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The Shores Resort & Spa
My family and I lived in Florida for eight great (albeit hot) years. While we lived in West Palm Beach, we explored everything from Orlando, to both coasts, and down through the Keys. We've been in Texas for nearly four years now, having grown accustomed to “y'all” and men in business suits wearing cowboy hats. Recently, we went back to the Sunshine State to answer one pressing question: Is it possible to go home again?
Third in a series
I'm like Mike.
Michael Jordan, that is. Well, except that I'm not an NBA legend … and I probably won't earn $500 million in my career … and I don't have two Olympic gold medals.
But I have enjoyed the quiet elegance of The Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach Shores, Fla.
As a big motorcycle buff, His Airness is owner of Michael Jordan Motorsports and frequent visitor to Daytona Bike Week, the annual springtime event/rally/bacchanal.
And when it comes time to retreat from the Harleys and halter tops, Jordan likes to kick back at The Shores.
It's easy to see why: The Shores is a boutique luxury hotel whose backyard is a white-sand beach that stretches for miles, accented by sunshine, the surf and Southern hospitality. How hospitable? Well, it's Daytona's only AAA Four-Diamond luxury beachfront hotel. Period.
And while I may not have worldwide name recognition of an all-star athlete, I was treated like a VIP at The Shores. And based on all that I observed during our stay there, my guess is that's how all the guests are treated. After all, the resort's motto is “Surf, sand, service and style.”
The wood-paneled entrance of The Shores is the first indication that this resort is going to be unique. Forget the cookie-cutter look so common in hotels these days. The Shores harkens back to a time when a destination was designed to be more than just four walls and a bed … a feast for the eyes as well as a balm for weary soles/souls.
A murmuring fountain in the lobby, surrounded by chic furniture nestled in cozy corners, makes you stop and savor the richness of the décor and attention to detail. This is a Florida beachfront hotel? Yes, but it's unlike any you've ever experienced.
The Shores likes to describe its interior as “reflecting historic beach-house ambiance,” and I'm hardly the only visitor to think that assessment is spot-on: Of the 110 hotels in Daytona listed on TripAdvisor.com, The Shores ranks No. 3.
Our rooms looked out onto the Atlantic Ocean, with the seabreeze making the air conditioning almost redundant. The kids had a hard time choosing between the beach and the pool, so they naturally split their time between both. My son and I tossed a baseball around on the wide shore, while my youngest daughter quickly discovered that seagulls are not as slow-footed as they might appear. And my wife and oldest daughter discovered that the beach is still the best place to read a good book and get a tan at the same time.
When we weren't outside, we relaxed in four-poster feather beds – complete with sheer canopies and deluxe pillow-top mattresses, of course. As if that isn't enough, all rooms at The Shores also include (and is just a partial list, mind you):
- Stunning views of either the beach or the Intracoastal Waterway
- Doorless Italian marble showers
- King-size rooms with 42-inch flat-screen TVs, or doubles with 32-inch flat-screens
- High-speed wireless Internet access
- DVD/CD player
- Ultra-soft, 300-thread-count linens
- A plush robe from the resort's spa, Indulge
The only regret from our stay was that we didn't have a chance to experience Indulge spa – and that's only because it's such a popular guest amenity that it was completely booked.
To get away from it all while you're getting away from it all, Indulge is the perfect refuge. It's the only beachfront luxe spa in Daytona, and its services include:
So while we had to admire Indulge from afar (although we did get a tour, which made our spa lust all the worse), we found another source of ahhhhhs and mmmmms – the hotel's Azure restaurant.
Executive Chef Lonny Huot presents ocean-inspired dishes at the award-winning Azure, where diners face two incredibly tough questions: Should I eat on the outdoor terrace and enjoy the ocean breeze, or inside amid the elegant décor of the dining room? And I can't decide what to order from among all of these amazing dishes – is it proper etiquette to flip a coin?
We chose the al fresco dining option for breakfast and dinner. And although we couldn't possibly try all the menu items, the dishes we did have were so delicious that we almost slipped into a food coma. Maybe it was the lulling rhythm of the surf, or the fresh air … or maybe it was Chef Huot's culinary magic at work. Whatever it was, our taste buds can recommend without reservation:
Breakfast
Southern Breakfast (When in Rome …)
New York Strip & Eggs (Perfect in every way)
Crab Cake Benedict (One word: Wow)
Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes (A 10-year-old's delight)
Ratatouille Benedict (A sumptuous reason to try something new)
Dinner
Caramelized Diver Scallops (Inspired by-the-sea appetizer)
Jumbo Lump Blue Crab Cake (Trust me, you'll think you're in Maryland)
Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi (So fresh it was almost flipping on the plate)
Free-Range Roasted Chicken Breast (You'll never do KFC again)
Filet Mignon (So tender you almost don't need a knife)
Wild Mushroom Ravioli (Looks almost as good as it tastes – almost)
New York Strip Loin (It made a starving teenage boy smile)
When night falls, The Shores adds one more charming element to make its guests feel truly at home: Fire pits where you can sit with a S'mores party pack and enjoy a gooey, chocolate-y bedtime snack. When we were there, we struck up a conversation with another family that visits The Shores so often that they actually bring their own specialized roasting skewers on vacation.
Incredibly, you can experience all of this for as little as $109 a night – and remember, this is an AAA Four-Diamond luxury resort.
We experienced The Shores as a family, and the resort makes it easy to do so. Right now they're offering a "Stay and Play Family Beach Getaway" that comes with breakfast for two days, a lunch and dinner at Azure – and kids eat free. And that's not even the half of it.
These specials – and more – can be found here.
The food ... the ambiance ... the beachfront location … the serenity … the friendly, attentive staff … it all adds up to an incredible stay when you visit The Shores.
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