What's New: An Online Update for Frommer's Florida

After the Miami hotel boom started to settle down in 2003, the city got hungry for new restaurants. On any given day, a new eatery seems to open, assuring everyone that while they may have blown their food budget on a swank boutique hotel, they don't necessarily have to starve in the city. And, to compete with the restaurant as nightlife trend, several bars and lounges have opened, offering more than just beer nuts and chips as snacks.

Accommodations

The Ritz-Carlton South Beach (1 Lincoln Rd.; tel. 800/241-3333, www.ritzcarlton.com/resorts/south_beach/) is the last of three Ritz-Carltons to open in Miami (fall of 2003). Two more locations, on Key Biscayne and in Coconut Grove, have already established themselves as magnets for celebrities looking to avoid the South Beach limelight. Ian Schrager, the Midas of hip hotels, bought into the hyper-hip Shore Club (1901 Collins Ave.; tel. 877/640-9500 www.shoreclub.com), which, thanks to the addition of some personality that brought more life into the place, plus Robert DeNiro's Ago restaurant and the L.A.-imported Skybar, is the new Delano-a trend that is likely to stick as long as orange as the new black did. Miami's first Four Seasons Hotel and Tower (1435 Brickell Ave.; tel. 305/358-7758 www.fourseasons.com/miami) opened in the summer of 2003, and this summer is joined by neighbor Conrad Miami (1395 Brickell Ave.; tel. 305/503-6500 miami.conradmeetings.com), a 36-story, 308-room tower that's part of the Hilton's chichi luxe brand. Andre Balazs, owner of L.A.'s Chateau Marmont and Standard hotels (among others), has purchased South Beach's legendary Raleigh Hotel (1775 Collins Ave.; tel. 800/848-1775 www.raleighotel.com), which he is in the process of renovating and restoring to its original Art Deco glory, fusing it with his distinct brand of boutique hotel hip. In Sunny Isles Beach, Donald Trump established his gaudy presence with his Trump International Sonesta Beach Resort (18001 Collins Ave.; tel. 800/SONESTA www.sonesta.com/SunnyIsles/), whose bland interior should have Trump screaming, "You're fired" to whomever the interior designer was. Not too far away will be the Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts' first Miami property, Le Meridien Beach Resort and Spa (18683 Collins Ave.; tel. 800/543-4300), a 25-story, 210 unit resort set to open in December 2004.

Also, Miami Beach's first ever hotel, The Browns Hotel (112 Ocean Dr.; tel. 305/674-7977), which opened in 1915, has been restored to its old Florida fabulousness featuring original beams of Dade County Pine floorboards and exterior clapboard. The hotel, of course, is a boutique hotel with a requisite see and be seen steakhouse, Prime 112 (tel. 305/532-8112).

Dining

Still on the verge of becoming a major food city, Miami recently introduced a handful of dining options, most on the more upscale side. The tony Nuevo Latino Ola (5061 Biscayne Blvd.; tel. 305/758-9195) brings the return of star chef Douglas Rodriguez to his former stomping grounds, not to mention the city's best mojitos and tipicos (traditional Latin-American dishes). Food Network star Emeril Lagasse started in Miami with his usual "bam!" with the opening of Emeril's Miami Beach (Loews Hotel, 1601 Collins Ave.; tel. 305/695-4540 www.emerils.com/restaurants/emerils_miami/). Yet another star chef, David Bouley, will soon take over the restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach (1 Lincoln Rd.; tel. 786/276-4000), opening his first signature restaurant out of Manhattan.

After Dark

At press time, the hottest nightspots are located on the still sizzling South Beach. However, over the causeway, a burgeoning nocturnal buzz is emanating from the once desolate area of downtown Miami, off of Biscayne Boulevard, thanks to cheaper rents and 24-hour liquor licenses. Among them, I/O (30 NE 14th St.; tel. 305/358-8007), a dance club where indie music fanatics hang out; and Grass Restaurant and Lounge (12 NE 40th St.; tel. 305/573-5003) brings a taste of Tiki-chic to the Design District with thatched-roof banquettes and a decidedly artsy crowd. Back on South Beach, Motley Crue-man Tommy Lee opened Rok Bar (1905 Collins Ave.; tel. 305/538-7171) in May of 2004, a rock ?n roll themed bar where Lee will make surprise appearances as guest DJ and musician.

Florida Keys

Islamorada's swank Cheeca Lodge and Spa (tel. 800/327-2888; www.cheeca.com) is in the process of receiving a $15 million renovation to the main lodge, grounds, spa, and pool areas. The resort has also gone condo, converting nearly half of its 202 rooms into luxury apartments.

The Gold Coast

While the Gold Coast's beaches remain less congested than those in Miami, the area isn't impervious to development-especially when it comes to resorts, restaurants, and nightlife. Whereas the Gold Coast used to be a sleepy beachfront, today it's slowly en route to rivaling the liveliness of a big city like Miami.

Accommodations

Fort Lauderdale opened the posh 132-suite Atlantic hotel/condo, 601 N. Ft. Lauderdale Beach Blvd. (tel. 954/567-8020), managed by Starwood's Luxury Collection, in the summer of 2004. Opened in the summer of 2004, the $200 million Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 1 Seminole Rd., Hollywood (tel. 954/327-7625 hollywood.seminolehardrock.com), offers 500 luxury rooms as well as a lakeside beach club, 130,000 sq. ft. casino, and European Health Spa. It's sort of just like the Hard Rock in Vegas, only without Blackjack, slots, and all other forms of "bet against the house" gambling. Well, there's always bingo. . .

Dining

Delray Beach is proving itself to be a hip dining destination with places such as Gotham City Restaurant and Bar (16950 Jog Rd.; tel. 561/381-0200), a supper club slash steakhouse with live entertainment and DJ. In West Palm Beach's CityPlace, Tsunami (651 Okeechobee Blvd.; tel. 561/835-9696) is a see and be seen sushi place that looks as if it came right off the set of Sex and the City, with main plate and sushi prices that are nearly the equivalent of a pair of Manolo Blahniks.

Shopping

Shabby chic types are saying hallelujah over the fact that Swedish home furnishing giant Ikea has chosen Davie as the site for Florida's first ever outpost (even though ground hasn't even broken yet). No phone or address just yet. For true shopaholics, Activity Planners (tel. 954/525-9194) will arrange a water taxi, limousine, or Town Car for your own private shopping tour through the Greater Fort Lauderdale area. The Mall at Wellington Green (10300 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Wellington; tel. 561/227-6900) is Palm Beach's newest shopping center, featuring 140 specialty stores and department stores. City Place is adding more home furnishing and accessories stores such as an 8,600 square foot Roche Bobois (700 S. Rosemary Ave.; tel. 561/514-9650) showroom.

Southwest Florida

All telephone numbers in Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva islands, Naples, and Marco Island all are now in area code 239. Boca Grande and Charlotte County remain in area code 941.

Sanibel & Captiva Islands

Dolphin Watch and Wildlife Adventure Cruise (tel. 239/472-5300 www.captivacruises.com), offered by Captiva Cruises, is a 90-minute tour by boat that leaves daily at 4pm from South Seas Resort on Captiva Island. Explore the wildlife in and around picturesque Pine Island Sound, which is home to birds, dolphins, manatees, and more. The cost is $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 3 through 10. Reservations required; group outings and private charters also are available. Captain Mike Fuery (tel. 239/466-3649 www.sanibel-online.com/fuery/) now leads walking and snorkeling tours, which have been featured in National Geographic. The 3-hour charters leave from ?Tween Waters Inn on Captiva Island and include a 30-minute boat trip through waters ideal for spotting dolphin, manatee, otters, osprey, and other local wildlife. Split charters can be arranged at a cost of $50 per person with a maximum of four people; private charters for up to four are $180.

Naples

The luxurious Bellasera (221 9th St. S., Naples; tel. 888/612-1115 www.bellaseranaples.com), an Italian-style boutique hotel, has opened and features luxe chenille robes, Aveda products, and a washer and dryer in every room. The hotel's restaurant, Zizi Restaurant and Lounge, offers Tuscan-inspired fusion dishes.

Fort Meyers

Royal Palm Tours, in Fort Myers, now offers the Cracker Culinary Tour (tel. 800/296-0249; www.royalpalmtours.com), which will first and foremost explain what a Florida Cracker is (a pioneer or cattle hunter). Then it will take you from Palmdale, Florida to Gatorama, a famous roadside attraction off of Highway 27 (www.gatorama.com); La Belle, a honey and bee shop; Flora and Ella's Restaurant, known for its homemade chocolate, coconut, and peanut butter cream pies; on to a citrus refinery, an old school grocery, a food and agricultural science research station, and a farmers' market. The cost for the tour is $200 per person, including lunch and an overnight stay at Admiral Leigh High Golf Resort (225 Joel Blvd; tel. 239/369-2121).

The Tampa Bay Area

Busch Gardens (tel. 888/800-5447 or 813/987-5283; www.buschgardens.com) unveiled its latest, scream worthy five-story family roller coaster, Cheetah Chase, featuring 1,200 feet of track, speeds up to 22 mph, drops, turns, and corkscrews. Downtown, the Florida Aquarium (tel. 813/273-4000; www.flaquarium.net) added Explore a Shore, a 2.2-acre outdoor aquatic discovery zone for kids featuring sealife models, a pirate ship, waterslide, water cannons, and live animals. The two-story, 24-foot-long pirate ship will allow kids to fire water cannons from the deck, climb across cargo nets, view a shipwreck through a telescope, and take the helm to follow a map to buried treasure. Kids can also climb on a 10-foot eel reef rock structure, slide through tunnels, and crawl through an 8-by-4-foot wave in the Surf's Up Wave Tunnel.

The Philadelphia Phillies (tel. 727/442-8496 or 215/436-1000; www.phillies.mlb.com) moved to new spring training digs in Clearwater-Bright House Networks Field (601 Old Coachman Rd.; tel. 727/442-8496).

The Hyatt Sarasota (1000 Blvd. of the Arts; tel. 800/233-1234 or 941/953-1234 sarasota.hyatt.com) has received a $9.5 million renovation, giving the hotel a more updated look as well as a lagoon pool featuring a 30-foot waterfall and 12-person whirlpool spa.

Walt Disney World & Orlando

Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa (tel. 407/827-1100 or 407/407/939-6244; www.disneyworld.com), the latest Disney Vacation Club venture, opened in spring 2004 and features a state-of-the-art spa, and a decor scheme inspired by 19th-century upstate New York. Meanwhile, Disney's Pop Century Resort (tel. 407/938-4000 or 407/939-6000), opened in December 2003, is Mickey's newest budget property and features themed buildings decorated with larger-than-life memorabilia from the past 50 years.

On the restaurant front, Tchoup Chop (tel. 407/503-2467; www.emerils.com) is the most noteworthy new arrival in town. It's Emeril Lagasse's second Orlando eatery and located in Universal's Royal Pacific Resort.

In the theme parks, Disney raised ticket prices $2 to $54.75 for adults. Epcot's new out-of-this-world (literally) attraction, Mission: Space, opened in August 2003 to great acclaim-even NASA astronauts have voiced approval of this simulator.

Universal Studios Florida (tel. 800/837-2273; www.universalorlando.com) welcomed two new attractions. Shrek 4-D is a 20-minute show that can be seen, heard, felt, and smelled thanks to film and motion simulators, OgreVision glasses, and other special effects, including water spritzers. Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast lets riders board a spinning, careening adventure that includes a battle against Yokians-evil, egg-shaped aliens.

SeaWorld (tel. 800/327-2424 or 407/351-3600; www.seaworld.com) is diving deeper into the restaurant game with Dine with Shamu, a reservations-only seafood buffet served poolside with Shamu as a special guest and Sharks Underwater Grill, where diners can dig into Florida and Caribbean treats while watching denizens of the deep swim by in the Terrors of the Deep exhibit. SeaWorld also has added a new shark encounter that lets snorkelers and divers have limited contact with some of the 58 sharks in its Terrors of the Deep area ($125). Universal and SeaWorld also raised their ticket prices ($53.75 adults at SeaWorld and $54.75 at Universal Orlando).

Northeast Florida

Believe it or not, there is something scarier in Daytona than half naked, mullet-sporting/bikini-wearing teenagers. Haunts of Daytona (tel. 386/253-6034; www.hauntsofdaytona.com) is the only ghost tour in Florida that is owned and operated by a certified ghost hunter and active certified paranormal researcher. Tours begin at 7:30pm. Tickets are $8 per person; children under 6 are free.

Northwest Florida: The Panhandle

In July 2003, Pensacola Beach received a $16 million, 6-month beach nourishment project, restoring 200 feet of beach along an 8-mile stretch of coastline. With special attention paid to matching the new sand's color and grain size to the area's existing trademark sugar-white sand, the project brought sand from an off-shore borrow site, along with enough shells to keep beachcombers busy for quite some time.