The Breakers Palm Beach :

huge heft and girth, The Breakers preserves its flora and believes firmly in eco sustainability. I eagerly took the complimentary property tour (Mon and Wed, 9:30am) with one of the groundskeepers. We explored the nearby herb garden next to the Front Lawn, spied several of the resident parrots in the casuarinas along the “Pine Walk” entrance, and peered past the seawall promenade for potential sea turtle nesting places. A 30-member team handles the astonishing acreages of over 3,000 palms, 25,000 annuals, bromeliads, oleanders, trellised vines, and 20-variety herb garden furnished with tomatoes, peppers and edible flowers. If that weren’t enough, the crew maintains a 15,000 sq. ft. plant nursery, trims salt-barrier hedges, carves topiaries, and regularly switches the showcase floral palette of marigolds-pentas or lily-coleus on the portico entrance.
          
Green All The Way:
The Breakers has maintained a Green Lodging Certification from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection since 2006. Recent initiatives include: replacing cotton towels with products made of 70% bamboo content (no bleaching agents); re-using towel and linen (water conservation); re-cycling plastic and aluminum containers at beachfront and clubhouse; installing energy-efficient light bulbs; reducing reliance on print outs with software; replacing Styrofoam with recyclable plastic containers; employee carpooling and newspaper re-cycling; converting a 1,100 foot well with reverse osmosis to use non-potable water for irrigation on the Ocean Golf Course; water-saving washers; and shuttling staff in a “solar-electric” van.
          
The Spa:
An alluring Spa in a luxury resort seems an indispensable asset. Last December, The Breakers finished its $8 million renovation by Spa Designer Sylvia Sepielli (Zurich’s Dolder Spa) in tandem with Peacock + Lewis Architects and award-winning landscape designer Gregory Lombardi. The result is an ultra-modern, nuanced-white interior with cool, clean even occasional classical lines inspired by four themes: ocean, touch, botanicals, and tradition. The spa uses three exclusive producers: Malibu-based OSEA organic seaweed skin care; ERBE hand-crafted Italian creams and lotions; and Palm Beach-based Tammy Fender 100% custom-blended botanical formulations. My aesthetician Grace applied traditional aromatherapy with cleanser, toner, exfoliator, extraction, mask, eye cream, and moisturizer. Don’t overlook other amenities like a heated sand-quartz massage bed, the Vichy table, co-ed courtyard and three lounges, and ultra-sleek, creamy white European manicure sofas.
          
Championship Golf:
Wealthy guests played golf at The Breakers in 1896. As Florida’s oldest 18- holes, the Ocean Course (redesigned in 2000) is a misnomer since no hole has any direct or indirect sea view. But the facade and Belvedere towers loom from every sculpted green like a friendly giant. Short at 6,167 yards the par-70 course teases with tight fairways, elevated greens and several nasty traps. Even rusty, I loved the ease of movement and scored a coveted birdie and four pars. Next to the Flagler Steakhouse the John Webster Golf Academy provides world-class instructors with an indoor/outdoor learning center, video swing analysis, a Titelist club re-fitting machine, and hitting bay. Their Breakers Rees Jones course 11 miles west of the resort was renovated in 2004 and challenges with 7,100 yards of lakes, doglegs, staggered bunkers, lush foilage, and a learning center.
          
Food and Wine:
Without a doubt, The Breakers Palm Beach takes food and beverage very seriously. A definite emphasis on diner intimacy and menu scrutiny belies its nine outspread venues. On my first night I ate yummy Asian at Echo: a spicy “dragon” tuna roll with eel sauce, seaweed sunomono salad, kung pao lettuce wraps, Thai roast duck, kalbi wagyu flatiron steak, and togarashi scallops. At Flagler Steakhouse they serve a terrific kale-fig-provolone salad with linguica dressing, a humongous 24 oz. tomahawk rib-eye, and near-perfect key lime pie. (Both restaurants are accessible by shuttle.) For breakfast, I loved the homemade corned beef hash in The Circle’s oversized rotunda where locals flock for the splashy Sunday brunch. But it’s HMF (think Flagler!) back in the Florentine loggia off the main lobby that grabs everyone’s attention. Mixing tapas and drinks, the former Tapestry Bar/L’Escalier now pops and sizzles with nocturnal energy. Hospitality designer Adam Tihany’s ode to the “Palm Beach cocktail party,” HMF’s bold décor juxtaposes a 3,000-bottle polished stainless steel 30-foot Wine Wall with ornate chandeliers and the ocher, hand-painted “Palazzo Davanzati” elongated ceiling. After nervously cradling a 2005 Romanée-Conti ($18,000!), I was brought down to earth by Master Sommelier Juan Gomez with succulent “small bites” and nifty wine pairings: from wood roasted Chilean sea bass in a vegetable barigoule with gremolata + Tenuta il Bosco “Oltrenero” Cuvée Brut from Lombardy to churrasco steak chimichurri + Flechas de los Andes “Grand Malbec” from Mendoza, Argentina, 2010. Besides their 28,000-bottle wine collection, go sample “Railcar #91” (Courvoisier VSOP, fresh lemon juice, honey, orange foam), Chanel #6 (vodka, Chambord, pineapple juice, champagne) or a 1907 Pereira d’Oliverias “Riserva” Malvazia Madeira Port at a mere $150 a glass.