecolonyhotel.com

Boca Resort & Club, 501 East Camino Real, Boca Raton, 888-491-2622, www.bocaresort.com

More Colony Quaintness

Suggested Reading

“Boomtime Boca:  Boca Raton in the 1920s,” by Susan Gill and The Boca Raton

Historical Society

“The Boca Raton Resort & Club:  Mizner’s Inn,” by Donald Curl and The Boca Raton Historical Society

“Skinny Dip,” by Carl Hiaasen

Boca Resort Dressed for a Wedding

Thank you to Bob Biener, one of my Travel Fun readers and listeners, who passed on the above photo (and many more fabulous shots) to me.  His cousin was married at the resort just recently.