In-State EscapesThis spring make the bold decision to stay right here in South Floridamdash

and get the vacation you deserve By Marie Speed

The pier in Naples offers a front-row view of the sun

setting on the Gulf

Itrsquos easy to get a bad case of travel envymdashon top of the Spring Fever that is barreling this waymdashwhen everyone on social media posts their travel pictures and itineraries to far-fung places around the world Therersquos the couple on Facebook who are headed to Bhutan the Cloud Kingdom or the family diving the

Great Barrier Reef or renting a villa for a month in Tuscany So you can see all of this and elect to feel like mossback

George Bailey signed up for yet another long gray year at the old Building amp Loan or you can shake off the stay-at-home blues and rediscover the place you live

Thatrsquos what we did We found three great escapes in our own backyard that will take you far far away if you let themmdash without a passport a long fight and days of jet lag So settle down and make an easy trip into Americarsquos vacationlandmdash your own South Florida

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The Edgewater Beach Hotel 1901 Gulfshore Blvd Naples 239403-2000

Driving to Naples is about more than trading in the Atlantic for the Gulf it marks an entire vibe shift from that Northeast-and-Latin American hustle to a less-hectic more laid-back Midwestern demeanor Everyone knows this and itrsquos why sometimes we have to hit Alligator Alley and just point it west

In keeping with that idea a Gulf escape may mean chilling on Sanibel or Captiva or making an easy exit into Naples which is as graceful as it is upscale

The Edgewater is a Gulf-front resort thatrsquos been around for 30 years but feels up to the minute Itrsquos relatively small at 125 suites and it has none of the this-hotel-is-too-sexy-for-you attitude that we sometimes fnd in a hot Miami Beach resort On the other hand it does have the amenities and a level of service you frankly do not always fnd on the East Coast For starters itrsquos mercifully less hip than it is comfortable and easy to enjoy Itrsquos right on seven miles of beach with a good restaurant a nice-sized central pool area and plenty of water toysmdashnot to mention a fre pit which we love

The experience is escalated if you opt for one of the sleek oceanfront luxury suites complete with kitchen and several bedrooms The hotel also offers packages you can select to ramp up your visit like having the chef prepare a picnic for you while you recline on your luxurious beach bed Or you can order up a wine tasting in your suite complete with hors drsquooeuvres and Niles Crane-like commentary by a sommelier or chef

Naples like all the affuent cities in South Florida is known for sumptuous dining and the Edgewater is a great place to start with very good American cuisine in the airy Coast restaurant or its adjacent terrace overlooking the pool and the beach beyond

Website edgewaternaplescom

Yoga on the sugar-sand beach at the Edgewater and cuisine from the

Edgewaterrsquos Coast restaurant

Watching the sunset from a catamaran is all in a dayrsquos vacation in Key West

WHILE IN NAPLES rsaquorsaquo Shopping is as bona fide an activity as sunbathing with the nearby Waterside Shops at Pelican Bay (more than 60 designer stores including Saks Fifth Avenue Tiffany amp Co Louis Vuitton etc) Tin City a themed waterfront village with 40 eclectic mom-and-pop shops and the well-known Third Street South and Fifth Avenue South districts This is a great neighbor hood to stroll and sample with everything from high-end boutiques to spice shops Chicorsquos shell shops and more rsaquorsaquo The arts-and-culture scene in Naples includes

the Naples Museum of Art at the Philharmonic Center The von Liebig Museum Collier County Historical Museum and the Holocaust Museum Check with the concierge for outdoor concerts and theater options rsaquorsaquo Family fundays may include a visit to the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens or the Sun-N-Fun Lagoon Waterpark with five water slides a lazy river interactive water fountain and more rsaquorsaquo Going native is easy in and around Naples which is known for its environmental sensitiv ity and appreciation The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary features a long boardwalk (more

than two miles) through four South Florida habitatsmdashPine Upland Wet Prairie Cypress For- est and a Marsh The legendary Everglades and the Ten Thousand Islands are nearby and can be experienced via hiking paddling airboats or swamp buggies The Edgewater concierge can set you up for a day you will never forget in the countryrsquos most mysterious and primeval environment rsaquorsaquo Other places worth exploring are Thomas Edison-Henry Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers and Sanibel and Captiva Islands known for shelling and wildlife

Ocean Key Resort amp Spa 0 Duval St Key West 305296-7701

Every time we locals go to Key West we swear itrsquos the last timemdashbetween the cruise ships and Duval Street hoopla itrsquos ldquojust not the samerdquo we tell ourselves as we harken back to the days when the Top of La Concha was a funky observation deck atop a shuttered old hotel Or when El Sibonay was where you went for Cuban Or when Captain Tony was still alive and Jimmy Buffet a little-known troubadour took the stage one night there during the Frangipani Festival

We wax nostalgic swear off the place and then are back a year later because you canrsquot really stay away from Key West

A very good reason to go back this year is the most excellent Ocean Key Resort amp Spa a sleek and bright Noble House property but with a connection to old Key West that works starting with its own geography

First of all the resort has a long ldquoSunset Pierrdquo practically on top of Mallory Square site of the daily sunset ritualmdasha party appendage that allows guests to drink dine and mesmerize themselves with the disappearing sun while catching all the Mallory madness next door Second the waterfront Resort is at the foot of Duval Street which means you get seaside magic within spitting distance of the nonstop bar crawl that is Key West these days You are near Hogrsquos Breath

Poolside at Ocean Key Resort amp Spa

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Local transport on Key West relaxing in the Ocean Key spa

WHILE IN KEY WEST rsaquorsaquo Quirky points of interest Southernmost Point a concrete buoy at the corner of South and Whitehead streets may not be the real southernmost point in the United States but itrsquos a favorite photo op Kino Sandal Factory (at Kino Square just past Hogrsquos Breath) for cheap and enduring made-in-Key West sandals Babyrsquos Coffee (on your way north out of Key West) for its Havana Roast blend rsaquorsaquo Bike renting is the way to go here leave

the car parked safely for the duration of your stay Get off the beaten path and pedal down all the old tree-shaded streets lined with historic Conch houses Make a point to visit the cemetery at 701 Passover Lane in the heart of Old Town where many of Key Westrsquos most prominent families and characters are buried including ldquoSloppyrdquo Joe Russell Key Westrsquos best known bartender and fishing guide to Ernest Hemingway in the 1930s and local hypochon-driac BP ldquoPearlrdquo Roberts whose marker reads

ldquoI told you I was sickrdquo Another great epitaph is that of a Gloria M Russell ldquoIrsquom just resting my eyesrdquo rsaquorsaquo Famous Key West attractions include Ernest Hemingwayrsquos House amp Museum the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum Audubon House amp Gardens the Harry S Truman Little White House and Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park rsaquorsaquo Take the Conch Train as cheesy as it sounds it gives you a great overview of Key West and you can get on and off whenever you want

Saloon Sloppy Joersquos the marina and all the dive bars between Translation You can revel in the sanctuary of this sophisticated resort while dipping your toes into all the Key West craziness

The resort has 100 spacious rooms and suites with balconies whirlpool baths great views and several dining options The Marina Garden near the waterfront offers local seafood and Cuban food Hot Tin Roof (named after a play by late local playwright Tennessee Williams) offers acclaimed waterfront dining tropical drinks and excellent food Liquid the pool bar and lounge offers snacks and designer cocktails and the Sunset Pier features more Caribbean-themed fare as well as music and dancing

No resort these days is complete without a spa and this one emphasizes ldquoEastern wellnessrdquo with a tropical Balinese theme

Itrsquos easy to see how guests might not actually want to stray far from Ocean Key but thatrsquos not doing Key West from its full complement of outdoors and water-related adventures (best arranged through the concierge) to sheer island exploration Beyond Duval Street Crazytown is a magic that lingers somewhere in the narrow backstreets the chickens scratching at yards in Bahama Village the ancient graves in an old cemetery

Factor in lush tropical heat Conchs and Cubans a checkered history of rumrunners and nersquoer-do-wellsmdashand this is the Key West that always draws you back Year after year

Website oceankeycom

The Royal Blues lobby bar

Royal Blues Hotel 45 S Ocean Way Deerfeld Beach 954857-2929 All this time we thought Deerfeld Beach was just an extension of the Whalersquos Rib where we have been going for steamed rock shrimp for 25 years Oh there are some great new beachfront restaurants now like Ocean 234 and an iconic fshing pier but who knew this genial little town was now the site of a very chic Relais amp Chacircteaux resort

The Royal Blues Hotel is slightly south of where A1A bends to the west and itrsquos directly on the beach Itrsquos owned by Edward Walson a Broadway and flm producer he may be best known for producing Woody Allenrsquos ldquoBlue Jasminerdquo and ldquoMagic in the Moonlightrdquo The hotelrsquos guest list refects this connection with names like the aforementioned Allen Andy Garcia Susan Lucci Steven Bauer Harvey Keitel Eva LaRue and others

Apparently Walson used to vacation in Deerfeld Beach as a child with his parents so the hotel may be a nod to nostalgia if nostalgia were a four-star luxury beachfront hotel In a recent Forbes article Walson said opening the hotel was a lot like producing a movie ldquoYou know that long list of credits that roll by at the endrdquo he says ldquoThatrsquos how many people it takes to get a hotel off the groundrdquo

It shows The Royal Blues is clean and contemporary and has only 12 rooms (ranging from 495 square

feet to 1022 square feet) with large balconies all appointed in wide wood paneling leather and marblemdashsort of like oversized elegant staterooms in a mega yacht moored off St Tropez Everything is relentlessly high-tech including a shower that is practically remote-controlled Each room has original art hand-selected by the owner and a sense of casual simplicity one associates with people who are either very very wealthy or endowed with excellent taste

Speaking of taste the hotelrsquos Chanson restaurant (so named by Woody Allen) may be a best-kept secret It has a stunning panoramic view of the ocean and a large aquarium mounted near the ceiling that extends to the pool above The food is almost 100-percent organic with sustainable seafood sources the menu is described as ldquoever-evolving subtly shifting along with the seasons hellip blending timeless tastes of lsquoCuisine du Mondersquo and Floridarsquos freshest seafood with a modern fairrdquo The food is delicate favorful and expertly wroughtmdasha ftting refection of the hotelrsquos overall unabashed luxury and style

Website royalblueshotelcom

You can chase off the Royal Blues with a majestic view of the beach and the long Deerfeld Beach pier

WHILE IN DEERFIELD BEACH rsaquorsaquo Staying here means you are away without being away This al-

lows you to behave exactly like a tourist with Fort Lauderdale and Delray and West Palm only 30 minutes or so in either direction

You can slip up to Boca for some shopping or a movie at the iPic or you can point it south to Las Olas or the beach Or you can stay

right here toddle onto the beach in your cozy cabana and sip Champagne like the movie star that you are

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