Hot Cheeca...Lodge

We recently took a jaunt down to the Keys and parked ourselves on the salty grandeur that is Cheeca Lodge. We felt the sand under our toes…and took a baths outside. Facing the ocean. At sunset.
The boutique sleepery reopened last year after a year-long renovation with oceanfront villas that have outdoor tubs facing the sea and a restaurant run by South Florida celeb-chef Dean Max. The 27-acre resort sits on a sliver of land halfway between Miami and Key West and has been the go-to getaway for political royalty since it opened in the 60’s (President Bush senior stayed there on a fishing trip or two).

There’s an old-school charm to the place, with rooms outfitted like Caribbean estates – large mahogany beds, plush ottomans and polished teak chairs on the balcony where you can spy seagulls flying low over the beach. The resort’s classic 525’ wooden fishing pier is still intact, with fishing rods available for hotel guests, and there’s a saltwater snorkeling lagoon nearby, should you want to get up close and personal with the area’s oceanic bounty.

All that is exciting enough but we directed our attention to one of the 62 newly constructed suites with oversized tubs on outdoor patios with views of the Atlantic at sunset. For an extra dose of drama you fill that tub via an overhead cascading water spout, sort of like your own private waterfall.

I so needed my own waterfall.