A Mediterranean-Style Mecca
A playground of the ultra-rich since Henry Flagler founded the city in 1911, Palm Beach beckons visitors down iconic Royal Palm Way to its secluded shores, where mansions are cloaked behind curtains of cascading bougainvillea and the ocean is never more than a few feet away.
This discrete enclave of the rich and famous since the 1920s is most often whispered about as a favored rendezvous promising anonymity for the affluent…all tucked within its lushly cloaked courtyards. Capturing European old-world charm, The Brazilian Court is redefined for a new generation seeking a retreat within its soft, stuccoed walls. Located in the heart of what is known as “America’s Riviera,” just steps away from both the beach and Worth Avenue, showcasing some of the world’s finest shopping and galleries. Palm Beach is a 16-mile long barrier island 65 miles north of Miami. Worth Avenue is the world’s most exclusive purveyor of luxury goods, art galleries and fine dining. It’s the East Coast answer to Rodeo Drive showcasing coveted designers such as Jimmy Choo, Gucci and Chanel along its pristine streets. If you are a savvy shopper and want to be on the cutting edge of fashion, you can attend a private trunk show at Saks 5th Avenue or Neiman Marcus. For those who prefer window-shopping, historic walking tours are available as well.
Once across the threshold of The Brazilian Court, you enter a serene oasis, a cloistered world unto itself with lush gardens and a tropical ambience. Whether dining al fresco in the courtyard or relaxing at the pool under a canopy of palms in chaises lined in crisp white linen the only interruption to be heard is the whispering of lush foliage and palms trees in the balmy Florida breeze. Imaginations drift to the days when Cary Grant danced the night away with a star in his arms and courtyards were filled with some of the world’s greatest minds and leaders whispering political maneuverings and discussing business strategies amidst the tinkling of crystal.
Melissa & Marc de Baptiste Wedding
Built in 1926, the hotel boasts a decade old pedigree that is a favorite of celebrities, Palm Beach power players, media moguls and socialites from Gary Cooper and Greta Garbo to Amelia Hearst and Marjorie Merriweather Post. The hotel heralds’ architecture by Rosario Candela, a famous New York architect who dared to go against the mold of the traditional Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner. Known for being eccentric enough to keep his blueprints hidden behind velvet ropes, Candela set out to create a stylish icon with lush courtyards and classic Spanish-Mediterranean architecture. By the time Maurice Fatio added the south wing of the hotel and the now famous south courtyard in 1936, The Brazilian Court was established as the epicenter of Palm Beach society.
This matriarch of Palm Beach society boasts 80 custom re-designed rooms and suites featuring mahogany crown molding, hand-forged, English, oil-rubbed bronze fixtures, Provence-style wood shutters, and plush beds topped with imported linens, while still staying true to Candela’s vision of simple elegance. Today you can experience your own taste of society with suite names invoking the era such as Bergman, Astair, Hepburn and Brando. The hotel offers studios as well as one, two and three-bedroom suites with no detail overlooked from the custom designed furniture and tapestries to flat-screen plasma LCD TV’s and ultra air-jet bathtubs with customized hydro-thermo massage menus. Private terraces featured in select rooms open up to secret gardens, offering the perfect respite as the day wanes on the golden shoreline of Palm Beach.
With a social status, second to none, the Brazilian Court was featured on Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List, 2014, Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Award, Top 15 Hotels in Florida, 2014 Travel + Leisure’s Top 500 World’s Best Hotels, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 as well as U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hotels in the USA.
Haute Cuisine offers sophisticated palates indulgences in epicurean delights from world-renowned Chef Daniel Boulud blending flavors at Café Boulud. Offering a taste of classic French fare are the irresistible Moules Frites in Belgian ale, preserved lemon and crispy pommes frites as well as the perfect Frenchie Burger with pork belly, arugula, tomato-onion compote and morbier cheese, which burst with flavor. Don’t miss the delicious Royal Red Shrimp Louie Moderne, served alongside basil, avocado, asparagus, hearts of palm, watercress drizzled with vadouvan dressing or the Chop-Chop Salad, a blend of romaine, avocado, red pepper, carrot, watermelon, mushroom tossed in sesame-ginger vinaigrette. Pan Roasted Scottish Salmon with black mission figs, fennel, sumac and a balsamic bordelaise was amazing as was the Grilled Short Rib with charred tomatoes and scallion, fennel, eggplant aigre-doux and basil grits. Make sure to save room for the sensational Grand Marnier Soufflé with crème anglaise.
Highlighting only the season’s freshest ingredients and adding the spice and flair of international cuisine, Café Boulud is second to none. After becoming a perennial favorite of New Yorker’s with the highly successful Daniel NYC, Chef Boulud chose The Brazilian Court as his first venture in Palm Beach.
Renowned for providing the highest level of service to discriminating clients, the haute style, Frederic Fekkai Salon and Spa, whose original flagship once resided in New York’s Bergdorf Goodman, gives the hotel its unofficial title as the “most stylish” of the Palm Beach hotels. Offering indulgent European facials in addition to salon services, locals and guests rely on Fekkai to keep them photo shoot ready at all times.
For a perfect weekend getaway, the Brazilian Court Hotel is the ultimate Florida vacation destination for the rich and famous. This luxurious, elegant, tranquil Palm Beach boutique resort will make you come back for more year after year…
By: Marla Horn Lazarus
The Brazilian Court
301 Australian Avenue
Palm Beach, FL 33480
561-655 -7740
www.thebraziliancourt.com