Travel

The Boca Raton Resort and Club, the legendary architect Addison Minzer's magnificent dream in the heart of Florida's Gold Coast, is still the lovely and posh resort that I remember from my last visit. The resort still offers all the amenities desired by Wall Street moguls, movie stars and the upper echelon of the social set while also offering a wide array of activities for the whole family.I thought the ultimate luxury was being offered a cold towel to provide relief from the hot sun while sitting at the pool until I noted the fantastic results of a two-year $100 million renovation. The existing rooms, suites and conference facilities have been redesigned. Fax machines and coffee makers are hidden from view to create a more relaxed feel. A 112-room Yacht Club and new restaurant have been added. Their world-class golf experience now includes new practice and putting greens as well as a fleet of 180 GPS UpLink Smart golf carts that provide players with interactive, electronic communications. The resort's standing as one of the country's top tennis destinations has been enhanced by a $10 million state-of the art tennis center, a tennis concierge to help you get court time and matches with compatible players and the option of a tennis package available year-round with a wide variety of accommodations. CampBoca for children has also been expanded with the addition of a water park in the children's playground and programs to encourage personal fitness for the kids and adults such as Music and Play and Youth Sports Conditioning, Family Fitness Personal Training and Karate for Kids.The most impressive addition is the fabulous new spa building, the Spa Palazzo. Designed after the legendary Spanish Moorish-style Alhambra Palace, Spa Palazzo is intended to replicate "paradise on earth." This opulent sanctuary of health includes 44 treatment rooms, a luxurious wet room, and diverse menu of spa treatments, 10,000 square feet of delightful gardens and a spa pool with underwater music. Spa Palazzo's signature treatment is the authentic Trilogy Programme, a restorative water ritual inspired by Spanish explorer Ponce deLeon's search for the fountain of youth, and a melody of three treatments - mineral baths, massage and body exfoliation. All are designed to remineralize, nourish and balance the body. The spa's boutique also contains the largest collection of Kiehl's beauty products, from body creams and powder to foundations and moisturizers, that I have ever seen. The selection is even more extensive than I've noticed in Saks Fifth Avenue or Neiman Marcus.Always known for its five-star and varied dining experience, the seasoned talents of more than 340 chefs, under the direction of Executive Chef James Reaux, have added, Lucca, a Tuscan-style gourmet restaurant, named after the famed Italian walled city. It was conceived as a "modern Tuscan villa" celebrating the spirit of the Mediterranean and capturing the essence of "comfort" good landscape, colors and architecture of northern Italy's romantic region. Chef Carey Savona creates soothing Tuscan-style cuisine without heavy sauces and seasonings but in a manner that releases the natural flavors of the meat, fish, hand-made pasta, and produce that is being prepared.Executive Chef James Reaux, a noted cordon blue chef, is famed for his unusual salsa recipes. Chef Reaux demonstrated his creations when he participated in Radisson Seven Seas culinary course series aboard the Radisson Seven Seas Voyager. His recipe for Fresh Melon and Lemon Balm Salsa with Crisp Plantain Chips is:Ingredients:1 galia melon (inside like honeydew)1 red onion diced and rinsed1 red pepper, diced2 habanero or scotch bonnet peppers, seeded and minced1/2 cup fresh lemon balm, chopped (looks like mix-flavor is lemon)2 oz. Dark rum 2 limes, juiced1 tsp. Honey (tones down heat)To taste kosher saltTo taste black pepper freshly ground2 green plantains, sliced thin, lengthwise and friedMethod:Peel the onion. Place a strainer over a bowl and scrape the seeds into the strainer. Push all the good juice through; discard the seeds. Dice the melon. To the melon juice, add the red onion, sweet pepper, habanero or scotch bonnet peppers, lemon balm and rum. Let stand for about 20 minutes. Add the chopped melon, limejuice and honey. Adjust seasoning to taste.I sampled some of Chef Reaux's salsa when I dined at the resort's casual family-friendly Chauncey's. I also enjoyed a delicious seared tuna appetizer and an excellent kobe beef hamburger. In deference to the restaurant's location overlooking the championship greens, their desert selection includes a unique desert called Chauncey's Golf Bag, a crisp tuile golf bag filled with milk chocolate mousse and chocolate golf clubs that would fill the heart of any chocolate lover I know.For more information on how you can enjoy the casual elegance of the Boca Resort and Club, call (888) 495-BOCA or (561) 447-3000, or contact your travel professional.Copyright © Marcia AbramsonE-mail: mascribe@aol.com