Written by DLX Contributor Jan Schroder. Jan is an award-winning writer, book author, and editor based in Atlanta. She is the publisher of Girl on the Go and editorial director of The 100 Companies, a digital publishing platform. This article gives an overview of palms hotel and spa of Miami beach.
The Palms Hotel & Spa in the heart of Miami Beach has all of the amenities you’d want in a luxury hotel – beautifully decorated rooms, a full-service spa, heated swimming pool, free yoga classes, private cabanas for rent, and an immaculate fitness room with the latest equipment.
What elevates the experience during a stay here are the lush tropical gardens on the property surrounding the pool and bar area. These 1.5-acre grounds are a popular place for weddings and a welcome shaded respite from the hot Florida sun.
The property also has a charming little Chef’s Garden, created in 2011 as the first organic garden on the beach in Miami. Guests can enter through the green gate underneath the vine-covered arch to wander through the rows of herbs and vegetables, which may wind up in their next meal or cocktail.
Julie Frans founded the garden in 2011 and returned earlier this year as Signature Chef, working with Executive Chef Richard Earle. She picks fresh produce from the garden for use in her the Caribbean and Latin-inspired dishes in the fine dining Essensia restaurant. Those herbs can be also be found in the Garden-to-Glass cocktails served at the restaurant and the Essensia Lounge, located in a covered terrace adjacent to the restaurant.
The restaurant is a member of the Slow Foods Snail of Approval, which means the focus is on quality, authenticity, and sustainability. You’ll find local fruits and vegetables on the menu at the restaurant, where dinner items include dishes like chilled chayote squash soup, signature kale Caesar, Atlantic swordfish, islander bouillabaisse, steaks, and vegetarian dishes like chickpea cauliflower kale curry.
The lounge has a gourmet bar menu with items ranging from Peruvian-style ceviche, pork sliders, flatbreads, and burgers. For more casual dining, opt for the Tiki Bar where the menu includes burgers, grilled fish sandwiches, and more. For a quick bite on the run, the gift shop has a coffee bar and deli counter.
Julie Frans in the Chef’s Garden. Image courtesy of Jan Schroder.
The swimming pool is heated, an unusual luxury in south Florida, and surrounded by orange beach chairs and turquoise umbrellas for that Miami vibe. As guests make their way to the pool, they are greeted by another colorful accent: the resident macaws Sunshine and Chance, who must feel right at home in the lush rainforest-like environment.
Cabanas are also available for rent and include internet, flat screen TV, ice bucket, water and two lounge chairs. A resort fee covers beach towels, lounge chairs, and umbrellas on the beach where food and drink service is available. Or for extra sun protection, you can rent a cute little beach cabanita that includes an ice bucket, water, and Evian mister.
The Palms has a fitness room with Precor equipment and personal TVs. Activities that include stand-up paddle boarding, jet skis, kiteboards, scuba diving, boat rentals and deep-sea fishing are available from third-parties close by.
For a scenic walk, guests can exit the gate of The Palms and be right on the four-mile Miami Beach Boardwalk for some sand-free exercise and excellent people watching.
Free yoga classes, Namaste in Nature, are offered Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. on the beach and Sundays in the garden at 9:30 a.m.
And then there’s the Palms Spa AVEDA with five treatment rooms or guests can opt for a treatment in a Spa Tiki Cabana and enjoy their treatment with the sound of ocean breezes. For something a bit different, check out the hydrotherapy room with a HydroCapsule, which combines aroma-filled steam with lighting therapy and a Vichy shower. Try the Jet Lag Revival, which includes a 30-minute salt glow treatment in the HydroCapsule, a facial and pedicure.
Comfy striped lounge chairs in the AVEDA Relaxation Room are divided for privacy with gauze curtains and include a sun-filled view of the outdoor waterfall.
Guests have their choice of views in the 251 rooms in the 12-story building. They can opt to see the city of Miami, the garden or the ocean through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Suites, some with private balconies, are also available.
The Miami Beach ambiance is carried out in the rooms decorated with soothing shades of orange and turquoise and seashell-filled lamps. Wash off the day’s salt and sand in the walk-in rainfall showers and slip into a bathrobe and slippers.
For a beach getaway with plenty of fitness and relaxing opportunities with a lush garden setting, The Palms Hotel & Spa is a good choice in Miami, and it’s just 22 minutes from the airport and 10 minutes from the nightlife on South Beach.
For more information about The Palms Hotel & Spa, click here.
Images courtesy of The Palms Hotel & Spa unless otherwise noted.