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Pier House Resort & Spa in Key West Provides Ideal Retreat to Explore the Conch Republic

The Ernest Hemingway Museum is a short walk away.

This past June, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that designated Florida A1A (from Georgia to Key West) as the “Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway.’’ Near the southern end of that highway – at One Duval Street – is Pier House Resort & Spa, home to Chart Room Bar, the “unofficial’’ headquarters to Buffett, who considered Key West home, as well treasure hunter Mel Fisher. With its 112 rooms and 23 suites, private beach, and Key West’s only full-service spa (don’t pass on the Thai foot massage), Pier House is an ideal headquarters to explore the Conch Republic.

Ernest Hemingway’s home (and museum), for example, is a short walk from Pier House. Yes, the descendants of Papa’s six-toed cats still roam the premises. President Harry Truman’s “Southern White House’’ also a popular attraction. A stroll – day or night – up Duval Street – is 1.25 miles of pure Key West – a combination of decadence and entertainment that can only be found on Florida’s southernmost point.

Pier House Resort & Spa is a luxurious respite from the maddening crowds that make Key West… well, Key West.  The resort’s Spa Junior Suites  each offer outstanding accommodations, including porches that are perfect for people watching. Want something even more luxurious? Try a  Oceanfront Luxury Suite that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico. 

At the resort’s center is the aptly named One Duval restaurant,  led by Executive Chef Maria Manso. Like most residents of Key West, Manso came from somewhere else. Born in Cuba and raised in Miami, Manso grew up cooking next to her mother.

“In my household, we cooked Spanish food,’’ said Manso, whose culinary career has taken her from Southern California to South Beach and 11 years ago to Key West. “My mother loved to cook. I learned a lot from her, especially about tasting everything. That way, you can find the right balance.

“Cooking always involves finding the right balance of ingredients. Sometimes I’ll taste something and remember cooking it with my mom.’’

Overlooking the water with great views of ships coming in and out of Key West, One Duval serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s a good idea to try at least one of each – if not more – during your stay. A large One Duval breakfast, for example, features coconut pancakes; don’t pass on the fish tacos for lunch; for dinner, Chef Manso’s Blackened Grouper with blue crab and sun-dried tomato cream sauce is a delicious, white and flaky, top seller.

And for those who want beef, don’t pass on the filet mignon with a side of lobster mac and cheese.

“Key West cuisine is kind of like a melting pot of the Caribbean,’’ Manso said. “We have influences from Puerto Rico… the Bahamas… Jamaica. A lot of the ingredients we use are from all the Caribbean.’’

The description sums up Key West, which is a four-to five-hour drive south of Miami on the Overseas HIghway.  Along the way, there is plenty to see and do – from snorkeling at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo to visiting the sea turtle hospital in Marathon.

The best, however, is at the end – at One Duval Street – where Pier House Resort & Spa makes a visit to the Conch Republic as easy and flavorful as a piece of Key Lime Pie.

Photo Courtesy of Pier House Resort & Spa

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Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.