Happy Wednesday, gals!

Eek! I am excited to share today’s post with you as I absolutely loved my long weekend in Palm Beach with my sister, Jennifer, and can’t wait to get back there soon. It was such an easy place to hop to for a long weekend, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Those of you that have read TOT for a while know Palm Beach was on my bucket list for a while—to be honest, I’m not even sure how long. I think my obsession with visiting this seaside town began when I first became very intrigued with the Kennedy family during college. They used to have a big winter compound in town, which JFK used as his “winter White House” and Ambassador Joseph Kennedy retreated to after his devastating stroke. The family has since sold their mansion, but the grandeur of Palm Beach remains—and I was captivated, so I wanted to share a little recap our trip:

HOW WE BOOKED OUR TRIP /

Like most of my other recent trips, we booked this one on Expedia. And, as with many places in Florida, Palm Beach’s off-season is in the summer, so it was really easy to find a deal. We snagged roundtrip, direct airfare and a two-night stay at the Eau Palm Beach for a little over $500 in a bundle deal. I’ve never had an issue booking through Expedia, and they send you confirmations from your airline—so you can add your frequent flier number—and the hotel. It’s seamless!

A note for my fellow Washingtonians—JetBlue flies direct to PBI from DCA and often runs great sales—so definitely do a some research before purchasing to make sure bundling is still the best deal.

WHERE WE STAYED /

As I mentioned, we stayed at the Eau Palm Beach. Without exaggeration, this was probably the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed at—and definitely the best decorated! We were greeted by the Eau’s friendly staff and immediately handed a glass of cold champagne at check-in. So, yes, they had me at hello.

The Eau was nice enough to upgrade our queen room from a partial view to completely oceanfront room, which was a very nice surprise. We had a balcony that overlooked the adult pool and crystal blue Atlantic Ocean, and it really made our vacation that much more special.

The lobby presents a more classic, formal vibe—the hotel used to be a Ritz Carlton, and you can definitely feel that there—while the guest rooms were all decorated by Jonathan Adler. The blues, yellows, and whites made it such a respite, and the bathroom—which unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of—was to die for. Plus, the water pressure was on-point, which is always nice while on vacation, especially when sand is involved.

We spent one day by the Eau pool, which was wonderful, and one day on the Eau’s beach. They provide towels, sunscreen, and even bug spray on the pool deck, and have waiters on-hand to take your order by the pool or beach. On the beach, the attendant help get us set up with a complimentary umbrella and beach chairs, which was so appreciated. Throughout the property, they offered fruit-infused water, which was especially refreshing while we were taking in the Florida sun.

GETTING AROUND PALM BEACH /

The Eau was within walking distance of a couple of restaurants, but is in a more residential area overall—it’s about 20-minutes south of “downtown” Palm Beach where most restaurants, other hotels, and shopping are but, I’d stay at the Eau again in a heartbeat. (We initially selected it above all the others because it was oceanfront, which was high-priority for us beach lovers, so we knew this about it’s location going in.)

To get around, we relied on Uber. We considered renting a car, but between that fee and the valet parking at our hotel, Uber was the more economical option. The airport is about a 20-minute ride from Palm Beach, and was very easy to navigate. Other than the ride there and back, we were very strategic about when we took Ubers and tried to Uber up to the downtown area, walk between spots, and then Uber back when we were done. All of our Uber drivers were super nice, and I actually loved Ubering around town because it was a great way to see some of Palm Beach’s huge mansions.

WHERE TO EAT /

I was obsessive about planning where we were going to eat on this trip after reading Monica‘s and Julia‘s Palm Beach recaps. There is so much good dining in town! Here’s a rundown of where we ate:

• Nick & Johnnie’s—nearly blogpost I read and everyone I talked to recommended Nick & Johnnie’s, and now I do, too! This is a super cute seafood restaurant that also has ample turf options. We ate our first lunch in town here and it was a great way to kick off the trip. I opted for the stacked BLT, which was delicious, and we split their Caribbean Smash punch bowl while we waited out a rainstorm (luckily the only one of the trip!).
• Old Key Lime House—I found this place on Yelp since we were looking for a dinner spot near the Eau that wouldn’t require an Uber. I knew that this Jimmy-Buffett-vibe restaurant would be our scene, and we had such a good time here. It was a family-friendly beach restaurant, and the food was pretty standard American bar food, but the atmosphere and views really made the experience. It turns into a bar once the dinner crowd trickles out and they have live music.
• Dune Deck Cafe—my sister and I aren’t big breakfast people, so the $34 buffet at the Eau would have been too much for us. When researching Palm Beach, I found Dune Deck Cafe right next to the Eau and knew this was much more our speed for breakfasts. We ended up eating here twice! It’s an open-air, oceanfront cafe that’s no frills, but the food—we had both breakfast and lunch—was great. A heads up that it is cash only, but there is an ATM on site.
• Breeze Ocean Kitchen—located right off the pool at the Eau, this might have been my favorite—and most convenient—meal the whole trip! (Or, more appropriately, meals, since we ate their twice.) The yellow umbrellas and ocean breezes were hard to beat, and the food was delicious. I opted for the Cobb Salad, and it was so fresh.
• E.R. Bradley’s—Located in West Palm Beach, we ate here for dinner after our booze cruise. This place was a fun, beach scene, with a live band. The bathroom was probably my favorite part—they had framed pages of old society magazines with wonderful drawings of 1920s and 30s Palm Beach—particularly The Beach Club, founded by—you guessed it—E.R. Bradley. It was a little loud (editor’s note—does this mean I’m getting old?), but a fun spot overall.

There are so many other restaurants in Palm Beach I want to try, so I can’t wait to take a trip back to cross a few more off my bucket list! In addition to Monica and Julia, Carly and Julia also have Palm Beach recaps if you’re looking for more food recommendations.

WHAT TO DO /

We were in Palm Beach for a full three days. On Saturday during the day, we relaxed by the pool at the Eau and ate at Breeze Ocean Kitchen. On Sunday, we pretty much repeated that formula, except we traded the pool for the beach. It was perfect.

But, we did manage to get out and explore Palm Beach—after all, I’m not one to sit still for too long!

On Friday, we walked the famed Worth Avenue. We popped into a few stores, but mostly were window shopping. We also loved checking out the alleys right off the main street where there were often beautiful murals or fountains. After, we walked over to The Colony Hotel to check out their Instagram-famous palm-and-pink hallways. You can’t tell this on Instagram usually, but each floor has a different color—light blue, light green, tan—wallpaper! The pink wallpaper is on the fourth floor.

We then headed to The Colony Hotel’s Poolside Bar, where we posted up for the better part of the afternoon since we had the place all to ourselves—it was amazing! Added bonus—happy hour went all afternoon, so we got our Moscow Mule fix and enjoyed their colorful patio.

The highlight of our trip though, was Saturday evening when Visit Palm Beach invited us on their Hakuna Matata catamaran for a happy hour BYOB cruise. It was a three-hour tour beautiful 90-minute beautiful cruise around the Intercoastal Waterway, and, as promised, we saw a gorgeous sunset. We brought our own drinks, and the staff was nice enough to give guests cups and ice for free. Cocktails were also available for purchase. They had the best playlist, and it was a great way to see many of the beautiful mansions and views in town. Added bonus, they took every guest’s photos with the sunset in the background. #NoNeedForAnInstagramHusband

We didn’t want our cruise to end, and I would recommend this to anyone. Added bonus—it’s only $30/person, so definitely very economical, especially if you bring your own beverages like we did!

Next time I’m in town, I’d love to have a drink at The Breakers, visit the Flagler Museum, as well as rent bikes and ride Lake Trail, it was just a little too hot to do the latter on this trip!

Whew! I think that about covers it. As you can tell—we had such a great trip! If you have any questions about Palm Beach or anything we did, feel free to email me (katie@atouchofteal.com)!