We took an unexpected little vacation to West Palm Beach a couple weeks ago. Life gave us lemons and we truly decided to make lemonade, quickly booking and packing for a couple nights in the iconic Breakers hotel in West Palm Beach, right on the Atlantic Ocean.
The hotel opened in 1895 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the very few family-owned hotels left in the county. I have had the opportunity to stay in a lot of nice hotels, but this one is unique, not just because of its story, but also because of the look of the property. If you watch the Apple TV show Palm Royale, you also saw The Breakers in a few scenes.
Driving up to it, the palm tree lined street and the beautiful building practically glow in the Florida sun. A fountain welcomes your arrival along with friendly valets. The hotel also offers a house car service where they will take you around town within five miles in one of three Maybach’s on the property. We did take advantage of this, and it is a fun way to see WPB without having to worry about parking.
Upon entering, the hotel is opulent and elegant, with the massive floral bouquet that was changed during our stay at the center. The lobby area is a bit dark right now because they are doing construction in the courtyard and have the windows blocked. In some ways this adds to the ambiance and makes it feel like some historic library.
There are plenty of places to sit in the lobby area. It also leads to many of the resort’s restaurants ten restaurants. Yes, you read that right, ten restaurants. We grabbed a cocktail as well as some house made potato chips with onion dip in HMF, the social club. I can imagine spending a lot of time there if I lived in WPB with the fun but classy vibes and interesting drink and food menu.
The Circle where a buffet breakfast is served daily is just beyond HMF, and The Seafood Bar was raved about around town, partly for the food, partly for the bar top that is an aquarium. That’s right, fish swim right under you while you enjoy your cocktail. Just beyond that aquatic bar is the Atlantic Ocean. It was very hot during our stay but we did venture out to the walkway that overlooks the stunning blue Ocean and the breakers – giant boulders that break the waves. That’s how the hotel got its name.
We also enjoyed in room dining. The breakfast there was particularly outstanding. Still dreaming about the scrambled eggs and almond milk cappuccino …
The hotel features quite a few stores. We walked around the jewelry store that features a wide range of brands across price ranges, the gelato and stuffed animal shop, the hotel store with branded items, and the home goods store that also makes coffee and features a selection of snacks and pastries. This was by far my favorite store, my favorite hotel store ever, actually. The eclectic merchandise gave such a curated vibe. It is truly a miracle the only thing I bought was a bottle of water 😉
We also walked past the Polo stores, Guerlain, where you can mix your own perfume, and a shoe store. Many of the stores are in a beautiful courtyard. I can totally imagine hanging out there with a coffee or cocktail, just maybe not when it’s 95 degrees outside.
The room itself was immaculate. Ours featured a view of the ocean (and the courtyard that is under construction, honestly). The bed was comfortable and there was a nice TV as well as one in the mirror in the bathroom (I love this in hotels!), but the room was very, very small, and it ran incredibly hot. I turned the air conditioner down to 65 (yes, I am *that* girl) but it never dropped past 72. This is a problem. Ultimately I am still glad I stayed there, and I understand some of the issues are due to the fact that I stayed in a historic property.
They also gifted us some really nice goodies, including a beautiful stuffed bear that will be a memory of the stay forever.
I am so glad I visited WPB and that I stayed at The Breakers. I did my best to explore the property, though it is massive, and I know I missed some things during my short stay. I highly recommend a stay there or at least a visit for dinner if you are in WPB to see a piece of Florida history.
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