The getaways issue

Best Keys hotels, Casitas at Cheeca Lodge & Spa, The Perry Hotel & Marina, best Miami spas & resorts, St. Barths, Malliouhana, Casa de Campo, MORE

Aug 29, 2024

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ABOUT FOUND • Getaways

FOUND is deeply interested in getaway destinations within driving distance (or a short flight) of Miami. That means the Keys, Greater South Florida (and beyond), the Caribbean, Central America, and more. What do the regulars eat and drink, where should you stay and shop, and — to take this to its logical end — what about buying a second home of your own there?

Beyond the world of weekend escapes, FOUND closely tracks the local hotel scene and airports, and the need-to-know intel that can make or break a trip. From time to time, special correspondents will file reports from far-flung destinations like the French Riviera or Bora Bora, because there are some experiences that transcend this mortal plane and beg to be shared.

Welcome to FOUND Getaways. As we stow your bag, make yourself comfortable.

GETAWAYS • The Nines

Hotels, Key West

Marquesa (Old Town), 1880s-era Victorian-style conch cottage compound with two swimming pools and sophisticated café, $416 (intel here)
Ocean Key Resort & Spa (Mallory Square), stylish harborfront pool, Sunset Pier tiki bar with live music, $420
Sunset Key Cottages (Sunset Key), private cottages on private island, destination restaurant for best (and most romantic) sunset views, $629
The Perry Hotel & Marina (Stock Island, above), high design, off-the-beaten path on 220-slip marina with pool and schlep-worthy restaurants, $155 (intel below)
Casa Marina (Casa Marina), 1920s-era Mediterranean Revival opulence by oil tycoon Henry Flagler, formal poolscape on private beach, $400
The Marker (Historic Seaport), Key West vernacular architecture in rare new build property with three courtyard pools, $272
Opal Key Resort & Marina (Mallory Square), Harborfront stalwart with prime sunset views, rooftop bar, courtyard swimming pool, $297
Key West Historic Inns (Old Town), five historic inns across Old Town, each with lush courtyard swimming pool, $245
The Mansion on the Sea (Southernmost Point), zany seafoam green and conch shell pink Victorian mansion with sublime oceanfront zero-entry infinity pool, $444

All rooms king, mid-September. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundmiami.com.

GETAWAYS • The Keys

Modern pilgrimage

When The Perry Hotel & Marina opened on Stock Island, it gave travelers unprecedented access to a distinctly local piece of the Florida Keys. Separated from Key West by the narrow Cow Key Channel, Stock Island is an extension of its famed neighboring island, and also, a destination unto itself. Just five miles from the heart of Key West’s Old Town, and about a 20-minute drive, it’s long been considered to be a holdout of old Key West, before tourism became the island’s largest economic force. Stock Island is where you’ll find the area’s last shipyards and working waterfronts for shrimpers, lobstermen, and commercial fishermen — it’s also home to artists, boat builders, and multigenerational Keys families.

In 2017, both The Perry and nearby Ocean’s Edge Resort & Marina opened, within months of one another, as Stock Island’s first hotels. They’re both modern, escapist retreats offering exemplary service on boat-dotted marinas, where fishing charters and off-beat haunts like Hogfish Bar & Grill and Cuban luncheonette El Mocho have long lured visitors. Between the two, I’d pick The Perry every time, for its hip, industrial design and excellent dining offerings.

Outfitted in raw concrete, steel, and natural wood, spacious guest rooms come with oversized balconies, rainfall showers, and local art. During my stay, I was more than content to while away an afternoon by the pool, hypnotized by ship masts swaying in the breeze. Come nightfall, fire pits along the waterfront grounds are a perfect spot for pre-dinner margaritas.

And while the onsite Matt’s Stock Island Kitchen & Bar has been a worthy restaurant companion since the hotel opened, the recent return of Bad Boy Burrito — a dormant Key West cult classic, now grown up as Bad Boy Taqueria & Tequila with an expanded menu and full bar in a breezy waterfront setting, and also, on property — is cause alone for a pilgrimage. –Shayne Benowitz, 05/02/24

→ The Perry Hotel & Marina (Stock Island) • 7001 Shrimp Rd.

WORK • Thursday Routine

The Montreal-St. Barths express

STEPHANIE SHOJAEE • president • SHOMA GROUP
Neighborhood you live in: Coral Gables

It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
My workplace is filled with dynamic energy. I start the morning with a matcha on my desk and my schedule is fully booked out — I absolutely love it and I hit the ground running the second I get into the office.

What’s on the agenda for today?
Back-to-back Zoom sessions, meetings, calls, and if I’m lucky, time to taste-test food from a potential new vendor. A few of Shoma’s current projects are at the forefront of my mind, and I’m focusing on initiatives geared toward bettering our projects. Shoma Bay, our North Bay Village project, will break ground later this year, and I’m working on furthering the traction towards that groundbreaking. Similarly, I’m analyzing lease renewal conversions for our project in Hialeah, Shoma Village. Two other big project initiatives I’m working on are expansion planning for our food hall, Shoma Bazaar, and selecting commercial tenants for our next mixed-use project, 550 Shoma, in Orlando.

Any bar or restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
My current favorite restaurant is Sospiro in Coral Gables. They have especially good pasta dishes and cheese platters that I love. On any given night, we may decide to fly to Montreal, where we have a second home, for date night. One of my current favorite restaurants there is Le Chien Fumant, a cozy little place with the absolute best food and service. The owners greet you at the door. The best table is the corner one with windows all around, looking out onto the beautiful neighborhood streets of Montreal.

Any weekend getaways?
The best weekend getaway is St. Barths. It is two hours and 20 minutes away from Miami, and a nice compromise for my husband Masoud and me in our battle of what “short flight” means. My go-to hotel in St. Barths is Cheval Blanc. I love its boutique feel, the beach is beautiful, and it’s just the right amount of quiet — but with a good crowd.

What was your last great vacation?
Last year, I planned a surprise trip for Masoud and myself to Milan, and we had so much fun. We ate, shopped, walked, got stuck in the rain and had way too much gelato. Then I rented us a car and we drove to Portofino, though the drive was a bit stressful (I’m a very nervous passenger-seat driver and the roads were narrow). But it was the unexpected twists and turns of this venture that made it memorable. We stopped at little restaurants, got stuck at a toll because we didn’t know we had to keep the ticket, got held up in traffic, and laughed until our stomachs hurt. 05/17/24

GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines

Spas, hotel

Surfside Spa at Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club (Surfside), posh services, marble hammam access
Spa at The Standard Miami Beach (Venetian Islands), bayfront pool, stadium-style marble hammam, indoor-outdoor hydrotherapy access; day passes available
Valmont for the Spa at The Setai (South Beach), plush digs and best in class therapists, surprisingly sparse amenities
Tierra Santa Healing House at Faena (Mid Beach), one-hour complimentary wet spa pre-treatment ritual, beach chair access with some services
Lapis, the Spa at Fontainebleau (Mid Beach), 75’ mineral bath and water journey access, also day pass to resort pools, beach, gym
The Spa at Carillon Miami Wellness Resort (North Beach), former Canyon Ranch, retains temple of wellness approach
Acqualina Spa (Sunny Isles Beach), indoor thermal experience, outdoor spa pool terrace, exclusive spa lunch menu
The Spa at Mandarin Oriental (Brickell Key), indoor steam room, sauna, and experience showers; outdoor pool access
Âme Spa & Wellness Collective at JW Marriott Turnberry (Aventura), steam and Himalayan salt rooms, bookable infrared sauna

Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundmiami.com.

GETAWAYS • Anguilla

From bluff to sea

There’s a Spanish proverb, “How wonderful to do nothing, and then rest.” It’s a sentiment easy to settle into on Anguilla. Mostly unblemished by cruise ships and long favored by celebrities as an under-the-radar retreat, Anguilla has never been easier to access since American Airlines launched its first nonstop (roughly three hour) flights from Miami in 2021.

There’s no better place to do nothing than Malliouhana, a historic resort balancing on a bluff between Meads Bay and Turtle Cove Beach on the island’s northwestern edge.

Lounging by the tiered infinity pool beneath a frilly yellow umbrella perched precariously atop a craggy cliff overlooking the sea, time passes slowly. The pressing questions of the day: Beach or pool? Rosé or rum punch? Lunch on your lounge chair or down at the beachside café?

For the ambitious, beyond the resort lie the pink sand beaches of Sandy Island, for snorkeling, lobster BBQ, and the legendary Bankie Banx’s Dune Preserve, a delightfully ramshackle beach bar on Rendezvous Bay, for an evening of reggae.

Back at Malliouhana, the open-air lobby is worth a pause, with its mosaic of mirrored tile floors, a cerulean wall lined with vintage dive helmets, paintings by Haitian artist Jasmin Joseph, and views straight out to the pale blue sea. With only about 60 guest rooms and suites spanning the 25-acre property, the grounds are uncrowded and profoundly serene. For dinner, there’s the cliffside al fresco Celeste overlooking Bobbing Cove Beach, serving elevated Caribbean fare.

Rooms are dreamy confections anchored by sculptural four-poster beds and outfitted with sorbet yellow and robin’s egg blue accents, coral and Venetian glass lamps, and sea green marble bathrooms. With spacious balconies, the sea is never far from sight. –Shayne Benowitz, 05/16/24

→ Malliouhana (Anguilla) • Meads Bay • (844) 815-9207.

WORK • Thursday Routine

Brickell Key to Bora Bora

CAMILA AIME • founder • Escapadez
Neighborhood you live in: Brickell Key

It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I founded Escapadez, a travel company focused on luxury travel, just under two years ago. As our team continues to expand, I’m in search of an office, but for the moment, work from home. After I turn the coffee machine on, I begin my 12-minute Tony Robbins morning priming to set me up for the day. I find it helps me with the patience that work often requires. I’m reading emails and checking the status of any departures I have on today before getting to client calls, finishing up some itineraries, and getting started on some referral marketing.

What’s on the agenda for today?
I like to get in a quick morning workout since I have a full day ahead. I’ll speak to the personal assistant of my most VIP client, along with their security detail, to finalize everything on an upcoming departure. Later, I’m finishing up a honeymoon itinerary I have in New Zealand and Australia, along with one in Puerto Rico, and finalizing a trip for my best client in Asia, departing this week.

Any bar or restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Tomorrow, I have a hotel meeting with the Airelles Group at Pao at Faena, and later this week my husband (the managing partner at Escapadez) and I are going to try Pasta e Basta in Midtown.

Any weekend getaways?
We enjoy going to the Dominican Republic to Casa de Campo or Eden Roc. I’m also a huge fan of St. Barths for a 3-4 day getaway. There are so many hotels in St. Barths that I love — Cheval Blanc, Le Barthelemy, and Le Toiny to name three. My favorite restaurant on the island is Tamarin.

What was your last great vacation?
I just got back from a great trip: first, two nights in LA at Hotel Bel-Air, one of my favorite hotels ever, with hands down the best breakfast. Then, on to Tokyo, for three nights at The Peninsula. Tokyo was incredible — I highly recommend waking up early and going to Senzo-ji Temple before the crowds and seeing the Shibuya Crossing from Ce La Vi.

From there, we took a flight to Tahiti and directly onwards to Bora Bora where we stayed for five nights at the Four Seasons. Could not recommend this beautiful island in the middle of the Pacific more. My favorite experience was swimming with the sharks and rays, and I really loved the on-site Asian restaurant Vaimiti. On the way back we stopped over in Los Angeles again, this time staying at The Maybourne Beverly Hills, another fantastic option in LA (best butterscotch pancakes ever, for breakfast). We spent the day at the Getty Museum before a late lunch at Polo Lounge, and cocktails at martini hour at Dante. I wish I could do it all again. 05/02/24

GETAWAYS • The Nines

Resorts, Miami

Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club (Surfside), historic club meets modern day opulence, $916

1 Hotel South Beach (South Beach), eco-chic resort, multi-level poolscape, oversized rooms, rooftop bar, $472
The Miami Beach EDITION (Mid Beach), book a bungalow, $363
Faena Miami Beach (Mid Beach), a fantastic spectacle, $540
EAST, Miami (Brickell), glass-encased tower climbing 40 stories, crowned by buzzy rooftop bar; gorgeous rooms, $196
The Biltmore (Coral Gables), 1920s-era Mediterranean revival grand dame, golf course, spa, huge pool, famous brunch, $339
W South Beach (South Beach), ocean views from every room, pool scene, buzzy lobby bar, $389
The Setai (South Beach), Zen-lux suites, tranquil poolscape, spa, ace hospitality, $743
Fontainebleau Miami Beach (Mid Beach), for Rat Pack nostalgia and still the best nightlife in town, $312

All rooms king, August. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundmiami.com.

GETAWAYS • The Keys

Change in latitude

There’s something about the angle of the spindly palm trees on the beach at the Casitas at Cheeca Lodge & Spa, each bending towards the sea as if caught in a persistent breeze. On this private expanse of white sand beach in Islamorada, about a two-hour drive from Miami, 11 cottages dot a property where meandering paths lead to a lap swimming pool and tennis court, and hammocks dangle lazily between those palms.

If it sounds slightly familiar, it’s because this addendum to Cheeca Lodge — the modern resort that evolved from a storied 1940s-era fishing lodge — was formerly a part of next door neighbor The Moorings Village, Islamorada’s longtime treasured cottage retreat. (To complicate matters, The Moorings still operates today with eight cottages on the property it held onto south of Beach Road.) The acquisition by Cheeca Lodge, which took place in 2020, came with two restaurants across the Overseas Highway: Pierre’s, for a French fine dining spin on Keys cuisine, and the laidback Morada Bay Beach Café — both with sunset views.

At the Casitas, barefoot luxury charm is on order. Guests have exclusive domain over the annex, plus access to all the amenities at Cheeca proper, especially useful when it comes to dining. Up the beach and through a private gate, find three restaurants and two tiki bars. (Butlers also ferry orders to cushioned lounge chairs on the beach.)

On a recent stay in an oceanfront casita, we walked outside onto our patio every morning to the aquamarine water, spreading out to eternity, with no one else in sight. While South Florida does not lack for spectacular waterfront resorts, few offer that kind of vantage. –Shayne Benowitz, 04/18/24

→ Casitas at Cheeca Lodge & Spa (Islamorada) • 81801 Overseas Hwy.