As a kid growing up in New Jersey, Boca Raton (and the stereotype surrounding it) was writ large. It was the place you saw romanticized in movies your grandfather recommended. It’s where the actual good fellas from down the block might take a trip, or at least the actors from Goodfellas while continuing their next chapters, because both make perfect sense. It’s where one of your uncles or one of your neighbors — maybe all of your uncles and all of your neighbors — bought a condo to escape the winter chill before spending more and more of their time there each year, until they woke up one day and were full-time Floridians with the crinkly, perma-tan skin to match.
But the next generation? No, we’d never go to Boca. That was for them and other people of their age.
Consider the stereotype broken, thanks to an iconic property with a century of history that spans — and was largely responsible for — the area’s golden era and has now reemerged grander than ever. A luxe, sunny and, dare we say, even sexy getaway awaits at Beach Club at The Boca Raton, an iconic property that opened in 1926 as The Ritz-Carlton Cloister Inn that is now approaching its 100th anniversary.
Beach Club is the resort’s serene haven within a haven, one of the five separate entities under The Boca Raton’s banner. The beachfront hotel reopened in January, fresh off a $130 million redesign. It was part of the resort’s multi-phase renovation as its centennial approaches, with the first chapter having been completed when the Tower reopened two years ago. In addition to the two aforementioned outposts, the resort is also home to Cloister, Bungalows and Yacht Club.
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As for Beach Club’s fresh face, each of its 210 rooms and suites have been transformed. Expect light, natural woods offset with pops of pink and coral in calming spaces that put the stunning view of the sparkling blue ocean into focus. Amenities include thoughtful touches like an inclusive minibar stocked with snacks and soft drinks, as well as canned wine and beers brewed for the property.
The buzzy pool scene is at the heart of the Beach Club experience, with a trio of pools flanked by first-come, first-serve lounge chairs and reservable day beds with adults-only and family-friendly spaces as needed. The property’s iconic orange palm tree logo is affixed onto everything, lest you forget where you are.
Also of note is the new Vilebrequin Cabana Club, designed in partnership with the luxury swimwear brand that features a swanky collection of indoor-outdoor poolside cabanas. When you stay at the haven within the haven, you can still upgrade to the hideaway found one layer deeper because there’s always another level.
From there, continue straight down the short pathway leading from the pool deck to the beach, where rows of lounge chairs await in the soft, powdery white sand. Beach Club is the only property in Palm Beach laying claim to a private swatch of beach, with a pristine half-mile at your disposal.
Beach Club’s culinary game has been elevated as well and now takes a starring role in the guest experience at the property. Washington, D.C.’s Johnny Spero has brought his famed seafood wizardry to Florida in the form of Marisol. The restaurant showcases Mediterranean flavors, primarily Greek, in a vibey poolside venue. Opt for the sampler of spreads or one of the seafood towers to begin a meal, and continue onto catch of the day specials, a salt-crusted branzino for two or hearty vegetable dishes like a whole cauliflower served with Aleppo miso labneh, chermoula and golden raisins.
Onda is reinvented each season, always under the direction of a new guest chef. In its current form, chef Adriano Venturini of Eden Roc Cap Cana has the reins, showcasing flavors from the Caribbean, particularly the Dominican Republic. Traditional dishes such as pollo a las brasas and Dominican red beans and rice with short ribs can be found, along with menu highlights like deep-fried whole snapper served with tostones and Venturini staples like gazpacho.
Beach Club guests can make full use of The Boca Raton’s sweeping array of amenities, activities and offerings across its 200-acre footprint. There’s an 18-hole golf course, racquet club with ample courts for both tennis and pickleball, shops, games and diversions galore. Hop on a quick water shuttle across the Intracoastal to The Boca Raton Harborside to take in its glitzy, marble-columned lobby and grassy courtyards, with supercars parked in the driveway and super-yachts docked at the marina.
You can visit around two dozen restaurants and bars, such as the see-and-be-seen Palm Court cocktail lounge or even an outpost of Sadelle’s. The running joke at the property, overheard from the same folks referring to Boca Raton as the “Sixth Borough,” is that they came down here to get a table at Sadelle’s because they couldn’t rile one up back in NYC.
The can’t miss offering, though, is Spa Palmera, an enormous 50,000-square-foot wellness center with a staggering collection of 44 treatment rooms. Its design was inspired by the Alhambra in Spain, and within you’ll find not only your typical sauna, steam room and jacuzzis but also elaborate locker rooms, salt baths, plunge pools, gilded, Roman-style bathhouses, and an outdoor pool set amid a lush garden with flowing waterfalls.
Of course, if you’re local (or pretending to be local during the winter), you can go to Beach Club whenever you want. All you need to do is pay a membership purported to be about six-figures annually, friends. Suddenly, it makes sense how the property can afford to drop $375 million on its renovation.
Consider it money well spent. It’s a new day and age for Boca Raton, and a new day and age for The Boca Raton. You don’t want to miss out.
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