Singer Island/Palm Beach Trip Report

After searching and searching for a relaxing, yet luxurious Memorial Day weekend jaunt, I discovered the Resort at Singer Island. This Starwood Hotels resort is located just a couple of miles north of Palm Beach.

Upon arriving, we were pleasantly surprised at the beautiful lobby and efficient check-in. The lobby is decorated in beautiful marble and travertine stone with colorful, plush leather furniture. The decadent accouterments continued as we arrived at our room, or better described as a sprawling 2 bedroom corner suite. Our eyes expanded as we entered and delighted in the modern furnishings, replete with a kitchenette featuring stainless steel appliances (including a full size refrigerator, dishwasher, washer, dryer, futuristic microwave, tea kettle, coffee maker with complimentary Starbucks and a two burner stove top).

The high end appliances carried over into the family room and bedrooms with super sized 42 inch LG plasma flat screen televisions, Bose stereo system and Dream Machine alarm clocks featuring a sound machine.

The furnishings were equally sumptuous with fine linen bed coverings and sheets and a wrap around balcony featuring cushy chairs and expansive views of the ocean, Peanut Island (more on this later) and Lake Worth.

The bathrooms complimented the rest of the accommodations with a separate walk in shower and soaking tub. The bathroom was well stocked with plush terry cloth towels and Gilchrest & Soames products. Needless to say, I would put this hotel up against any Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton or Mandarin hotel any day. The best part is this hotel was only $369 per night for a 2 bedroom suite. Grab another couple or a large family and you would be hard pressed to match these accommodations ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

The only complaints about the hotel would be:

• Valet parking is mandatory at a cost of $2o per day.
• Housekeeping didn't show up on the 2nd day and when called, just did a quick clean. In their defense, they did wash the dishes everyday. They did forget hand towels on one day though.
• Beach chairs, lounges and umbrellas are for rent only. $10 for each lounge chair and $25 for the fold over umbrella. Bring your own chairs.
• Like most resorts, food was unbelievably expensive. $18 for a cheeseburger with fries. Drinks, poolside also ran about $12 per drink. Since you have a kitchen, bring food with you. There is an amazing Italian grocery store just a mile or so away called Carmine's and some great restaurants, but more on those later.

After settling in and finding out the exorbitant beach chair rental fee, we decided to sit poolside. There are 2 pools at the resort. One pool with a nice rock waterfall and waterslide, perfect for the kids. The other pool is more subdued with a couple of cabanas flanking a large expanse of loungers. These aren't your ordinary lounge chairs, but feature thick padded chenille covers that felt like you were laying on a cloud. The pool was well attended by waiters/waitresses and getting drinks and food was never a problem. This pool overlooked the ocean.

Speaking of the ocean and the beach, the recent hurricanes have reduced the beach to a mere 30 yards wide and there were many rocks just offshore in the water. In fact, we spent most of our time poolside. Who could leave those loungers anyways? After getting our full of sun and Stoli Doleys (Fresh pineapple chunks soaked in Stoli vodka for 2 weeks), we headed upstairs to clean up for dinner.

Dinner was a local joint called Max & Eddie's Cucina in a non-descript shopping center on Singer Island. This is my kind of place. Quick and efficient service by Sean was only topped by the private wine tasting session he provided us. Forget the normal 2 oz. pours you normally receive, these were twice the amount. We tried some amazing, but affordable wines. These included:

• An Arneis by Ceretto from Langhe in southern Italy. The perfect crisp, dry white.
• A fruity Pinot Grigio from outside Venice, Italy. Nice bouquet with a smooth finish.
• The reds were big and bold. The Tuscan Sangiovese held up perfectly to the rich Veal Osso Bucco I enjoyed. The Escudo Rojo, from Chile, is the brainchild of none other than the Baron Rothschild. Try this one immediately, it is liquid gold.

Unfortunately, we didn't order any appetizers. The foccacia they provided was overcooked, but the dipping sauce of freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, spices and olive oil softened it up some. The salad was hearty and the dressing was amazing. Finally, for dinner my friends had the grouper, one had it Mediterranean style and the other was similar to a salsa verde. My wife had the veal romano and I had one of the house specialties, the Osso Bucco. Cooked for 9 hours and buttery soft. The only complaint was all of the food was overdone. Not overcooked, but overdone in the sense of too much stuff on the plate. Maybe if they chopped the ingredients smaller, it would work better. We were too stuffed for dessert, but the options looked pretty basic. Although I didn't get to sample them, the beer menu was amazing (Chimay, Hoegaarden, La Fin du Monde) and the pizzas and calzones looked scrumptious. I will definitely return here some day.

Day 2-Singer Island

We woke up early and headed over to Sailfish Marina on Singer Island for some breakfast. This is where most of the charter fishing boats, water taxis and shuttles to Peanut Island leave. They have a breakfast buffet on the weekends, great seafood selections for lunch and dinner with a nice view of the intercoastal and a sunset celebration that rivals Key West's Mallory Square on Thursday nights. The breakfast buffet (and a la carte menu) feature some great items: fresh fruit, crab omelet, grits, biscuit, made to order omelet, french toast, pancakes, etc. The food was really good, as was the coffee.

After breakfast we left on the "Now & Then Boat Tour" of the area. We had the large boat to ourselves (besides one other couple) and enjoyed the narration of our knowledgeable guide. You pass by the incredible mansions of Palm Beach and learn the history of Peanut Island. Peanut Island was a man made island that houses a bomb shelter originally built for President Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Today it is a popular destination for boats, sun bathers and day trippers with its shallow sand bar and sandy beaches surrounded by calm waters. We went past numerous yacht clubs, marinas and country clubs and enjoyed the 90 minutes on the water for only $24 per person (adult prices).

After the boat tour, we returned back to the Resort at Singer Island to soak up more sun and cocktails. We rested up for awhile and thought about the unlimited options for nightlife in the area. There is Clematis Street in West Palm Beach with numerous bars, nightclubs and restaurants. However, we wanted something different. The men on the trip opted for a night aboard the Palm Beach Princess, a former cruise ship turned gambling boat. The boat has both day and night trips (about 6 hours each time) and features and all you can eat buffet that is often themed (Friday Night Seafood, BBQ, Chinese, etc.). The casino portion is a little smokey, but there are tons of options for the non-gambler, including live bands, relaxing on the deck, entertainments, promotions & give-aways. The night of our cruise was the Ultimate Fighting Championships Pay-Per-View event. It was great to watch and wager on the fights. Cocktails are free while you are gambling and are reasonably priced if you are not. This is a great option for a rainy day or night. It was quite windy, but the ride was relatively smooth. If you are prone to sea sickness, you may want to consider medicine (check with your doctor first).

The girls went to Fort Lauderdale to the outlet malls at Sawgrass Mills, about an hour from Palm Beach. This is a shopper's paradise with all sorts of high and mid end stores, restaurants, movie theaters, big box retailers, etc. They ended up eating at Legal Seafood, a national chain with a good reputation for solid seafood. It is a little pricey, but consistent.

Day 3

Our last full day on Singer Island was spend relaxing in the sun, taking naps, reading magazines and just unwinding from our hangovers from the night before (both drinking and shopping). For dinner, I had read about this incredible local seafood place in Juno Beach (about 3 miles up the road from Singer Island), called Captain Charlie's Reef Grill. It is located in a small, non-descript shopping center. When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to hear there was only a 20 minute wait. We went down "3 doors" to their overfill place to have a glass of wine and some beer. They have some local brews on tap, but I would avoid them (the lighthouse and "11" were barely quaffable). They do have a pretty nice, albeit basic wine list. Some Fume Blancs, Sauvignon Blancs and other light, fruity whites that pair well with seafood. We had a chance to glance at the menu over our drinks and I began to salivate immediately. The menu was huge with all kinds of choices: curry fish, thai style fish, grilled, panko crusted, etc. The list went on and on (especially the appetizers). Best of all, the prices were really reasonable. We were seated within the 20 minutes as promised in a dining room with basic wood furnishings. It was packed and loud and the servers were hustling (my kind of place). We order appetizers: a salad with blackened scallops (pretty good-scallops cooked perfectly) and panko crusted wahoo medallions (too dry). They brought coleslaw for everybody and it was excellent. Then the main course comes. This is where it goes down hill fast. I ordered the hog snapper. The waitress recommends it sauteed so that is how I get it. The plate arrives with a huge pile of weird veggies cooked into oblivion and not seasoned at all. The other half of the plate is rice and beans, also recommended by the waitress and also not seasoned. Both the veggies and rice and beans are disgusting piles of mush and quickly discarded. I didn't come here for tasteless veggies and rice and beans so I could care less. I want fresh fish. Unfortunately, I get a good portion of fish that is covered so heavily in dill, that I can no longer smell it without getting sick. Nothing else on the plate was seasoned so why in the world would they take a fresh catch of fish and smother it in one of the world's most pungent spices? It had no flavor besides dill. My wife had the seafood curry. It smelled and tasted like a NYC taxi. My friends had blackened grouper and some other type of grouper that they liked okay. I don't know if I ordered the wrong thing or what, but I'm not going back. Sorry.

That night we were going to go to the Breakers in Palm Beach for a nightcap, but my wife was too sick to go. We decided to go the next morning. This place is a destination hotel. The grounds and lobby are beautiful and luxurious. It is the only 5 star, 5 diamond hotel in the U.S. I would love to go back and stay one day, but at no time would I trade the Resort at Singer Island for the Breakers. We didn't eat or drink at the Breakers, but supposedly valet parking is $30 (we self parked for free). You get the $30 fee waived if you spend $30 or more inside. There are some stores (Burberry, Ralph Lauren) and a sundry market on the property. Go check it out, it is practically a landmark.

Since it was Memorial Day, most of the shops on Worth Avenue were closed. We drove around and were going to eat lunch at Daniel Bolud's restaurant in the Brazilian Court Hotel, but it wasn't open at 11:30 so we decided for a less serious restaurant at E.R. Bradley's Saloon in West Palm Beach. This is a huge watering hole hangout overlooking the intercostal and serves a variety of food. I started with a watered down version of lobster bisque and had fish tacos as the main course. Everybody else went with blacked grouper, grilled chicken or salad. Pretty basic stuff. They do give you piping hot soft pretzels to start off which was a nice touch. Service was friendly and efficient. This is more of a drinking place than fine cuisine. It is at the end of Clematis Street so next time we will go eat at Cabana and then experience the nightlife and shops of this area.

I hope you enjoyed the trip report. I would love to hear about your recent travels. Go ahead and submit a comment below.