JUNE/JULY 2006

$4.99 US / $5.99 CAN

FLORIDAtravel & life

AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO KEY WEST p.32AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO KEY WEST p.32

South Beach Indulgences p.40South Beach Indulgences p.40Spoil YourselfSpoil Yourself

HOTEL REVIVAL30 New and Renovated Retreats

ORLANDO:Beyond theTheme Parks

HOTEL REVIVAL30 New and Renovated Retreats

ORLANDO:Beyond theTheme Parks

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3J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

CONTENTS• june/july 2006

40 South Beach in High StyleYes, you can have fun in South Beach even if you’re not Paris

Hilton or Madonna. We look beyond the ordinary, exploring

the top-drawer hotels and spas, sophisticated dining experi-

ences, noteworthy shopping opportunities, and unique

cultural and entertainment venues that make this sexy,

sought-after destination a must-visit for upscale travelers.

STORY BY JEN KARETNICK • PHOTOS BY JOHN REVISKY

54 Cracking the MarketFlorida’s native home design takes its inspiration from the

natural materials, unique climate and polyglot culture of the

Sunshine State. Whether you call them Vernacular or

Cracker, Florida’s traditional houses — with clapboard exte-

riors, wide porches and soaring cupolas — are experiencing

a revival as old homes are restored and new homes in the

traditional style are built. STORY BY STEVE BLOUNT

62 Europe’s Second WaveIn the past few years, European immigrants have taken

Florida by storm, redefining how we live, work and recre-

ate. There are Russian scientists in Gainesville, German

real-estate tycoons in Cape Coral, and Italian artisans and

hoteliers throughout the state. We introduce you to four

Euro-Floridians whose creativity and vision are changing

our lifestyle. STORY BY TAYLOR COLERIDGE

68 New & ImprovedSome of the state’s most venerable hotels and resorts

have recently undergone massive, multimillion-dollar

renovations, while a host of new luxury properties have

sprung up from coast to coast. If you haven’t been to any

of these upscale retreats lately, here’s what to expect —

and how to get the most from an in-state hotel stay.

STORY BY DENISE BATES ENOS

ABOVE: South

Beach’s pampered

pleasures

ON THE COVER:

The Ritz-Carlton

South Beach;

Photo by

John Revisky

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FEATURES

5J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

CONTENTS

FLORIDA TRAVEL & LIFE (ISSN 1555-2780; Volume 2, Issue 3, June/July 2006) is published 6 times, D/J, F/M, A/M, J/J, A/S, O/N, by World Publications, LLC, 460 N. Orlando

Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, FL 32789. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the express written permission of Florida Travel & Life magazine. Standard A postage

paid at Winter Park, Florida and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Florida Travel & Life, PO Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: In the US, $19.97 per year. Add $6.00 per year plus GST for delivery to Canada and $18.00 per year for delivery to all other foreign countries. All payments in

US funds only. For subscription information, call 866-836-7885 or 386-246-3335. Occasionally, we make portions of our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies

that offer products and services we think may be of interest to you. If you do not want to receive these offers, please advise us at 1-866-836-7885 or 1-386-246-3335.

DEPARTMENTS

6 State of Mind

Florida’s summer rains tell a story.

10 411

Culture: An American master in Fort

Lauderdale and a faux artist near Orlando.

Indulgences: Must-haves for fun in the

sun. Shopping: An Asian-inspired

decor store; shells go chic; and home-

made food you don’t make at home.

18 Get Out

The latest information on destinations,

dining and travel deals.

26 Weekends

Discovering Orlando’s unknown charms;

exploring the best of Key West.

86 Homeplace

New techniques make concrete elegant;

two Miami brothers proffer dashing

designs; a west Florida community

makes the most of its location.

92 Regions

Florida sizzles with hot summer action.

104 Floridiana

At the height of summer, nature shows

its majesty.

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6 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

EDITOR

Pierce Hoover

ART DIRECTOR

Emilie Whitcomb

SENIOR EDITOR

Patricia Letakis

MANAGING EDITOR

Rafaela Ellis

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Kelly Ladd Sanchez

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR

Jennifer Collier

COPY EDITOR

Matthew E. Miller

CONTRIBUTORS

Steve Blount, Beth Cook Ely, Denise Bates

Enos, Kristine Hansen, Jen Karetnick,

Beth Luberecki, M.B. Roberts, Rhonda

Ryder, Nanci Theoret, Steve Trivett

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Diane Bradford, Troy Campbell,

Paul Choyce, Robin Hill, Pam McLean,

Ronald C. Modra, John Moran, Moris

Moreno, John Revisky, Mark Roskams

AD SERVICES/PRODUCTION MANAGER

Krista-Lise Endahl

ADVERTISING DESIGN DIRECTOR

Suzanne Oberholtzer

PRODUCTION ARTISTS

Monica Alberta, John Digsby,

Lindsay Warden, Laura Peterson

ELECTRONIC COMPOSITION AND PREPRESS

World Prepress Services

For editorial or advertising

correspondence, write:

FLORIDA TRAVEL & LIFE

460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200,

Winter Park, FL 32789

e-mail: editor@floridatravelmag.com

fax: 407.628.7061

floridatravelmag.com

For Customer Service

call 866.836.7885

STATE OF MIND

Florida’s Rinse Cycle

Historically, of course,

this has not been the case.

Florida’s old timers knew

how to deal with the heat:

They built their homes

along waterways and coast-

lines to catch sea breezes,

added large porches to pro-

vide protective shade, and

designed cupolas and tall

windows to expel hot air

upward and capture each

fleeting zephyr. This type

of construction is called

Cracker or Florida Ver-

nacular, and you can get a feel for this

once-and-future architectural style by

reading Steve Blount’s story “Cracking the

Market” (page 54).

Another summertime strategy involved

dressing the part. Before air conditioning,

even bankers donned short sleeves during

Florida’s dog days, and anyone who had the

chance took an afternoon dip in the ocean or

one of the ubiquitous lakes and springs that

punctuate our state’s limestone façade.

But perhaps the single greatest respite

from Florida’s seasonal swelter was the

afternoon rain. In an era when windows

stayed open, there was nothing more wel-

come than the rush of cool air preceding a

three o’clock thunderstorm.

From childhood, I’ve loved not only the

daily deluges of summer, but also the entire

cycle of meteorological events that produced

these dramatic cloudbursts. By mid-morn-

ing, blue skies would fill with puffy white

cumulous clouds, their

bases turning ever-deeper

shades of purple as they

became overloaded with

water vapor. With literally

tons of water suspended

high overhead, something

had to give — often in a

most dramatic way.

Florida thunderstorms

are second to none in

terms of sound and fury,

and the statisticians have

awarded us the title of

lightning capital of the

world. At a young age, I’d sometimes

cower under the covers while the thunder-

bolts rattled the windows.

Later years found me lingering for

imprudent periods in open spaces, mar-

veling at the oncoming sound-and-light

show. After beating a hasty retreat indoors as

the first wave of wind and electricity swept

by, I’d often strip down and step outside to

receive a cooling baptism.

To this day, I relish the daily rhythm of

the rainy season and can’t imagine a Florida

summer bereft of periodic precipitation.

From time to time, my neighbors still wit-

ness the spectacle of a middle-aged editor

stripped down to his skivvies and standing

out in the driving rain, arms outstretched

with face turned skyward, welcoming the

arrival of Florida’s original air conditioning.

Pierce Hoover

pierce.hoover@worldpub.net

It’s easy to feel smug about your Florida address when the

Midwest is digging out from a February blizzard or the Northeast

is still seeking signs of spring in late April. But even those of us who

truly love the Sunshine State have a hard time singing its praises in

summer. In fact, the conventional wisdom is that without air condi-

tioning, our entire state would empty by the summer solstice.

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8 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

PUBLISHER

Denise Autorino, 407.571.4911denise.autorino@worldpub.net

ADVERTISING SALES

SALES MANAGER/EAST COAST

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SALES MANAGER/WEST COAST

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SALES MANAGER/SOUTH FLORIDA

Michelle Vejar, 954.522.5408michelle.vejar@worldpub.net

SALES MANAGER/CENTRAL FLORIDA

Athena Romanelli, 407.463.9433athena.romanelli@worldpub.net

TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE GROUP

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EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Barbara Lanning

ONLINE DIRECTOR

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MULTIMEDIA PRODUCER

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CONTROLLER

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CREDIT MANAGER

Dinah Peterson

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Sheri Bass

RESEARCH DIRECTOR

Heather Idema

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Dean Turcol

World Publications, LLC

10 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

411• style • culture • entertainment & life

On February 15, 1913, a group of American artists

staged an exhibition in New York City — and started

a revolution. Called the International Exhibition of

Modern Art, but forever emblazoned in art history as the Armory

Show, it was the first major presentation of modern art in the

United States. It scandalized viewers with its symbolist, post-

impressionist, cubist and Ash Can works by artists from around

the world, including Picasso, Duchamp and Kandinsky.

Although the European artists got

most of the ink, the show was organ-

ized by a collection of avant-garde

Americans who had met as students

at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine

Arts. Under the direction of their

forward-thinking professor, Robert

Henri, the group sought to capture on

canvas the realities of contemporary

life in all its unseemly messiness.

Their bravery in bucking the bucolic

trends that preceded them earned

them derision in the press, the ire of

many of their contemporaries and the

gratitude of generations of artists to

follow, who were thus enabled to

break free from artistic convention

and pursue their unique visions.

The exhibition’s chairman was

William Glackens (1870-1938), who

has since been lionized as an un-

disputed master of 20th-century

American painting. At least one of his

works appears in the permanent

collection of every major museum in

the United States, and no text on

American realism or impressionism

is complete without him. Floridians

can see why during William Glackens,

an exhibit opening June 29 at

Oh, Pioneer!Exhibit showcases American painter William Glackens.

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American realist:

Glackens painted

everyday subjects,

a revolutionary

concept at the time.

Have you ever wished your house

had more windows in the foyer, a

few angels flying on the walls or a

scenic view of the Italian country-

side in the bedroom? If so, here’s

good news: It’s all possible. In fact,

almost anything your imagination

can conjure is motivation for Elsie

Michielsens, one of the most

sought-after faux painters and

designers in Central Florida.

Don’t worry if you’re a bit short

on imagination — Michielsens has

enough to go around. She can either

bring your ideas to life or offer you

some of her own. Either way, your

home will never be the same.

Arriving in America 20 years ago

from her native Belgium, where she

taught art to high school students,

Michielsens immersed herself in the

Orlando art community. After making

contacts through visits to Orlando Museum of

Art events, she gradually began increasing her

freelancing ventures, painting murals and scenic

backdrops for clients such as Walt Disney World

and Universal Studios.

Eventually, Michielsens became the art

director of a production company, where she

built sets for Billy Joel, Elton John and Mariah

Carey, and continued to create large-sized

art for the theme-park industry. After 10 years

of 17-hour days, however, she

knew it was time for a change.

“The scenic department is

always last on the list,” she

says, “and there’s a constant

rush to meet the deadline.”

So Michielsens decided to

go out on her own again, focus-

ing on the residential market.

Specializing in faux finishes,

Venetian plaster, stenciling,

murals, original wall and ceiling

designs and decorative furni-

ture painting, she’s still busy —

in fact, she’s often booked six months

in advance. But as her own boss, she

says she can now work a manageable

eight-hour day.

Michielsens spends about three weeks

on each project, depending on what’s

involved. In any given week, she can be

found creating an amazingly authentic-

looking (and feeling) marble finish on decorative

columns or a mural of a Mediterranean town

surrounding a circular staircase. Kids’ rooms are also

in high demand. She recently painted a Florida

Everglades scene in a child’s bedroom, complete

with native animals peeking out between massive

plants and trees. “That’s the beauty of this work,”

she says. “I can express the unique personalities and

preferences of my clients in the design. No matter

what’s going on around them, they can look at the

art and feel a sense of calm.”

“Domed” ceilings are among

Michielsens’ most popular

offerings, she adds. Such

domes are actually illusions

created by the artist, and

often come complete with a

“faux” sky that lightens up an

entire room — regardless of

what the weather is like out-

side. — RHONDA RYDER

New Design by Elsie, Inc.,

407.491.7057

11J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale.

The exhibit showcases the muse-

um’s Ira Glackens Bequest, which

includes some 200 works in a variety

of media donated by Glackens’ son,

who died in 1991, along with another

300 pieces later donated by others.

Housed in the Glackens Wing, built in

2001, the show demonstrates how the

artist used traditional figure-painting

techniques to detail everyday subjects,

including New York street scenes and

women engaged in everyday activities

such as knitting and eating.

Many Glackens’ masterpieces,

including Cape Cod Pier (1908),

Sledding, Central Park (1912) and

The Artist’s Daughter in a Chinese

Costume (1916), are part of the collec-

tion, which is valued at some $50 mil-

lion. With their bold use of color and

almost photographic sense of fleeting

moments forever captured, the paint-

ings encapsulate the courageous

energy of American art at a turning

point. No art lover will want to miss

them. – RAFAELA ELLIS

Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale,

1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale;

954.525.5500; moafl.org

FLORIDIANS

True art: Elsie

Michielsens (above)

paints decorative

designs including

faux windows

framing lush land-

scapes (below).

Mistress of

IllusionA Central Florida artist will have you seeing things.

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F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E12

For decades, the seashell has

been Florida’s quintes-

sential tourist treasure.

Now it has also become one of

the hottest trends in upscale

décor. Whether they are

used alone, in combination

with other materials, or as a motif

applied to items made from glass,

crystal and other substances, shells

have become a mainstream accent

for high-end homes.

“Sea life has been the inspira-

tion for an array of home

accessories and furnish-

ings,” says interior designer

Shelly Riehl David of Riehl

Designs, Inc. From shell-

themed decorative accents

to seashell-covered archi-

tectural elements, shell

designs can be used sparing-

ly or freely to add just the right touch

to any interior space.

To achieve the ultimate in high

seashell style, you can commission

your own unique piece of shell art.

Tampa artist Heather Kendall has

built a booming business with cre-

ations made from crushed shells, sea

urchins and other materials she picks

up along the Gulf of Mexico.

Her company, Heather Kendall

Designs, offers custom-made chan-

Shell ShocksFlorida’s favorite keepsake finds a new function.

deliers, lamps, baskets, mirrors,

garden urns, statuary and wall

art. Kendall also uses shells to

design interior trim, fireplace

surrounds and even shell-

encrusted walls. Her shell

ceiling borders function like

crown molding, adding a unique

Florida twist to a classical

architectural detail.

Today’s shell designs don’t

have to be land-bound. In Dania

Beach, where yacht owners are

also getting into the shell

game, IK Yacht Design

offers hand-beaded shell

pillows, hand-painted shell

boxes and dishes, and a vari-

ety of tabletop items — hand-

painted china, shell napkin

rings and starfish-themed

spreaders — to set the mood

for a special sea-themed outing.

Why the popularity of shell designs?

Designer Riehl has a theory. “Shells and

coral provide us with a connection to

our world,” she says. — BETH COOK ELY

Heather Kendall Designs,

813.831.3322; elegantshells.com

IK Yacht Design, Inc.,

954.922.9220; Om22ik@aol.com

Riehl Designs, Inc., 561.829.8511;

riehldesigns.com

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During the years he spent opening Ritz-Carlton hotels through-

out Southeast Asia, Edgar West admired the exquisite, British

and Dutch Colonial-inspired style that defined those properties.

Beautiful teak wood, the finest bamboo, colorful silks, and sleek

celadon pottery were among the luxurious design elements

West longed to bring home to Florida. And now he has — via

his home-furnishings collection, East Indies Home.

Although they left the hotel business eight years ago,

West and his wife Tiffany often return to Asia, stopping in

Burma, Java, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand to search

for handcrafted armoires, desks, tables, chairs and beds to sell

in their stores in Naples and Sarasota. “Each piece is individual

and speaks for itself. They are not developed on an assembly

line,” West points out.

When British and Dutch settlers arrived in Southeast Asia,

they brought with them a fondness for traditional furniture

design, which they adapted to the region’s humid, tropical

climate by using indigenous materials. The Wests bring that

same interpretation to their East Indies Home collection. The

pair commissions artists to refashion centuries-old designs into

functional one-of-a-kind items that fit Florida’s open-air,

indoor-outdoor lifestyle.

Starting with only a few pieces, the Wests’ collection has

grown to well over 400 items. Along with furniture, the collec-

tion features an accessory line of intriguing mirrors, jewel-tone

silk pillows, richly glazed Thai celadon pottery, hand-woven

sweet grass baskets and Asian artwork. — PATRICIA LETAKIS

East Indies Home, 3380 Westview Drive, Naples;

239.643.3536; 11985 U.S. Hwy. 41, North Naples;

239.596.7273; 1312 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; 941.917.0701;

eastindieshome.com

Style watch: Shell

décor includes

lamps and shell-

encrusted moldings;

East Indies Home

(left) sells Asian-

inspired designs.

East by WestA Naples décor store brings the world home.

SHOPPING

14 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

Now that summer is here, it’s time to beat the

heat with the season’s coolest essentials. Use

this gear guide to help you have more “fun in

the sun” during your poolside and seaside

escapades. – KELLY LADD SANCHEZ

1. Sandal Flirty and fashionable, this Relish

sandal is perfect for a poolside party. From

Farylrobin: $123; 212.219.1211 or farylrobin.com

2. Sunglasses With these 100 percent UV-

protected wraparound sunglasses, you’ll be

made in the shade. From Chanel: consult retail

store for price; 800.550.0005 or chanel.com

3. Lightweight Lounger Just fold it up and go.

Weighing less than seven pounds, this ergonom-

ically designed lounger is great for a day at

the beach or pool. From Brookstone: $99;

800.846.3000 or brookstone.com

4. Beach Towel Lay out in style with this bright-

colored, soft cotton velour paisley towel. From

West Elm: $19; 888.922.4119 or westelm.com

5. Sun Care Summertime means less clothing,

more skin and a lot more sun. Protect yourself

with the Limited Edition Cruise Wear Set, which

includes SPF 20 sunscreen, lip protector with

SPF 8, and self-tanners for body and face. From

Origins: $25.00; 800.674.4467 or origins.com

6. Personal UV Monitor Bask without burning

by measuring the heat of the rays and calculat-

ing your personal optimal exposure time accord-

ing to skin type. From Restoration Hardware:

$79; 800.762.1005 or restorationhardware.com

7. Beach Cruiser Cruise the seashore in style on

this Woodside beach bike. With rust-proof stain-

less-steel spokes, rear luggage rack and upright

handle bars, this bike is all the rage. From

Kustom Kruiser: $449.99; kustomkruiser.com

8. Waterproof I-Pod Case Now you can listen to

your favorite tunes as you ride the waves. This

waterproof case is submersible to 10 feet and

includes a sport armband. From H2O Audio:

$89.95; 858.623.0339 or h2oaudio.com

Sun ’n’ SplashLook sharp this summer withthese hot accessories.

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INDULGENCES

F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E16

If you’re like me, coming up with dinner ideas can be a frustrating ordeal.

Don’t get me wrong — I love to cook. But when I get home from work,

I am either too tired to make dinner and clean the kitchen, or I just don’t

want to eat my same old recipes — again. Eating out is always an option, but it’s

not always the healthiest choice.

This is where Marni Poe, Melissa Slack and their busi-

ness, Let’s Eat!, come in. In their commercial kitchens, you

can make a month’s worth of meals in under two hours.

Tampa-based Let’s Eat! is part of the newest trend in

making our busy lives simpler, and the concept is quickly

spreading into a time-saving phenomenon. Opened in

August 2004, Let’s Eat! already has eight Florida locations.

“We have a projection of 300 stores across the country over

the course of the next four and a half years,” says Poe.

Wondering how it works? It’s easy. Each month, Let’s Eat! publishes a

menu of 14 new recipes. Before visiting, customers choose eight or 12 recipes

they wish to prepare, and when they arrive, all the ingredients are ready to go

in the Let’s Eat! kitchen.

“We’re your sous chefs,” Poe explains. “We allow you to be the executive

chef. We take all the grunt work out of it.”

The kitchen is set up in seven stations, each of which looks like a salad

bar. Each station is stocked with all the ingredients needed for two recipes,

already prepared — chopped and diced — and laid out. The stations are even

equipped with the exact measuring spoons needed for

each ingredient, along with disposable pans in which to

prepare the meals. Customers don’t even have to think

— just scoop or pour.

After combining all the ingredients and finishing the

recipe, you take the prepared meal to the wrapping station,

where it is labeled with cooking instructions, nutrition

facts, and side dish and wine suggestions. Then you put the

dish on your assigned shelf in a refrigerator and start all

over again until all your dinners are prepared.

All the while, you’re welcome to snack on hors d’oeuvres

and sip on wine in the evenings or juice and coffee in

the mornings. Then you just return home, put the meals in

the freezer and voilà — dinner is prepared for three nights

a week for an entire month — at a lower price than compa-

rable meals at restaurants. The Dr. Phillips facility (the

most expensive) sells 12 meals (4-6 servings per) for $219,

or $18.25 per meal.

“Let’s Eat! has changed my family life,” says Vickie

Meadows of Oviedo, a Let’s Eat! regular. “We don’t go out

to eat like we used to and there is nothing to clean up. I’m

normally not a cook, but here I am one.”

Like many other customers, Meadows and her friends

make an outing of visiting Let’s Eat! each month. Poe calls

it “productive, guilt-free fun.” — KLS

Let’s Eat!, various Florida locations; letseatdinner.com

Time saver:

Poe and Slack’s

business, Let’s

Eat!, simplifies

the lives of many

by taking the

drudgery out of

kitchen work.

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What’s for Dinner?A new meal-making concept simplifies your life.

FLAVORS

Quiz: Official Florida StuffUp in Tallahassee, our legislators have been working overtime for years defining

quintessential Florida for the rest of us. In addition to naming orange juice as our state

beverage, elected representatives have designated a host of other items as Florida’s

“official” you-name-it. Test your knowledge by filling in the blanks below.

Florida’s official state:

A. tree

B. animal

C. butterfly

D. flower

E. gem

F. reptile

G. shell

H. stone

I. marine mammal

J. song

If you scored: 10 out of 10 It’s official: You know Florida! 6 to 9 Pretty soon, you can

call yourself a native. 3 to 5 Keep your eyes peeled — you might learn something.

0 to 2 Where did you say you were from?

ANSWER KEY:A. sabal palm; B. Florida panther; C. zebra longwing; D. orange

blossom; E. moonstone; F. American alligator; G. horse conch; H. agatized coral;

I. manatee; J. “Swanee River” (a.k.a. “Old Folks at Home”)

18 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

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Wine is like fine art – complete satisfaction requires an appropriate

atmosphere. That’s why bar owners all over Florida have devoted

themselves solely to the smashed grape. We’ve searched high

and low and found some of the state’s most sophisticated wine bars, run by

knowledgeable sommeliers and wine enthusiasts who are dedicated to

enlightening the public about this beloved beverage. – KLS

Vino Miami

For Vino Miami owner Gigi Olah,

whose family has been in the wine

business for 42 years, it’s all about

variety. Olah rotates 50 to 60 selec-

tions of wine on and off her menu

each week, presenting her customers

with the opportunity to expand their

palates. The elegant bar, which caters

to the 30-and-older set, focuses pri-

marily on boutique wines, with more

than 400 selections in stock ranging

in price from $30 to $2,000. 1601

Washington Ave., Suite 110, Miami

Beach; 786.207.8466; vinomiami.com

Courtyard Wine and Cheese

The Rosemary Beach setting of

Courtyard Wine and Cheese is one of

the prettiest in the Panhandle.

Customers can enjoy their wine out-

side under the stars in a New Orleans-

style courtyard among tropical plants

and a fountain. The wine and cheese

lists are constantly changing — weekly

for the wine and daily for the cheese.

A purchase at the bar’s retail store is

always a nice option as well — the

added bonus is that, unlike most

places, Courtyard doesn’t charge a

corkage fee. 66 Main St., Rosemary

Beach; 850.231.1219; courtyardwine

andcheese.com

The Grotto

This charming, European-style wine

bar in Jacksonville’s posh San Marco

historic district has a cozy feel and

a non-pompous attitude. Owner-

Sommelier Chad Munsey works hard

to maintain the atmosphere, often reit-

erating to his staff, “We are here to

teach people about wine and not intim-

idate them with it.” With 375 bottles

(65 of them by the glass), the Grotto is a

top-notch choice when looking for a

nice place to enjoy an evening toast.

2012 San Marco Blvd., Jacksonville;

904.398.0726; grottowine.com

The Wine Room

The Wine Room in Winter Park near

Orlando features a state-of-the-art

wine-serving system. With 128

Enomatic wine-dispensing machines,

the bar claims to have the largest

installation in the world. Customers

can choose one-ounce, half-glass or

full-glass tastes starting at as little as

$1. Built in an old Bank of America

space, where the vault has been

converted into a cellar, this is the

perfect place to host private functions

and wine-education classes. Partner

Misty Green says, “We want to take

the intimidation out of buying

wine.” 270 Park Ave. S., Winter Park;

407.696.9463; thewineroomonline.com

GETOUT• destinations • dining • deals

Charlie’s Wine Cellar and Wine Bar

When customers walk into the dark,

clubby confines of Charlie’s Wine

Cellar and Wine Bar in Tampa, it’s like

stepping into a 1920s speakeasy. With

almost 750 selections, owner Glynn

Giacone is very excited to share his

wine knowledge. The intimate bar

often hosts wine education nights,

featuring a three- or four-course meal

from a specific region. During the

evening, guests learn how to pair wine

with food and make better wine choices.

533 S. Howard Ave., Suite 2, Tampa;

813.250.1967; charlieswine.com

Just GrapesFlorida’s wine bars proffer a variety of vintages.

Cheers: Make a

toast at Vino Miami

(top) or at the

Courtyard (above).

20 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

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OLD FLORIDA

At lunchtime, a steady stream

of visitors arrives by boat at

the Cabbage Key Inn. Many

come especially to sample the “cheese-

burger in paradise,” the inn specialty

that shares a name with the famous

Jimmy Buffett song.

But savvy travelers stay on to

book rooms at this Old Florida-style

retreat because it provides an escape

from the bustle of modern life.

Accessible only by seagoing vessel,

helicopter, or plane, Cabbage Key Inn

occupies the entire 100-acre island

between Useppa Island and Cayo

Costa in Pine Island Sound off

Florida’s southwest coast.

The island was uninhabited when

it was purchased in 1929 by Alan

Rinehart — son of American mystery

writer Mary Roberts Rinehart — and

his wife, Gratia. The pair immediately

built a house atop the 38-foot Indian

shell mound that crowns Cabbage Key,

but in 1938, they divorced. They sold

the island in 1944, and the new owners

turned the Rinehart property into an

inn. The island was sold again in 1976,

this time to the Wells family, who

today preside over the white wooden

Rinehart home, which contains the

inn’s restaurant and six guest rooms.

Island TimeCabbage Key Inn preserves a piece of Florida’s past.

Old Florida

charm: Originally

a private home,

the quaint

Cabbage Key Inn

is accessible only

by boat, helicopter

or airplane.

Though they have no televisions

or telephones, the inn’s guest rooms

do have private baths, air-condition-

ing and plenty of traditional Florida

charm. Mahogany-stained cypress

paneling covers the walls, and the art-

work reflects the inn’s waterfront

locale. Seven cottages — some of

which were built by the original own-

ers — are available for rent, including

a cozy one-bedroom cabin known as

the Dollhouse, which once served as a

playhouse for the Rinehart children.

Guests can dine on a screened porch

overlooking Pine Island Sound or in

the main dining room. In both the din-

ing room and the adjacent bar, visitors

have taped some 60,000 one-dollar

bills to the walls and ceilings. The bills

— bearing messages like “Go Steelers”

and “We’ll be back,” as well as the sig-

natures of famous folks like Jimmy

Carter and John F. Kennedy Jr. —

cover much of the available wall space.

For sun and surf, guests head out by

boat to nearby Cayo Costa State Park,

which boasts nine miles of undevel-

oped beachfront. They can also while

away the time by fishing, strolling the

inn’s nature trails, climbing the water

tower to watch the sunset or just curl-

ing up with a good book. Boats are

available for rent, and the inn’s staff

can arrange for chartered boat and

fishing tours to nearby islands.

Guests who arrive before 4 p.m.

check in at the dock house, and later

arrivals check in at the bar. And

forget about a room key — it’s

deemed unnecessary at this remote,

laid-back spot.

“Cabbage Key isn’t for everybody,

and that’s what makes it a perfect place

for some people,” says Ken Wells, the

inn’s general manager. “It’s a neat

island for people who want to come out

and escape for a few days and relax. It’s

a real escape from the helter-skelter of

your working life.” — BETH LUBERECKI

Cabbage Key Inn, P.O. Box 200,

Pineland; 239.283.2278; cabbagekey.com

22 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

GETOUT• destinations • dining • deals

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GOLF

So, your golf game is a mess. You’ve labored hard at

improving it, but nothing seems to work. You want

to play better — maybe to impress the boss, to avoid

dragging down the play of your links partners or just to

reward yourself.

For those who live or play in the Sunshine State, game-

improving resources are within arm’s reach. In fact, when

Golf Digest listed the top 100 teachers in the country, it

came as no surprise that 22 of them call Florida home.

Golf instruction is not for the faint of heart. But if

you’re willing to work hard, instructors from the

Panhandle to the Keys can help you improve your game.

Consider this: Greg Norman, Nick Price and Nick Faldo all

went to see David Leadbetter when their games got into

trouble, and even the best players in the world — Tiger

Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen —

have at least one swing coach.

The David Leadbetter Golf Academy is located at the

posh ChampionsGate Golf Resort just outside Orlando.

The center offers not only every imaginable high-tech

gadget, but a practice facility second to none and access to

two Norman-designed courses, both within walking

distance of the teaching and training facility.

Mike Adams, one of the most sought-after teachers in the

country, runs his own golf academy out of the Broken Sound

Golf Club in Boca Raton. The author of 11 books, including

The LAWs of the Golf Swing, Adams works with students

ranging from rank beginners to touring professionals.

Bob Toski of the Toski-Battersby Learning Center, also

in the Boca Raton area, was the first living instructor

inducted into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame. If you

are looking for a course in the basics, you’ll find it with

Toski. “We never want to create conflict,” he said. “We

want to help students to find their own way based on the

true principals of the golf swing.”

Another respected coach, Jimmy Ballard, held court at the

famed Doral Country Club in Miami for years but now teaches

out of the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo. There, he continues

to be one of the top instructors in the world, boasting past

pupils such as Curtis Strange, Seve Ballesteros and Sandy

Lyle. His videotapes, including The Jimmy Ballard Golf

Connection and The Fundamental Golf Swing, are among the

most popular golf instructional videos ever produced.

Located in St. Augustine, the PGA Tour Academy is the

only training center in the world that carries the PGA Tour

brand. Located in the shadow of the World Golf Hall of

Fame, it’s run by Scott Sackett and offers access to the two

courses at World Golf Village: the Slammer and Squire,

constructed under the watchful eyes of Sam Snead and

Gene Sarazen, and the King and Bear, designed and built

by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

And finally, especially for the ladies, the Bird Golf School

at the Mission Hills Golf and Tennis Resort holds women-

only clinics taught by former members of the LPGA. Located

in Howey-in-the-Hills, the stately and plush resort is under

the direction of head professional Sharon Miller.

So, you want to improve your golf game? Now’s your

chance, because it’s all right here. – STEVE TRIVETT

David Leadbetter Golf Academy, ChampionsGate Golf

Resort, ChampionsGate; 407.787.3330; leadbetter.com

Mike Adams Golf Academy, Boca Raton; 561.602.2476;

mikeadamsgolf.com

Ballard Swing Connection, Key Largo; 800.999.6664;

jimmyballard.com

Toski-Battersby Learning Center, Coconut Creek;

954.975.2045; learn-golf.com

PGA Tour Academy, World Golf Village, St. Augustine;

800.948.4653; wgv.com

Bird Golf Schools, Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort,

Howey-in-the-Hills; 877.424.7346; birdgolf.com

Respected golf

instructor David

Leadbetter works

with a student

to improve her

swing at his

Golf Academy

outside Orlando.

Swing AwayTop-notch golf instructors are plentiful in the Sunshine State.

Take Your PickThere are golf schools galore in the Sunshine State, but one size may not fit all.

It’s best to ask questions and find out if the school’s teaching philosophy fits

your personality. Remember, there is a big difference between summer camp and

boot camp. Investigate the following schools to see which one works for you:

Ben Sutton Golf School, Sun City Center; 800.225.6923; golfschool.com

Brad Brewer Golf Academy, Shingle Creek Golf Club, Orlando;

866.996.9933; bradbrewer.com

Dave Pelz Scoring Game School, Boca Raton; 800.833.7370; pelzgolf.com

Jim McLean Golf School, Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Miami;

800.723.6725; golfspan.com

Golf Made Simple, St. Augustine and Amelia Island; 904.460.8355;

golfmadesimple.com

PGA Learning Center, PGA Village, Port St. Lucie; 772.468.7686;

pgavillage.com

24 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

GETOUT• destinations • dining • deals

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It’s time to welcome yet another

Capital Grille to Florida’s steak-

house roster. This high-style

steakhouse has spread north, from

Miami to Fort Lauderdale to Tampa,

and now it’s coming to Orlando. And

that’s not the end of the line; in 2007,

the upscale restaurant will open in

Jacksonville.

With its elegant, Georgian-inspired

architecture and regal stone lions,

Orlando’s Capital Grille sparkles like a

jewel on the city’s most famous thor-

oughfare, International Drive. Just

steps from one of the nation’s busiest

meeting venues (the Orlando-Orange

County Convention Center, which

hosts millions of visitors each year),

the restaurant leads the way in bring-

ing much-needed high-end dining to

an area bustling with conventioneers

and business travelers.

Enter the restaurant’s foyer, where

highly polished marble floors and rich

mahogany walls create a relaxed ele-

gance, then turn the corner on an

impressive collection of private wine

lockers. A signature feature at the

Capital Grille, the lockers secure the

wine collections of prominent busi-

nessmen, high-profile athletes, local

celebs and serious wine aficionados.

For a $350-a-year leasing fee, mem-

bers of this elite club sample and buy

select wines, then store them in their

lockers to enjoy when dining at the

restaurant. Wine kiosks throughout

the restaurant house some 5,000 bot-

tles, and the extensive wine list of 350

selections fills two pages of a com-

manding, two-foot-tall menu.

As a perfect place for high-power

wheeling and dealing, the Capital

Grille honors community leaders by

displaying commissioned portraits of

the men and women whose efforts

have shaped the region. In the main

dining room, a picture of the late

Florida governor Lawton Chiles —

fondly known as Walkin’ Lawton

because he hiked 1,003 miles across

Florida while campaigning for the

Senate — hangs next to a portrait of

Osceola, the most famous chief of the

state’s Seminole Indians. Other note-

worthy figures include Publix super-

market founder George Jenkins and

Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the

preservationist who fought to save the

Everglades until her death at age 108.

Dinner at the Capital Grille should

begin with a Stoli Doli, the steak-

house’s version of a pineapple-

infused martini. The bartender places

Stolichnaya vodka and pineapple

slices in a glass container and lets

them sit for 48 hours before drawing

the vodka, shaking it up and pouring

this delightful aperitif.

From the appetizer menu, the

lobster and crab cakes — generous

chunks of seafood held together with

minimum filler — indulge the taste

buds. However, the dry-aged steaks

are the real reason for dining here.

Think flavor and tenderness, because

these hand-cut darlings are among

the best. Chef Carmine

Di Candia likes to jazz

them up ever so slightly.

How about a porcini-rub

Delmonico with 8-year-

aged balsamic vinegar, a

Kona-crusted dry-aged

sirloin, or a traditional

filet mignon with cipollini

onions and wild mush-

rooms? As for sides, all the

steakhouse favorites are

available: asparagus with

hollandaise, roasted sea-

sonal mushrooms, creamed spinach,

au gratin potatoes and a nice cottage-

fries-and-onion-strings combo.

When it comes to service, the wait

staff is sharp as a tack. And you won’t

leave covered with white lint because

the restaurant uses black linens. Try

sneaking out to the patio for a smoke

between dinner and coffee, and your

waiter will instantly take the cue —

serving your espresso alfresco. — PL

The Capital Grille, Pointe Orlando,

9101 International Drive, Orlando;

407.370.4392; thecapitalgrille.com

Where’s the Beef ?Why, throughout Florida, of course.

Traditional

elegance: The

Capital Grille

attracts discrimi-

nating diners

with its exquisite

dry-aged steaks

and impeccable

service.

Moon Over MiamiCalling all lovers: Throughout 2006, the luxurious National Hotel on Miami’s

South Beach is offering its “Moon Over Miami” getaway package. The two-night

rendezvous includes accommodations in a deluxe Cabana Suite (overlooking what

Condé Nast Traveler has called “one of the sexiest hotel pools in America”), a

welcome gift of chocolate truffles and champagne, daily continental breakfast on

your own private terrace and an hour-long couple’s massage. The package also

includes a unique romantic

twist: a private, catered gon-

dola cruise from the Miami

Beach Marina, which guests

reach via private limousine

from the hotel. Prices start at

$1,870, double occupancy.

Private time with your special

someone? Priceless.

National Hotel, 1677

Collins Ave., Miami Beach;

800.327.8370; nationalhotel.com

25J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

Updates on dining and lodging.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House Inc. (ruthschris.com) is building a

third Orlando restaurant, to be located in the same building as

its new corporate headquarters in Lake Mary’s Colonial Town

Park shopping center. The chain’s two other Orlando loca-

tions are on West Sand Lake Road and in Winter Park Village.

• The Omni Jacksonville Hotel (904.355.6664) has earned

AAA’s Four-Diamond Rating for 2006. Only 3.3 percent of

lodgings rated by AAA receive the designation. • The Hyatt

Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa (239.444.1234) in

Bonita Springs is the first hotel in Florida to receive the state’s

Two Palm designation as a Green Lodge, certifying that the

property has increased its energy conservation and pollution

prevention measures. • Meanwhile, the Holiday Inn Lakewood

Ranch (941.782.4400) has joined the Green Lodging program,

becoming the first Holiday Inn to participate. • For the sec-

ond year in a row, South Florida respondents in a Zagat

survey chose the Cheesecake Factory (thecheesecakefact

ory.com) as their favorite eatery in both Broward and Palm

Beach counties. The 103-restaurant chain has locations in

Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach Gardens, Sunrise

and West Palm Beach, as well as several other Florida cities.

• Grammy-winning music legend Arturo Sandoval has

opened his own Miami Beach nightclub, the eponymous

Arturo Sandoval Jazz Club (arturosandovaljazzclub.com).

The venue at 6701 Collins Avenue combines fine dining with

live music by Sandoval and his friends and associates, includ-

ing Dee Dee Bridgewater, James Carter, Joshua Redman and

others. Call 305.865.5775 for a list of performance dates.

WING TIPS

INNSIDER

News you can use on airline travel.

Orlando International Airport (407.825.2001) has been

named “The Airport With Best Customer Service Airport-

wide” by Airport Revenue News. • One reason for the honor

may be OIA’s new Clear Card system (flyclear.com), the first

of its kind in the country. For a $79.95 annual fee, frequent

flyers who provide certain personal information receive a card

that lets them bypass long lines at security checkpoints and

avoid random screenings. The company that issues the card,

Verified Identity Pass, Inc., expects to bring the program to 20

other airports nationwide. • Northwest Airlines (nwa.com)

has announced a new program called Coach Choice, which

allows flyers to secure seat assignments by paying a $15 fee

per trip segment. Customers can confirm reserved aisle and

exit row seats 24 hours prior to departure by visiting the air-

line’s website or a self-service kiosk at the airport. • Zero

Gravity Corp. (gozerog.com) has announced a deal with

NASA that will allow the Dania Beach-based company to

conduct up to 280 weightless flights a year using Kennedy

Space Center as its runway.

If you’re looking for Frank and the

gang’s old hangout, forget it. Miami

Beach’s Fontainebleau has a whole

new look — in fact, a whole new life.

The recent liquidation of just about

everything from the entertainers’ old

haunt — except the lobby’s priceless

chandeliers, which will be reinstalled

somewhere on the property when reno-

vations are complete — signals that

the end is near for the revered hotel.

But there’s no need to mourn. Say

hello to the brand-new Fontainebleau

Suites Miami Beach, a sexy, 37-story

beachfront tower with dynamic views of

the Atlantic Ocean and South Beach.

Situated on the south end of the

Fontainebleau property, the new hotel is

offering special rates through Sept. 30,

starting at $169 for a studio suite

and $296 for a one-bedroom suite.

Accommodating up to four people,

suites feature king beds and queen sofa

beds, marble bathroom floors, 32-inch

LG flat-screen televisions and fully

equipped kitchens. The 1,000-foot

stretch of beach is still there, and the

signature lagoon swimming pool is open

for business.

Watch for a complete relaunch of the

property in spring 2008. In the mean-

time, be among the first to experience

the Fontainebleau’s renaissance. – PL

Fontainebleau Suites Miami

Beach, 4441 Collins Ave., Miami

Beach; 800.548.8886;

fontainebleau.com

Follow the Rat Pack

26 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, A WEEKEND IN ORLANDO

can involve more than just standing in line to ride

Space Mountain at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. If you

have the willpower to fight the all-mighty grip of the Mouse,

you can break away and head 30 minutes east on I-4 to the

real downtown Orlando — the place where the locals live.

Currently, downtown Orlando is in the midst of a con-

struction boom. Its once-simple skyline is now cluttered

with construction cranes building luxury condo properties

like the Vue at Lake Eola, Paramount on Lake Eola, Miller

Residence and the Star Tower, which will boast Orlando’s

first residential rooftop pool. In all, more than 3,000

new units are planned, signaling a more metropolitan

atmosphere in the once-staid city. Another exciting devel-

opment is Orlando’s new City Arts Factory, which opened

in April. Shelby Norwich, board member for the city’s

Downtown Arts District, explains, “It’s going to be an

anchor for downtown arts. … It has galleries, a performance

center, and a glass-blowing studio.”

Despite the construction, Orlando

still lives up to its moniker, “The City

Beautiful.” When the construction is

complete, the town’s cozy feel will

remain intact, thanks to the city’s

centerpiece, Lake Eola Park, and the

surrounding neighborhood of historic

Thornton Park, where bungalows,

brick streets and towering, moss-

covered oaks recall an earlier era.

Orlando’s Old Florida character

dates to 1842, when American settlers

followed soldiers into Central Florida

at the end of the second Seminole

war. At that time, the region was

named Jernigan after Aaron Jernigan,

the area’s first settler. But in 1857, the

The city offers muchmore than its legendarytheme parks.

By Kelly Ladd SanchezPhotos By Pam McLean

WEEKENDS• orlando • key west

Unexpected Orlando

Spend the weekend strolling around

Orlando’s Lake Eola and Thorton Park.

28 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

WEEKENDS• orlando • key west

town was renamed Orlando in honor

of a soldier named Orlando Reeves,

who had been killed by an Indian’s

arrow at Lake Eola in 1835.

Back then, Orlando was cow coun-

try, and Lake Eola — 80 feet deep and

formed by a sinkhole — was a live-

stock watering hole. By 1883, however,

the lake had become a public park

where residents swam, fished and

sunbathed. Today, the park totals 43.2

acres (including the lake) and is one

of Orlando’s hot spots. From morning

till night, people jog along the paved

pathways that encircle the lake, feed

its swans and ducks, walk dogs, or just

stroll about gazing at the large foun-

tain at the lake’s center, which is

illuminated at night.

Just east of city center, trendy

Thornton Park has become the place

for sophisticates to gather. Although

much of the neighborhood is residen-

tial, a pocket of hustle and bustle

stretches along Summerlin Avenue,

Washington Street and Central

Boulevard. Lining the streets are lively,

colorful fashion boutiques like Zou

Zou and Marie-France.

The independently owned Urban

Think bookstore is the place for the

intellectual type. Be sure to check out

the art on the walls, which is crafted by

local artists. Comfy couches allow you

to curl up and relax as you sip coffee,

wine or beer from the shop’s café.

Almost every Friday night, the book-

store schedules a “happening,” such as

a poetry reading or art show, and peri-

odically the store brings in authors for

book signings or readings.

The restaurants in Thornton Park

are another reason for its popularity.

Many have outdoor seating, which is a

great choice in the cooler evenings,

especially if you like to people watch.

The most popular of the bunch is

Hue, a critically acclaimed, award-

winning urban bistro opened in 2002.

Hue has modern décor and pro-

gressive American cuisine, with a

menu that changes daily. The wok-

seared ahi tuna with a hoisin glaze

gets high points from diners, as does

Just east of city center, trendy Thornton Park has become the

place for sophisticates to gather, shop, eat and socialize.

Trendy treasures:

Thornton Park is a

hip gathering spot

for locals. Eat at

hot spot Hue (right)

for dishes like wok-

seared tuna (left);

shop at Marie-

France Boutique

for up-to-date

fashions (below);

or visit Urban

Think (bottom) for

the latest reads.

30 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

WEEKENDS• orlando • key west

the Pan Asian Chop Chop salad —

romaine lettuce topped with tamari

chicken, macadamia nuts and sesame

ginger vinaigrette.

Dexter’s is also a great dining

option. Casual but hip, this local

favorite has been operating in the

Orlando area for more than 20 years.

Menu favorites include the pressed

duck sandwich and eggplant napoleon.

While you wait for your meal, be sure

to ask for a basket of their cha-cha

chips with lava mustard dipping sauce.

If you’re in the mood for Southern

barbecue, follow the wafting aroma to

Wildside BBQ and Grill. Combined

with the smell of the pit smoker in the

rear of the restaurant, the sounds of

bands performing on the weekends

are sure to lure in any passerby.

After dinner, save room for dessert

at Il Gelatone, a popular ice cream

shop across the street from Wildside

and a few doors down from Hue, where

the gelato is made fresh daily from

Italian recipes. If you’re not in the

mood for ice cream, one of their semi-

freddo cakes or other unique frozen

desserts is sure to tempt you.

For luxury accommodations, you

could select the impressive Westin

Grand Bohemian or the boutique Eõ

Inn & Spa. And then there’s the

Courtyard at Lake Lucerne, a historic

Relaxing respite:

After a night at the

Courtyard at Lake

Lucerne (top),

which is loaded

with antiques like

a collection of

teapots (above),

stroll through

Lake Eola’s Sunday

Farmers’ Market

to sample a

panoply of tasty

delights (left).

bed-and-breakfast. Located at the

edge of downtown on the north shore

of Lake Lucerne, the Courtyard con-

sists of four buildings from different

eras — the Norment-Parry (1883), Dr.

Phillips House (1893), I.W. Phillips

House (1916), and one of the area’s last

true examples of Art Deco architec-

ture, the Wellbourn (1946). Centered

beneath the houses are two charming

courtyards, a favorite for wedding

receptions. Decorated with statues

and fountains, the quaint courtyards

are surrounded by a lush garden of

tropical and flowering plants.

Most noteworthy of the four

buildings is the Dr. Phillips House,

named after citrus magnate Dr. Philip

Phillips, who moved into the home

with his wife in 1912. Most famous for

pioneering the canning of orange

juice through the process of flash

pasteurization, Phillips was Central

Florida’s big cheese in the days before

Mickey Mouse arrived. Today, his

name can still be seen all around town

— on a high school, a philanthropic

foundation, a performing-arts center

and even a community of 10,000 citi-

zens near Universal Studios.

The Victorian-style Dr. Phillips

House is breathtaking. Guarded in

front by two lion statues, the yellow

building houses an exquisite collec-

tion of antique teapots in a first-floor

party room that can be rented out

for special occasions. But the bed-

rooms, with their whirlpool baths, are

the reason people favor this house.

The most-requested room in the

Courtyard at Lake Lucerne is the

Turret Room on the third floor of the

Dr. Phillips House, the highlight of

which is the cone-shaped, wooden

turret that soars above the king-size

bed. An antique chandelier hangs

from the turret, bringing a dreamy

quality to the room. As you drift off to

sleep, it feels as if you’re inside the

castle tower of a make-believe, story-

book kingdom.

After a good night’s sleep with

fairytale dreams, you’ll want to wake

up in time for the inn’s continental

breakfast, which includes bagels,

Guarded in front by two lion statues, the yellow building

houses an exquisite collection of antique teapots.

(Continued on page 102)

32 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

SAY “KEY WEST” AND MOST OF US IMMEDIATELY

take an imaginary trip to Margaritaville. Laid-back

days, hard-drinking nights and a cast of colorful

characters have long been the norm in this tropical out-

post. After all, the place was settled by pirates.

But these days, there’s more to Key West than peg-

legged marauders with parrots on their shoulders. This

sometimes rowdy town — also known for its tolerance,

quirkiness and relaxed attitude — has kept these

admirable attributes but has also chosen to fold something

new into its mix: elegance.

Key West has re-distinguished itself as a destination for

those seeking fine restaurants, upscale shops and plush

resorts. The good news is, everything elegant still comes

with plenty of casualness. And you can pack a lot into a

two-day trip.

Be sure to hit the town in time for sunset. The orange

fireball that slowly dips into the ocean to signify day’s end

is Key West’s main attraction. The most popular place for

the sunset ritual is Mallory Square, located at the north

48 Hours in Key Westend of Duval Street in Old Town. If

you’ve never experienced this scene

— chock full of performers such as the

Southernmost Bagpiper, Golden Elvis

and his sidekick, Silver Man, as well

as many descendants of the above-

mentioned marauders — you may at

least want to stroll through the

crowd. And be advised — there is

always a crowd. For a more intimate

experience, head to the rooftop deck

at the Hilton Resort & Marina that’s

connected to Mallory Square and set-

tle in with a fruit-topped piña colada.

Key West boasts a vast array of

fine-dining choices, and Pisces is on

every local’s A-list. This boutique

seafood restaurant is the updated ver-

sion of Café des Artistes, which

opened in 1983. The owners changed

Spend two days in acasually elegant way.

By M.B. RobertsPhotos by Ronald C. Modra

WEEKENDS• orlando • key west

Today’s Key West offers charming shops, sunset

sails and nature’s bounty — along with a generous

dose of that famous casual hospitality.

34 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

WEEKENDS• orlando • key west

the name but kept many of the popu-

lar menu items, notably the award-

winning Lobster Tango Mango. New

additions include the scrumptious

Pisces Aphrodite pastry. Only here

can you dine by candlelight in the

company of such notables as Marilyn

Monroe, Chairman Mao and Liz

Taylor, part of the impressive collec-

tion of signed Andy Warhol originals

(including one of his famed paintings

of Campbell’s tomato soup cans) that

line the walls.

When you simply can’t take another

bite of mouthwateringly tart Key lime

pie, head for the Pier House Resort at

the corner of Duval Street and the

Gulf of Mexico, where you’ll find

more than just a place to sleep. For a

bona fide splurge, book the Sunset

Suite, a luxurious set of rooms that

you may literally get lost in. The two-

bedroom suite, which spans the

entire fifth floor, offers panoramic

views of the water and the resort’s

lush bougainvillea- and frangipani-

filled gardens (not to mention a full

bar and a Jacuzzi in the master bath).

If you wake refreshed and ready for

an adventure, a day of sport fishing

will fill the bill. Key West is famous for

its deep-sea fishing, and guides also

take anglers out to the flats for some-

what mellower half- or full-day trips

in search of bonefish, permit and tar-

pon. Some of the best operate out of

the Saltwater Angler located at the

Key West Hilton Marina.

This impressive facility — with

more than 4,000 square feet of

Shimano rods, Orvis reels, gifts and

high-quality outdoor clothing from

Patagonia, Columbia and Teva — is

more than just a bait shop.

After fishing, head back to the Pier

House for some well-earned relax-

ation at the Caribbean Spa. Even bet-

ter, have the concierge arrange for an

in-suite service such as the Caribbean

Coma massage, an 80-minute indul-

gence featuring a combination of

reflexology and paraffin treatments.

Wind up the perfect day with din-

ner at Louie’s Backyard on Waddell

Avenue, where you just might see

Jimmy Buffett enjoying a mojito on

the porch. Take a seat in the private

upstairs dining room, which opens

onto a balcony overlooking the

Atlantic, and treat yourself to the blue

crab gratin appetizers and conch frit-

ters or, if you’ve had enough of the sea,

the grilled Caribbean spice-rubbed

New York steak. After your meal, walk

outside to Louie’s famous Afterdeck,

arguably the most romantic spot in

town, for a moonlit after-dinner drink.

Pick your pleasure:

Resorts like the

Pier House (top

left) offer posh

amenities, but

casual chic still

rules at Louie’s

Backyard (top

right) and Duval

Street’s artists’

studios.

Wind up the perfect day with dinner at Louie’s Backyard on Waddell Avenue,

where you just might see Jimmy Buffett enjoying a mojito on the porch.

36 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

WEEKENDS• orlando • key west

If sleeping late isn’t too tempting,

head to the Key West Golf Club on

Stock Island for a round of play. It’s

worth the trip just to take in the

sights; after all, how often can you

hit the links alongside palm and

mangrove forests populated by

herons, egrets and pelicans, or pass a

pond where tarpon actually roll on

the surface?

Next, head back to the corner of

Whitehead and Olivia streets in Old

Town to tour the Ernest Hemingway

House, the former residence of Key

West’s most famous novelist. A high-

light is “Papa’s” studio, a vibrant room

filled with deer heads and his old

Royal typewriter. Outside, the famed

six-toed cats, said to be descendants

of Papa’s pets, roam freely.

If Hemingway’s decor leaves you

longing for some tropical-inspired art

and furnishings, make upper Duval

Street your next stop. Here, several

galleries — including Gingerbread

Square on Duval and Lucky Street

on White — will tempt you with

their unique collections of paint-

ings, sculpture and handblown glass.

For art you can wear, hit Hands

On Gallery, which features chic, one-

of-a-kind jewelry and clothing,

including luxurious pieces made of

hand-woven silk, or visit Fast Buck

Freddie’s, known as the “tropical

Bloomingdales,” which features …

Past perfect: Along

Key West’s cobbled

streets (above),

historic buildings

mesh seamlessly

with quaint shops;

attractions like the

Hemingway House

(right) preserve the

island’s history.

everything! Just follow the whimsi-

cal, theatrical window displays.

Before long, it’s time again for the

day’s main event. Without a doubt,

one of the most exclusive and sublime

spots in Key West from which to

watch the sunset is the new, seven-

acre resort on Sunset Key, a private

island just 500 yards across the har-

bor from Mallory Square and accessi-

ble only by ferry.

For an even more exclusive expe-

rience, why not watch the sun go

down from an Adirondack chair on

the veranda of your new $3 million

home? Luxurious residences have

become Key West’s latest draw, and

the market has never been hotter.

If you’re not quite ready to take the

real-estate plunge, the next best thing

is Danger Charters’ two-hour “Wind &

Wine” sunset cruise, where fine wines

(current Wine Spectator award win-

ners), imported beer and delicious

snacks are served aboard a 65-foot

schooner as it sails around the island.

Now, your two-day visit to the

“Conch Republic” is complete. But as

the sun hits the horizon and slides

slowly into the ocean, you just might

want to go around again.

• For local information, see page 102.

Key West has re-distinguished itself as a destination for those

seeking fine restaurants, upscale shops and plush resorts.

40 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

B Y J E N K A R E T N I C K • P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y J O H N R E V I S K Y

SOUTH BEACHHIGH STYLEin

TAKING THE PULSE OF FLORIDA’S SEXIEST STRIP.

The Setai; Hotel Victor (opposite)

IF I WERE TO PEN A PRESS RELEASE ABOUT MIAMI’S SOUTH

BEACH, THE HEADLINE WOULD BE THE EASIEST PART. “NOT

DEAD YET,” I MIGHT WRITE. “BEYOND THE BANANA REPUBLIC”

COULD BE ANOTHER. “SEX ON THE BEACH,” WHICH OF COURSE

IS THE NAME OF A COCKTAIL, MIGHT WORK. OR MY FAVORITE,

WHICH APPLIES TO EVERYTHING: “ALL GROWN UP.”

43J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

All four display some not-so-subtle irony relating to

Miami’s eclectic but decidedly vibrant population; the

collective society, history, politics and lifestyle of this place

are among the most unusual in the United States. But only

the last title really captures the yin-yang character of this

one-mile-square Art Deco District within Miami-Dade

County, which has earned itself such racy monikers as

“the American Riviera.”

Perhaps that’s because I grew up on South Beach,

moving to the funky techno-beat heart of it back in 1992,

when the first wave of renovation had just broken, and

moving only slightly north eight years later. Now, as I

look at the coastal skyline, I see historic hotels dwarfed

by South Pointe’s towering high-rises and the swaying

cranes building the next generation of skyscrapers —

living spaces with breathtaking views of Miami’s signature

aqua waters and white sands, and with million-dollar

price tags. Factor in a wave of renovated high-end hotels,

and a new sense of style and glamour emanates from this

beach destination.

HIP HOTEL HOT SPOTSThe talk of the town is the striking Hotel Victor, the first

on Ocean Drive to succeed in replicating the Collins

Avenue beach resorts that debuted in the ’90s. In the past,

Ocean Drive’s renovated Art Deco hotels have been mere

rooms to let — albeit with varying degrees of comfort. But

Hotel Victor epitomizes urban glamour. Its 91 rooms and

suites are luxuriously appointed with open bathrooms

featuring infinity-edge soaking tubs and outdoor rain

showers. For more water, immerse yourself in the

rooftop’s raised, rimless ocean-view pool or head to the

full-service fitness center and the 6,000-square-foot V

Spa, complete with a Hammam, or Turkish sauna. And for

those who forget their topless bathing suits (an example

of how SoBe lives up to its “American Riviera” nickname),

a Neiman Marcus personal shopper is on call via a one-

touch button feature in each room.

On the one hand, Hotel Victor is showy and obvious —

the musical tank of live jellyfish in the V Bar is one decora-

tive example. But on the other hand, it incorporates all the

Urban glamour:

The Hotel Victor

epitomizes the hip,

modern ethos of

South Beach with

its fun, funky

lobby furniture

(left) and the

stylish, East-

meets-West cuisine

in Chef James

Wierzelewski’s Vix

restaurant (above).

44 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

THE SOCIETY, HISTORY, POLITICS AND LIFESTYLE OF SOUTH BEACH ARE

AMONG THE MOST UNUSUAL IN THE UNITED STATES, EARNING THE

ONE-MILE-SQUARE DISTRICT THE MONIKER “THE AMERICAN RIVIERA.”

just-plain-fun elements that we love about South Beach. At

V Bar, you’ll find an equally showy, ever-evolving drink

menu — lychee martinis, grape mojitos, mango caipirinhas.

Beyond V Bar is Vix, easily the swankiest new spot on

the fine-dining landscape. Chef James Wierzelewski’s

breathtaking East-West menu traces spice routes, employ-

ing only the best of everything. Try the baked rock shrimp

appetizer (with sriracha crab stuffing and hot-and-sour

vinaigrette) and a main course of pan-roasted kurobuta

pork loin with honey-spiced sweet potatoes, apple-nut

salad and pan jus.

End your meal with an exotic Kopi Luwak espresso.

Served with a certificate of authenticity so you know it’s

the real thing, this coffee from Sumatra in the South

Pacific is the most expensive in the world — $300 or more

per pound — and no doubt the weirdest. The coffee beans

are gathered from the waste of small, civit-like mammals

called luwaks, who live and feed in coffee trees. After a

luwak eats them, the beans undergo various chemical reac-

tions but stubbornly refuse to break down. Once they’re

eliminated (in the usual way), the beans are gathered,

cleaned (thankfully) and roasted into a coffee that tastes

something like merlot. Because only about 500 pounds are

gathered per year, Kopi Luwak ranks as a delicacy.

For the ultimate in elegant sophistication (as well as

price), turn to the Setai. At the nearly year-old resort — a

complete renovation of the eight-story, 1936 Dempsey

Vanderbilt Hotel, an Art Deco landmark — the ultra-

luxurious penthouse suite runs $25,000 per night.

Hotelier Adrian Zecha built his elegant Eastern oasis

with top-of-the-line materials including Shanghai brick,

bronze, teak, and Asian art and artifacts that lend a rare

serenity to hectic South Beach.

The Setai focuses on solitude, and its exotic Eastern spa

treatments promise to restore mind, body and soul. If

in-room rain showers, Dux beds with pure Irish linens and

Lavazza espresso machines can’t tempt you to spend the

night, at least have a drink in one of the courtyard’s sunken

“pods” or around one of the three pools. Or make a dinner

reservation at the Restaurant at the Setai, where lavish

ordering is practically a requirement. Chef Shaun Hergatt

oversees the open, trans-ethnic kitchen, which empha-

sizes Indian, pan-Asian and Australian dishes and delivers

such delicacies as salt-pressed Tasmanian ocean trout

and kalamansi dressing with nashi pear and daikon

sprouts; stone-oven pizza bianca with shaved seasonal

black truffles; and Australian Wagyu beef.

No hotel chain is better at adapting to place than the

Ritz-Carlton, an outpost of which opened on South Beach

in late 2003. Situated directly on the sands, the oceanfront

resort incorporated some signature exterior elements of

the DiLido Hotel, a 1953 Morris Lapidus-designed Deco

Eastern oasis

(clockwise from

above left): The

year-old Setai,

located in the com-

pletely renovated

1936 Dempsey

Vanderbilt Hotel,

offers Eastern-

inspired spa

treatments, three

pools flanked by

towering palms,

and eye-catching

displays of

Asian-influenced

art and architecture.

Zinio

page=45

46

Puttin’ on the Ritz

(clockwise from

right): The Ritz-

Carlton South

Beach, which

opened in 2003,

has set a new

standard for

pampering with

amenities like a

poolside tanning

butler, the DiLido

Beach Club’s

creative Mediter-

ranean cuisine,

and an Esther

Williams-inspired

synchronized

swimming show.

47J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

landmark. The hotel’s Lapidus Lounge, one of the city’s

hottest jazz clubs, is an inspired gathering place for those

left cold by the Mynt-Privé-Mansion club circuit of celeb

and fashion-model sightings.

That doesn’t mean the Ritz isn’t South Beach hip, how-

ever. The dining — from the deconstructed dishes provided

by the creative young chef John Suley at Americana to

the Mediterranean “sun” cuisine at the Moroccan-

inspired DiLido Beach Club (SoBe’s only oceanfront

restaurant) to the much-anticipated arrival of Michelin

star chef David Bouley’s Evolution this summer — is

certainly cutting-edge.

Then there’s tanning butler Malcolm Siciak, whose sole

mission is to stroll the beach and pool from noon to 4 p.m.

Friday through Sunday with a holster of sunscreen to

slather on guests’ hard-to-reach areas. If lounging on private

daybeds overlooking the azure Atlantic while enjoying a

brief oil massage isn’t thrilling enough, just raise your

head; every Saturday at 4 p.m., a synchronized swimming

performance takes place in the elevated pool. Best of all, you

don’t have to be a Ritz guest to enjoy either Siciak’s services

or the Esther Williams-inspired show; the public is welcome

to partake. You can even rent a Ritz beach chair and make

the sands near Lincoln Road your sun-worshipping spot.

With 376 guest rooms, including those in two poolside

lanai wings that evoke early Miami Beach resorts, the Ritz-

Carlton South Beach offers more space than most Art Deco

District venues. Its 16,000-square-foot spa — the largest on

48 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

FOR A DOSE OF CULTURE, THE RENOVATED SAGAMORE HOTEL IS A CIVILIZED

THROUGHOUT INCLUDES ORIGINAL PIECES IN EVERY ROOM, REPRESENTING

49J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

CHOICE. THE MODERN-ART COLLECTION HUNG

SOME 26 CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS.

South Beach and the only Mobil Four-Star spa in the area —

features exclusive La Maison de Beauté Carita services and

products, as well as signature Prada Spa treatments.

For a dose of culture, the just-renovated Sagamore

Hotel is a civilized choice. There’s the requisite infinity

pool, a forthcoming spa and all sorts of delicious ameni-

ties. But what sets this latest luxe boutique hotel apart is

that it was designed to operate as much as a museum as a

lodging. The modern-art collection hung throughout

includes original pieces in every room; some 26 renowned

contemporary artists are represented.

Those not on the A-list can leave the chic lobby bar,

with its pineapple martinis and freshly made mojitos, to

the serious scene setters. A few steps up and you’re in the

realm of Social Miami, a new restaurant owned by Jeffrey

Chodorow of China Grill Management. Chodorow recruited

chef Michelle Bernstein (who recently opened Michy’s on

mainland Miami’s Upper East Side) to consult on the

menu with chef Sean Mohammed. The result is a fabulous

collection of small plates ranging from Asian-inspired

chicken wing lollipops to seared foie gras and sweet plan-

tain sandwiches with rum caramel and candied pecans to

sinfully good deviled eggs with truffle oil and caviar. (Don’t

worry: You can burn off a few of those calories playing

billiards in the lush game room.)

A-list attitude: The renovated Sagamore Hotel (left) pairs sleek

furnishings with original contemporary art hung throughout public

areas and guest rooms. Chef Sean Mohammed (above) creates

exceptional small plates at the Social Miami restaurant.

50 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

For seasoned South Beach visitors, Ian Schrager’s ever-

popular Delano Hotel — with its dramatic lobby of billow-

ing white draperies and vignette-inspired sitting areas, not

to mention its poolside party scene — is always an option.

Chef Claude Troisgros’ French-Caribbean Blue Door

restaurant and the eternally white Agua at Delano Spa are

still on the area’s most-wanted list. The neighboring Shore

Club, Raleigh Hotel and National Hotel also keep pace as

A-list choices.

WHERE TO EAT NOWSplurge dining is the watchword at finer restaurants-of-

the-moment all over South Beach. And it’s worth borrow-

ing from the kids’ college fund to eat at Prime One Twelve,

where the aged steaks and stuffed lobsters are good

enough — and huge enough — to make regulars out of

celeb-athletes like Shaquille O’Neal and Hulk Hogan. To

get an ersatz spa treatment along with dinner, consider

Afterglo, where the fare is called “beauty cuisine” and has

been selected with cellular health in mind.

Not every SoBe food experience must be so deliberated.

Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road, the area’s famous pedestrian

boulevards, have so many sidewalk cafes it’s hard to see

cement. Consider a bite at the always-bustling Sushisamba

Dromo; while its blend of Japanese, Brazilian and

Peruvian cuisines sounds a bit odd, when sashimi meets

tiraditos, the results are explosive.

Chef-proprietor Jonathan Eismann’s Pacific Time is a

fine-dining, pan-Asian mainstay that’s just as impressive

today as when it debuted 13 years ago. His fish dishes,

featuring local catches, are perfectly suited to both the

climate and his vast wine list. At the Van Dyke Café, jazz

vocalists entertain in the upstairs salon most nights.

Outdoors, the café is a reliable oasis, especially perfect

for that late-night omelet or plate of charcuterie after a

concert at the nearby Lincoln Theatre.

SHOP-WORTHY STORESIn the 1950s, Morris Lapidus designed the eight-block Art

Deco pedestrian mall called Lincoln Road as the Fifth

Avenue of the South. Fifty-odd years later, Lincoln Road

and its cross streets once again comprise the pre-eminent

shopping district for everything from funky objets d’art to

original, high-end jewelry.

Deco delights:

The showstopper

pool at the

National Hotel

(above) recalls

Miami Beach’s

heyday, when Art

Deco buildings

(opposite bottom)

rose together

along the strip.

Today, chic

restaurants like

Afterglo proffer

“beauty cuisine”

(opposite top)

that’s as good for

your body as it is

for your palate.

51J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

FOR THE FOODIESouth Beach A-list hangouts offer glorious water views, premier

people-watching perches, Latin-inspired cuisine and more. For a

vista, head to o-R-o, located above the casual Monty’s at the Miami

Beach Marina. This upscale steak-and-seafood house is a sumptu-

ous haunt, done up in white ostrich, that offers excellent sight lines

of Biscayne Bay and Government Cut. Try the filet mignon with foie

gras butter or the updated lobster thermidor.

Lincoln Road is the obvious choice for settling in and scanning

the eclectic crowds from an outdoor café. For the best Belgian

mussels around, it’s Le Bon, where you’ll find seven different sauce

pots of mussels and crunchy, greaseless frites (served with rich

mayonnaise). Pair the seafood with an imported Belgian beer and

watch the show.

Finding a Latin kitchen in Miami is simple. Book yourself at Ola

on Ocean, a high-end lounge where chef-proprietor Douglas

Rodriguez’s trademark is Nuevo Latino cuisine. Highlights include

foie gras and fig empanadas with chocolate cigars for dessert.

Other A-list hot spots include Nobu, South Beach home of Chef

Nobu Matsuhisa; Barton G, the culinary palace created by event

planner extraordinaire Barton G. Weiss; and Casa Tua, the SoBe

version of cozy and intimate Italian dining. And if location is more

important than food, stake out an alfresco table at the laid-back,

always-packed News Cafe with the flip-flop crowd — and soak in the

Ocean Drive scene.

52 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

EROTICALLY ENTICINGIn a region as blatantly suggestive as South Beach,

the autumn 2005 arrival of the World Erotic Art

Museum (WEAM) seemed almost — dare I say it?

— anticlimactic. That is, until I got a glimpse of the

$10 million, 4,000-piece collection, which ranges

from the Fountain of Diana, the Huntress sculpture

to ancient Indian Kama Sutra figurines to explicit

props from A Clockwork Orange.

Created by Naomi Wilzig, widow of Holocaust

survivor and Washington, D.C., Holocaust Museum

founder Siggi Wilzig, the trove of erotic art is as

arousing historically as it is metaphorically. WEAM

art director Julian Murphy sums it up: “This museum

is unique because it shows sex from pre-Christ to

now. The reason people struggle with the subject is

that they don’t see it as a subject, but as a mirror of

their upbringing. People need to be educated that

it’s okay to have those feelings … especially in

Miami, where there’s a strong sexual undercurrent.”

Undercurrent or tidal wave, I’m not going to

quibble. WEAM is, by its very nature, quite an edu-

cation. It’s also some jolly good foreplay if you’re

inspired to make some, er, art of your own.

53J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

It wasn’t always so. Along with the rest of South Beach,

Lincoln Road fell into serious decline for a few decades.

Eventually, bohemian artists revitalized it, and then devel-

opers renovated it in the ’90s. Ironically, few affordable art

galleries remain, but Brazilian pop artist Romero Britto

has his home base here at Britto Central, and for up-and-

coming talent, you can walk through two floors of studios

at the ArtCenter/SouthFlorida.

For serious fashionistas, Chroma is rumored to be the

place where stylists shop for MTV and HBO stars. Base,

with its European vibe, is also hot; it features men’s and

women’s fashions in exquisite fabrics, unusual cuts and

offbeat colors. For even more designer boutiques, head to

Collins Avenue around Sixth and Seventh streets, where

Nicole Miller, Intermix, Club Monaco and Arden B. are

just steps from the more relaxed locals’ section of the

beach (12th to 15th streets).

A CULTURAL SPINFor more culture, take a break at the Wolfsonian-FIU, a

university-sponsored art and design museum. Collections

touch on communication arts, architecture, political

propaganda and industrial design from 1885 to 1945,

making for such stimulating conversation that the museum

recently opened a new gift shop and café called the

Dynamo. The café promotes “egalitarian eating ” and

“energy hours,” during which you can enjoy wine, tapas

and banned literature.

South Beach may not be entirely grown up yet — and

most of us hope that, like Peter Pan, parts of it never will.

But there is, undeniably, a new level of maturity and style

ready and waiting to be enjoyed by those with an eye for

the finer things.

For a list of resources, see page 103.

Cultural artifacts:

At the Wolfsonian-

FIU museum, a new

gift shop (opposite

right) offers hand-

blown glass and

other treasures,

while the Dynamo

café (above left)

promotes “egali-

tarian eating” with

simple-yet-elegant

plates. The sleek

modern artwork

(above right)

stirs stimulating

conversation.

The features of a traditional

Florida home — including wide

porches, high ceilings and wood

floors — have made a comeback

in New Urbanist communities

like Harmony, shown here.

55J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

THE MARKET

CRACKING

The demand for Florida Vernacular houses is booming — but is it thestyle or the setting that makes us love them so? BY STEVE BLOUNT

HETHER YOU CALL IT FLORIDA VERNACULAR OR CRACKER

CHIC, NEIGHBORHOODS ACROSS THE STATE ARE SPROUTING

CUPOLAS, VERANDAS AND METAL ROOFS IN HOMAGE TO THE HOUSES

THAT EXISTED LONG BEFORE THE RANCHO-MEDITERRANEAN

HYBRIDS THAT NOW RULE OUR SUBURBS.

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56 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

The original Florida house was a product of its environ-

ment, and especially of the pine thickets that carpeted the

state. Abundant, pole-straight and insect-proof, yellow

pine was the perfect building material for 19th-century

immigrants drifting down from Georgia and the Carolinas.

They had to clear land for crops anyway, and the pines they

felled, peeled and notched were easily stacked to form sim-

ple one-room cabins.

That was the beginning — and the end is hardly in sight

as homeowners and architects rediscover the virtues of

Florida Vernacular. For some, the attractions and the

advantages are irresistible.

BASIC TRAININGIt’s easy to recognize a center-hall Colonial or a

Mediterranean, but there’s understandable confusion

about what a Florida Vernacular house is. Over the years,

those simple one-room log cabins evolved. Families

expanded, and new immigrants arrived with their own

ideas about what makes a house a home.

In other words, the Florida Vernacular house isn’t a

thoroughbred, it’s a mutt.

Ron Haase, a former professor of architecture at the

University of Florida, is the author of Classic Cracker, the

definitive book on the state’s early buildings. Haase is the

de Tocqueville of Florida design, an immigrant from

Minnesota (by way of New Hampshire) who arrived in

1977 and immediately began documenting Florida’s rapidly

decaying historic homes.

In his deliberate Midwestern manner, Haase lays out

the bloodlines of Florida Vernacular style. A one-room

cabin was called a “single pen”; when a second enclosure

was added, it became a “double pen.” Often as not, this sec-

ond pen was a separate building: It took less labor to build

an addition with four complete walls than to re-notch the

original timbers to hook two buildings together. Expanded

porches surrounded and connected the structures, with

the open porch between them roofed to create the classic

“dogtrot” or breezeway. Later refinements included using

sawed pine lumber instead of logs, adding a steeply pitched

roof to shed water from torrential downpours and using

metal roofing instead of cedar or cypress shingles prone to

wind damage and fire. Fear of fire also led homeowners to

cut down trees near houses and add detached kitchens.

Eventually, a second story might be built, the dogtrot

enclosed with doors to form a hallway and the ladders

leading to sleeping lofts replaced with a staircase. This

configuration is what Haase calls an “I” house.

Other early homes were of the Georgian four-square design:

four equal-sized, square rooms off a central hallway and a steep,

pyramid-shaped roof, occasionally with a cupola to pull hot

air up and out and draw cool breezes in through the windows.

Most Florida houses were also built off the ground, but not

to promote airflow and help cool it as many people suppose.

“I’ve crawled under a bunch of these houses with a ther-

mometer, and it’s absolutely dead air and hotter than hell

under there,” Haase says. “The houses were built up off the

ground to get them out of the wet soil and prevent rot.”

GREAT-GRANDFATHER KNOWS BESTCooled by induced air movement, insulated from fire and

water damage, and built of renewable pine, the Florida

Vernacular house was a perfect match for its surroundings.

So what happened? Florida architect Dwight Holmes once

said, “I was intrigued by the way older homes in Florida

responded to the environment, while the later ones seem

to show no awareness of it at all.”

Deep roots: The

Boyer Cottage in

Tarpon Springs

(below) and the

Old Settler’s House

in Bradenton

(above) are the

inspiration for

modern Vernacular

designs (right),

which add space

and convenience to

traditional style.

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59J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

They still build classic Colonials in New England and

there are plenty of ranch-style houses going up in Texas, so

why were Florida Vernacular homes often replaced by the

low, flat-roofed concrete barracks that make up most of

our older suburbs? The short answer is Willis Haviland

Carrier and World War II.

After the war, returning soldiers flocked near their

wartime training camps in Florida. Quick, cheap housing

was needed, and a stick-built Florida Vernacular house —

set on piers and laboriously hand-nailed together — was

slower and costlier to build than a rectangular ranch con-

structed of blocks on a concrete slab.

“When I arrived here, that’s what people advised me to

design,” Haase recalls, “long, low houses, one room deep.

I saw architectural diagrams with little arrows that repre-

sented breezes blowing through the windows in the front.

You don’t have to live here long to find out those breezes

don’t always blow. That might work along the coast, where

you get onshore and offshore winds, but it sure didn’t work

in Gainesville where I was living.”

In fact, it didn’t work in most of the state, and that’s

where Mr. Carrier comes in. The creator of the modern air

conditioner (based on an idea filched from Florida physi-

cian John Gorrie), Carrier produced window-mounted

machines in mass quantities after the war, making such

hot, boxy houses bearable. Reddi Kilowatt, the cartoon

“spokes-character” invented by the electric power indus-

try, appeared on TV imploring people to use more and

more of the cheap electricity generated from $2-a-barrel

oil. The front of the house became a blank façade for

Floridians who drove home from work, pulled into carports

and went inside to crank up the air conditioning. Florida

Vernacular was dead, buried by the twin avalanches of

cheap concrete houses and cheap oil.

RESURRECTIONWe can also thank the oil industry, at least in part, for

the rebirth of Florida Vernacular. The demise of cheap

electricity in the 1970s sparked renewed interest among

architects and homeowners in the environmental and

social virtues of Florida Vernacular homes.

Ron Haase was among those leading the charge. But his

designs didn’t blindly re-create the past; they respected

the Vernacular tradition and built on it. Haase and others

— including Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Andres Duany,

who designed Seaside in the Panhandle — found out which

Vernacular features worked in a modern house and dis-

carded those that didn’t.

For example, modern homeowners like their houses

open and flexible, which old Florida houses — with their

Classic character:

The pre-Civil War

Earle Plantation

House (above)

features the

elevated porch,

metal roof and

air-cooling cupola

that defined early

Florida Vernacular.

Today’s Vernacular-

inspired homes

(left) rely on fans

and air condition-

ing to beat the

heat, but still offer

high ceilings, tall

windows and

modern versions

of the “dogtrot,”

or breezeway.

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60 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

warrens of tiny rooms — are not. New vernacular homes

are built on a raised slab hidden by the porch, while tradi-

tional cupolas and tower-like features draw cooling air in

and hot air up. Metal roofs, which reflect heat rather than

absorb it and last twice as long as asphalt shingles, remain.

So do wide porches, which seem to invite the neighborli-

ness that modern Floridians yearn for.

Back before air conditioning, people took to their

porches to cool off, to talk, to shell beans and eat water-

melon. Essayist Roy Blount Jr. — whose family is from

DeFuniak Springs in the Panhandle — says the porch was

the wellspring of the mythical Southern hospitality: “If

you’re sitting on the porch, you can’t pretend that you’re

not home when folks drop by for a visit. You can pretend to

be dead, but then you can’t fan yourself.” The porch was

the catalyst for increased social interaction, something

that’s in short supply in too many Florida suburbs.

“We’ve found that people want the front porch, the

columns, the railing details, the proportional dimensions,

the high, pitched roofs and the cupolas,” says Kent

Foreman, senior vice president of planning at Harmony, a

traditional-style neighborhood outside Orlando. “That’s

what they want their house to look like on the outside.

Inside, they want an open, functional and flexible floor

plan that’s very modern. We work with our designers to

develop open floor plans inside of a very traditional eleva-

tion. That’s the key.”

This formula, applying Florida Vernacular features to a

modern home, helped make Seaside a smashing success. In

turn, Seaside showed developers how to marry traditional

forms with modern sensibilities and make a handsome

profit in the bargain. The boom was on.

A Vernacular Home of Your Own

As new Florida Vernacular homes increase in popularity, authentic vernacular

buildings are becoming an endangered species. Salvageable historic homes

are quickly snapped up, fixed up and put on the market for premium prices,

and places with authentic historic homes, such as Micanopy, High Springs

and Sanford, have become the hot places to buy.

If you’re not up for the challenge of restoring a historic home but still long

for metal roofs and deep porches, you might want to look at Traditional

Neighborhood Developments (TNDs) and New Urban communities across

the state, which emphasize home designs that borrow heavily from their

historic predecessors.

Seaside, in Florida’s Panhandle, launched the New Urbanism movement.

It’s still the grand dame, but it’s been joined by other TNDs, including

WaterColor, Rosemary Beach, Steinhatchee Landing Resort and Tallahassee’s

Southwood development. Other such communities are listed below:

Abacoa — Jupiter: Greenways and parkland thread through a series of

neighborhoods with single-family, townhouse and condominium homes in a

variety of historic styles. abacoa.com

Alys Beach — Panhandle: Just west of Panama City between Rosemary

Beach and Seaside, this new community offers a different kind of Florida

Vernacular, with highly sculptural, Bermudian-influenced stucco-and-tile

elevations enclosing open, modern floor plans. alysbeach.com

Amelia Park — Fernandina: Lying between the Atlantic Ocean and the

Intracoastal, Amelia Park has acres of porches and miles of white railings that

echo the area’s beautifully preserved historic homes. ameliapark.net

Avalon Park — Orlando: Located southeast of downtown, the architec-

ture here draws on early 20th-century influences. The multistory downtown

includes live/work condos and apartments, and a raft of single-family

neighborhoods with attractive vernacular elevations. avalonpark.com

Haile Plantation — Gainesville: The historic Haile Plantation house is a

touchstone of Florida Vernacular architecture. The community that bears its

name reflects small-town Southern roots while incorporating amenities

like a village center with shops and apartments, plenty of green space, and

community recreational facilities. haileplantation.com

Longleaf — Tampa: Carved from a 16,000-acre cattle ranch east of Tarpon

Springs, Longleaf has a traditional town center, plenty of green space, and a

mixture of Colonial and vernacular homes, including the Southern National,

which has deep porches and a gabled front elevation. longleaftown.com

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MASS APPEALWhile it’s easy enough to find new Florida Vernacular

homes plunked down amid otherwise unremarkable sub-

urbs, most are being built in “traditional neighborhood

developments” or TNDs. These are the “New Urban”

towns like Seaside, Rosemary Beach and WaterColor in

the Panhandle, and Celebration, Reunion and Harmony in

Central Florida. They’re even cropping up in South

Florida, at places like Abacoa and Botanica near Jupiter.

And who’s buying these new Florida Vernacular houses?

According to Foreman, just about everybody.

“Our buyer profile here at Harmony and in the other

traditional neighborhood developments is pretty broad,”

Foreman says. “It includes everyone from active seniors to

families with teenagers or younger children, and on down

to young marrieds and single professionals.”

The appeal, he believes, has as much to do with the

setting as the architecture.

“You can’t take one of these houses with a wide porch

and put a three-car garage on the front of it. It doesn’t

work,” he says. “Our garages are in the back, facing an alley,

which means the houses aren’t set back as far from the

street. Whether the houses themselves are large or small,

they have a certain symmetry. They have similar propor-

tions and window placement. It’s the spacing from the

house to the porch, from the porch to the street and from

house to house along the street that creates the inviting,

pedestrian-friendly feeling.”

In other words, it’s not just the house, it’s the neigh-

borhood. That’s why TNDs also have amenities that

draw people together, such as community pools and

dog parks.

Born in another century out of the need for simple

shelter made from native materials, the Florida

Vernacular house has become, in this century, the gate-

way to a more civilized society in which we know our

neighbors and forge real communities. And the humble

pine tree? Maybe it’s time to insert it in place of that sabal

palm on the state seal, to remind us of our roots as we

reach for the elusive ideal of social harmony.

Howdy neighbor:

At Steinhatchee

Landing Resort,

designed by

Ron Haase,

generous porches

and narrow lot

lines encourage

community, just

as they did before

air conditioning

brought Floridians

indoors to cool off.

62 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

Immigrants from the other side ofthe Atlantic are heading our way, andthey’re changing the face of Florida.

By Taylor Coleridge

SecondWave

E U R O P E ’ S

hen people talk about foreign-born Floridians, they’re

usually talking about immigrants from the south. Two million

state residents were born in Latin America, and their influence

is as pervasive as the salsa stations blanketing the radio dial. But another

group of immigrants is also changing the face of Florida. They are the

Europeans, drawn here by our sunshine and economic opportunity.

According to Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development

agency, European businesses employ 164,000 Floridians and own $15

billion worth of plants and equipment here — 51 percent

of the state’s total foreign investment. That dwarfs the 9

percent owned by companies headquartered in Latin

America. Of 205 foreign companies involved in infor-

mation technology in Florida, 101 are European.

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Tucked off 17th Street

on South Beach, Miky

and Leticia Grendene’s

boutique hotel and

restaurant, Casa Tua,

has become the place

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65J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

What’s more, a Florida Association of Realtors study found that

Europeans buy 57 percent of Florida homes purchased by overseas buy-

ers, compared to only 29 percent bought by Latin Americans. These are

no huddled masses yearning to be free. They’re wealthy, educated and

live among us 365 days a year. So, what are they doing here? We talked

to a number of ex-Europeans and found that most are just like the rest

of us: They’re looking for a prosperous place in the sun.

N O R T H E R N H O S P I T A L I T Y

How could outsiders create Miami’s ultimate insider hangout? Miky

(MEE-kee) and Leticia Grendene did it by importing a little northern

hospitality — northern Italian, that is. Raised near Venice, where his

family once owned Italy’s largest construction company, Miky

Grendene says he moved to Miami for a time-honored reason: opportu-

nity. Already successful in Italy (he owned a Milan photo service that

organized major fashion shoots, as well as a company that helped Italian

banks cash out foreclosed properties), Miky got a tip in 1989 that Miami

real estate was exploding, so he decided to escape Italy’s political and

economic problems and head for a new life in the New World.

Once here, Grendene helped develop Casa Grande, one of the first

condo-hotels in South Beach. After several successful projects here and

in the Dominican Republic, the Grendenes were ready to launch their

own dream: a hospitality company based around the idea of home.

Their first, and so far most famous,

accomplishment is Casa Tua (Italian for

“your house”) in South Beach, which

opened in 2003. Tucked away off 17th

Street, the intimate boutique hotel and

restaurant has become the place for

Miami’s elite to rub shoulders. Dacra’s

Craig Robins and Jorge Perez of the

Related Group are among the regulars.

Following their instincts, the Grendenes

have done things that confounded well-meaning advisors. They paid a

cool $1 million for the small 1925 Mediterranean home that became

Casa Tua, at a time when South Beach was still struggling. Despite

advice not to limit his customer base, Miky envisioned Casa Tua as a

membership club, serving a small and selective clientele.

Everything at Casa Tua is carefully chosen to add grace to the

experience. The staff logs who likes fresh roses in their room and who

prefers tulips, who wants down pillows and who needs foam.

Everything used in the hotel is top of the line, from the Bellora linens

to toiletries from Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy in Florence, Italy.

For the Grendenes, Casa Tua is neither a restaurant nor — despite

five suites and a private club upstairs — a hotel. “Casa Tua is a way of

thinking, an approach to life,” Grendene explains. “Leticia and I did-

n’t go into this strictly as a business. … [T]his was really our house and

we put in whatever we like, from food to art to objects to details.”

It’s a home away from home. The décor — photos taken by Miky,

seashells collected by Leticia — is sophisticated, yet honest and com-

forting. The Italian country cuisine is widely regarded as world class.

And who could fault the company?

“We have very important people who come here who like their priva-

cy, but just because you have a lot of money doesn’t mean you can

become a member,” Miky says. “At Casa Tua, you have to act with respect

toward the other guests, the house and our people. … You can’t do what-

ever you want just because you’re rich.” The Grendenes even give away

memberships to artists, actors and others because, Miky says, “It’s

important to create a mix of people who have something to offer others.”

Not content to have conquered South Beach, Miky wants to

extend the Casa Tua concept, possibly to New York, the West Coast or

the Caribbean. Although some question whether such an exclusive

business style can be replicated elsewhere, the parallels between

Casa Tua and successful chef-owned European inns, where personal-

ity and hospitality are the draw, argue in the Grendenes’ favor.

F R O M R U S S I A — W I T H L I G H T N I N G

Think lightning never strikes twice in the same place? Then don’t

stand too close to Vladimir Rakov. This modern-day Ben Franklin

plays with bolts of electricity powerful enough to turn a sandy road

into a chunk of glass or blast a hole in a piece of steel.

Born in Kazakhstan, Rakov — who arrived here in the 1980s — is the

tip of a scientific spear that has brought hundreds of Eastern European

research scientists to Florida. An electrical engineer, he received his

PhD from Russia’s MIT, Tomsk Polytechnic University, in high-voltage

electrical power — a specialty that doesn’t even exist at U.S. universi-

ties. He began studying lightning and soon came to the attention of Dr.

Martin Uman, the pre-eminent lightning

specialist at the University of Florida. In

1988, Uman invited Rakov to take a sabbat-

ical and temporarily join the University of

Florida faculty through its U.S.-USSR

Research Exchange Program.

That 10-month program in lightning-

rich Florida only whetted Rakov’s

appetite. When Uman invited him to join

the UF faculty for a three-year stint

beginning in 1991, Rakov left Tomsk with his wife and son. Those

three years turned into 15, and counting. “I left as a citizen of the

Soviet Union and within a few months, my country disappeared,”

muses Rakov, who these days carries a Russian passport.

Rakov now serves as co-director of the International Center for

Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT), chair of the Electromagnetics

and Energy Systems Division and professor in the Department of

Electrical and Computer Engineering at UF. He’s also a world-

renowned authority on lightning and lightning protection. The

ICLRT facility at Camp Blanding near Jacksonville is his playground,

a one-of-a-kind lab that draws researchers from around the world.

Not satisfied with Florida’s prodigious rate of lightning, Rakov

induces it by firing rockets into clouds and studying the effects of

the resulting strikes. A more esoteric pursuit is Rakov’s interest in

fulgurites — glasses formed when lightning strikes sand. Rakov

collaborated with artist Allan McCollum to create an array of

fulgurites that were displayed in a traveling museum exhibit. He

also helped excavate a 16-foot-long natural fulgurite that made the

Guinness Book of World Records.

Of course, Rakov misses Russia. “My wife especially misses the

four seasons,” he says, “and she misses the snow.” But otherwise, itDIA

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I was the only Russian

in Gainesville,” Rakov

chuckles. “Now there are

probably 400 of us here.”

66 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

seems the good doctor has settled in –

thanks in part to the many fellow

expatriates he has for company.

“When I arrived in 1988, I was the

only Russian in Gainesville,” he chuck-

les. “Now there are probably 400 of us

here. There are four Russians on the

faculty in my department alone.”

Attracted by world-class facilities,

stable currency and a political system

that, whatever its failings, is predictable, these researchers have

found Florida a fertile place to plant their intellectual seeds.

C A R V I N G O U T A F U T U R E

An arm of the Mediterranean that defines the rear calf of Italy’s penin-

sular “boot,” the Adriatic Sea was a highway for successive waves of

Western culture that originated in the Near East and percolated into

Central Europe. Rugged and rural, with centuries-old traditions and a

cool, dry Mediterranean climate, it’s pretty much everything Florida

isn’t — which suits sculptor Enzo Torcoletti just fine.

“Even though I live near the beach in St. Augustine, I’m fascinated

by the interior of Florida,” he says. “The rivers, the woods and

especially the swamps — it’s so different from Italy.”

Torcoletti was raised in Fano, a small town on Italy’s northeast

coast opposite Split, Croatia. He studied art from middle school on,

ending up in Canada when his parents moved there. He got a couple

of college degrees — the expected one in art and another in English lit-

erature — and in 1971 signed on as a teaching assistant at Florida State

University in Tallahassee, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts in

sculpture and printmaking. When a friend told him about a teaching

job at Flagler College in St. Augustine — a place he’d never seen —

Enzo quickly became Professor Torcoletti, a title he’s held ever since.

His academic schedule gives Torcoletti free summers, which he

uses to create sculpture and travel to Europe for work and study.

He’s built a solid reputation on both sides of the Atlantic as a

sculptor and conservator, and his projects show just how well he’s

adapted to his new home.

“One of my students and I consulted with the group that restored

the Statue of Liberty,” recalls Torcoletti, an expert in sculptural

bronze whose commissions include the large statue in the foyer of

the Chamblee, Georgia, Internal Revenue Service building. “I started

it soon after the bombing at the federal office building in Oklahoma

City, and the security was intense,” he says. “I went into the lobby

and pulled out a camera and all of sudden there were lots of security

officers around me freaking out and asking questions.”

The delivery of the statue posed even more problems. Torcoletti

had to provide picture IDs, driver’s license numbers and social secu-

rity numbers for everyone involved, right down to his forklift driver.

He’s never seen his statue since. “I don’t think I could even get in

there to see it today,” he says ruefully. “You need clearance.”

Torcoletti admits to other discomfiting realities. “I do miss some

things about Italy,” he says. “Unlike most cities in the U.S., in Italy

people are outdoors, walking and socializing, and not just with rela-

tives like here. Even in small towns, life

mostly takes place outdoors.”

Fortunately, he says, he has found

compatriots to help ease those discom-

forts. “I met a lot of Italians through an

acquaintance in Ormond Beach. It was

amazing, all these professionals — doc-

tors, dentists — from Trieste and all over.

Some have been here awhile, some are

new arrivals. We meet once a month at

someone’s house and bring an Italian

dish, so we eat and talk,” he explains.

Even though he lives in our oldest city, Torcoletti misses Italian

culture, too. “Whenever I go back to visit, I spend a couple of days in

Rome. You could live there your whole life and never see everything,”

he says. “There is culture here. You can go to the symphony, but every-

thing has to be organized, you have to make plans far in advance. In

Italy, you can be more spontaneous, there’s so much happening.”

Still, the winters in Fano are “cold and miserable,” and Torcoletti

has found the perfect solution by living in Florida through the winter

and spending his summers abroad, visiting family and friends along the

Adriatic coast. When his Italian friends come to visit here, Torcoletti

takes them into the interior to experience what he calls “Old Florida.”

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“Even though I live near the

beach in St. Augustine, I’m

fascinated by the interior of

Florida,” Torcoletti says.

“It’s so different from Italy.”

Enzo Torcoletti

GO SOUTHWEST, JUNGER MANN

Calle Ocho and Little Haiti may be Florida’s most famous ethnic

enclaves, but they’re hardly alone. There are boatloads of Brits in

Kissimmee, gaggles of Greeks north of Tampa and legions of French

in Broward County. One of the least-noticed enclaves is also one of

the most economically powerful and deeply entrenched — Cape

Coral, just south of Fort Myers, where upscale German families have

been quietly buying land for 20 years.

Michael Schneider-Christians, a real-estate broker, is a prime

mover in Cape Coral’s European Chamber of Commerce and

travels to Europe several times a year to

participate in seminars for immigration-

minded Germans. “No one knows exactly

how many Germans are here in Cape

Coral,” Schneider-Christians says,

“because their attorneys usually advise

them to set up a small domestic corpora-

tion and buy property through the cor-

poration. From real estate records, there

are about 2,000 homes for which the mail

goes back to Germany, but for many

German-owned properties, the tax rolls just show a corporation with

a U.S. address and there’s no way of knowing.”

Schneider-Christians does know that hundreds of German fami-

lies have property in Cape Coral; some are seasonal residents while

others, like Schneider-Christians himself, live there year-round.

The area has the country’s third-largest German-American club —

staggering when you consider the size of the German communities in

Milwaukee, Chicago and other major cities.

The credit for that, he says, belongs to one man. “Back in the

1980s, a German named Bodo Knoche found some houses at the

Cape Coral Yacht Club that were available,” Schneider-Christians

explains. “He bought the houses, fixed them up and began advertising

seasonal rentals in German golf and boating magazines. Those maga-

zines have wealthy readers, and every house had a boat at the dock

and a white Cadillac in the driveway for the renters to use, so they

were very attractive.”

Attractive enough that the renters soon wanted to buy. Knoche sold

houses to the visitors, immediately leasing the houses back to keep

them in his rental pool. “Every time Bodo sold a house, he would buy

another,” Schneider-Christians says, which increased both the number

of houses available for lease and the area’s German population.

Schneider-Christians inherited one such property from an

uncle who had bought it sight unseen. He and his wife came to Cape

Coral to check it out and liked the area so much that they returned

frequently on vacation. When an acquaintance asked Schneider-

Christians to relocate to Cape Coral to help with her real-estate

business, they made the move. He’s been a pipeline for fellow

Germans ever since.

“The United States has always been — and still is — perceived as a

safe place for investments,” he says. “Germans like to have a little

diversity, and owning real estate gives them an investment in U.S.

dollars. Even if they sell the property, most of the money that comes

in from Germany stays in the U.S.; they don’t take the profits back

home.” Instead, he says, the money is parlayed into other property

and businesses. “When Germans began traveling and investing in

Spain in the 1970s, many of them started businesses. That’s hap-

pened here, too, with German realtors, bankers, retail shops — it’s

just amazing how this has snowballed.”

Schneider-Christians, who came from Wuppertal, east of

Dusseldorf, is among those happy immigrants who don’t miss their

former homes. And no wonder: There’s now a Cape Coral bank,

restaurants and social institutions designed specifically to meet the

needs of German immigrants, and rumor has it the state’s best Weiner

schnitzel can be found at the city’s Old

Heidelberg restaurant.

“I’m not so sentimental. I travel a lot and

wherever I am, that’s where I try to fit in,” he

explains. “My wife is from Cape Town,

South Africa, so moving here was comfort-

able for her. The weather is more like Cape

Town and everyone speaks English. We

have two daughters and one is now married

[to an American], so this is home.”

“I’m not so sentimental,”

Schneider-Christians

explains. “I travel a lot

and wherever I am, that’s

where I try to fit in.”

Michael Schneider-Christians

New &

From sophisticated facelifts to extreme makeovers,

high-end hotels are updating and renovating.

By Denise Bates Enos

As chic properties like

South Beach’s Setai

(above) open, venerable

establishments such

as the nearby Hotel

Victor (opposite)

are undergoing

exciting renovations.

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70 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

FROM DECOR UPDATES TO WORLD-CLASS SPA ADDITIONS,

ESTABLISHED PROPERTIES ARE TAKING STEPS TO HIDE THEIR AGE.

71J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

What’s old is new again as luxury hotels through-

out the Sunshine State undergo dramatic

transformations to keep up with the times.

From decor updates to world-class spa additions, estab-

lished properties are taking steps to hide their age, offering

up-to-the-minute amenities and all the attendant bells

and whistles that today’s sophisticated traveler demands.

Nowhere is this refreshing trend more evident than in

South Florida, where South Beach is undergoing yet

another rejuvenating renaissance. And hotels all along the

coast — from Ponte Vedra to the very tip of the peninsula —

are following suit.

Among the notable renovations in South Beach is the

Carlton Hotel, which completed its multimillion-dollar

makeover in March. The changes brought the circa-1938

hotel’s 67 rooms into the 21st century without sacrificing

any of their original Art Deco flavor. Nearby, the Hotel

Victor and the Catalina Hotel & Beach Club have also under-

gone major transformations, balancing the Miami Modern

chic that put them on the must-stay-destinations map in the

’30s with updated accoutrements designed to get them on

the cognoscenti’s radar screens once again.

Holding Down the FortIn nearby Fort Lauderdale, a number of top-notch hotels

are renewing both their rooms and their public areas.

Millions were spent renovating Gallery One, a condo-hotel

located on the Intracoastal Waterway. Suites were updated

with granite countertops, stainless-steel appliances,

European-style cabinetry and flat-screen televisions,

while new furnishings and artwork were added through-

out the property’s private and public areas. The exterior

has also been given a fresh look, with extensive landscap-

ing and crisp white beach umbrellas dotting the shoreline.

Also in Fort Lauderdale, the Wyndham Bonaventure is

undergoing both an extensive redo and a name change.

Renovations, which began in November of 2004, are expected

to be completed by this July; the newly christened

Bonaventure Resort & Spa will include the 48,000-square-foot

Golden Door Spa, also slated to open its doors this summer.

Northern ExposureFarther north, the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club on Ponte Vedra

Beach will complete its extensive improvements later this

year. This grand dame of Florida resorts has drawn pleasure-

Masterful

makeovers (clock-

wise from above):

The refurbished

Naples Grande

Resort & Club

features clean,

Asian-inspired

lines; Fort

Lauderdale’s

Gallery One offers

spacious suites

with fully

furnished dining

areas; and the

Catalina Hotel &

Beach Club has an

eclectic, modern

South Beach feel.

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73J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

seekers to its oceanfront accommodations since its much-

heralded opening in 1928, and the addition of the largest spa

in northern Florida promises to be an even greater lure.

Scheduled to open this fall, the 28,000-square-foot oasis will

include private treatment rooms, a salon, barbershop, retail

store, and outdoor courtyard with a pool and dining area.

The resort is also upgrading and renovating its top-seed

tennis center and is adding a new clubhouse; work should

be complete by the end of 2006.

Center StageCentral Florida is enjoying its share of hotel improve-

ments as well. At the Walt Disney World Resort, a number

of properties have been refreshed with new decor, while

others have been extensively renovated.

A case in point is the Hotel Royal Plaza, which shut its

doors in August of 2004 after a pummeling from

Hurricane Charley. Turning a natural disaster into golden

opportunity, the hotel spent more than a year repairing

and restoring itself, transforming a dated, 33-year-old edi-

fice into a thoroughly modern, top-of-the-line resort. The

hotel reopened in January 2006 with a new look best

described as contemporary with a tropical twist.

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort,

meanwhile, is in the middle of a multimillion-dollar

redesign by architect and product designer Michael Graves.

Changes to the resort include the renovation of guest

rooms and the addition of the Bali-inspired Mandara Spa.

West Coast ChicThe makeover trend has also reached Florida’s west coast.

The Registry Resort & Club, one of Naples’ landmark

hotels, was beginning to show its age after 20 years. Thanks

to a multimillion-dollar, top-to-bottom overhaul, the resort

has been given new life — and a new name: Naples Grande

Resort & Club. Envisioned and executed under the direc-

tion of hospitality-industry designer Robert Barry, renova-

tions include a new lobby and lounge and an update of the

guest rooms. In response to rising consumer demand for

pampering amenities, the resort has its new Golden Door

Spa scheduled for completion in 2007.

Offshore, the Marco Island Marriott Resort & Spa is

spending approximately $150 million over three years to

improve and expand its property, with upgrades to the

lobby, rooms and suites, and a redesign of the champi-

onship golf course by Robert Cupp Jr.

The resort has also added a 24,000-square-foot

Balinese-style spa, which includes 24 treatment rooms and

six seaside terraces. Here, guests can indulge in a range of

services, including massages, facials and manicures.

It’s out with the old and in with the new at world-class

hotels and resorts throughout Florida. By changing with

the times, hotels with a past are keeping current — as well

as au courant.

Going HollywoodStriving to embody the best of both worlds, the

unique Sian Ocean Residences Resort is one of the

most ambitious multiuse resort-renovation projects

currently underway in Florida. Located in Hollywood

Beach, this condo-hotel is combining major renova-

tion with new construction. The recently completed

first phase of this nine-acre, Asian-inspired project

included renovating a pair of existing structures. A

hotel on the Intracoastal side of this shore-to-shore

property has been converted into condo-hotels,

while a 16-story oceanfront apartment building has

been reconfigured as condominiums. Future phases

of the project include a second luxury oceanfront

tower and a new condo-hotel; completion dates for

these phases were not set at press time.

Elegant inspira-

tion: The new

Mandara Spa at

Orlando’s Walt

Disney World Swan

and Dolphin Resort

(opposite) takes

its cue from the

architecture of Bali

while incorporating

ultramodern

amenities like this

hydrotherapy bath;

the Ponte Vedra

Inn & Club (below)

is adding north

Florida’s largest

spa and other

improvements,

scheduled for

completion later

this year.

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One of the reasons well-established older

hotels in Florida can’t rest on their laurels is

that new ones spring up on a regular basis.

Offering the latest trends, styles and technol-

ogy within their walls, new hotels provide stiff

competition for existing ones, and it takes

more than a fresh coat of paint to compete.

A veritable building boom is underway

throughout Florida, with spanking-new hotels

growing like so many towering weeds through-

out the landscape. One of the biggest trends is

the condo-hotel (see “Home Sweet Hotel” in

our April/May issue), which gives owners a

chance to own a slice of paradise — and rent it

out, too. Here’s a look at the latest luxury

hotels and condo-hotels.

Open for BusinessAcqualina Rosewood Resort, Sunny Isles

Beach: The first Rosewood resort in Florida is

a 97-room, oceanfront luxury hotel located

between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. It also

houses 188 residences and Il Mulino, a highly

rated, New York-based Italian restaurant. The

resort’s two-story, 20,000-square-foot

ESPA spa — the first of its kind in the United

States — is scheduled to open in September.

Four Seasons condo-hotel, downtown

Miami: Soaring 70 stories, the hotel is home

to 221 guest rooms, including 39 suites, as well

as studio and one- and two-bedroom apart-

ments for long-term residential rentals.

The Setai, South Beach: On the site of the

once-glamorous Dempsey-Vanderbilt Hotel,

the Setai recaptures South Beach’s Art Deco

ambience and infuses it with understated

Asian elegance. The property includes 75 guest

rooms and 50 suites, and sits adjacent to the

40-story Setai Residences.

Coming SoonEuropean Club condo-hotel, Hallandale

Beach, opening 2007: Plans for this 30-story

property include 118 residential units and up to

170 condo-hotel units. Features include ocean

and Intracoastal views from the 35,000-

square-foot landscaped sky deck, two infinity-

edge pools, and a spa and fitness center.

Gansevoort South, South Beach, open-

ing late 2006: A triple threat in the market-

place, the resort will include the 232-room

Hotel Gansevoort South, 102 condo-hotel

units and a 252-unit condominium compo-

nent called Paradiso.

Q Club Resort and Residences condo-

hotel, Fort Lauderdale, opening fall 2006:

Suites, studios, and one-, two- and three-

bedroom residences comprise the 333 units in

this ocean-view condo-hotel managed and

operated by Hilton Hotels, which includes a

sixth-floor pool deck, fitness center and spa.

The Resort at Singer Island, Singer Island,

opening late 2006: Part of Starwood’s Luxury

Collection of resorts, this property will offer 239

capacious guest rooms, ranging from 800 to

2,000 square feet, and such indulgent touches

as a world-class spa, beach attendants, butler

service and even a private wine room.

Rosen Shingle Creek Golf & Spa Resort,

Orlando, opening September 2006: This

230-acre resort includes 1,500 rooms, a

13,000-square-foot spa and health club, and

an 18-hole championship golf course, recently

named one of the top 40 best new courses by

Golfweek magazine.

Sage Resort condo-hotel, Orlando, opening

June 2007: This 10-story condo-hotel contains

260 units with up to four bedrooms and four

baths. The resort will also feature a tot lot, pool

with tiki bar, clubhouse, restaurant and bar.

Sandpearl, Clearwater Beach, opening

February 2007: More than 700 feet of pristine

beach stretches out before this resort property,

which will include 253 guest rooms and suites, a

spa, and an oceanfront pool and fitness center.

Seagate Hotel & Spa condo-hotel, Delray

Beach, opening summer 2007: This 66-suite

resort will include a two-story oceanfront club,

spa and fitness center, and decor exclusive to

the resort by the Wendell Castle Collection and

Icon Design of New York.

Trump International Hotel and Tower

Las Olas, opening summer 2007 and Trump

International Beach Club Fort Lauderdale,

opening September 2007: Leave it to The

Donald to deliver a one-two punch to Fort

Lauderdale. This pair of properties will boast

Trump’s signature over-the-top luxury and

style; the Trump Fort Lauderdale will house

300 units and the Trump Las Olas will con-

tain 95 units.

New Kids on the Block

Four Seasons

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On the HorizonThe Blue Rose condo-hotel, Orlando,

opening 2009: Designed to be the tallest build-

ing in Central Florida at 39 stories, the first

phase of this multifaceted project will include

515 studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom

units. The planned “Swan Lake Promenade” will

house six restaurants and cafés, as well as a

variety of boutiques, in approximately 100,000

square feet of retail space.

Grand Bohemian Resort & Residences, St.

Petersburg, opening fall 2008: A 32-story

tower will house 166 guest rooms and suites

and 82 residences, including nine condo-hotel

“spa villas” and two two-story penthouses

with more than 6,000 square feet of living

space and 3,000-square-foot balconies.

Included in the upscale amenities will be a

restaurant, lounge and café, as well as an art

gallery with notable pieces personally selected

by the developer, Richard C. Kessler.

Intrawest Village of Imagine condo-hotel,

Orlando, opening early 2008: The first phase

of this master-planned project will be the

Westin Imagine Orlando Residences, with 470

condominium suites and residences and more

than 40 retail boutiques and eateries.

Marquis condo-hotel, downtown Miami,

opening 2009: Designed by Arquitectonica,

this 67-story tower and boutique hotel over-

looking Biscayne Bay will include 306 resi-

dences, 56 hotel rooms, and a two-level spa

and fitness center.

InterContinental Resorts & Residences

Palazzo del Lago condo-hotel, Orlando,

opening 2009: The world’s largest Inter-

Continental resort with 1,200 rooms, this

$800 million resort will feature five 18-story

towers, each with its own swimming pool and

fitness center. Located on Lake Bryan, the

resort will include a world-class spa, a water-

sports facility, five themed restaurants, a

putting green and tennis courts.

W Fort Lauderdale Resort & Residences

condo-hotel, Fort Lauderdale, opening spring

2008: The property is slated to include 346

hotel rooms and 171 condo-hotel residences, an

ocean-view cocktail lounge and a Bliss Spa.

W South Beach Hotel & Residences

condo-hotel, South Beach, opening early or

mid-2008: Under construction on the site of

the old Holiday Inn on Collins Avenue, this

20-story ultra-luxury property will include

a total of 511 units in studio and one- and

two-bedroom configurations; units will be

combinable to create larger living spaces.

For a list of resources, see page 101.

W Fort Lauderdale

Gansevoort South

A s the world of real estate evolves at lightning speed throughout Florida, a

renewed interest in bringing the arts and real estate together in a significantly

new way is taking hold in the state’s major cities. Most intriguing is the bur-

geoning romance between condo and hotel developers and the arts community. Pioneers of

this trend, Jorge Perez of the Related Group in South Florida and Richard Kessler of the Kessler

Collection in Central Florida, have long been fine art collectors and supporters of the arts infra-

structure in the Sunshine State. Perez, Kessler and others, whose artistic interest and influence

have been chronicled previously in Florida Travel & Life, had the vision early on.

Today we see similar commitments to the arts arising in all corners of the state. In

Orlando, developer Cameron Kuhn’s new Premiere Trade Plaza will serve as an anchor for

an arts corridor in downtown Orlando when completed later this year. The building will

Living With Art

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showcase Vietnamese artist Tuan Nguyen’s larger-than-life bronze sculptures that glorify the

human body through graceful lines and rhythmic compositions. Recently Tuan’s piece

“Triumph” was installed in the White House. Only 30 sculptures are made from each mold

and then it is destroyed.

In St. Petersburg, the B.S.R.

Group and local developer Jimmy

Aviram have teamed up to create the

Arts, a luxury community in the

heart of downtown. As the Gulf

Coast city experiences an urban

renaissance, the Arts is one of the

most exciting projects on the draw-

ing board. Scheduled for its first

phase completion in June 2008,

the development is composed of

two majestic 31-story towers that

frame Central Avenue. It will be anchored by the new location of the Arts Center, home to

galleries, studios and a collection of exquisite glass art by world-renowned artist Dale

Chihuly. The Arts will offer residents the opportunity to live in a thriving community sur-

rounded by creative energy.

Forward-thinking developers are now sealing their immortality as patrons of the arts, not

just by producing brick and mortar, but by fostering arts infrastructures and contributing to

the establishment of easily accessible studios and galleries where artists can work and

display their art. Through their efforts they are giving the communities they touch a gift

that transcends time. Next time you have an opportunity to gaze at the skylines of Florida’s

cities, take a moment to peer a little deeper, and you will find your creative senses awakened

by some of the most beautiful art in the world.

The Arts will be home

to Dale Chihuly’s

Golden Feather

Venetian trophy for

the Honda Grand Prix

of St. Petersburg

(opposite). Developer

Jimmy Aviram, St.

Petersburg mayor

Rick Baker, race car

driver Michael

Andretti, artist Dale

Chihuly and developer

Kalman Sufrin (top).

The Arts (left).

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

In the South Shore area of HillsboroughCounty is a waterfront community withresort-style amenities, direct boating

access to Tampa Bay, and a selection ofhomes that re-creates the charm of oldcoastal Florida-inspired architecture. CalledMiraBay, this master-planned communityhas revitalized the southwestern area of thecounty – which had been primarily ruraland agricultural – converting it to a vibrantresidential enclave in just three years.

MiraBay consists of executive and estateresidences, townhomes and villas pricedfrom the $300s to $5 million. It offers anattractive subtropical streetscape that hasdrawn hundreds of home buyers – and newsmedia attention – from across the country.

The key is that MiraBay not only offershome buyers a place to live ... it offers a wayto live, with copious recreation and relax-ation on and off the water. Residents canboat, canoe or kayak through MiraBay’smany waterways, including the 135-acreman-made lagoon and 3.5-mile canal sys-tem, lounge by several pools, play tennis orparticipate in the many organized activitiesand clubs throughout the community.

Amenities include the Racquet Club,with five Har-Tru tennis courts, and thePool Pavilion, with a zero-entry pool, light-house-themed water slide and juniorOlympic-sized pool with six lap lanes.

MIRABAYResort-Style Coastal Living

Meanwhile, the 10,000-square-foot club-house at the MiraBay Club, part of a $10million complex, features a fitness centerwith state-of-the-art equipment and lockerfacilities with saunas, and a spa with mas-sage, skin-care and nail services. Residentsenjoy the Galley Café, the Admirals Clublounge and the Dockers game room for chil-dren and teens. Adjoining the clubhouseand overlooking the lagoon is theOutfitter’s, a rustic shop providing boating

and fishing supplies as well as a staff offeringadvice and instruction.

MiraBay’s success has been a catalyst forgrowth in the South Shore area as additionalretail and commercial ventures come onboard. Plans for a mixed-use town centerat MiraBay will bring entrepreneurialopportunities for business owners in bothMiraBay and the surrounding South Shorearea. The MiraBay Village will be a desti-nation for residents and the public.Moreover, it will make MiraBay a trulyself-sufficient community.

Also under development is a system ofnature trails that will wind throughout theadjoining 1,200-acre Wolf Branch CreekPreserve. Built under Hillsborough County’sEnvironmental Land Acquisition andProtection Program, the trails will open thispreviously inaccessible acreage on a limitedbasis to residents and the public, who canenjoy watching hundreds of bird species,such as pelicans, herons and egrets, and avariety of other wildlife.

MiraBay’s approach to community designattracted national attention when CoastalLiving magazine chose the community tohost its Idea House, which showcases the latest new-home innovations and interior-design trends. The Idea House generatedtremendous interest in Hillsborough Countyand in MiraBay, the first Tampa Baycommunity selected for this honor.

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gulf coast

When the developers began plan-ning the Village of Imagine, cur-rently under construction in

Orlando, Florida, they envisioned it as theultimate showcase of Florida living. Theydecided the Village would feature a mix ofarchitectural styles authentic to the state,devote ample space to native landscaping, andinclude abundant water features and naturalwalkways. The first big step toward achievingthat truly Floridian dream was recently recog-nized when an agreement was reached withWestin Hotels & Resorts to brand the firstphase of the Village of Imagine as the WestinImagine Orlando Residences.

“We are creating a lifestyle destinationwithin Central Florida that will attract peoplefrom around the world,” said John Heiser,vice president for Intrawest, the corporationdeveloping the Village. “We chose Westinbecause of its internationally recognizablename and reputation for outstanding hospi-tality experiences.”

The Westin Imagine Orlando Residenceswill have suites to accommodate busi-ness and leisure travelers, as well as one-and two-bedroom residences. Guestsand residents alike will be able to takeadvantage of the signature services andamenities that people have come toexpect from Westin, such as Westin’sHeavenly Bath®, Heavenly Bed® and

WestinWORKOUT® Powered byReebok fitness facility.

“Westin’s new brand position-ing is centered on renewal,” saidSue Brush, senior vice president ofWestin Hotels & Resorts, “offeringour guests the services, products and ameni-ties that will help them rejuvenate, renewand restore their mind, body and spirit. Welook forward to pampering travelers visitingCentral Florida so they will feel better whenthey check out than when they checked in.”

It’s an understatement to say thatOrlando is a popular destination for travel-ers. The area has always greeted its fair shareof visitors, whether here for a family vaca-tion, honeymoon or business convention.The goal of the Village of Imagine and theWestin Imagine Orlando Residences is tooffer premier accommodations to all travel-ers to the area, whether they’re in town forbusiness or for pleasure. The property isacross the street from the Orange CountyConvention Center, which is the second-largest convention center in the UnitedStates. It also offers easy access to CentralFlorida’s most popular scenic, cultural andentertainment venues and attractions.

The developers aim to make sure theproperty itself will be an attraction for trav-elers and locals alike. The Village of Imaginewill ultimately be a 30-acre master-planned

resort, including more than 30 elegantrestaurants and boutiques. It will provide agreat place for business travelers to dine andunwind, a unique shopping experience thatvacationers won’t want to pass up, and asophisticated gathering place for locals whoseek a higher level of service and attention.

Phase one of the Village, the WestinImagine Orlando Residences, is slated toopen in early 2008. This phase will haveapproximately 470 condominium suites andresidences, including the 256-unit GrandImagine building, which has been pre-sell-ing since December 2005. Westin andIntrawest did well in choosing the perfectfirst piece to build an entire village around.

“The first condo hotel in the Village willbecome one of the primary icons, formingthe gateway to the village beyond,” said RayLetkeman, lead architect of the entire prop-erty. “The deco-revival architecture is a nodto Florida modernism. It is a visual feast,overlooking the eclectic and animatedVillage streets. This condo hotel will feel likethe grand lobby for the entire Village — acentral place to meet, mingle and refresh.”

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THE VILLAGEOF IMAGINEBringing Together the Best of Florida

central florida

When you hear the words“Daytona Beach,” what comesto mind? College spring breakers

partying out of control in the Florida sun? Ifso, then a trip to the “World’s Most FamousBeach” might be in order so you can witnessthe astounding transformations that aregoing on here.

Ocean Waters, Daytona Beach’s leadinghotel-management and resort-developmentcompany, is working to rebuild, refurbishand renovate much of the beach strip in aneffort to bring sophistication back to thearea. Daytona has always been a popularvacation area, appealing to younger andolder generations alike. Many think main-ly of adult activities like college springbreak or Bike Week in connection withDaytona, but the area is starting to attractmore and more families.

“We’re on a mission to bring forth a newDaytona Beach,” said Doug Kosarek, seniorvice president of Ocean Waters. “The first

PLAZA RESORT & SPAOcean Waters Ushers in a New Era of Luxury

step in this renaissance is tearing downaging, old motels and hotels that no longerreflect the emerging quality and luxury ofthis world-class destination.”

That’s exactly what they are doing. Overthe past eight years Ocean Waters has pur-chased more than 2.2 miles of oceanfrontproperty, including more than 30 hotels andresorts directly on the Atlantic. The company,headed by Charles Bray and Joe Gillespie,plans on demolishing as many as a third ofthese properties over the next few months.Millions of dollars are being put toward thisrevitalization project so that Daytona Beachcan once again be regarded as one of the mostspectacular stretches of real estate on Florida’seast coast. When the project is completed,Ocean Waters will still operate about 20 hotelsand resorts along the Daytona shoreline.

“This summer, travelers are not going torecognize this beach. The old and tiredmotels are giving way to new properties thatwill restore the luster to Daytona.”

The crowning achievement of OceanWaters’ revitalization project has to be the leg-endary Plaza Resort & Spa. The company hasspent $70 million renovating this landmark,and it created some waves in the process. Lastyear, everyone was stunned when the Plaza’sfamous pool deck was closed to college vaca-tioners during spring break.

“People thought we were crazy to turnaway spring-break business at the Plaza lastyear,” said Kosarek. “However, it proved tobe absolutely the right decision and animportant first step in repositioning thisbeautiful property.”

Fast forward to today and the Plaza hastransformed itself into an exclusive hotel-con-dominium. Now, instead of visiting the beau-tiful beaches of Daytona for a few days, oreven purchasing a timeshare to secure a yearlybeach vacation, the public has a chance toown a suite outright. People saw an opportu-nity and seized it. Since preselling began, morethan 70 percent of the units in the Plaza havebeen sold, and the final phase of the closeouthas recently begun.

“Luxury hotel space in Daytona Beachis always at a premium,” said Kosarek.“People realize that it makes sense to purchasewhat amounts to a permanent reservation.Owning a suite here at the Plaza puts ownersin the heart of the action yet provides awelcome haven of relaxation. With 323meticulously restored suites, we believe weset the standard for superior accommoda-tions here in Daytona Beach.”

When everything is said and done, thePlaza and Ocean Waters’ other coastal-frontproperties will make Daytona Beach a wholenew place to visit. Those looking for comfortand luxury will certainly find it here. Formore information visit Owntheplaza.com.

82 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

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86 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

CONCRETE HAS BEEN THE FOUNDATION OF

modern construction for decades, the footing on

which homes are built and patios laid, base-

ments bunkered and garages grounded. Hard, gray and

none too pretty, the durable substance has long been

among the most useful and underappreciated of build-

ing materials, indispensable yet often hidden beneath a

veneer of dry wall, tile or pavers.

Not anymore. During the past

decade concrete has come into its

own as a decorative element. It’s now

considered among the most versatile

and — believe it or not — beautiful

materials to use when designing

not only patios and pool decks, but

interior floors, walls and architectural

details like columns, countertops

and fireplace surrounds. It even has

its own magazine, Concrete Décor,

which bills itself as “The Journal of

Decorative Concrete.”

The reasons for the up-tick in

concrete’s fortunes are manifold.

Techniques such as stamping now

allow concrete to take on the appear-

ance of stone, tile, wood or brick at a

fraction of the price (and installation

time) of the real thing. Staining,

painting and epoxy coating result in

surfaces that gleam in a variety of

colors and patterns. And concrete’s

resistance to water damage, mold and

dust have made it a perfect fit for

Floridians seeking to minimize the

effects of humidity and allergens.

Using concrete is also an easy way

to get the look of expensive, hard-to-

find natural materials. Landscape

features such as rock gardens and

waterfalls, which require large stones

or boulders not indigenous to the

Sunshine State, can be made by cast-

ing fake “rocks” in concrete. The

result is an equally durable product

that’s all but indistinguishable from

the real thing. (See “A Concrete

Primer,” right, for a roundup of deco-

rative concrete techniques.)

“People think of concrete as a cold

and gray material, but you can color

it, shape it and form it into anything

you want,” says Rosemary Camazzi,

editor of Concrete Décor. “The poten-

tial for artistry is amazing. It’s also

completely yours, because one piece

of concrete is never going to be the

same as another.” Because stains and

color hardeners react with chemi-

cals in the concrete, each batch

of colored concrete will look dif-

ferent; the same stain will take on a

unique cast depending on the makeup

Durable and versatile,concrete isn’t just forpatios anymore.

By Rafaela Ellis

Casting Call

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87J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

of the surface to which it’s applied.

For those reasons, Camazzi says,

it’s essential to engage a contractor

for all but the simplest concrete-

painting jobs. Before hiring someone,

though, she says you should ask to see

previous work — and not just recent

examples. “One thing about concrete

is that it will change over time,” she

says. “It’s not like granite; it’s alive.”

Checking out projects a few years

after completion will give you an idea

of how the contractor’s work holds up

over the long haul, when fading or

cracking can change its appearance.

Camazzi also suggests using a con-

tractor who’s been in the business

A Concrete Primer

Here’s a guide to the most common

methods for decorating concrete:

• Staining: Most often made

from acid, metallic ions and wet-

ting agents, concrete stains are

translucent, creating an uneven or

aged appearance that captures

the unique qualities of the con-

crete it covers. Whether sprayed

or brushed on, the stains are

applied to dry concrete and may

require more than one coat.

• Stamping: Applied before the

surface completely dries, stamps

use pressure — most often from

the contractor’s foot — to impress

designs into the concrete. This

method is usually used to make

concrete resemble brick, tile or

some variety of stone.

• Stenciling: In this technique, a

paper stencil is placed on wet con-

crete and then a color hardener is

applied over the area and worked

in with a trowel. Before the surface

dries completely, the stencil is

removed to reveal the pattern.

• Sandblasting: Using a durable

stencil, a contractor creates a

design by sandblasting the con-

crete before removing the stencil.

Definitely not a do-it-yourself

project, sandblasting is among

the most expensive methods for

adding character to concrete.

• Painting: For do-it-yourselfers,

nothing beats painting concrete.

After preparing the surface by

cleaning with an acid-based

preparation, spray or brush on

specially formulated paint, and

then seal after drying. Concrete

can be painted to resemble other

flooring materials, such as tile, or

in fanciful designs that replicate

artwork or even Oriental rugs.

awhile. “There are a lot of people who

are just starting to get into the deco-

rative concrete business, because

that’s where the money is,” she says.

“But you want to look for someone

who has experience and really knows

what they’re doing.”

Although good concrete work can

be expensive, Camazzi says it’s worth

the price — an opinion she backs up

with personal experience. “I just put

concrete countertops in my own

kitchen, and they’re absolutely beau-

tiful,” she says. “They look like a

black-sand beach, except they’re

shiny. They have this incredibly

beautiful, soft glow.” •

Inside, outside:

Countertops and

floors can be made

to match (top);

stamping makes

concrete resemble

stone (above);

and block walls

complement a

polished concrete

slab (below).

88 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

BROTHERS DOUG AND GENE MEYER ARE

known for transforming homes that most decora-

tors would safely adorn in tasteful neutrals into

homes that pleasantly scream for attention. Think blue,

green, yellow, red and an offbeat shade or two. Each of their

rooms makes a cheerful, come-smile-with-me statement.

“We do love color,” says Doug Meyer. “And [we] hate to

go into a room that is all grays and beiges. It’s so boring.

When you live in a room with beautiful color, it changes

how you feel. I’m always happy,” he says. Gene echoes the

design message: “We’re all about color,” he says.

Walking with Doug and Gene through NiBa Home, the

home-furnishings store in the Miami Design District that

displays their new furniture, lighting and rug collection,

you want to “ooh” and “ah” over each cutting-edge piece.

If color — big, bold,beautiful color — is yourthing, then Doug andGene Meyer are the guysyou want to invite over.

By Patricia LetakisAfter the designs debuted last

December under the Doug & Gene

label, they caught the eye of Judith

Neidermaier, a major force in the

high-end contemporary furniture

market. Neidermaier liked what she

saw and opened the door for the

brothers to display their collection in

her New York and Los Angeles show-

rooms, home to star furniture talents

such as Vicente Fox and Nate Berkus.

The Doug & Gene collection

boasts not only high-octane colors

but an appeal that’s both offbeat and

sophisticated. “We love things that

Vibrant color is the

trademark of brother

designers Doug

(below left) and Gene

(right) Meyer.

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are a little quirky, almost jewel-like,

and have elements you just don’t see,”

explains Doug. Their 20-piece furni-

ture collection is a medley of wood,

metal and mixed media. They often

blend base materials with glass, mir-

rors and mosaics in innovative ways

that go outside the box. An example is

their showstopper brass coffee table,

which has six skinny, hourglass-

shaped legs, a glass top and the crown-

ing touch, meticulously applied 18-

karat-gold mosaic pieces. The price:

$7,200. Complementing the collection

of tables (coffee, end, drink and side),

consoles, benches, dividers, mirrors

and lamps are their rugs — blankets of

thick, plush texture and color.

Gene explains how the rugs are

handmade in Nepal using Himalayan

wool, hemp and silk. Most have strik-

ing graphic patterns, defined by raised

pile and a sculptured look. Colored

spots, diamonds, loosely shaped rec-

tangles, ferns and rope designs flip by,

along with occasional mermaids and

seahorses. Drawing from a display of

hundreds of colors, Gene works with

customers to combine hues and create

unusual tone-on-tone designs that

mix wool and silk.

The brothers, who share a love of

fashion, art, history and design,

began collaborating only last year,

but both bring a wealth of New

York design experience to Miami.

Fashion designer Gene graduated

from Parsons School of Design and

began his career at Geoffrey Beene;

after 11 years, he moved on to

women’s couture and then men’s

sportswear and neckwear, turning

out a pop art-inspired tie collection

in the 1990s. Doug studied interior

design at Parsons and launched his

career in New York. He arrived in

Miami to do residential design in

1992, and Gene followed in 2001.

The brothers decided to create

their own signature collection three

years ago, and the idea fell into place

after they established a relationship

with Nisi Berryman and Beth

Arrowood, owners of NiBa Home.

Furniture, lamps and rugs from their

collection now show up in homes

throughout South Florida. One of

Doug’s most recent projects, a 1950s

home in northeast Miami, made

Metropolitan Home ’s 2006 Design

100. That design, which pairs bold

blues and shocking green, took the

client aback at first, but Doug won her

over by pointing out that her Florida

backyard featured the same hues. “I

don’t consider color wild,” Doug says.

“Even neon colors can work in the

right room. It can be intimidating

because most people don’t know how

to mix colors.”

This is exactly why Doug and Gene

have been so successful. “We like

interesting colors that people don’t

necessarily think work together, but

if you play and tweak them, they work

beautifully,” he elaborates. When the

brothers are in design mode, sketches

and notes are taped to the walls of

their studio above NiBa Home. These

ideas are edited, then trashed — and

then the Meyers start all over again.

Looking through old sketches,

Doug remarks that he can’t always

figure out which brother created

what because their handwriting and

sketches are so similar. “It’s really

funny,” he says. “I wouldn’t necessar-

ily know whose sketch or note it is. It’s

a total collaborated effort.” Doug

enthusiastically sums up the beauty

of this professional relationship

between two siblings: “I never had so

much fun working in my life as I have

since we started working together.”

• Doug & Gene, 305.458.2439

• NiBa Home, 39 NE 39th St., Miami;

305.573.1939; nibahome.com

“Even neon colors can work in the right room. It can be intimidating

because most people don’t know how to mix colors.”

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(top and bottom)

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ment from Doug

Meyer with multi-

hued Plexiglass and

bright upholstery.

Table from Doug &

Gene collection.

90 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

ESTERO WELCOMED THE NEW MILLENNIUM

as a mere blip on the radar, an exit off of

Interstate 75 between Naples and Fort Myers.

Cow pastures, citrus groves and thick tangles of vegetation

were more prevalent than rooftops.

Fast forward just six years and this unincorporated

village of nearly 24,000 full-time and 14,220 part-time

residents is one of the fastest-growing areas in the United

States, with home values that boast double-digit annual

appreciation and a growing cadre of gated communities,

upscale shops and hotels, and recreational opportunities.

Estero — the name means “estuary” in Spanish — lies

along the Estero River, a five-mile waterway that

winds west past subtropical hammocks and mangrove

Life in Estero offers amix of old and new.

By Nanci TheoretPhotos by Robin Hill

swamps toward Estero Bay and the

Gulf of Mexico. Home to the state’s

newest university, Florida Gulf

Coast University, and adjacent to

the Southwest Florida International

Airport, Estero has exploded: More

than 11,000 homes have been granted

permits in the past six years, and con-

servative estimates have the village’s

population reaching 53,000 by 2010.

Much of Estero’s appeal lies in its

old-meets-new character, evident in

its mixed-use development of homes,

stores and the future 500-seat, $20

HOMEPLACE• decorative concrete • meyer brothers • estero

A River RunsThrough It

91J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

million Gulfshore Playhouse Theater

(for which Carol Channing and Anna

Maria Alberghetti have attended fund-

raisers). The theater will become part

of the Koreshan State Historic Site, a

1890s settlement and now a state park.

Large gated communities such as

Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club,

Wildcat Run, Grandézza and the

Brooks have increased Estero’s cachet.

So have Germain Arena (home to

semi-professional hockey, basketball

and Arena Football League teams), the

upscale Miromar Outlets, and the new

International Design Center, sched-

uled to open later this year.

Beginning with a vision of a

resort-style community, developer

Margaret Miller literally put Estero

on the map. The large swaths of land

she purchased in the late-1990s

have given rise to Miromar Lakes

(both the community and the outlet

mall) and the interior design center.

Residents and guests enter the gated

community along a lavish drive lined

with royal palms, which leads to

a grand multilevel fountain and

parterre garden. Beyond the entry sit

700 acres of freshwater lakes for sail-

ing, fishing and water skiing; two

miles of imported white-sand beaches;

an Arthur Hills Signature golf

course (a second is under construc-

tion); a Tuscan-inspired golf villa; a

beachfront restaurant; and a full-

service spa and fitness center.

Miromar’s homes, once priced

from the low $200,000s, now start in

the $600,000s and soar well past the

$1 million mark. The community

offers everything from mid-rise con-

dos to golf villas and mansion-like

estates — often at a fraction of the

price of similarly sized homes in

Naples, to the south.

The bang-for-your-buck appeal

has helped boost Estero real estate

values. Like Naples, the city now offers

gated communities with golf courses,

large clubhouses and like-minded

neighbors. The sold-out Wildcat Run

has an Arnold Palmer-designed

course, while the sprawling 2,532-acre

Brooks offers a pedestrian-friendly

town center with a 10,000-square-

foot fitness center, a restaurant,

village green and enrichment center.

The Brooks consists of four gated

communities, three of which have golf

courses and their own clubhouses.

Another development, Grandézza,

boasts a 53,000-square-foot club-

house and an 18-hole golf course, with

prices for new homes ranging from

$500,000 to more than $1.5 million.

Guiding this growth are residents

like Don Eslick, a member of several

Estero-centric grassroots groups.

Eslick helped to create the Estero

Community Plan, which set standards

for commercial development and is

widely praised for its dedication to pre-

serving the village’s unique character.

For Eslick, who retired to Estero

six years ago, the village has grown

beyond its midway-between-Naples-

and-Fort Myers reputation. “Today,

we’re getting our own venues, and I see

a lot of other attractions coming here,”

he says. “We’re really the place to be

now because of our central location.”

• Estero; esterofl.org

• Miromar Lakes; 239.425.2340;

miromarlakes.com

Estero is one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States,

with home values that boast double-digit annual appreciation.

Miromar Lakes

Beach & Golf Club

in Estero has

imported white-

sand beaches, a

picturesque foun-

tain, million-dollar

homes and the

nearby Estero River.

92 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

REGIONS• fabulous things to do & see

As the skies light up across the nation to celebrate

Independence Day, folks come out in swarms to view elabo-

rate pyrotechnic shows in parks, on beaches and in other

open spaces. For those who don’t want to be part of that maddening

scene, there are places to enjoy smaller crowds, a cocktail or two

and even a private viewing of the sky shows.

America’s Birthday Bash at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami

promises a breathtaking pyrotechnic display over the waters of Key

Biscayne, while the City of Miami Beach fires away down at South

Beach near 10th Street and also farther north at 73rd Street.

If a rooftop lounge sounds like a good spot to catch the display, make your way

to the Spire Bar at the Hotel (Tiffany) on South Beach. From this perch, you’ll see

showers of sparks, comets with glowing tails and red hot explosions.

In downtown Tampa, the luxurious Yacht Starship sets sail from

Channelside for a Fourth of July dinner cruise. Recognized by AAA with three

diamonds for its food, service and ambience, the $8 million, 180-foot yacht

offers sit-down fine dining, entertainment and spectacular views of the Tampa

Bay waterfront. From the yacht’s top

promenade deck, you’ll have the per-

fect vantage point from which to

watch dazzling fireworks ignite the

darkened heavens.

The ultimate fireworks-watching

spot may well be aboard the Grand 1

luxury yacht, which sets sail from

Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian

Resort & Spa. The 40-foot Sea Ray —

which comes complete with a person-

al captain, deckhand and optional

butler — sails the waters of the Seven

Seas Lagoon, where the Magic

Kingdom’s nightly Wishes fireworks

show can be viewed in its full patriot-

ic splendor.

You can hire the vessel, which

comfortably accommodates up to 13

people, for $400 per hour. Order

some hors d’oeuvres and wine and

then sit back and enjoy the show. And

if the Grand 1 is already booked for

Independence Day, don’t despair;

both the yacht and healthy doses of

fireworks are available year-round at

Walt Disney World. — PL

The Spire Bar, the Hotel (Tiffany),

801 Collins Ave., South Beach;

305.531.2222; thehotelofsouthbeach.com

Yacht Starship, 813.223.7999;

yachtstarship.com

Grand 1, Disney’s Grand Floridian

Resort & Spa, Walt Disney World;

407.824.2682; disneyworld.com CO

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Celebrate in StyleCool places to watch Fourth of July fireworks.

View Miami’s fire-

works from the

Spire Bar (top), or

see Disney’s show

aboard the yacht

Grand 1 (above).

94 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

REGIONS

CENTRALTHROUGH JULY 23 The Motorcycle in Florida:

The Road Starts Here, Orange County History

Center, Orlando; thehistorycenter.org • JUNE 2-18

The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, State

Theater, Eustis; baystreetplayers.org • JUNE 8

Lake Louisa Sprint Series Triathlon, Clermont;

floridastateparks.org • JUNE 23 Gallery One

Artists Fourth Fridays Art Reception, Gallery One

Artists, Kissimmee; galleryoneartists.com • JUNE

29-JULY 23 The Constant Wife by W. Somerset

Maugham, Mad Cow Theatre, Orlando; mad

cowtheatre.com • JULY 26-30 10th Annual

Writers Workshop, Gainesville Association for the

Creative Arts, Gainesville; writingtheregion.com

Date Night at the GardensFor the ultimate night out, take your sweet-

heart to beautiful Leu Gardens for a picnic

dinner and a romantic movie, held the first

Friday of every month through September.

Bring a dinner basket and blanket or chairs,

and spend the evening holding hands under

the stars. Vendors will be on hand selling

hotdogs, popcorn and drinks. The gardens

open at 6 p.m. and the movie starts at 8:30

p.m. Admission: $5 plus tax per adult, $1

plus tax per child. Harry P. Leu Gardens,

1920 N. Forest Ave., Orlando; 407.246.2620;

leugardens.org

Wine Not?Get your toes purple by stomping grapes at

Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards’ 15th Annual

Harvest Festival, June 16-18. It’ll be a fun

weekend full of wine tasting (of course),

tours, live music, and arts and crafts. Food

and beverages are also available for pur-

chase. Located in Clermont (25 miles west of

Orlando), this off-the-beaten-track winery,

which ranks as Florida’s largest premium

vineyard, is a refreshing place to enjoy an

afternoon. Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards,

19239 U.S. 27 N., Clermont; 352.394.8627;

lakeridgewinery.com

FIRST COASTJUNE 3 Drake’s Raid, Fountain of Youth Park, St.

Augustine; 904.829.9792 • JUNE 8-10 Fountain

Mercury King Buster 400, St. Augustine

Municipal Marina, St. Augustine; king

buster400.com • JUNE 15-JULY 9 Other People’s

Money, Limelite Theatre, St. Augustine; lime

light-theatre.org • JUNE 16-18 Golfweek’s Annual

Father & Son Open, World Golf Village, St.

Augustine; golfweektournaments.com • JUNE

23-24 Greek Landing Day Festival, St. Photios

National Greek Orthodox Shrine, St. Augustine;

904.829.8205 • JUNE 30-JULY 2 Pepsi 400,

Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach;

daytonainternationalspeedway.com • JULY 4

Skyblast Fireworks Spectacular, Metropolitan

Park, Jacksonville; 904.798.9111 • JULY 7-9

Kingfish Challenge, 111 Avenida Menendez, St.

Augustine; 904.824.8322 • JULY 19-AUGUST 20

Love, Sex & the I.R.S., Alhambra Dinner Theatre,

Jacksonville; alhambradinnertheatre.com

Berry, Berry FunHeld on the third Saturday in June every

year, the Bostwick Blueberry Festival is a

tribute to the fruits of Florida’s farming

industry. The event includes a pancake

breakfast, a book fair and homemade baked

goods featuring — you guessed it — blueber-

ries. Planned this year for June 17, it’s a sweet

way to spend a summer day. Bostwick

Blueberry Festival, Bostwick Community

Center, 125 Tillman St., Bostwick; 386.328.1503;

putnamcountychamber.org

Good Moon RisingThere’s nothing like watching a full moon

rising in a clear summer sky — and it’s even

better when you have a glass of bubbly in

hand and a circle of friends around you. You

can enjoy all that and more during the

Sunset/Moonrise at St. Augustine Light-

house, July 10. Starting at 7:45 p.m., the

event atop the lighthouse tower celebrates

the arrival of the full moon with champagne

provide by San Sebastian Winery. The event

is sponsored by the Lighthouse Museum,

and reservations are required. Sunset/

Moonrise at St. Augustine Lighthouse, 81

Lighthouse Ave., St. Augustine; 904.829.0745;

staugustinelight house.com

KEYSJUNE 3-11 Pridefest Key West, various locations,

Key West; 305.292.3223 • JUNE 12-16 Island Sun

Splash ’06, various locations, Upper Keys;

305.852.1655 • JUNE 24 Tropical Fruit Fiesta, Key

Largo Community Park, Key Largo; 305.292.4501

• JUNE 25 Love That Lerner & Loewe!, Island

Opera Theatre, Sugarloaf Lodge, Sugarloaf Key;

305.294.0404 • JULY 4 Village of Islands

Independence Day Celebration, Founders Park,

Plantation Key; 305.853.1685 • JULY 8 22nd

Annual Underwater Music Festival, Florida Keys

National Marine Sanctuary, Looe Key;

305.872.2411 • JULY 23-30 Reef Awareness Week,

various locations, Key West; 305.294.3100

Cuba LibreCubans were among the first to make their

mark on Key West, infusing the culture and

lifestyle of the Conch Republic with the tra-

ditions of their native land. June 10-17, the

island celebrates its Cuban influence during

the Seventh Annual Cuban American

Heritage Festival. Cuban food and music,

symposiums on Cuban culture and a variety

of dance events — held at the Cuban Club and

other hot spots — are sure to set a spicy tone.

Seventh Annual Cuban American Heritage

Festival, various locations, Key West;

305.295.9665; keywestcubanclub.com CO

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HARRY P. LEU GARDENS

ST. AUGUSTINE LIGHTHOUSE

DIRECT OCEANFRONT CONDOGreat Views of the North Peninsula fromthis 2BD/ 2BA 4th Floor unit on trafficfree beach. Features new kitchen,Hurricane shutters, and large room sizes.Building has heated pool, exercise room,and underground parking. Must See$389,000

DAYTONA BEACH HI RISE CONDOThis Oceanfront luxury condo encompass-es the South half of the entire 20th floor.Views for miles from floor to ceiling glasswalls in every room. This 3bedroom 3bathunit comes tastefully decorated w/import-ed large tile and granite accents crownmoldings and more. Worth a trip to viewthis unit before you purchase a condoelsewhere!$1,095,000

ORMOND BEACH LUXURY CONDOExtra large 2BD/ 2BA direct Oceanfrontunit. Panoramic 180 degree views North toSouth w/ office-den, eat in kitchen, largebedrooms, and 2 balconies. Under groundparking, Club room, on-site management,and beachside pool. Located close toOceanside Country Club, restaurants,shopping , and Peninsula Hospital. Will notlast! $799,000

MILLION DOLLAR VIEWSSurround yourself in the lap of luxury thatthis 2 story direct Oceanfront Penthouse hasto offer. Imported marble, inlaid oak flooring,leaded glass accents, crown moldings, oakstaircase, waterfall fixtures, jetted tubs in allbaths, 2nd floor owner retreat w/ glassdomed steam shower, Large roof top terracew/ outdoor shower, 2 additional balconies-more-more-more!! Owner says must sell!!Reduced from $1,950,000 to $1,100,000

ORMOND BEACHSIDE RETREATUpdated 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom beachhouse. This property comes fully furnisheddown to the linens, the gas grill and beachchairs! Walking distance to the AtlanticOcean and the Tom Renick Park. Homefeatures Lush landscaping, new roof, newa/c, new bath, and updated kitchen. This isthe perfect second home! Daytona Area,Bike week, Race week, More Owner isLicensed Realtor. $237,900

RIVERFRONT POOL HOMECome home and enjoy the views of thebeautiful Tomoka River from this 3BD/2.5BA pool home. From the Double boatslip dock the Intra Coastal waterway isjust minutes away! Home features highelevation above river, new roof, 2 zonesof heat/air, large decking that terracesdown to the docks, and views, views,views!! $689,925

BRAND NEW GOLF COURSE HOMEThe LPGA golf course in sunny DaytonaBeach is the backyard of this brand newconstruction 4BD/2BA residence byFlorida Lifestyle Homes. Unbelievableviews from the rooftop deck, maplekitchen w/ granite counter tops, gor-geous master bath w/Jacuzzi style tub,and separate shower. Incredible value@ $529,000

LPGA INTERNATIONAL GOLF HOMEBrand new construction lake view home onthe golf course at LPGA International. This5BD/4BA home has over 3600 Sq.ft. of livingarea, features include Maple cabinets inkitchen w/ granite countertops, 3 car sideentry garage, In ground pool, excellent viewsfrom every room. LPGA features beautifulclubhouse and dinning, two 18 holeChampionship courses, tennis & USTAregional facility near by. Come take advantageof this excellent opportunity $859,000

w w w. I S e l l D a y t o n a . c o mBenjaminritger@realtor.com

Telephone: 386-405-2613

Specializing in Oceanfront, Riverfront & Golf Course Properties

1 1 0 0 O c e a n S h o r e B o u l e v a r d , S u i t e 3 , O r m o n d B e a c h , F L 3 2 1 7 6

Million Dollar Viewsfrom Benjamin A. Ritger

REALTOR®

Million Dollar Viewsfrom Benjamin A. Ritger

REALTOR®

Alike Contest held at the legendary Sloppy

Joe’s Bar make for a raucous good time.

Those who want to engage in one of the

famous writer’s “manly” pursuits can join

the Hemingway Fishing Tournament.

Hemingway Days Festival, various loca-

tions, Key West; hemingwaydays.org

PANHANDLEJUNE 1-11 Fiesta of Five Flags, various locations,

Pensacola; 850.433.6512; fiestaoffiveflags.org

• JUNE 7-JULY 22 Loot, Seaside Repertory

Theatre, Seaside; 850.231.0733; seasiderep.org

• JUNE 10-11 Billy Bowlegs Regatta, Fort Walton

Beach Yacht Club, Fort Walton Beach;

850.269.0303 • JUNE 10-11 Third West Indies

Market, North Barrett Square, Rosemary Beach;

850.951.2148 • JUNE 11 Ballet at Baytowne: An

Evening of Dance, Baytowne Wharf, Sandestin;

baytownewharf.com • JUNE 16-25 Stage Crafters

present Over the River and Through the Woods,

Fort Walton Beach Civic Auditorium; 850.243.1101

• JUNE 23-24 Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic,

Baytowne Marina, Sandestin; 866.505.4458;

96 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

REGIONS

Come to PapaErnest Hemingway lived and worked in

Key West for only 10 years, but some 50

years later, his legacy lives on. The Conch

Republic celebrates the 22nd Annual

Hemingway Days Festival, July 19-23, hon-

oring the life and work of the man known

as “Papa.” Readings, theatrical presenta-

tions, a short-story contest, a new museum

exhibit and the famous Hemingway Look- CO

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fishecbc.com • JULY 3 Independence Day Bike

Parade, Morgan Sports Center, Destin;

850.650.1241 • JULY 12-15 Elton John and Tim

Rice’s Aida, the Arts Center at OWC, Niceville;

850.729.6000 • JULY 15-16 Emerald Coast Exotic

Bird Fair, Emerald Coast Conference Center, Fort

Walton Beach; birdshows.com

Ripe and ReadyUp in the Panhandle, it isn’t summer until

the watermelons ripen. Then, it’s time to spit

some seeds in celebration. You can do that

and more when the town of Chipley holds its

annual Watermelon Festival on June 24.

Events include the Big Watermelon Contest,

comedy shows, a 5K run, a car and truck

show, horseshoe pitching, square dancing

and live musical entertainment, along with a

big parade through the city’s historic down-

town. Want the real Florida? Here’s where

you’ll find it. Panhandle Watermelon

Festival, Washington County Agricultural

Center, 1424 Jackson Ave., Suite A, Chipley;

850.638.4157

HEMINGWAY DAYS FESTIVAL

97

REAL ESTATE

1. Amon Investments – Wrap

yourself in a luxury water-front

lifestyle from the Amon Invest-

ment Collection.

2. Kolter Properties – Luxurious

condominium tower featuring a

roof-top pool and theater with

premier concierge services located

in the heart of downtown West

Palm Beach.

3. Marr Properties – The largest

independently-owned company in

the upper Keys. Marr Properties

is a leader in Keys real estate.

4. MiraBay – A master-planned

community with water access to

Tampa Bay.

5. Palma Bella – An exquisite

ocean-front condominium poised

gracefully along Daytona Beach

Shores.

6. The Village of Imagine –

Intrawest’s newest village of ele-

gant restaurants, boutiques,

condo-hotel residences with

Westin’s signature hotel ameni-

ties.

7. The Vue at Lake Eola - The Vue at

Lake Eola and the Vue Charlotte are

luxury high-rise condominiums.

901 all in Real Estate

HOTELS

8. Amelia Island Plantation –

Florida’s Premier Island Resort

offers ocean-front rooms and villas,

championship golf, tennis, luxury

spa, shopping and much more.

9. Don Cesar – Premier Beach-front

Resort, 277 guestrooms + suites

on the Gulf of Mexico.

10. Four Seasons Palm Beach -

Indulge yourself with a getaway to

Four Seasons Resort, where leg-

endary service and Palm Beach

sophistication meet.

11. Hawk’s Cay — 1,000 Reasons to

stay at the Cay.

12. Loews Miami Beach — Loews Miami

Beach hotel is a Four-Star Diamond

urban-style resort offering a wide

variety of amenities and services.

13. Morgan’s Hotel Group — Delano

and Shore Club ocean-front

resorts in the Heart of the Art

Deco district.

14. Ocean Sands Resort & Spa —

Tempt your senses with distinctive

resort dining, ocean-view spa +

Fitness Center and a sparkling

ocean-front pool.

15. Ocean Walk Resort — 1 – 3 bed-

room Luxury Condominium Resort

on Daytona’s only traffic free beach

16. Ocean Waters Resort & Spa —

Ocean Waters offers a variety of a

Luxury Resort, Boutique Hotel,

and Full Service Resort. The best

value property.

17. Ponte Vedra Inn & Club – His-

toric northeast Florida resort –

250 rooms, Atlantic Ocean,

beach, golf, tennis, fitness, spa,

shopping & dining.

18. Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa –

Casual sea-side elegance amid

spectacular island views with

endless pampering amenities.

Complete restoration in 2005.

19. The Resort & Club at Little

Harbor – A 350-acre, water-

front, Caribbean-style, island

resort on the south shore of

Tampa Bay

20. Westin Innisbrook - Florida's

finest full-service resort and

golf destination featuring 600

suites, 4 golf courses and

much more...

900 all in Hotels

LIFESTYLE

21. Pevonia – Holistic, proven-effec-

tive products and treatments pro-

viding outstanding, visible results

for all skin types.

Simply fill out the attached reply card and mail for FREE brochures, catalogs and other advertiser info. For faster

service, fax toll-free to 888-847-6035 or visit www.floridatravellife.com/freeinfo to make your request online.

FREEINFORMATIONFREE Brochures, catalogs & other advertiser information

98 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

REGIONS

Drink to IndependenceThe United States isn’t the only country that

celebrates its independence at the height of

summer. Each July 14, folks in France com-

memorate Bastille Day, the 1789 event that

ended the French monarchy and launched

the French Revolution. This year, Floridians

can join in the celebration during the

Bastille Day Wine Walkabout, July 13 in

Destin. Sponsored by Ruthersfords 465

Restaurant, the event features wines and

culinary creations from regions throughout

France. It’s sure to liberate your palate.

Rutherfords 465 Restaurant, Regatta Bay

Golf & Country Club, 465 Regatta Bay Blvd.,

Destin; 850.337.8888; rutherfords465.com

SOUTHJUNE 4 Tim McGraw in Concert, Bank Atlantic

Center, Sunrise; 954.835.8000; bankatlantic

center.com • JUNE 9-11 Barbie Live in Fairytopia,

Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Fort

Lauderdale; 954.462.0222; browardcenter.org

• JUNE 15 The New Cars, Hard Rock Live,

Hollywood; 866.502.7529; seminolehardrock

hollywood.com • JUNE 20 Fete de la Musique,

from Cocowalk and Mayfair to Commodore Plaza,

Coconut Grove; 305.495.9655 • JUNE 21-JULY 1

Florida Dance Festival, New World School of the

Arts, Miami; 305.867.7111; floridadanceassocia

tion.org • JULY 8-9 International Mango Festival,

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, Coral Gables;

305.667.1651, ext. 3311; fairchildgarden.org • JULY

14-16 Disney Live, Broward Center for the

Performing Arts, Fort Lauderdale, 954.462.0222;

browardcenter.org • JULY 22-23 Madonna in

Concert, American Airlines Arena, Miami;

786.777.1000; aaarena.com • JULY 22-23

Everglades Music and Crafts Festival, Miccosukee

Village, Miami; 305.223.8380

Wasabi WalksExperience the essence of Japan during an

evening at one of Delray Beach’s hidden

treasures, the Morikami Japanese Gardens.

On July 7, Aug. 18 and Sept. 15, visitors can

take part in Sushi and Stroll nights from

5:30-8:30 p.m.; admission is $5. For an extra

$13.95, guests can partake in a delicious

Japanese dinner, including salad or miso

soup and one of the following: sushi combo,

salmon teriyaki, Asian eggplant, teriyaki

chicken or beef bowl. For dessert, stroll the

grounds with the new self-guided garden

audio tour. The Morikami Japanese

Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray

Beach; 561.495.0233; morikami.org

The New Film NoirDuring the American Black Film Festival,

July 19-23, all of Miami becomes a movie

theater. At locations around the city, the

public can view more than 2,500 movies

created by African-American producers,

directors, actors and behind-the-scenes

technicians. Symposiums and panels on

issues relating to black cinema, along with

screenings, parties and an awards banquet

mark the event, now in its 10th year. It’s a

must-see for film lovers. American Black

Film Festival, various locations, Miami;

212.966.2411; abff.com

SPACE COASTJUNE 3 TITUSNites Downtown Street Party, various

locations, downtown Titusville; 321.267.3036

• JUNE 3-JULY 9 Eliot McMurrough: Landscapes,

Brevard Museum of Art & Science, Melbourne;

321.242.0737; artandscience.org • JUNE 8 Jabali

Acrobats, King Center Educational Theatre Program,

Melbourne; 321.242.2219; kingcenter.com • JUNE 10

Save It Summer Celebration, Lori Wilson Park,

Cocoa Beach; 321.633.1874; brevardparks.com

• JUNE 17-JULY 31 Swallowtail Festival, Brevard Zoo;

321.254.9453; brevardzoo.org • JUNE 24-25 USA

Junior Olympic Windsurfing Festival, Calema

Windsurfing, Inc., Merritt Island; 321.453.3223

• JULY 1-AUG. 31 Summer Saturday Nights, Brevard

Zoo, Melbourne; 321.254.9453; brevardzoo.org

Let It Be a DanceGershwin, Bizet, Chauvrie, Rachmaninov,

Wagner — the world’s great ballet composers

span continents and generations. Their

common thread: exciting, deeply emotional

music that lends itself to the fluid, romantic

movements of formal dance. On June 17 at 7

p.m., the Galmont Ballet joins the Brevard

Ballet Theater to explore the works of these

and other great musicians during Season for

the Great Composers. Featuring both con-

temporary and neo-classical ballet styles,

this dynamic presentation is guaranteed to

sweep you off your feet. Season for the

Great Composers, King Center for the

Performing Arts, 3865 N. Wickham Road,

Melbourne; 321.242.2219; kingcenter.com

Everyone Loves a ParadeWhat’s better than a Fourth of July parade

down Main Street? An Independence Day

Boat Parade along the waterways of Cocoa

Beach. Each year, the Cocoa Beach Boating

Club organizes such an event, in which deco-

rated boats of all types and sizes parade

through the city’s residential canals. Boats

bedecked with shades of red, white and blue

will assemble at Mile Marker 101 on the

south side of SR 520 and launch in the

Banana River, winding through waterways

until they reach the west end of the Cocoa

RUTHERFORDS 465 RESTAURANT

MORIKAMI JAPANESE GARDENS

SEASON FOR THE GREAT COMPOSERS

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REGIONS

Beach Golf Course at

around 12:30 p.m. It’s a fes-

tive and unusual way to

honor American heritage.

Independence Day Boat

Parade, waterways of Cocoa

Beach; 321.783.1207

WESTJUNE 16 Il Divo in Concert,

Ford Amphitheater, Tampa;

866.800.2828 • JUNE 24

Flower Power, Tarpon Springs

Castle Winery; tscwinery.com

• JUNE 29-JULY 16 Mrs. Warren’s

Profession, FSU Center for the

Performing Arts, Sarasota;

941.358.5330 • JUNE 30 Festi-

val Parade of Boats, Main St. and Lemon Ave.,

Sarasota; 941.371.8820, ext. 1800 • JULY 1-AUG.

20 The Early Modern Painter-Etcher, John & Mable

Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; ringling.org

• JULY 4 First Home Riverfest, Centennial Park, Fort

Myers; downtownfortmyers.com/riverfest • JULY 4

Red, White and Boom, Cape

Coral Bridge, Cape Coral;

capecoralonline.com • JULY

15-16 MangoMania Tropical

Fruit Fair, Pine Island, Cape

Coral; mangomaniafl.com

• JULY 29 Mid-Summer Mad-

ness, Tarpon Springs Castle

Winery; tscwinery.com

Play … and PayWhen Italian playwright

Dario Fo won the Nobel

Prize for Literature in

1997, some were surprised.

On the surface, Fo’s comic

plays seem to lack the

gravitas usually required

of a Nobel winner. But roiling beneath the

amusing surface he creates are serious ques-

tions about modern life and the values that

inform it. Through June 18, the Tampa Bay

Performing Arts Center offers a peek at Fo’s

genius when it presents his 1974 play We

Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay!, about a poor young

woman named Antonia who resorts to

shoplifting to get her groceries. You’ll never

look at comedy the same way again. We

Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay!, Tampa Bay

Performing Arts Center, 1010 N. W.C. MacInnes

Place, Tampa; 813.229.7827; tbpac.com

Hot BodiesFor the second time, the Museum of Science

and Industry in Tampa has extended the run

of Bodies, the exhibition of human cadavers

that has drawn more than 400,000 viewers.

Originally scheduled to end in February and

then extended into April, the exhibition will

now remain at MOSI until Sept. 4. So con-

troversial that Florida attorney general

Charlie Crist once threatened to use the

state’s Anatomical Board to prevent the

exhibit’s opening, Bodies has become one of

the most popular museum exhibits in

Florida history. Museum of Science and

Industry, 4801 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa;

813.987.6000; mosi.org

WE WON’T PAY! WE WON’T PAY!

To Advertise Call

407.571.4820

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FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Call or log on to get the details on room rates,

availability, reservations, opening dates,

amenities and more.

RENOVATIONS REVISITED

• Bonaventure Resort & Spa,

954.389.3300; bonaventureflorida.com

• Carlton Hotel, 305.672.5858;

carltonsouthbeach.com

• Catalina Hotel & Beach Club,

305.674.1160; catalinahotel.com

• Gallery One, 954.565.3800;

galleryone.doubletree.com

• Hotel Royal Plaza, 800.248.7890;

royalplaza.com

• Hotel Victor, 305.428.1234; hotel

victorsouthbeach.com

• Marco Island Marriott Resort & Spa,

800.438.4373; marcoislandmarriott.com

• Naples Grande Resort & Club,

888.422.6177; naplesgranderesort.com

• Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, 800.234.7842;

pvresorts.com

• Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin

Resort, 888.828.8850; swananddolphin.com

FRESH FACES

• Acqualina Rosewood Resort,

305.918.8000; acqualinaresort.com

• Four Seasons Hotel Miami, 305.358.3535;

fourseasons.com/miami

• The Setai, 888.625.7500; setai.com

UP & COMING

• European Club, 954.456.7818;

myeuropeanclub.com

• Gansevoort South, 305.604.6700;

gansevoortsouth.com

• Q Club Resort and Residences,

877.747.7258; qclubresort.com

• The Resort at Singer Island,

561.340.1700; luxurycollection.com

• Rosen Shingle Creek Golf & Spa Resort,

866.996.9939; shinglecreekresort.com

• Sage Resort, 407.864.7379; sageresort

orlando.com

• Sandpearl Resort, 727.466.6785;

sandpearl.com

• Seagate Hotel & Spa, 561.276.2421; coral

hospitality.com

• Trump International Hotel & Tower Las

Olas condo-hotel & Trump International

Beach Club Fort Lauderdale, 212.832.2000;

trump.com

LOOK TO THE FUTURE

• The Blue Rose, 786.866.0077; blue

roseorlando.com

• Grand Bohemian Resort & Residences,

727.821.4530; grandbohemianresidences.com

• Intrawest Village of Imagine,

888.822.3532; villageofimagine.com

• Marquis, 305.571.4002; marquismiami.com

• InterContinental Resorts & Residences

Palazzo del Lago, 866.680.4742;

palazzodellago.com

• Sian Ocean Residences, 954.455.5191;

sianbeachclub.com

• W Fort Lauderdale Hotel & Residences,

954.462.1633; wfortlauderdaleresidences.com

• W South Beach Hotel & Residences,

305.531.4449; wsouthbeachresidences.com

101J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6

NEW & IMPROVED RESOURCES

102 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

coffee and juice, fruit salad, and yogurt.

On Sunday morning, nibble just enough to

hold you until brunch at one of downtown’s

many options, then stroll around Lake

Eola’s farmers’ market, held every Sunday

from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On the third Sunday of every month, hot

spot Hue features its famous Champagne

Disco Brunch. You can sip a delicious

Bloody Mary and listen to a live DJ spinning

your favorite music from the ’80s, or you

can try Dexter’s Sunday brunch, where

tasty mimosas in fresh flavors like mango,

pineapple, raspberry and passion fruit are a

steal at $1.95. If you want something more

upscale, experience the Sunday Jazz Brunch

at the Grand Bohemian on Orange Avenue,

the city’s main drag. As Orlando’s best

jazz musicians play tunes on the Imperial

Grand Bösendorfer piano in the restaurant’s

lobby, you’ll enjoy a magnificent gourmet

meal of house-smoked salmon, hand-rolled

sushi, upscale meat, poultry, seafood and

game entrées, a gamut of breakfast offerings

and much more, including a delectable

dessert presentation.

Maybe it’s a good thing the vast majority

of the 50 million people who fly into Orlando

International Airport each year never

escape the mouse-trap. That way, the cozy

vibe of oak-shaded Thornton Park, Lake

Eola and downtown Orlando will stay true to

its laid-back Old Florida roots. Of those

lucky few who manage to disentangle them-

selves, locals ask a favor: Don’t share this

little secret, or the charm will inevitably be

replaced by long lines and neon lights. •

ORLANDO LOCAL INFORMATION

VISITOR INFORMATION

• Orlando/Orange County Convention &

Visitors Bureau, 8723 International Drive, Suite

101; 800.972.3304; orlandoinfo.com

• Orlando Downtown Arts District, 27 S.

Orange Ave.; 407.648.7060; dadorlando.com

ATTRACTIONS

• Lake Eola Park, 195 N. Rosalind Ave.;

407.246.2827; cityoforlando.net

• Orange County Regional History Center,

65 E. Central Blvd.; 800.965.2030;

thehistorycenter.org

LODGING

• Courtyard at Lake Lucerne, 211 N. Lucerne

Circle E.; 407.648.5188; orlandohistoricinn.com

• Eõ Inn/Spa, 227 N. Eola Drive;

407.481.8485; eoinn.com

• The Veranda Bed & Breakfast, 115 N.

Summerlin Ave.; 407.849.0321;

theverandabandb.com

• The Westin Grand Bohemian Hotel,

325 S. Orange Ave.; 407.313.9000;

grandbohemianhotel.com

DINING

• The Boheme Restaurant at the Westin

Grand Bohemian Hotel, 325 S. Orange Ave.;

407.313.9000; theboheme.com

• The Coffee House of Thornton Park,

712 E. Washington St.; 407.426.8989; coffee

house-orlando.com

• Dexter’s of Thornton Park, 808 E.

Washington St.; 407.648.2777; dexwine.com

• Eola Wine Company, 500 E. Central Blvd.;

407.481.9100; eolawinecompany.com

• Hue Restaurant, 629 E. Central Blvd.;

407.849.1800; huerestaurant.com

• Il Gelatone, 8 N. Summerlin Ave.;

407.839.8825; ilgelatone-usa.com

• Kres Chophouse, 17 W. Church St.;

407.447.7950; kresrestaurant.com

• Manuel’s on the 28th, 390 N. Orange

Ave.; 407.246.6580; manuelsonthe28th.com

• Shari Sushi Restaurant and Lounge,

621 E. Central Blvd.; 407.420.9420

• Wildside BBQ & Grill, 700 E. Washington

St.; 407.872.8665

SHOPPING

• Art Angels Market, 430 E. Central Blvd.;

407.872.3884; artangelsmarket.com

• Central City Market, 617 E. Central Blvd.;

407.849.9779; centralcitymarketorlando.com

• D & S Design & Solutions, 62 W. Colonial

Drive; 407.843.0799; designandsolutions.com

• Marie-France Boutique, 716 E. Washington

St.; 407.835.8855

• Urban Body, 12 N. Summerlin Ave.;

407.481.7979

• Urban Think Bookstore, 625 E. Central

Blvd.; 407.650.8004; urbanthinkorlando.com

• Zou Zou Boutique, 2 N. Summerlin Ave.;

407.843.3373; zouzouboutiqueorlando.com

KEY WEST LOCAL INFORMATION

VISITORS INFORMATION

• Monroe County Tourist Development

Council, 1201 White St., #102; 305.296.1552;

fla-keys.com

ATTRACTIONS

• Danger Charters, 404 Cactus Drive;

305.304.7999; dangercharters.com

• Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum,

907 Whitehead St.; 305.294.1136; heming

wayhome.com

• Key West Golf Club, 6450 E. College Road,

Stock Island; 305.294.5232; keywestgolf.com

• Saltwater Angler, Key West Hilton

Resort & Marina, 243 Front St.;

305.296.0700; saltwaterangler.com

LODGING

• Hilton Resort & Marina, 245 Front St.;

305.294.4000; hilton.com

• Pier House Resort and Caribbean Spa,

1 Duval St.; 800.723.2791; pierhouse.com

• Sunset Key Resort, 245 Front St.;

877.477.7SUN; sunsetkeyisland.com

DINING

• Blue Heaven Restaurant, 729 Thomas St.;

305.296.8666; blueheavenkw.homestead.com

/Blue_Heaven_Restaurant_Key_West.html

• Louie’s Backyard, 700 Waddell Ave.;

305.294.1061; louiesbackyard.com

• Pisces, 1007 Simonton St.; 305.294.7100;

pisceskeywest.com

SHOPPING

• Fast Buck Freddie’s, 500 Duval St.;

305.294.2007; fastbuckfreddies.com

• Gingerbread Square Gallery, 1207 Duval St.;

305.296.8900; gingerbreadsquaregallery.com

• Hands On Gallery, 1206 Duval St.;

305.296.7399; handsongallery.com

• Lucky Street Gallery, 1120 White St.;

305.294.3973

WEEKENDS • orlando

(Continued from page 30)

103J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 0 6 103

VISITORS BUREAU

• Greater Miami Convention and Visitors

Bureau, 701 Brickell Ave., Miami;

800.933.8448; gmcvb.com

LODGING

• Delano Hotel, 1685 Collins Ave.;

305.672.2000; delano-hotel.com

• Hotel Victor, 1144 Ocean Drive;

305.428.1234; hotelvictorsouthbeach.com

• National Hotel, 1677 Collins Ave.;

305.532.2311; nationalhotel.com

• Raleigh Hotel, 1775 Collins Ave.;

305.534.6300; raleighhotel.com

• The Ritz-Carlton South Beach,

One Lincoln Road; 305.276.4000;

ritzcarlton.com

• Sagamore Hotel/Social Miami, 1671 Collins

Ave.; 305.535.8088; sagamorehotel.com

• The Setai, 2001 Collins Ave.;

305.520.6000; setai.com

DINING

• Afterglo, 1200 Washington Ave.;

305.695.1717; afterglo-restaurant.com

• Americana, the Ritz-Carlton South Beach,

One Lincoln Road; 786.276.4033;

ritzcarlton.com

• Barton G, 1420 West Ave.; 305.672.8881;

bartong.com

• Blue Door at the Delano, Delano Hotel,

1685 Collins Ave.; 305.674.6400;

Delano-hotel.com

• Casa Tua, 1700 James Ave.; 305.673.1010;

casatualifestyle.com

• DiLido Beach Club, the Ritz-Carlton South

Beach, One Lincoln Road; 786.276.4033;

ritzcarlton.com

• Dynamo, Wolfsonian-FIU, 1001 Washington

Ave.; 305.531.1001; wolfsonian.org

• Le Bon, 723 Lincoln Road; 305.673.3266;

lebonrestaurant.com

• News Cafe, 800 Ocean Drive;

305.538.6397; newscafe.com

• Ola on Ocean, Savoy Hotel,

455 Ocean Drive; 305.695.9125;

savoymiami.com/dining.aspx

• o-R-o, 300 Alton Road; 305.673.3444;

o-r-o.com

• Nobu, the Shore Club, 1901 Collins Ave.;

305.695.3232; noburestaurants.com

• Pacific Time, 915 Lincoln Road;

305.534.5979; pacifictimerestaurant.com

• Prime One Twelve, 112 Ocean Drive;

305.532.8112; prime112.com

• Restaurant at the Setai, the Setai, 2001

Collins Ave.; 305.520.6400; setai.com

• Social Miami at Sagamore, 1671 Collins

Ave.; 305.535.8088; sagamorehotel.com

• Sushisamba Dromo, 600 Lincoln Road;

305.673.5337; sushisamba.com

• Van Dyke Café, 846 Lincoln Road;

305.534.3600; thevandykecafe.com

• Vix, Hotel Victor; 1144 Ocean Drive;

305.428.1234; hotelvictorsouthbeach.com

GALLERIES

• ArtCenter/South Florida, 800 Lincoln

Road; 305.674.8278; artcentersf.org

• Britto Central, 818 Lincoln Road;

305.531.8821; britto.com

SPAS

• Agua at Delano, Delano Hotel,

1685 Collins Ave.; 305.674.6100;

delano-hotel.com

• The Ritz-Carlton Spa, the Ritz-Carlton

South Beach, One Lincoln Road;

786.279.4090; ritzcarlton.com

• The Spa at the Setai, the Setai, 2001

Collins Ave.; 305.520.6900; setai.com

• Spa V, Hotel Victor, 1144 Ocean Drive;

305.728.6500; hotelvictorsouthbeach.com

SHOPPING

• Arden B., 600 Collins Ave.; 305.534.0317;

ardenb.com

• Base, 939 Lincoln Road; 305.531.6470

• Circle Art @ Home, 1020 Lincoln Road;

305.531.1859; circleartonline.com

• Chroma, 920 Lincoln Road; 305.695.8808

• Club Monaco, 624 Collins Ave.;

305.674.7446; clubmonaco.com

• Intermix, 634 Collins Ave.; 305.531.5950;

intermixonline.com

• Nicole Miller, 656 Collins Ave.;

305.535.2200; nicolemiller.com

• Tim & Company, 1663 Michigan Ave.;

305.534.5191; timandco.com

MUSEUMS

• Wolfsonian-FIU, 1001 Washington Ave.;

305.531.1001; wolfsonian.org

• World Erotic Art Museum, 1205

Washington Ave.; 305.532.9336; weam.com

SOUTH BEACH LOCAL INFORMATION

The Vue, Hotel Victor

JO

HN

RE

VIS

KY

104 F L O R I D A T R A V E L & L I F E

FLORIDIANA

A Stage for

the Big Sky

WW

W.J

OH

NM

OR

AN

PH

OT

O.C

OM

Several years ago I met an unhappy

University of Florida graduate

student. Miserable in Gainesville,

he was heading home to Saudi Arabia.

North Central Florida’s summer heat,

the humidity, and even the insects didn’t

bother him; the tree canopy did. He

longed for a place where vegetation

didn’t obstruct the sky, and Gainesville

was not such a place.

Despite decades of development,

much of Gainesville remains a city in

the trees. And although there are many

places in Florida to admire late-after-

noon storm clouds, I prefer Paynes

Prairie Preserve State Park, just south

of Gainesville, where a distant sweep

of horizon provides a verdant stage for

the “big sky.”

Although the summer sky over

Gainesville is often mired in a haze,

some days just call out to be photo-

graphed. This picture was taken on

a day like that. Leaving work late,

I headed south on U.S. Highway 441,

watching through the trees as cumu-

lonimbus thunderheads punctuated the

sapphire sky. Racing across Paynes

Prairie, I saw the tree canopy recede,

revealing clouds that went on forever.

Standing side-by-side in the golden

light, twin sabal palms seemed to

insist that I take their picture. Glass-

smooth high water — a reminder of

record winter rainfall — provided a

compositional mirror on which to make

a picture unlike any other I’d created on

the prairie. Once again, great light

falling on great subject matter made

my task simple. — JOHN MORAN