Travel Journal: Naples Grande Beach Resort

A few weeks ago, my husband, Joe, and I had a much needed night away, just the two of us. With his busy work schedule, a work ethic stronger than anyone I’ve ever known, and now that he owns his own business, it’s not often that he takes time off. Maybe being your own boss isn’t ALWAYS a dream come true? So when we do both travel, it’s usually for a week or so at a time and with our best travel partner, our 2 year old son, Rocco. But this time, we made an exception and treated ourselves to a night alone. We have been planning a weekend away for some time and our last plan to head to the W Fort Lauderdale fell through because of sickness a few weeks earlier. So, when we saw a great deal at the Naples Grande Beach Resort and found out Joe’s sister (who lives nearby) was available to babysit for the night, we jumped on the opportunity.

It’s a Waldorf Astoria Resort and a full-service destination resort so we knew it would be in good hands. As we drove up, the entrance was lined with beautifully manicured hedges and had a clean modern look. The lobby was even more modern and included the restaurant Aura, the bar & lounge, the entrance to the renowned Golden Door Spa, and a small hotel boutique with cute cuff bracelets and yummy ginger ale in old fashioned glass bottles. As we waited for our room, we ventured off to the pool where we quickly snatched up two lounge chairs, whipped out our magazines (mine Marie Clare and Joe actually read his Wired on the iPad), spritzed the sunscreen, and ordered cocktails.  In seconds, it was like we fell back into our newlywed couple life that we once lived on Miami Beach…and it felt so good. Once the fresh blueberry lemonade arrived, I was blissful.

About an hour and a half later, well ahead of the 4pm check-in time, we received the call that our room was ready, despite the full house they had that weekend…there were 3 conferences being held. We headed to the elevator bank which had a light wood lined wall and wood grain-etched elevator doors…beautiful. The hallways and room definitely didn’t seem to have the same modern facelift as the lobby, but were quite comfortable and more plantation-style. We had our own terrace and the room was more spacious than many hotels these days. I even loved the shampoo and conditioner…which I had never heard of but smelled delish! If I had a complaint, it would be the squishy feather pillows and drizzling water pressure. A little too soft for our liking, but to each their own.

We were practically giddy that we had this time together, just us. We headed out to the Venician Village where we happened upon a great store called J.Mclaughlin. They had so many tote bags I would love to own that you may just see them soon at our e-boutique! Next we headed to Miramare, a restaurant with an outdoor terrace over looking the waterway which truly made you feel as if you were in Venice. We had just missed a visit from the local dolphins but it didn’t matter because the view was all anyone needed. The food was actually tasty too. Often times I find when you wander into a random place you haven’t heard of and the atmosphere is gorgeous, you shouldn’t expect much more…but here we were pleasantly surprised with out rigatoni eggplant and chicken parm.

After our bellies were full, we headed back for a much needed nap and then took the tram out to the beach to catch the sunset on their 3 miles of white sand beach. When was the last time I saw that? Had I ever seen the sunset at the beach?

Obviously, not on the east coast of Florida! We then dipped our feet poolside for a few minutes before heading up for showers before our dinner reservation…which we made the mistake of pushing back to 9pm. We found out in Naples most restaurants close at 10pm, for the silver-haired set. We knew Naples was an older crowd but didn’t realize just how much older until we were there…we were probably the youngest by 10 years…and I wouldn’t say we’re “young” anymore. Nevermind our age though, young at heart, right?

So, these two parents who rarely have 5 min to themselves, weren’t sure what to do when we were dressed and ready to go come 8:30pm. So we took our chances and headed down to Strip House, the hotel’s steak house which opened there in 2007. We knew we were dining here as soon as we booked the reservation at the Naples Grande as we had eaten several times at the Strip House in NYC when we lived there. What a good choice that was…they said no problem when we showed up half an hour early for our reservation and sat us immediately. The service was superb and my New York Strip was one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. We also had to try out the 24 layer wall of a chocolate cake but it honestly looked more impressive than it tasted. But what I think stole my heart was the Potatoes Romanoff.  I had never had them before but had heard about the “Strip House Potatoes Romanoff” on the Today Show and had to experience them for myself. Divine! Our evening ended with a rental of Horrible Bosses which I loved! That Jason Batemen gets me every time…hysterical. Then we passed out of food coma.

Sunday, we had a relaxing Grande Breakfast Buffet in the lobby restaurant, Aura, and then checked in on our little buddy at Aunt Cindy’s.  Turns out they didn’t have such a smooth night…Rocco woke up at 10:45pm refusing to sleep in the pack n’ play, slept in Auntie’s bed, woke about 2am and puked, then decided at 5am he was ready to get up for the day and go “outside!” Hmm. I think it’s safe to say we’ve burned yet another babysitting bridge. Cindy did say our little maniac was feeling better though and was happy as a clam “playing baseball” in the yard. Ever see a 2 year old play baseball?  It’s amusing and adorable…his die-hard Yankees fan father has some work to do though. So we strolled down 3rd Street South and enjoyed our last few minutes as a couple over a tasty BLT and Mahi-Mahi sandwich at Handsome Harry’s Third Street Bistro before picking up little mister and heading home.

Since it was such a quick trip, our goal was to just relax. Mission Accomplished. But I’d love to head back in the future to take full advantage of all the resort has to offer.  I can see Joe going for 18 holes at their par-72 golf course at Naples Grande Golf Club, especially since it was ranked as one of North America’s Top 100 Resort Courses by Golfweek Magazine. While he’s hitting balls, you’ll find me at the Golden Door Spa, where I’ll be getting their Signature Mani/Pedi, The 80 minute Artisan Massage, and the Sweet Awakening Seasonal Sugar Scrub. Aahhhhh…I’m ready now. We’ve also been known to be a bit adventurous together so maybe we’ll also take windsurfing lessons or go snorkeling…and we could even bring Rocco next time as there are 3 swimming pools (one with waterslide) and a day & night Kids Club for kids ages 4-12.  Point being, we’ll be back and we recommend you head there too…and don’t miss that Blueberry Lemonade by the pool…yum.

The Naples Grande Beach Resort is a contemporary, modern luxury hotel that received the Certificate of Excellence in May 2011 from TripAdvisor. Their Golf Course received a 4.5 out of 5-Star rating by Golf Magazine, was rated one of the “Top 50 Courses in Florida” by Golf Magazine, and was voted one of the “10 Best New Golf Courses in Florida” by Travel & Leisure Golf.