Sunny Florida

Crystal clear waters, white sandy beaches, pastel buildings, and oversized palm trees – read all about our 7-day trip to the beaches in sunny Florida.

I have to admit, the only vacation in Florida I’m used to are the Disney characters at Cinderella’s castle, roller coasters and days spent at the resort pools. When we planned this trip to West Palm Beach, I immediately was intrigued by all the beautiful streets, swanky hotels and serene beaches. Plus, with the weather being at least 20 degrees hotter than Toronto, you could say we booked this trip pretty fast to get away to sunny Florida.

FORT MYERS

Our first stop was in Fort Myers for about two days. We stayed in a gated community lined with matching homes and white picket fences. It felt like we were in a movie. Everything was in its place. Each bush was trimmed to perfection, each garage door was brimming with white shiny paint and all lawns were precisely manicured – nothing was out of place. We remained by the pool on our first day to soak in a little sun. We toured around Naples since it was just a 25 – 30 min. drive from the house and hopped in one of the bars for drinks and apps before our dinner reservations.

Naples was a beautiful strip full of charming restaurants, shops and ice cream parlours. At night, the streets were lined with twinkly lights along with every palm tree. It was a beautiful town and I highly recommend stopping in for a bite to eat and a leisurely stroll.

WEST PALM BEACH

After our two days in Fort Myers were up, we packed our things and made the 3-hour drive to West Palm Beach. We arrived around 3 pm and checked into the Mariott Ocean Pointe on Singer Island (a 5-minute drive from West Palm Beach). This hotel was situated right on the beach where locals and tourists could mix and mingle. On the day we arrived, the wind was quite strong so we were able to catch some locals surfing some of those waves.  That night, we decided to wander around, catch a bite to eat, and visit the local strip where once again you could find charm on every corner whether it be a bar, shop or Sloane’s Icecream parlour.

The next few days were all in the same (in a very good way), we woke up at a decent hour, ate breakfast, went down to the pool and lounged around, moving as little as possible. During the afternoons we spent some time walking up and down the crystal clear beach and white sand, collecting seashells and watching kids and adults run in and out of the water as the tides rolled through. By the third day, the waves had calmed down so I was able to brave the ocean. There’s nothing like a refreshing dip in that warm salty water. It was an amazing feeling and a great relief from that hot afternoon sun on our backs.

For dinner, we spent time wandering around the area, looking up local restaurants and trying out new foods. One of the nights that stood out in my mind was our dinner at BrickTop’s. But before we ate there we wandered the shops on Worth Ave. and stopped to have drinks at the Brazillian Court Hotel. This famous hotel once welcomed famous stars like Frank Sinatra and the Kennedy’s. Right across the street, we had dinner reservations at BrickTop’s, serving up seafood and steak fare. They make a mean Steak and Frites and the caesar salad to start was delicious.

BOCA RATON

There was one day that ended up being a little too chilly for a pool day so we decided to make that our day for venturing out to Boca Raton. This city is nothing like I have ever seen. Old money and trust fund babies call this city their home. Swanky pink hotels, multi-million dollar homes, vehicles that are worth more than all of our homes combined are just the norm when travelling through this neck of the woods. We slowly made our way to this area by having a delicious brunch at the Colony Palm Beach Hotel. 

If I didn’t have the pictures to prove it, you would not believe the decor in this hotel. Palm printed wallpapers and carpeting, walls painted in fresh pastel pinks, blues and green hues, tufted pink chairs – and that’s just the inside.

As we walked through to the outside area to have brunch, the lawn chairs lined by the pool each had brightly coloured towels perfectly rolled on each chair, pastel bar stools at the tiki bar, the roof of the patio again was covered in palm tree prints and the tables were all lined with checkered baby blue print.

Absolutely breathtaking the amount of detail that went into everything at this hotel. We were truly amazed and had to take a snap whenever we got the chance.

 

We wandered around for a bit, grabbed a quick sandwich from Bocca and decided to head to the beach for some fun and photos of course.

Before our next visit, we had to stop in at Sprinkles Ice Cream and try one of their world famous flavours. The verdict? The cake flavoured ice cream was amazing, but also very expensive.

After our ice cream break, we drove to the Breakers Hotel for some more wandering. This luxury beachfront hotel was outstanding. Established in the early 1920’s, this hotel has still kept all its fine detailing right down to every door and hallway. The grounds were perfectly trimmed and manicured and the courtyards were serene. It truly felt like we were in another era.

After wandering this beautiful hotel, we got in our car and drove towardst the Waldorf Astoria. The drive there was beautiful. Multi-million dollar homes with private beach entrances all line the highway as we drove towards another swanky hotel.

Once we arrived at the Waldorf, we were in amazement. This extravagant baby pink hotel with palm trees lining the driveway was something you would have only seen in the movies. It was breathtaking to the say the least. We stopped in to wander and to grab a drink. The inside was stunning, of course, it came with its own candy shop and several private restaurants. Outside, the hotel had its own private dock where yachts could park.

After a long day of sightseeing, wandering through swanky hotels and eating delicious food, we felt like we conquered a lot in one day. We ended our day trip with a quick stop at Saks Ave. and a delicious dinner at this pizza place that served up real fire-oven pizza.

 Our last day in Palm Beach was bittersweet, the weather was a pleasant 28 degrees and we just had a hard time accepting our vacation was coming to an end. Once in a while, a beach vacation is a wonderful break from fast paced getaways, and this vacation is one I think we all thoroughly needed. I would definitely come back and explore more, and even revisit some of the places. I highly recommend venturing out to this side of Florida to see for yourself just how beautiful it really is.

Honorable mentions:

Hotels

Mariott Ocean Point – where we stayed

The Brazilian Court Hotel – upscale hotel for drinks

Boca Raton Resort and Club, The Waldorf Astoria – pink hotel

Colony Hotel – brunch and cute decor

The Breakers Hotel – historic hotel to wander

Food

BrickTop’s – dinner

Avocado Grill – dinner

Rocco’s Tacos – dinner

Sloane’s Ice Cream

Sprinkles Palm Beach

Instagram-worthy walls

31 Ocean Ave., Singer Island

Boca Raton Resort and Club, Kids club

The Breakers Hotel, courtyard

Brazilian Court Hotel, pool area on white tufted chairs