- [Announcer] "Travels & Traditions" with Burt and Nicholas Wolf is is made possible by Goldbelly.

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(uplifting classical orchestral music) - [Announcer] Travels & Traditions with Burt & Nicholas Wolf" is a classic travel journal, a record of their search for information about our world and how we fit into it.

They travel to the source of each story, trying to find the connections between our history and what is happening today.

What they discover can improve our lives and our understanding of the world around us.

(uplifting music) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music continues) - In this "Travels & Traditions" program, we look at the history of resorts, how they evolved over the years, and what resorts are doing today.

The word "resort" was first used in England to describe an area where people went on their holidays.

It was usually a hotel where they stayed and took most of their meals.

I think the most famous was Brighton on the Sea Shore.

The idea of a resort might have originated in England, but the concept found its true home in the Palm Beaches of Florida.

The Palm Beaches has become one of the most important resort destinations in the world.

Palm Beach Island wasn't always a resort town.

In fact, in the 1890s, it was a deserted strip of beach on Florida's east coast.

But all that changed when Henry Flagler arrived.

Henry Flagler and John D Rockefeller were the founders of the Standard Oil Company.

For over a hundred years, it was the largest and most profitable company in the world.

Flagler decided that developing the east coast of Florida would be more fun.

So he built a railroad that ran the entire length of Florida from Jacksonville to Key West.

Flagler envisioned a place where America's rich, but not necessarily famous, could escape the northern winters.

His railway was more than just tracks and trains.

It was the lifeline that would transform Florida, making places like Palm Beach accessible to the world.

Flagler had enough of the oil business.

He wanted to spend his time in the sun, and so he built The Breakers right next to his railroad here in Florida.

The Breakers is a historic renaissance revival hotel that was designed to rival the great European palaces.

And it quickly attracted presidents, movie stars and captains of industry.

He called it The Breakers because guests requested rooms that looked out on the ocean as the waves broke against the beach.

The hotel's architecture was inspired by the Villa Medici in Rome.

The idea was to call to mind the grandeur of a 16th century Italian palace with hand-painted ceilings, elaborate frescoes, and grand ballrooms.

The property is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.

It has 140 acres and 2,400 employees.

It's not well known, but I am also listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.

Over time, more grand hotels and resorts were built along the shores of the Palm Beaches, cementing the area's reputation for hospitality.

(majestic music) If you wanna get a good idea of what Flagler had in mind for a winter vacation, the Flagler Club is the place to visit.

It takes up the top two floors of The Breakers, and it's quite literally a hotel within a hotel.

To learn more about Flagler's vision and how it remains to this day, I spoke with Jessica Regan, the general manager of the Flagler Club.

- So The Breakers is a world class resort.

We have tennis and spa facilities, golfing, the pools, bungalows, there's so many different things, 10 different restaurants.

But Flagler Club sort of gives the chance to get away from all of that if you want a little bit of that exclusivity.

We have families that wanna stay in the main hotel, and then parts of the families that want to stay up on Flagler, just to have a little bit of that reprieve and privacy.

- [Burt] Flagler was quite a character, as I understand.

How are you honoring his history?

- The way that we sort of envision Henry Flagler is he was the consummate host, and we built Flagler Club to really be like an extension of your living room, a very comfortable atmosphere to either socialize with other guests or relax on your own, but it gives that feeling as if you're at home.

So that's what we really try to honor.

- [Burt] Tell me about the design of the place.

- We incorporated Tihany design.

We've worked with him for many years.

He's done several different things around the property and we challenged him to really bring the classic Palm Beach and intertwine it with like a European Riviera.

It's really like almost the feel of a luxurious yacht.

And we've incorporated things that the guests have brought in with them.

For example, something that we found that a guest had left behind was a beautiful hanger.

So this is actually our signature suite that we just created during the last renovation.

- Very beautiful.

- The view.

- [Burt] Oh, look at that, water, beach, waves.

- And we have several different amenities.

You just walked past our dessert here, which is personalized for the guests.

We have the Frette linens and robes and slippers.

We have L'Occitane in the bathroom for their bath amenities.

A Dyson hair dryer and an adjustable bed.

It's made by PranaSleep, and it is adjustable, so the guests really enjoy that.

- [Burt] Adjustable how, up, down?

- Up, down, legs, head, everything, yes.

So the closets were really designed to make a guest just feel right at home.

So allow me to show you.

- Oh, quite beautiful.

Wow, very fancy hangers.

So if I put something on there, I can consider it a hangers on.

That's a terrible joke.

But for me, the most luxurious element was the introduction of two bathrooms in each suite so that two people could bathe at the same time and be ready to go down to dinner together.

Not that that has ever happened to me, but in theory it's a good idea.

(light jazzy music) An essential aspect to any high class resort is a restaurant or selection of restaurants that your guests can dine at without leaving the property.

A really good restaurant is essential for a resort, and my son Nicholas has been researching the subject.

Nicholas, tell me what's going on.

- Restaurants and resorts came along to offer the guests staying there a taste of the local cuisine they were visiting.

The idea of being able to try different cuisines in your hometown is fairly new.

Back in the day, you could really only get a taste of a new cuisine if you traveled there.

And that's where resort restaurants came into play.

Here in South Florida, the local cuisine is seafood, and The Breakers is known for its top tier Seafood Bar.

Chef Anthony has been working at The Breakers for longer than I've been alive and is the executive chef of all 10 restaurants at The Breakers.

All right, Anthony, we're in the Seafood Bar today, so I guess we're gonna cook some fish.

- We're gonna cook some fish.

We have some delicious swordfish caught right off our coast.

We're gonna do a little different preparation for swordfish.

We're gonna do this Milanese style.

Typically, you would see that with a chicken or veal.

It's a pretty simple procedure here.

- [Nicholas] So we're heating up some oil right now.

- We have some clarified butter, and we're gonna do a basic breading procedure.

So it's really just, we have flour, we have egg, and we have some Panko bread crumb that's been sort of tanned with a little bit of butter.

And then when it's cool, we add some Parmesan cheese.

- So there's Parmesan in there that we're- - There's a little bit of Parmesan in here too.

Yeah, so I'm just gonna season everything up just a little bit.

What we like to do is evenly season all components of every dish.

So this way, not one component is more salted than the other.

We do a dusting of the flour, and really that's what's gonna have this egg mixture adhere, you don't want it too cakey.

- You know, with veal or chicken, you're usually supposed to pound it, you know, make it really thin, but I don't think you can do that with fish.

- Yeah, you wouldn't want to.

The idea is you'd want it to succulent and moist, but swordfish in particular, if it's cut too thin, isn't it cooked too much, and it'll get dry on you.

You don't want the oil too hot.

It'll burn quickly.

- Burn the Panko crust.

- It'll burn the Panko crust.

So let's see.

- How are you gauging the temperature here?

It's pretty tricky.

- I'm listening to it, and I'm looking at it.

I just wanna move it enough.

So now I see it's not sticking, so we're looking for a nice golden.

- And is the cheese gonna melt there or what's gonna happen?

- It's gonna melt the Parmesan, actually, when you heat it up, it doesn't really, it'll melt a little bit, but then it really turns into a crust.

So I'm gonna give this careful flip.

- Chef, so while this is cooking, you're executive chef at 10 restaurants.

Now if anyone knows the restaurant industry, that's a lot.

Tell me how that works.

- You know, people ask me this all the time.

How do you do that?

And it's pretty simple.

It's a very simple equation.

We have an incredibly talented team, and each restaurant has a chef that's in charge of the restaurant.

Chefs that we have has started here as cooks.

And I've been with us for years and years and years.

And that affords us the capabilities of just getting better year over year.

So it's about integrity, respect, and really doing everything as a team.

- I realized, 'cause while making this documentary, everyone we spoke to has been here for many, many years.

It's very impressive.

- Yeah, it's very unique for our industry.

- So we're right on the ocean as you can tell.

And this is a seafood restaurant, so talk to me about that.

- It's really interesting.

You know, we have the Gulf Stream right off our shore.

We're getting fish within, you know, a day out of the water.

But during certain times of the year, the fish is caught that morning, and we have it on our menu that afternoon.

So, swordfish is right off our coast, you know, from here down to the Keys.

Pompano is starting to run now, where they're catching 'em just off the beach, a little bit north of us.

And we're getting those in, and we try to really focus on seafood that is as local as possible.

On this menu, we have a catch of the day and that really focuses on those local fish.

All right, so as we're getting ready to plate, We're gonna carefully remove this.

So this is always a little bit of the tricky part.

I could tell about my Milanese is a success because there's no burnt crumbs in the pan.

All right, so I'm gonna add one more component now.

I have some heirloom carrots.

- And those are sauteed beforehand?

- So these were sauteed beforehand.

So I'm gonna take a lemon, and I'm gonna brulee the lemon, in a hot pan.

- That smells good.

- Yeah, it sure does.

Nothing like the smell of butter in the morning, yep.

And then we'll add a couple of our carrots here.

Quick little sear.

Okay, so we have our nicely cooked fish.

So it's very simple.

We're just gonna make a little salad.

We're gonna take some of our arugula, and we're gonna toss it with some of our tomatoes.

- Cherry tomatoes.

- Yeah.

I'm just gonna throw a couple of the carrots right in here as well.

A little bit of olive oil.

- Making salad look really tasty.

- So we always try to add just a little bit of a component that might be a little bit different but not too confusing or over the top.

And that's kind of where the heirloom carrots came into this dish.

Tiny bit of salt.

Just a little bit of pepper.

- Okay, mix that up.

- Give this a little, we want it to be nicely dressed, and we're just gonna put this salad right on top of this fish.

- Looks very appetizing.

- Simply done.

We're gonna take our brulee lemon, which also will add a nice little touch, like lemon with your fish.

- And some more Parmesan.

- Yeah, touch of Parmesan.

Okay, here's our swordfish Milanese.

- Look at that, beautiful chef.

So tell me, what's the way to do this?

Am I gonna go salad with the fish?

- I think you get a little bit in each bite.

- All right, try this.

- That's probably the best way to do it.

- Little piece here.

Mm.

Wow, my mind is being fooled 'cause I'm thinking chicken or veal with the Milanese style, but then the swordfish comes in, and that is beautiful with the beautiful Parmesan.

I like that with the salad.

- It's a great combination.

- 7:30 in the morning, you know, looking out at that, eating this for breakfast.

- Sun is coming up, swordfish for breakfast.

Not, not a bad start to the day.

- I think I'm gonna have a nice day.

(inspiring music) (inspiring music continues) - Thank you.

Nice.

- Burt, welcome to Four Seasons, Palm Beach.

We're so excited to have you with us.

We have- - Kind of excited to be here.

Woo.

- This is Lauren, our guest relations specialist.

- Oh, thank you.

- With every check-in, we offer all of our guests a glass of champagne, as well as our custom Palm Beach chocolates.

- Thank you very much, okay, tell me about the resort.

- Absolutely, I would love to.

So Four Seasons Palm Beach is over 30 years old.

- [Burt] Wow, it's older than I am.

- (laughs) We had a beautiful renovation in 2018 of all of our public area spaces.

The lobby was designed by Martin Brodinski, and also we had all of our guest rooms renovated in 2018 and '19.

Our Sea Breeze Suite is one of our 14 premium suites on property, and we have 207 rooms total.

- Wow.

- And this is one of our largest suites, which is very attractive to the families who come to stay with us.

It's a two bedroom.

It also has a media room with direct access to the pool and the beach.

It has the option for connecting rooms also.

And during the holidays, the families love these suites because of the space that it provides and the area for all the experiences they can have.

- Everybody spreads out.

- So tell me about the history of the hotel.

- Of course, Four Seasons Palm Beach was actually the first Four Seasons to open in the state of Florida.

What's fun is that a lot of our staff has been here for many, many years, and a lot of them actually have been here for all 30 years.

So each year, especially around the season, we have multi-generational families that come back, and they love to see these employees.

- [Burt] Gets to be like a family.

- Absolutely, they become the guests and the employees become family year after year.

And we are really proud of the service that our team provides.

- So what do the guests like to do when they're on the property?

- (laughs) When our guests come to stay here, they love to stay on property.

We have a lot of activities and opportunities for relaxation.

We have wonderful water activities in the ocean, such as surfboards, boogie boards, just lounging, and relaxing and enjoying their time at our beach as well as our two pools.

People come here to disconnect, to relax and to enjoy paradise, that we are very lucky to be in every day.

When not on the pool and the beach, we have a wonderful kids for all seasons program, so the parents can drop off their children between ages 4 and 12 and our kids for all seasons while they relax at the pool and the beach.

Maybe enjoy the spa as well.

We have a beautiful five star spa that is very popular amongst our guests because they, again, it's all part of the relaxation that we provide here in the disconnect.

It's a very serene environment.

- [Burt] While Alex and I talked about the history of the Four Seasons, my son Nicholas checked in as a guest to learn more about the place.

- Traveling around the world with my father, I've stayed at hundreds of hotels.

Some were really good, and some were, mm, not so good.

But room service tells you a lot about how good a resort is.

So this morning I've skipped breakfast, and I'm gonna taste these dishes.

Very good.

According to the two Fs of a room service review, the lobster's very fresh and it was very fast.

It actually came here in under 10 minutes.

So the lobster's a go.

Room service is a great indicator of how good a hotel is.

It's rare that a hotel will have a fabulous room service, but lacking in other areas.

It shows that the staff are attentive to details, fast, and the managers hire good chefs.

Just like my mother never made it.

After trying the room service, I can comfortably say that the Four Seasons passed the test.

- Welcome to Florie's, Burt.

Florie's is our restaurant in partnership with Michelin Star Chef Mauro Colagreco.

It is the only Forbes four star restaurant on all of Palm Beach Island and also the only restaurant in the entire United States partnered with Mauro Colagreco.

I wanted to highlight our Florie's botanical guide with all of our beautiful cocktails.

This is our lavender cocktail with a very fun and exciting option to pop the bubble.

- Cheers.

- Cheers.

(light jazz music) - This is the Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort and Spa.

Although the history of the island goes back much further, the Marriott opened its doors in 2007.

The island is named after Paris Singer, a famous developer of Palm Beach.

He was the 23rd child of Isaac Singer, the man who invented the first commercially successful sewing machine.

During the 1960s, this part of Florida became a primary destination for travelers coming from the northeast of the United States and Canada and looking for luxurious accommodations, which is precisely what is offered by the Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort.

And speaking of the Marriott, the family has a very interesting history.

In 1927, Jay Willard Marriott and his wife Alice, opened a nine seat root beer stand in Washington, DC.

The idea was to sell cool drinks in the hot summer.

As the summer turned to winter, they started selling hot food.

The business turned into the Hot Shoppes.

As more and more Americans began vacationing in their cars, the Marriotts open motels.

Today, Marriott is the largest hotel group in the world.

When I was researching condo style hotels, I learned that they were first developed in Miami during the 1980s, just two hours south of Singer Island.

And this location is the only full condo style resort in Palm Beach County.

The resort has a full service spa.

Spa's an interesting word.

It's the name of a town in Belgium.

And in ancient times, Roman soldiers who are on break from a battle would go to Spa, sit in the warm water and relax and be rejuvenated, which is what everybody's doing over here.

The facility has an excellent restaurant and an outstanding bar and outstanding bartenders.

The resort also has a state-of-the-art fitness center that encourages guests to maintain their fitness routines while on vacation.

I have a very specific fitness routine which I practice every day.

I get up, I read the headlines in the newspaper, and I throw a fit.

To learn more about the Marriott Singer Island, I spoke with the general manager, Rudy Sharp.

So what makes a resort hotel different from a regular hotel?

- You know, I think a resort hotel, you get more involved normally with nature.

It's a scenic environment, but I think when you go and stay at a resort, it's the time that you are more open to new experiences as well.

How many of us in our travels, it's the first time we've skied, it's the first time we've gone deep sea fishing.

It's the first time we've tried an art or a craft or even a cuisine.

So I think we get a more integrated into the environment.

We still do regular hotel business travel and things like that, but I think the resort environment opens you up to more experimentation and exploration.

- Tell me about condo style hotels.

- [Rudy] Our resort is one of the only, is actually is the only condo style hotel here in Palm Beach County.

And I think the great part of it is having the additional space, of course, but we have full kitchens, laundry facilities, so it helps you relax and again, get a little more involved in the locale, you're able to bond with your family, get out and do different types of activities, share meals.

Having that extra space and that collegial family time, I think is really comes easier in these kind of environments versus a little square hotel room.

- [Burt] What effect does it have on the hotel because it's a Marriott?

- I think having that Marriott brand helps us, having our customers feel comfortable to try something new.

They have a level of comfort with the Marriott brand and its service promise and its quality levels that lets someone say, well, I've never been there before, but I know it'll be good.

And it's somewhere that I've always wanted to see, or something that I've always wanted to do.

So it it takes away that stress for the traveler when they go to a different or new destination.

- [Burt] And it's the largest hotel group in the world.

- [Rudy] In the world, amazing.

Yeah, they're doing something right.

- They must be.

- Yes.

- Today, the palm beaches remains a playground for those seeking a memorable resort experience.

From the historic charm of The Breakers to the contemporary luxury of the new resorts, like the Four Seasons, or Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort and Spa, the Palm Beaches offers something for every traveler.

I hope you enjoyed this program on the history of resort hotels.

For Travels and Traditions, I'm Burt Wolf.

But wait, there's more!

For daily reels featuring interviews and stories filmed during Travels and Traditions, visit @NicholasWolfTV on Instagram or @BurtNicholasWolfTV on YouTube.

(inspiring music) (inspiring music continues) - [Announcer] "Travels & Traditions" with Burt and Nicholas Wolf is is made possible by Goldbelly.

Shipping stone crabs, pizzas, birthday cakes and more from manny of Americas restaurants.

Anywhere Nationwide.

Goldbelly.com And by Swiss International Airlines.

Flying to over 100 worldwide locations.

Trully Swiss made.

Swiss International Airlines.

And by YP Foundation, helping those in need through education and improving life skills.

Guided by the principles of good deeds, charity, and public welfare, YP Foundation.

And by Five Star Travel, Inc.

in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Since 1985, Five Star Travel has been developing and delivering detailed itineraries for trips, cruises, and vacations to destinations around the world.

Five Star Travel, Inc.

(soft guitar music)