The Boca Raton Unveils Major Upgrades To Its Tower Waterfront Hotel

Having recently unveiled the results of the first phase of a $200 million renovation known as "The New Golden Era," The Boca Raton is, now more than ever, a place where guests can enjoy a choose-your-own-adventure experience. Want to be immersed in history and glamour? Book a room in the Cloister, the original hotel dating back to 1926. Prefer a modern vibe just steps from the ocean? Sojourn amid cabanas and waterfront dining in the Beach Club. Choosing one of 58 Bungalows nestled in a serene part of the property with luxurious amenities offers the utmost in privacy and especially romance, while a stay in the adults-only Yacht Club beckons sailors needing boat slips—or anyone who wants to drool over water views and luxury vessels docked in the harbor. 

Now, a fifth option that literally towers over the others touts a choice location and flexible room configurations to accommodate family and friend groups.

Notable Updates and Additions

• 224 rooms and suites have new looks and the same incredible views.
• New amenities provide even more comfort and luxury—and the robot butlers even tell jokes.
• Kids will love the family pool and Banyan Bunch club, while parents will really love the quiet time.
• Creativity shines at the property's newest dining options, which spoil guests for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• The award-winning Spa Palmera offers a variety of otherworldy treatment experiences.

The Boca Raton celebrated the reopening of the 27-story Tower in November, showing off a $65 million makeover. Originally built in 1969, the new iteration of this building flaunts a coastal pink exterior, with 224 rooms and suites with built-in seating and expansive windows overlooking the Intercoastal Waterway, Atlantic Ocean, or the estate. 

What's more, the accommodations, ranging from a studio suite to an ocean-view one-bedroom suite, can be booked individually or in groups connected by an entry vestibule; larger parties can even take over an entire floor. All are designed with bleached and warm wood tones, Floridian-inspired artwork, neutral fabrics, fluted walls, and crown molding; curves on the furniture and mirrors add a playful mid-century modern touch, and smart lighting lets you set any mood.

Room niceties include a complimentary minibar and snacks, refillable take-home water bottles with stations located in the Tower and various places around the property and a beach bag and flip-flops. Other amenities include Molton Brown bath products, a Nespresso coffee maker, turndown service, use of bicycles, resort activity programming,  and a water taxi service. 

In addition to the staff of human butlers available to fulfill any request large or small, the Tower is experimenting with two robot butlers. Dubbed Johnnie and Ethel—the names of the monkey pets of famed architect and the resort's original owner Addison Mizner—the high-tech staff members can deliver snacks to your room (or tell you a joke.)

On the second floor, Tower Lounge offers complimentary morning pastries and coffee, afternoon snacks, and a weekend Sundae Bar. It's also an inviting spot to work, curl up with a book from the lending library created in partnership with Assouline, challenge someone to a classic game, or relax with your latest playlist, thanks to a listening lounge with headphones to borrow from Master & Dynamic. In the lobby, you'll find an NFT art collection curated by Lynn University NFT Museum, with one-of-a-kind pieces from innovative artists.

The Tower's location adjacent to the Harborside Pool Club, which opened in December 2021, is perfect for families who want to make a splash. Ten cabanas and ample chaise lounges surround a family pool, and a kids' splash zone has a zero-depth entry, pirate ship play area with water cannons, and mini water slides. Grab a tube and while away the afternoon in the 450-foot-long meandering lazy river or try one (or both) of the five-story water slides (one enclosed and one open); for a bigger thrill, hang ten on the FlowRider surfing simulator. 

Parents can drop the kids at Banyan Bunch kids' club and relax at the adults-only area, which has a pool, hot tub, 12 cabanas, and six luxury cabanas with personal butler service, upgraded seating, televisions, and additional amenities. All pool areas offer chairside service for food and drinks. Order an elevated crudité platter, with crisp veggies posed on crushed ice and ready to be dragged through preserved lemon hummus and green goddess dressing, or the mojo grilled shrimp, with crispy plantain chips, black beans, and chimichurri. 

Other onsite dining options—available only to resort or club guests—range from classic to unexpectedly quirky. Mid-century chophouse Flamingo Grill serves up crab Louie, broiled oysters William, and steaks and chops with shareable sides (Brussels sprouts sub in for spinach in a surprise switch-up on the creamed steakhouse staple). 

If you have room after tackling the bagel tower at Sadelle's, which arrives with a choice of smoked fish and accoutrements, brunch on crispy latkes, avocado benedict, or challah French toast. And Principessa Ristorante channels Lake Como with homemade pasta and pizzas, pages of Italian wines, and Negroni Sbagliato on the cocktail menu, naturally. 

MB Supper Club, with its name and decor serving as an homage to the space's former life as Monkey Bar, is a three-course, prix-fixe experience reminiscent of supper clubs in the 1930s and 1940s, offering nightly live entertainment and an intimate and cozy vibe. But it might be Japanese Bocce Club, the resort's latest concept that opened a few months ago, that's the most fun and eclectic. Behind the bar you'll find a deep dive of Japanese whiskies, gins, and sakes, on the menu are skewers cooked on the hibachi, Wagyu, sushi, and sticky rice, and in the courtyard are, yes, bocce courts to sneak in a game in-between bites of nigiri. 

Also brand new is Spa Palmera, named Florida's Best Resort Spa in 2022 by the World Spa Awards. The 50,000-sq. ft. space with 44 treatment rooms was patterned after the Alhambra Palace in Andalusia, Spain, which dates back to the 13th century and is considered to be one of the best-preserved Islamic palaces. The centerpiece is the interior courtyard; decorated with marble columns, elaborate mosaic tile-patterned walls and intricately carved arches, the space houses a large jacuzzi, hydrotherapy circuit, and individual tubs for the spa's signature Moroccan-inspired Ritual Baths. 

Each starts with time to destress and declutter the mind in an inhalation room with Himalayan pink salt, followed by a few minutes detoxifying in the sauna or steam room. Afterwards, spa-goers bathe in a private enclosed bathtub whose water is either filled with tropical fruits, hemp-derived CBD or coconut milk, honey, and Himalayan pink salt. 

Accompanying your soak is a DIY body scrub and facial mask, cold compresses, infused water, and a snack. The experience completes with a Swiss shower, deluge warm water massage, and communal jacuzzi. 

While the Tower is the latest feather in the cap, the resort is also planning other additions. Coming soon to Harborside Pool Club is a teens' club, snack bar, and grab-and-go area. An upcoming retail space in Cloister will house boutiques, as well as the Sponder Art Gallery and a location of the New York-based Truman's Gentlemen's Groomers. This winter, Harbor House will offer lakeside all-day dining, and next year will see updates at the Beach Club. 

In the meantime, guests can gather a few partners and racquets and partake in a rousing game of pickleball or hone their game with private lessons or a weekly clinic with a WTA Professional and Certified Pickleball instructor. The resort added six courts to its tennis and racquet club to meet the demand for the sport that's everywhere right now.