With Fortress and Virgin’s new train connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach (and more stations planned for the future), getting around South Florida doesn’t have to be a traffic nightmare. Here are the businesses, hotels, restaurants and experiences to know in the area.
Business
Southeast Florida Chapter of BetterInvesting
From Fort Pierce to Key West, the Southeast Florida branch of the investment education organization teaches its members how to be successful investors through clubs and events. Nick Nikiforos, president, [email protected], 800.901.0154, new.betterinvesting.org/chapters/southeast-florida
Collective Ventures
The organization is a startup accelerator and coworking space with its own coffee shop to foster community and creativity. 100 N. Federal Highway, Suite C4, Fort Lauderdale, [email protected], 888.233.2383, collectiveventures.org
Endeavor Miami
The New York-based nonprofit has outposts around the world, but Endeavor Miami is its first U.S. affiliate. Endeavor Miami works with entrepreneurs in South Florida to help foster local economic growth. 396 Alhambra Circle, Suite 202, Coral Gables, [email protected], 786.953.7541, endeavormiami.org
Hotels
The Dalmar
The newly opened luxury hotel offers in-room iPads, a saline pool and yoga classes all with a retro-inspired midcentury design. Its new rooftop bar, Sparrow, which was created in collaboration with the group behind New York’s Dead & Co., is the highest such bar in the city and offers craft cocktails and sweeping views of downtown Fort Lauderdale and the Atlantic ocean. 299 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, [email protected], 954.945.9500, thedalmar.com
Faena Hotel Miami Beach
Located on a relatively quiet stretch of Miami Beach, this luxury hotel from Argentine hotelier Alan Faena is the center of his art- and design-focused Faena District, a four-block stretch that includes the hotel, a residential tower, the Faena Forum event space and a recently debuted retail experience called Faena Bazaar. Don’t miss the live-fire cooking at Francis Mallmann’s Los Fuegos, the only U.S. restaurant from the famed Argentine chef. And to recover from a meat-centric dinner, visit the hotel’s Tierra Santa Healing House for the wet spa, body-healing rituals and massage therapy. 3201 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, [email protected], 844.733.4190, faena.com/miami-beach
The Brazilian Court
A member of Leading Hotels of the World, the historic Brazilian Court Hotel has been a Palm Beach staple since it opened as an apartment hotel in the 1920s. Boasting just 80 rooms and stunning Spanish Colonial architecture, its intimacy and seclusion makes the Brazilian Court a favorite with repeat guests. The hotel’s outpost of chef Daniel Boulud’s Café Boulud is not to be missed. 301 Australian Ave., Palm Beach, 561.655.7740, thebraziliancourt.com
Restaurants
Central Fare
Virgin Miami Central, the downtown Miami hub of the Brightline train, now has a food hall for hungry commuters and city residents. The 20-plus vendors include grab-and-go spots, sit-down restaurants and fast casual options such as 800 Degrees Woodfired Kitchen, a chain of pizza restaurants backed by Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem. 600 NW 1st Ave., Miami, virginmiamicentral.com
Florie’s at the Four Seasons Palm Beach
Chef Mauro Colagreco’s three Michelin-star restaurant on the French Riviera, Mirazur, has garnered global acclaim (it was named to the No. 1 spot on the World’s 50 Best this year). Luckily, you don’t have to go to France to experience Colagreco’s food—he partnered with Four Seasons Palm Beach this year to open Florie’s, a Mediterranean fine dining restaurant with an emphasis on live-fire cooking that opened in January. 2800 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach, 561.582.2800, floriespb.com
Grandview Public Market
This 13,000-square-foot food hall in West Palm Beach is a one-stop-shop for food and entertainment—try everything from wood-fired pizza at Pizza Paradise, to poke at Poke Lab Eatery, to Hong Kong-style waffle cones and boba tea at Sugar Milk. Then, browse Quinn for gifts and paper goods or stop by one of Grandview’s weekly activities, which include Monday Bingo, Trivia Tuesday and a weekly Saturday farmer’s market. 1401 Clare Ave., West Palm Beach, grandviewpublic.com
Experiences
American Airlines Arena
Located a 10-minute walk from Virgin MiamiCentral, the American Airlines Arena plays host to the NBA’s Miami Heat and dozens of big-name concerts and events a year. It’s also a short walk from the city’s cultural center, which holds the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science and the Pérez Art Museum Miami. 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, aaarena.com
Ann Norton Sculpture Garden
What was once the home of sculptor Ann Weaver Norton (second wife of Norton Museum of Art founder Ralph Norton) now houses nine of her larger-than-life sculptures, along with 100 works of art and 250 species of rare palms and cycads. 253 Barcelona Rd., West Palm Beach, [email protected], 561.832.5328, ansg.org
Norton Museum of Art
Industrialist Ralph Hubbard Norton opened what is now the Norton Museum of Art in 1941 with his first wife, Elizabeth Calhoun Norton, but a recent $110 million capital campaign and expansion have brought the museum a new round of attention (hedge funder Ken Griffin, a part-time resident of Palm Beach, gave $16 million for naming rights to the wing). The Norton’s expansion includes more than 12,000 new square feet of gallery space for its contemporary works. The museum’s 7,000-piece collection also focuses heavily on American, European and Chinese art. The new wing and a 37,000-square-foot sculpture garden opened in February. 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, norton.org
