Boca Raton, Florida – It’s been nearly a century since the 1920s, but the owners of the legendary Boca Raton resort, now called Boca Raton, are close to finishing a $200 million renovation that pays homage to the life and times of Mediterranean style. by architect Addison Mizner, who designed the original resort circa 1926, but also plays a role in the city’s renaissance.
The property, which includes a plethora of hotels and restaurants, began entertaining guests over the Christmas holidays after being closed for a year or more for a redevelopment that saw the Great Hall replaced with an elegant indoor retreat of pools, bars, a waterslide and more. The water attractions are called the Harborside Pool Club.
The administration has designated January 4 as the official reopening day. The resort’s 27-storey tower will reopen on April 1. The tower will be the fifth hotel option for the resort.
And while other resort buildings have been repainted to return to their original “coastal sand” color from the Mizner days, the elevated elevation will retain its distinctive pink.
“Boca Raton’s sprawling architecture is an important aspect of our brand’s DNA, and a unique point of differentiation,” Daniel A. Hostettler said in an email response to questions sent by the South Florida Sun Sentinel Monday.
“We are committed to preserving the past while we lead the property into the future,” he added. “In order to do this authentically, we have been working with the Boca Raton Historical Society to make sure that our design plans complement the original vision of the resort.”
He said that the planners “spent countless hours studying the resort’s original designs” which were integral to Mizner’s architectural vision, which is primarily based on Mediterranean and Spanish colonial styles.
The overhaul comes at a time when Boca Raton is undergoing a renovation of its own that includes a building boom with high-rise condos and luxury apartments, new shops and restaurants, and eventually a Bright Line terminal for travelers looking for high-speed train trips to other parts of South Florida and Orlando.
“It’s a huge asset to the city,” said Jesica Del Vecchio, the city’s director of economic development, adding that the resort and its ancient history can serve as a calling card. “A tech company moved here from California. They wanted to know more about the resort.”
As if to mark the opening, Bloomberg ranked the city as one of the top 25 entertainment destinations worldwide for 2022. The city was equated with places such as Doha, the capital of Qatar; Vienna, Austria; The Galapagos Islands off Ecuador and Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
Reviewers have called The Boca Raton specifically “Exhibition A” for its city.
“Is it a retirement haven or an extension of the party scene in Miami?” Ask the article. “Boca Raton looks more like the latter these days, attracting a younger, perennial crowd during a pandemic and spurring the development of dinner venues that don’t trade in early bird specials.”
The article says the resort is a place where “membership has risen among 40 professionals with children”.
“It also has restaurants from New York’s culinary wonder, Major Food Group, including an old-fashioned takeover of the old golf club, now called the Flamingo Grill.”
Opened in 1926 as The Ritz-Carlton Cloister Inn, the resort now houses five hotels — the Cloister, Yacht Club, Beach Club, Tower, and Bungalows — on 200 acres adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway.
Between 2009 and last year, the resort was affiliated with Waldorf Astoria. But the ties were severed after the new owners, MSD Partners in Santa Monica, California, an investment group led by computer magnate Michael Dell, chose to create their own independent brand.
So they went back to the name used by 1940s-era owners J. Myer Schine and his socialite wife, Hildegarde. It was Mrs. Shen’s affinity for pink that led to the hotel being painted that color.
Amenities include a half-mile private beach via the Intracoastal Waterway, a spa, an 18-hole golf course, a full-service 34-slip marina, a paddle club with 16 tennis courts and four pickle ball courts, retail stores, four swimming pools, and fitness centers.
But only club members and resort guests can use it.
The majority of visitors are from the Northeast, “including multi-generational families looking for sun and beach,” Hostetler said.
Many couples prefer staying in the resort’s new luxury yacht club. “We also have many guests from the Midwest who drive for extended periods of time,” he said.
On December 1, the resort unveiled the MB Supper Club, a nod to the golden age of supper clubs in the 1930s and 1940s, when high society frequented coveted establishments for dinner and show, the resort said last month.
The club is a tribute to former Monkey Bar, a cocktail lounge dedicated to Mizner, an animal lover who once owned a monkey named Johnny Brown. The restaurant now offers gold monkey candlesticks, as well as whimsical creatures that appear to be bobbing against red wallpaper.
Hostettler said the resort unveiled the Cloister Hotel at the end of December, “which is the heart of the Harborside” and introduces several new dining concepts.
They include Sadelle in partnership with Major Food Group, the Palm Court cocktail lounge, as well as a redesign of the wellness venue Spa Palmera.
He said two other dining concepts with Major Food Group will open this winter, serving Italian and Japanese cuisine.
—-
Timeline: approaching a century
1926: The resort was opened as The Cloister Inn
1927: Auctioned by Clarence Guest, a golf enthusiast and utility mogul from Philadelphia, after financial problems arose due to a land boom in Florida.
1928-29: property closed for renovations, adding 300 guest rooms, indoor pool, saltwater pool, golf course, cathedral dining room, tiled fountain and statue of a girl by Italian-born sculptor Ettore Pelegata (still standing today), and a staircase Big East Lounge
1930: Re-opened as the Boca Raton Club as Geist’s “Winter Club” from January to March for members
1942-1944: The club is bought and occupied by the US Army to house Air Force cadets, and it becomes a training ground and barracks for thousands of soldiers
1944: Hotelier J. Myer Schine and his socialite wife, Hildegarde, acquire the hotel and change the name from The Boca Raton Club to The Boca Raton. Ms. Chen’s affinity for pink led to the hotel being painted this color.
1956: Schines sells to Arthur Vining Davis, (ARVIDA), a South Florida developer. Davis extends the tourist season from three months (January to March) to Christmas through Easter and adds conventions to the lazy summer months.
1968: Great Hall built to accommodate 1,500 guests (now Harborside Pool Club).
1969: The tower was built. The golf villas, which are now bungalows, have been completed.
1970: The 27th floor and restaurant at the top of the tower opened.
1980: Boca Beach Club opened; 212 guest rooms and half a mile of private beach, with transportation provided on a 44-foot pink yacht, the Mizner’s Dream.
1986: The property became known again as The Boca Raton Resort & Club.
1997: H. Wayne Huizenga and Florida Panthers Holdings, Inc. buying the property.
1998: The Mizner Center opens with 128,000 square feet of convention center space.
2001: A new golf club opens. The Palazzo Spa, “designed to mimic heaven on earth,” debuted with 44 treatment rooms, butler service, and a pool.
2002: An eight-story yacht club with 34 berths for 150-foot yachts opens.
2004: Blackstone acquires Boca Raton and joins Waldorf Astoria (Hilton) Group.
2019: MSD Partners, headed by computer entrepreneur Michel Dell of California, purchases the property to embark on a $200 million redevelopment.
2021: The resort leaves the Waldorf Astoria Group to become an independent luxury property. Renamed The Boca Raton. Cloisters and Yachting Club reopened.
Timeline source: The Boca Raton
Palm Court in Boca Raton on January 3, 2022, in Boca Raton, Florida. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS)
A dancing monkey is photographed at a party at the MB Supper Club in The Boca Raton on January 3, 2022. Resort architect Addison Mizner, known for his fondness for animals, had a monkey named Johnny Brown in the 1920s. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS)