If you haven’t been to Palm Beach in a while, a brief refresher: golf is still there, as is the gorgeous beach, the monied storefront life, and all the preppy. In 2020, it’s got a whole lot more than clichés of the past. The Palm Beach of today is exciting and dynamic. The entire town feels like it got a makeover recently, one that’s as punchy as the wallpaper at the Colony. We’re not saying that Palm Beach has given up its pink and green—more that these days, the pastels come with an irreverent twist.
STAY
The Colony
Opened in 1947, this iconic pink hotel has hosted everyone from Frank Sinatra to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. A recent $18 million renovation by famed designer Carleton Varney managed to retain the old-school charm of the hotel while brightening the property’s ninety rooms and suites with a fresh palette of classic Florida Pantones: aqua, lemon yellow, azalea pink, golf-course green. Rooms interiors are in classic Palm Beach style, but they’ve updated them with gleaming marble bathrooms and Ortigia Sicilia toiletries.
Artist and Vogue alum Kate Schelter helped out with the rebranding; her chic Sea Grape print adorns everything from matchboxes to stationery. Every inch of the place brims with personality—an exuberant one—from the Varney’s zingy banana-frond wallpaper in the lobby to the gold-dusted, Florida-shaped chocolates on your bedside table. When you’re having lunch by the pool (may we suggest the Caesar salad and key lime pie?), you’ll feel as if you’re living in a Slim Aarons photo.
The Colony is all about genteel pleasures: grab one of the hotel’s white bikes and pedal along the six-mile paved Lake Trail, which winds past colossal mansions. Ask a pink-shirted bellhop to ferry you to the beach in a pink-and-green golf cart (along with complimentary pink striped chairs and a beach umbrella.) There’s no gym, but guests have access to the palm-lined seven-court Seaview Park Tennis Center nearby.
When it’s time to venture out, the staff will also zip you around town in an SUV (another nice complimentary touch). Palm Beach, all sixteen manageable miles of it, has long been a playground for the ultrawealthy—and there are still plenty of Bentleys and small white dogs to prove it. With its buzzy restaurants, vibrant arts scene, and next-level shopping—not to mention its unforgettable style—the town has also become a destination for fashion designers and young families.
EAT
Buccan
Chef Clay Conley is credited with jump-starting the town’s food scene, given that his mini-empire includes Buccan, Imoto, the Sandwich Shop, and Grato. You can’t go wrong with any of them, but his first, the small-plate bistro Buccan, is especially delicious. The ingredient-driven menu is always changing, and if you’re lucky, it’ll include chilled Florida pink shrimp with avocado and mango, ramp crostini with whipped burrata, Florida snapper, or sweet-corn agnolotti. (If you can’t get in, try Imoto right next door—the sushi and sashimi are excellent.)
Pizza Al Fresco
When you eat pizza under the leafy canopy of century-old banyan trees in this gorgeous courtyard garden off of Worth Avenue, the pizza doesn’t even have to be that good. Now imagine that it is that good. The brick-oven pizzas here have a nice thin, blistered crust and inventive toppings, and they are understandably a local favorite (gluten-free pies are also available). The menu has a selection of salads, too.
Seafood Bar at The Breakers
Watch the rolling waves at this oceanfront, nautical-themed restaurant nestled in the Breakers, the stunning Italian Renaissance–style landmark property. Have a drink at the thirty-six-foot aquarium bar as the fish flit all around. Try the Grapefruit Storm or one of the many wines offered, then feast on fresher-than-fresh scallops.
DO
Norton Museum of Art
The sleek Norton Museum of Art recently underwent a massive $100 million expansion, courtesy of star architect Sir Norman Foster. It’s easy to while away a day here, with over 8,200 works in five curatorial departments (and don’t miss the stunning new sculpture garden). American art represents a part of the collection; pieces by Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Jackson Pollock, among many others, fill the walls.
Gavlak Gallery
This spare, light-flooded gallery, which has another location in Los Angeles, represents over twenty cutting-edge contemporary artists, including Judith Eisler, Jose Alvarez, and T. J. Wilcox. Since the venue opened in 2005, founder Sarah Gavlak has been a champion of female and LGBTQ artists.
SHOP
Kemble Interiors
Spend any time in Palm Beach, and you’ll soon decide you need more color and whimsy in your life. When this happens, proceed directly to the charming, ivy-covered Kemble Interiors shop, recently opened by designers Celerie Kemble and her mom, Mimi McMakin. You’ll want to snap up everything from colorful, elegant Indian tunics to sweet seashell votives to rattan lamps to the shop’s famous pineapple sconces.
Worth Avenue
Worth Avenue’s sumptuous palm-lined shopping district has both big names (Gucci, Chanel) and local institutions (Leta Austin Foster for sublime children’s clothes, Lindroth Design for housewares, like block-print table linens in sunny colors). One of the newest shops is LaunchPad, a living-room-like store that offers a revolving roster of clothing, accessories, and home décor. The founders—two former fashion editors—seek out trendy and emerging brands from all over the world, many of which are otherwise available only online. Recent offerings include floaty dresses from Laura Garcia, elegant striped sweaters from NYC’s La Ligne, and colorful beaded jewelry from local artisan Allegra Fanjul.
The Royal Poinciana Plaza
The Royal Poinciana Plaza, a luxe indoor/outdoor shopping enclave framed around two lush, leafy courtyards, was designed by famed architect John Volk in the ’50s and recently revamped. There are plenty of inventive, high-end boutiques, among them Kirna Zabête, Assouline, and Zadig & Voltaire. After shopping, hit Sant Ambroeus for a cup of sublime gelato.
Images courtesy of Constance Hobbs, Norton Museum of Art, The Colony Hotel Palm Beach and Goop.com
