Hawks Cay Resort :
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys Premiere Private Island Destination.
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Carolina “Low Country” cooking includes feeding celebrities like singer Celine Delon, self-help guru Tony Robbins, George Bush (#43), and former Secretary of State Madeline Albright. Off the lobby in the intimate Alma dining room, we relished his appetizer of three super-size diver scallops on a bed of mushroom risotto, followed by “surf and turf” combining fresh Florida crawfish, cobia and a lovely medium-pink filet (my favorite). Dessert was Florida Keys at its best – classic Key Lime pie that delicately juggled the mandatory tartness with just a hint of condensed milk sweetness. Afterwards, in the sleek Alma cigar/bar, we imbibed a Hemingway’s Hurricane (Pilar Rum + Southern Comfort) while sniffing a Davidoff Colorado Claro and Wynwood Miami 646.
The next day, grab a big buffet breakfast at Ocean restaurant and then amble over to Marina Walk for every conceivable watersport activity: boating, catamaran snorkel excursions, jetskiing, kayaking, kiteboarding, parasailing, scuba diving, segway touring, stand-up paddleboarding, and sunset cruising. You can even trailer down your own boat and dock it in one of the 85 marina slips (up to a 110-foot yacht). Or take a charter for reef or flats fishing. On my dock stroll I saw two fresh caught deepwater swordfish, scores of mahi-mahi, vermillion snapper and still squirming Florida crawfish (season starts in August). By early spring 2016 Marina Walk will unfold its new Angler and Ale restaurant highlighted by multiple fire pits, private dining, and cook-you-own-fish suppers.
But nothing can surpass the Dolphin Connection, the only resort-based program of its kind. Its unique location next to the saltwater lagoon makes it the only facility on the U.S. mainland that offers free public viewing of trained dolphins. The interactive, accredited programs range from $175 (Dolphin Discovery: 45 minutes) to $325 (Trainer for a Day, 3 hours). I once swam with them in the Bahamas and the feel of their smooth, taut skin and frisky intelligence was irrepressible. At sunset we watched the five Atlantic bottlenose dolphins breaking the surface with their spray. On a posted sign it read that dolphins never go to sleep as each hemisphere of the brain both rests and uses its blowhole to breathe. Over a fringe of mangroves we could see the arching remnants of Flagler’s railroad bridge. It was as if the circle of life had made a perfect revolution.
VIP Treatment at Hawk’s Cay Resort: Henry Flagler’s amazing train no longer runs the tracks, but HCR has come up with a great substitute through 2016 – their new “By Air, Land or Sea” luxury penthouse package; roundtrip for four from Miami in a 2015 Lincoln MKY stretch limousine or a Tropic Ocean Airways private seaplane; four nights in the “Stargazer” or “Coastal” suites; private cabana; in-room or in-cabana couple’s massage; daily breakfast; and Chef Ryan’s private dinner tableside in the penthouse up to four people; prices start at $10,500.Call 1-877-484-9342 or click their website: www.hawkscay.com
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