Cheeca Lodge in the Florida Keys
Islamorada Resort With Suite Fit for a U.S. President
The presidential suite at this Keys resort is a favorite with the Bush family; its beachfront bungalows, luxurious spa and many activities make it a hit with any family.
If you’ve never shared George H.W. Bush’s view of the world, maybe it’s simply because you’ve never stayed at Cheeca Lodge. The former president repairs to Islamorada several times a year to fish – he heads an annual charity fishing tournament – and to stay in the Presidential Retreat, Cheeca Lodge's presidential suite, where he enjoys sweeping views of the ocean and the horizon beyond.
The Bush Presidential Retreat, which can be joined with an adjacent bedroom to create a two-bedroom suite, is luxurious without being lavish, in keeping with the family’s just-folks persona: the resort’s only in-room Jacuzzi tub, a dining room and a large, screened oceanfront balcony are a few of the room’s distinctive elements.
What makes this suite unique, both at Cheeca and among presidential suites elsewhere, are the valuable touches the ex-president has donated from his library.
Among them are framed photos of Bush Sr. with current president George W. Bush, an autographed photo of the five living ex-presidents standing together, and a plaque from Bush Sr.’s military days that spells out every pilot’s dream: Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited. In the dining room, a breakfront holds high-priced mementos from Bush’s political life.
Provided you don’t have an FBI file, you, too, can stay in this suite for $950-$1, 750 per night, depending on the season. Low season at Cheeca officially begins in mid April.
If you can do without the presidential seal of approval, Cheeca also offers new deluxe beachfront bungalows with high ceilings, hardwood floors, two-poster beds, stone-walled and floored showers and, best of all, not only a private, screened balcony with a full-size chaise and table, but a back spiral stair leading down to a private beach area with a hammock, two chaises longues and a small, wooden picnic table.
The resort underwent a $15 million renovation a few years ago that included not only expanding the Spa at Cheeca Lodge (formerly Avanyu Spa) and beautifying the grounds, but also upgrading the rooms.
The lodge rooms offer flat-screen plasma televisions, full tubs in marble bathrooms and tasteful furnishings – all part of the resort’s new focus on couples and a more intimate, upscale Keys experience. Low-season rates are $395-$875 for bungalows, $275-$675 for lodge rooms, and the use of the resort is an extra $30-$70 per-day fee.
Cheeca Lodge & Spa, 81801 Overseas Highway, Mile Marker 82, Islamorada, FL; 305-664-4651.For more Florida hotel ideas, see:
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