Island Getaway

Spoil yourself and someone you love with a visit to The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne.

My head, sunk deep in a down pillow, rustled the zillion-thread-count sheets. I blinked a bright good morning to a sunny day. What time was it? Probably early-my wife, Amy, and I usually get up at about 5:30 a.m. I glanced past her, still sleeping, and spotted the clock. It read: 10:44.

Zounds! Holy mother of all faulty alarms! I was half out of bed and ready to dash out to Southern Living before I realized I was in the warm and cozy confines of The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne. We'd ventured down to the South Florida resort for a few days of rest between the race of Christmas and the hubbub of New Year's-the perfect getaway, like going to a stateside version of the Caribbean.

Heaven on the Sand

I knew I wasn't at home when I bounded into the cavernous, all-marble bathroom. All kinds of soaps, shampoos, loofahs, sewing kits, and shoe-shine doodads were laid out just so. Plus, The Ritz has the most marvelous ability to stuff a bathroom with plush towels.

Tucked into 12 acres of tropical gardens, The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne gets overlooked a lot, probably because it's low-key. Bellhops wear shorts. Families visit with children and feel comfortable in the fabulous outdoor restaurant, Cantina Beach. People play in the Atlantic and zero-entry pool without the pressure of nearby South Beach's fashion police.

The Library Bar is my kind of reading room, with a whiskey bible available to peruse. It's the only book in the room, but what a story it tells. Within its dense leather cover lies the list of South Florida's largest brown booze collection, approximately 150 varieties.

Ways To Relax

Two inviting pools; a 20,000-square-foot spa; and access to a lush, tropical golf course are just a few of the other amenities at the resort. Should you exhaust all those activities, the excitement of downtown Miami awaits just 20 minutes away.

Still, you may find, as I did, that the best way to enjoy The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne is to turn off the cell phone and take a snooze by the pool, lulled to sleep by the sounds of the ocean waves. -MORGAN MURPHY

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Dec 2006
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