With the holidays behind, it’s time to look for more quiet travel destinations. Here are a trio of my favorite Florida destinations from Opal Collection that are quiet, romantic and historic. Oh yes… there even is some golf.
Belleview Inn (Belleair)
This 1897 Queen Ann style Victorian Inn just minutes from Clearwater is a tribute the the Guilded Age. The Inn’s most famous room – the King Iolanda Suite – is named after the 1908 steam yacht built for Morton Plant (the son of Henry Plant, who built the original hotel). The fourth-floor suite is home to a parlor adorned in Victorian-era appointments and a claw-foot tub that feels like it could have been plucked from the original hotel.
Couples love the complimentary breakfast baskets – brimming with flaky, fresh-baked croissants, fresh juice, and locally roasted coffee – that appear outside their guestroom door each morning. But what they love even more is the ability to turn that into a breakfast picnic around the property.
Various Opal Collection touches pay tribute to the hotel’s Gilded Age glamour – if guests know where to look. Luckily, there’s an audio guide narrated by the hotel’s historian, Joey Vars, (as well as QR codes posted around the property) to give couple’s insight as they wander together taking in such grand wonders as the Tiffany Room, the column-lacking lobby, and the original grand staircase that has been climbed by the likes of the Studebakers, the Fords, the DuPonts, and the Vanderbilts.
Belleair CC (Evan Schiller)
The nearby Belleair Country Club is as historic as the Inn itself. Architect Jason Straka did an outstanding job on the recent renovtion of the Club’s West Course, originally designed by the legendary Donald Ross. Don’t pass on any golf packages the Inn might offer to play Belleair CC.
Sunset Key Cottages
The Conch Republic can be a bit wild even during its tamest times, but hose looking for more intimacy should check out Sunset Key Cottages, a 27-acre private island resort just 500 yards from the western edge of lively Key West, Florida. Truly relax on the private sugar-white sand studded with lounge chairs and tiki umbrellas. Take joy in the impeccably appointed stand-alone cottages with authentic Victorian-style tin roofs. Indulge in outdoor dining experience at Latitudes, where coastal-inspired culinary creations are served right on the sand, surrounded by tiki torches and a breathtaking backdrop of the Gulf. What’s more, these are the kind of romantic touches that greet couples around every corner.
At 2,500 square feet in size, the Four-Bedroom Oceanfront Cottages might offer more room than a couple needs. But they come with a few details that the other cottages don’t: A own private walk-out porch, plunge pool, and swath of beach for secluded moments together.
Available through March in the mornings (weather permitting), the Opal Spa at Sunset Key Cottages offers a private beach-based treatment, where guests are whisked down to a sequestered tiki hut set with plush treatment beds for a massage set to the soundtrack of rolling surf.
Guests can book a fishing charter through the resort’s concierge that picks guests up at the property’s dock and spend the day playfully competing for the best trophy fish. And once there’s a winner, Latitudes will get creative in the kitchen and cook it up for a dinner.
Edgewater Beach Hotel (Naples)
Love the Gulf, but don’t love the crowds and chaos so often found at larger Florida beach resorts? Edgewater Beach Hotel couldn’t be farther from that. In fact, with just over 100 rooms, guests get the intimacy of a boutique inn, but all the benefits of a world-class beachfront resort. Think champagne upon arrival; a professionally managed white-sand beach with beach chairs, luxury beach beds, cabanas, umbrellas, kayaks, and paddleboards to help craft the perfect day; and an on-site restaurant that takes guests on a culinary journey around the world with a globally inspired menu.
All accommodations are full suites, meaning, no matter what room is booked, guests will have space to spread out – thanks to kitchens and living rooms – no matter what. Still, if looking to splurge, the resort’s Penthouse suite has a prime beachfront location with a deep soaking tub, private balcony, and a stairwell that leads right down to the beach.
The hotel’s Dining on the Sand is a special dining package couples can book, where the resort’s blocks off a parcel of sand on the northern end of the beach for a private sunset dinner on a linen-lined table for two.
Also, guests can get chauffeured to the local sights of Fifth Avenue South, Tin City, and Cambier Park via the resort’s GEM, a lightweight electric vehicle.
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Resort Photos Courtesy of Opal Collection