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Florida’s New Wave
Move over Miami, there’s a new chill zone in the Sunshine State.
Prep yourselves for one of Florida’s best-kept secrets. About 15 miles east of Jacksonville — the state’s northernmost metropolis — Atlantic Beach has long been known as a chilled-out summer retreat for old-money southerners and local urbanites. But now the seaside resort is stepping into the spotlight with the arrival of its first lifestyle hotel: One Ocean Resort Hotel & Spa.
The debut property in a new collection of design hotels called “The Gallery” (by hotel management company Remington), One Ocean shoots for the style of a Miami bolthole minus the breathlessness of its scene. Flanked by summer homes nestled among the beach grass, the hotel is filled with artsy reminders of its coastal locale: from hand-blown glass sculptures of sea creatures to the “underwater cave” entrance to its restaurant, Azurea. Still, it’s difficult to top the nature itself: oceanview guestrooms look over the dunes, as do the treatment rooms inside the spa — where the signature therapy is, naturally, a seashell massage.
“Luxury is art” forms the guiding motif at One Ocean — and while we rolled our eyes too, a recent visit proved that the art theme is woven right into the hotel experience. In addition to a photography gallery featuring a changing roster of local artists, guests can take in-house photography classes. Even if you’re not into art, you still might want to take advantage of the resident “docents,” which at One Ocean is a sort of half-butler, half-concierge. Each of the hotel’s eight floors has its own docent who’s armed with your preferences (collected prior to your arrival). And while they are known to give guests their personal cell phone numbers, One Ocean’s docents are easily reached otherwise: there’s a “one-touch” telephone in each guestroom.
