Hawks Cay Resort :

It’s spring 1924 and billionaire visionary Henry Flagler’s miraculous Florida Overseas Railroad Engine 201 rumbles across a scary series of arch-girder-truss spans from Key West towards boomtown Miami. Travelers marvel at shifting azure-turquoise waters, brilliant exposed white sands, and flocks of wading egrets and ibis. The train is shooting through a 113-mile chain of coral and limestone islands connected by dozens of narrow gauge bridges. Just past the primitive settlement of Knight’s Key (now the town of Marathon), hardly a soul would have shifted their focus on Duck Key - a desolate morass of mangroves, salt ponds, marl, and gumbo limbo trees. Certainly not a tiny passenger, my six-month-old mother Ruth (still vibrant at 92), who probably was fast asleep!
    
Today, Duck Key at Mile Marker 61 on U.S. 1 has transformed into perhaps the most successful private island complex in the Florida Keys. Renowned for Hawks Cay Resort, it combines a deluxe vacation resort with multi-million-dollar homes and canals linked by squat Venetian-inspired whitewashed bridges crowned by pineapple finials. Luxury remains understated but the profusion of lush tropical landscaped mansions and triple-engine speedboats suggests money is no object. On 60 acres just off the Overseas Highway, the AAA Four-Diamond Award winner, a proud member of the Preferred Hotel Group Lifestyle Collection, comprises 420 villas and hotel rooms, four restaurants, a saltwater lagoon, five swimming pools, a kids’ water park, the award-winning Calm Waters Spa, watersports, fishing charters, and the unique, highly rewarding Dolphin Connection facility.
    
A porte cochère entrance greets guests with stylish blonde rattan-backed rocking chairs plumped seductively with leaf-motif aqua cushions. Inside the newly revamped lobby, part of a recent $18 million full-site renovation, interior designers Looney & Associates emphasize a “casual coastal” look that picks up on Florida Keys authenticity. There’s a giant 1,300-gallon saltwater aquarium of cavorting queen angel fish and blue tangs, natural sandstone tile flooring, assorted native plants, ample modern lounge sofas, and driftwood sculptures.  The relaxing mood continues outdoors by the main Resort Pool with its festive nautical blue umbrellas and spindly coconut palms. Further back, a kayak-filled saltwater lagoon flanks the marina boat channel leading to shallow grassy flats, abundant Atlantic reefs and the shimmering depths of the Gulfstream.
    
In the south wing off the main lobby refurbished guest rooms are reconfigured into 88 standard rooms, family suites, poolside lanais, and two penthouses. Amenities and daily resort fee ($39) include: wireless Internet access; large flat-panel LCD TVs; oversized gray sand tumbled marble showers and baths; Gilchrist & Soames toiletries; local and toll free phone calls; transport throughout the resort; self and valet parking; access to kid’s club and spa; putting course and sports field; and their hard and clay court Cliff Drysdale tennis facility. A cool feature for families is bunk beds and a separate TV for the kids. The Oasis, the new adults-only area, boasts the Tranquility Pool and five private cabanas that are directly accessible from the lanai porch.
    
For privacy and escape, secure a cabana rental with cozy couches, mini-fridge and ceiling fan that also include chilled water, sodas and fresh fruit snacks.  Or just kick back and order conch fritters and a Goombay Smash from the adjacent Beach Grill. Both 1,400-square-foot penthouses, “Coastal” and “Stargazer,” mix whimsical objects (Stargazer’s in-suite telescope) and modern décor (Coastal’s light blue accents) bolstered by two tasteful bedrooms, two bathrooms with a deep marble tub, and breathtaking panoramas of ocean and canals from the 3,200 square feet of terrace.  With that space you could putt nine short holes!
    
Hawks Cay Resort also lures families, singles, couples and outdoors enthusiasts who find the expansive acreage perfect for feeling independent and self-equipped in one of the 250 two-and-three bedroom villas, including 26 small basin spots for boats up to 32-feet in Harbor Village. All the gingerbread Key West-style villas (including Marina Village and Sunset Village) contain complete kitchens with granite countertops, stainless appliances including steel refrigerator, stove-top oven, microwave and dishwasher along with plenty of storage, dinnerware and silverware. For children Coral Cay Center sports a new splash zone festooned with pirate’s ship and water cannons, its own Camp Hawks with hourly activities, an indoors salt-water touch tank, and a teen’s high-tech game room with “compulsory” snack vending machines. The adjacent Calm Waters Spa, voted 2009 Best Hotel Spa in the U.S. by readers of Travel & Leisure readers, is just the right antidote for stressed parents, newlyweds or singles. Feel free to unwind with a Deep Ocean eucalyptus full-muscle massage or rejuvenate exfoliating and scrubbing in the Vichy Room Shower followed by a soothing Key Lime Mojito body butter wrap.
    
Either way, all that stimulation has to arouse anyone’s hunger pangs. Chef William Ryan’s eclectic Caribbean–South ....