Florida Getaways 2008

There were enough well-heeled northern travelers to encourage development of other resorts in Southeast Florida during those heady economic times. Still operating today, the Colony Hotel Cabana Club in Delray Beach, the Boca Raton Resort Club in Boca Raton, and the Brazilian Court and Chesterﬁeld Hotel in Palm Beach were among them. Painted its original bright-yellow hue, with matching striped awnings, the Colony Hotel Cabana Club is a ﬂower of Mediterranean revival architecture. Guests still ride its original elevator and walk beneath its original iron chandeliers. (561-276-4123, www.thecolonyhotel.com). Just south in Boca Raton, intricate mosaics, hidden gardens and ornate cedar-beamed ceilings remain at the former Cloister Inn, which is now part of the expansive Boca Raton Resort Club. (561-447-3000, www.bocaresort.com) The Brazilian Court and the Chesterﬁeld appeal to those who prefer to stay and play just off Palm Beach’s swanky Worth Avenue. The two-story B.C., as it’s informally known, was once the discreet home-away-fromhome for high society. Today it’s the place to see and be seen. (561-6557740, www.thebraziliancourt.com) The Chesterﬁeld, which opened as the Lido-Venice, retains its original architectural character while attracting new faces to its Leopard Lounge, a renowned meeting place for the rich and wannabes alike. (561-659-5800, www.chesterﬁeldpb.com) Farther inland, near the banks of Lake Okeechobee, the men who made their wealth from Florida’s sugar industry opened a resort to accommodate them and their visiting business counterparts. The Clewiston Inn, built by the U.S. Sugar Corporation (then called Southern Sugar), was destroyed by ﬁre, but immediately rebuilt in 1938 to its original classical revival style. You can see photographs of the early sugar barons, their workers and the house big band that played for them on the hotel’s hallway walls and ﬁnd sugar cookies in your room upon check-in. (863-983-8151, www.clewistoninn.com) Not all of Florida’s grand old hotels feel old. Here, the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club. Below is the penthouse. The End of an Era Florida’s real estate market was depressed by 1928, but Black Monday was still a year off. The Don CeSar Beach Resort on St. Pete Beach and the Ponte Vedra Inn Club near Jacksonville barely beat the stock market crash, but they soon faced the pain caused by it. The Don CeSar, modeled after the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki Beach, was troubled from the beginning, as its construction costs ran 300 percent over budget. It thrived for a few years, hosting F. Scott Fitzgerald, Al Capone and Lou Gehrig, among other notables, before its owner died and the property fell into the hands of the U.S. Army. The Veterans Administration turned it into a convalescent home for warweary airmen and later used it for ofﬁce space before abandoning it. The empty building was a canvas for grafﬁti artists until preservationists stepped in with a buyer who reinstated the Pink Lady’s reign over the Gulf. The likes of rock stars including Madonna, Steve Tyler and Prince now ﬁnd her to be a gracious host. (727-360-1881, www.doncesar.com) The golf club and polo ﬁeld that started as a respite for National Lead Company employees grew into the resort Ponte Vedra Inn Club by 1928. Built amid an afﬂuent community of pastel-colored homes, the inn, with clay tennis courts and pro-rated golf course, became a quiet sporting place for America’s well-heeled. In 1987, it became a destination for those who like to relax under rejuvenating mud and the hands of practiced massage therapist. (904-285-1111, www.pvresorts.com) 18 Floridians.VISITFLORIDA.com http://www.thecolonyhotel.com http://www.bocaresort.com http://www.thebraziliancourt.com http://www.pvresorts.com http://www.chesterfieldpb.com http://www.doncesar.com http://www.clewistoninn.com http://www.Floridians.VISITFLORIDA.com

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Florida Getaways 2008 Contents Shorts: Visit A Port or Airport Deals: Join a Museum Water: On Lake Apopka Suite History Circus City Listings: Florida Vineyards Ad Index Florida Maps Looking Back: On Old Florida

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