This ultimate sybarite refuge is one of America's finest, combining a 2,400-acre golf and residential development with a Mediterranean spa that flabbergasts even the most jaded spa aficionado. Though the two properties are geographically separate, guests have ready access to the countless facilities at both.
Renovations, which commenced just over two years ago, are finally winding up; only two more accommodations wings remain untouched. The main hotel caters to duffers and delegates, while the spa mollycoddles well-heeled individuals. Since Marriott stepped in there has been a concerted effort to attract families with children, which has taken some of the stuffiness out of the guest roster, though the average age of guests here is still 50-plus.
A pleasant driveway leads to the semicircular clubhouse set among fountains and gardens. Traditional furniture, glazed Mexican tile, stonework and floral fabrics brighten the large lobby.
Guests choose among half a dozen restaurants. The Atrium, at the spa, impresses with high-flavor, low-calorie cooking. Fans head to the sports bar and grill and golfers enjoy four-course meals at the clubhouse. The Terrazza restaurant offers traditional bistro-style food, as well as big breakfast buffets. For fantastic fairway vistas, great seafood and lavish buffets at lunch and dinner, Windows is the place to go. The lobby lounge entertains nightly, and a second lounge hosts dancing.
The five 18-hole golf courses are resort-owned. The most famous is the Blue Monster, home of the Doral-Ryder Open. The Greg Norman-designed White Course is fairly challenging, but knowledgeable golfers leave the Red Course to the newbies. Greens fees in high season have gone through the roof, with the Blue Monster now commanding $300 per round. Still, that's about half of what guests pay to play Pebble Beach.
Pools abound. A huge pool adjoins the clubhouse, but families gravitate to the Blue Lagoon, a gigantic water-park-of-a-pool with a serpentine river fed by a waterfall, a 125-ft slide, kayaks, bumper boats and other forms of mayhem. Purportedly, more than 1 million gallons of water are pumped through the premises daily. The health club, game room, and 11 lighted courts at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Center offer more diversion. The expanded activity roster at Camp Doral provides children ages 5 to 12 with golf and tennis clinics in addition to more traditional activities. The theater showcases health-related programs, and the reading room invites solitary pursuits.
The chic European spa offers more than 150 treatments in 52 private rooms, including Ayurvedic treatments, lifestyle consultations, facials, mud, mineral and plankton baths, detoxification, beauty makeovers, grooming and personal-image enhancement. Along with the treatment rooms, there are indoor and outdoor whirlpools and pools, cold plunges, Swiss showers, hydromassage waterfalls, an indoor running track, and sauna and steam rooms. The fitness center includes two studios for aerobics and weightlifting.
Commercial services bolster numerous function rooms with a capacity of 1,500. The new ballroom hosts crowds of up to 3,000, and business services are to be expanded in conjunction with the recent construction project. A free shuttle makes trips to town and the shopping center. Valet parking is pricey, while self-parking is free, but distant; expect long walks.
Renovations in the guest rooms are moving along at a reasonable pace, with the units in Lodges 9 and 10 the only remaining unrenovated quarters. As a result, guests should avoid the rooms in the latter two buildings or demand a discount. The renovated units show off new taupe, sage- and rose-color fabrics, pecan-color desks and armoires, wicker chairs and ottomans, fabulous new mattresses with new bedding and piles of fluffy pillows. Most baths have dual vanities.
Units are appointed with dual line phones with data ports and voice mail, minibars, safes, clock radios with CD players, irons and ironing boards, and high-speed Internet access (for a fee). All but standard rooms provide balconies or terraces. The rooms are positioned in 10 separate wings (Lodges), with the best exposures taking in the golf courses and pools.
The spa section offers 48 suites renovated by elite American designers. These combine chic contemporary decor with old-world architectural detail. Each features a sitting room with a stocked wet bar, an entertainment center, a private patio or balcony with lovely exposures, a dressing area and two opulent baths with marble whirlpool tubs.
Room service functions between 6 am and midnight. Pets and smoking are not permitted.
Consistent maintenance keeps the extensive, carefully manicured grounds and common areas looking lavish, and the staff-to-guest ratio is a hardy 3-to-1. Packages provide the best deals in high-season. Marriott continues to uphold this fine resort's longstanding reputation as one of the best of its ilk. The comparable Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club lacks the spacious feel, sensational golf and gorgeous spa, but it includes a little more natural elan.
