Naples Smart Splurges

The Ritz's 450-room property on the Gulf sands is hands-down the top hotel address in town. Marble vanities, Bulgari bath products, flat-screen TVs, and elegant furnishings are expected Ritzy touches, but it’s the added amenities that keep it in the good graces of its well-heeled clientele. Each day, guests have access to one of the two 18-hole Greg Norman-designed golf courses at Tiburon, located three miles away at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort. Onsite amenities include four lighted tennis courts, seven restaurants, a spa, a fitness center with personal trainers, sailboat and kayak rentals. Hotel guests can participate in the Nature's Wonders environmental program, which offers kid-friendly touch tanks, close-ups with baby alligators, and wildlife-oriented field trips.

Although 189-room La Playa delivers many of the bonuses associated with Naples's top luxury properties – prime location on Vanderbilt Beach, its own 18-hole golf course, a 4,500-square-foot spa – the style is noticeably less stuffy, more casual island chic than anything. Beachfront and bayside rooms reflect the subtropical locale with bamboo-print duvets and butterfly netting-draped four-poster beds. Waterfront dining at candlelit Baleen, with its whimsical monkey motif and Gulf Coast-influenced seafood dishes, is first rate. Watch the website for spa and golf packages that are remarkably affordable, particularly in low season.

The cheery blue and white façade of this locally beloved French restaurant makes it easy to...more