Florida's OPAL Collection touches down in Toronto

At an exclusive event yesterday afternoon, all eyes were on four of Florida's beachfront properties as part of the OPAL Collection. 

Over wine and gourmet food, guests played “Beach Bingo,” scoring a point for every fact about the properties that matched a square on a bingo card, resulting in not only a prize of a two-day overnight stay for the winner, but also getting to know the OPAL collection while playing the game.

“Our weather in Florida is gorgeous,” said Danielle Logan, account executive, Diamond Public Relations, which represents the hotels. “Even in the summer, we’ve got a beautiful ocean breeze to cool things down.”

As for the OPAL properties, “Jupiter Beach Hotel is like a large boutique hotel,” said Diane D'Amico, director of sales and marketing, Jupiter Beach Resort and Spa. 

Located in Jupiter Beach, Florida, in the northern tip of Palm Beach County, Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa is a luxury hideaway offering effortless elegance and casual sophistication. Offering 168 rooms (36 suites) plus four luxury Penthouse suites on an oceanfront property with a limestone reef shoreline, Jupiter Beach also features an intimate oceanfront pool complemented by a Jacuzzi, hammocks and a newly introduced fire pit on the dune overlooking the ocean.

“Paddle boating is huge,” said D’Amico. “And you can go everywhere in a little golf cart.”

2012 saw a $750,000 makeover to the resort’s pool area, the Sandbar and its outdoor event space. Jupiter Beach also features Sinclairs Ocean Grille - Jupiter’s only oceanfront restaurant, an onsite 7,500 square foot spa with six treatment rooms, 12,000 square feet of interior/exterior meetings space and secluded oceanfront alfresco wedding space.

“Jupiter Beach has been named one of ‘America’s Happiest Seaside Towns,’” said D’Amico.

For family travel, located on a private beach in Lido Key on the Gulf of Mexico, Lido Beach Resort is five minutes west of Sarasota. Family friendly and affordable accommodations feature kitchens and kitchenettes, as well as two beachfront pools. Lido Beach currently offers the “Fourth Night Free” for fall getaways and Sunday brunch at its Lido Beach Grille has been named one of the “Top Five Sunday Brunches” in Florida.

For couples looking to “elope in style,” the Sandpearl Resort in Florida’s west coast offers its two-night Elopement Package.

“You roll up to the resort in a 1930s Rolls Royce in this package,” Logan said. The Elopement Package also features a romantic stay at the freestanding Gulfside Suite, a dedicated marriage officiant, a candlelit ceremony with a four-course dinner and wine pairing and a videographer to capture the whole event.

“The idea is you can upload the video to Facebook or send it to your parents right away,” said Logan.

For travellers looking for a more health-focused resort, the Resort at Longboat Key Club offers healthy dining options (with special menus for allergies and dietary preferences), as well as activities focused on burning calories, such as golf, tennis, yoga, paddle-boating and more. Its Journey to Wellness program offers fitness classes, nutrition clinics, personal training sessions and healthy meals. 

The Resort at Longboat Key Club features eight restaurants and sits on the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and its new Coast to Coast package in conjunction with Jupiter Beach allows visitors to experience both coasts in luxury and style.

For more on each of these properties, visit opalcollection.com.