Exclusive Palm Beach: Luxury Without Blowing the Bank

(continued)

For your second day of shopping, you'll want to visit nearby West Palm Beach's world renowned Antique Row.  Heralded by design magazines and The New York Times as the East Coast's premier antique district, the West Palm Beach Antique Row is made up of 50 shops stretched along (and adjacent to) South Dixie Highway.  They feature an eclectic collection of  17^th to 20^th century antiques, fine arts, furnishings, garden and interior design elements. 

Three of our favorite shops are Dolce Antiques with it functional yet funky array of 19^th and 20^th century items; Domino magazine pick, Cashmere Buffalo, which offers two stores, one modern and one antiquey; and Floral Emporium with its gorgeous Greek-style fountains and sculptures, bonsai trees and furniture-with matching chandelier-that is encrusted with seashells.    

If you're in good shape and wearing comfortable shoes, you can walk from one end of the district to the other, but we still recommend stopping off at two of the fine local restaurants.  Start with coffee (or teas from around the world) at Belle & Maxwell's Café, where you'll want to sample the award-winning European-style café's desserts (a desert platter offers a delicious array of options including peanut butter pie, pistachio biscotti and almond croissant).

Further down South Dixie Highway, you'll find Rhythm Café where rippling lamps light shelves cluttered with an odd assortment of knick-knacks and black walls bedecked with red art work.  Rhythm is gay owned and features a new small plates "Tapas-tizer" menu that's easy on the wallet but rich on flavor.  Faves:  Key Lime Chicken, Fried Green Tomatoes, Sautéed Scallops, basil pesto Flatbread, Fettuccine Jambalaya and Duck breast with Blackberry Cabernet Sauce.

Rejuvenate

After all that shopping, you'll need some relaxation and Ritz Carlton's new $20 million, 41,000 square-foot Eau Spa absolutely delivers.  It's a great way to end your visit too, sending you home with an all over sense of relaxation and pampering that somehow transcends your skin and gets absorbed into your soul.  Get a massage, soak in the hot tub, create a personalized blend at the Scrub and Polish Bar, relax on a heated tile chaise or dangle your feet in cool water while sitting in hanging pod-like chairs in the oddly named Self-Centered Garden.

Want to come back from vacation and make all the other girls jealous?  You'll want to get the Model's Secret Slimmer treatment ($220) at Anushka Spa. Favored by the glitterati and universally hailed by publications from People to Cosmopolitan.  Anushka was even called a "cellulite exorcist extraordinaire" by Vogue.

More on next page...