Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1543791
G U T T E R C R E D I T T E E K AY C O U R T E S Y O F N A P L E S B E AC H C LU B , A FO U R S E A S O N S R E S O R T; T R A D E W I N D AV I AT I O N For decades, Naples Beach Club was less a hotel than a memory bank for its guests: first swims in the Gulf, sunset martinis at HB's, weddings that folded into long, amber evenings. Now, reborn as Naples Beach Club, A Four Seasons Resort, the quintessential 80-year-old address enters a new era that feels less like reinvention and more like refinement. This is Four Seasons' first Gulf Coast property, and the brand understands the assignment. Interiors by Champalimaud Design are light-filled and quietly sensual: white millwork, palm-leaf plaster murals, and bleached pecky cypress ceilings, all in a palette drawn from sand and sun rather than spectacle. Architecture by Hart Howerton frames the coastline with restraint. Rooms open wide to the elements; sliding doors disappear, terraces stretch generously, and beds face the water as if paying homage. Yes, there are flamingo-pink minibars and Byredo's Sundazed amenities, but also the subtler luxuries that loyalists are sure to notice, such as intuitive lighting, perfectly placed outlets (even outdoors), and the sense that someone has already thought three steps ahead on your behalf. And then there is the beach. The Gulf here is startlingly clear, calm, almost Caribbean in hue. Service arrives on elegant trays; mango ice cream appears just as the sun climbs; fruit skewers and iced chocolate espresso drinks keep the afternoon abuzz. After walking miles along the shoreline and taking a swim to reset the nervous system, your day will be perfectly punctuated by a Paloma. Culinary ambitions are equally deliberate. The Merchant Room, the oceanfront signature restaurant, is helmed by two-time James Beard Award winner Gavin Kaysen in his first Florida venture, while beloved institutions HB's on the Gulf and Sunset Bar return with polish but without pretense. (Zoning makes Sunset Bar the only true toes-in- the-sand watering hole for miles, and it wears that distinction lightly.) Wellness anchors the experience: a 30,000-square-foot The Sanctuary Spa with coed vitality pools, cold plunge, and aquathermal circuit; self-guided reformers in the expansive fitness center; a racquet club; and, soon, a Tom Fazio–designed golf course threading the coastal terrain. Naples has always attracted wealth. What it hasn't always had is this level of design fluency and global luster. With this opening, the Gulf Coast doesn't clamor for attention, it simply glows, confident in its beauty, finally matched by a hotel that understands its soul. —D.F. The New Florida Riviera Four Seasons Resort's Gulf Coast debut signals a refined new chapter for Naples, where design, dining, and beach culture converge. The beachfront Naples Beach Club is reborn as a Four Seasons Resort, with newly designed interiors, including the Merchant Room bar (at right) and the property's Hinckley boat, Bella (above right), available to hotel guests for cruising along the Gulf. BAHAMAS BOUND, EFFORTLESSLY Tradewind Aviation is quietly reshaping the way travelers slip between the Northeast and the islands, with new routes designed for those who prefer their journeys seamless and unhurried. This season, the boutique carrier is adding service from Fort Lauderdale to Marsh Harbour and North Eleuthera, along with a Stuart-to-Nassau connection. Up north, Tradewind has also introduced year-round flights between Westchester and Nantucket, extending the summer ritual into every season. As co-founder David Zipkin puts it, today's passengers want "smarter routes" and "a consistently high standard of service." It's the kind of flying that feels personal, from takeoff to landing. —D. F. BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M