It was almost 10 years ago that the Breakers, the iconic Palm Beach property built in 1896, made a major push to become the family-focused resort it is today.
The Breakers welcomed children prior to 2003, but that was the year when an evolution toward more family-friendliness became a concerted effort to target families.
Today, it is obvious that strategy worked. The grand hotel, opened in 1926 (two earlier versions of the Breakers at the same location had burned down) and famous for its opulent Italian Renaissance design, modeled after the Villa Medici in Rome and most dramatically displayed in soaring, 30-foot-tall public areas, had more than a century before established Palm Beach as a getaway for the upper crust.
The 540-room property still attracts the affluent set, but now affluent families are a major component of that mix.
Today, the family market represents 37% of the Breakers' total leisure business.
The crowning achievement in the Breakers' quest to become family-friendly was the building of an entire area of the resort dedicated to children's programming.
Called the Family Entertainment Center, the area is invisible from the Breakers' main, sprawling complex of restaurants, shops and meetings rooms, and its manicured lawns and gardens.
It is home base to Coconut Crew Camp, the day camp for children that offers full- and half-day programming ($95 and $65, respectively, including meals) and also serves a place parents and caretakers can spend time with kids at an outdoor playground, a sports court, an arcade, a movie theater and indoor playrooms for kids of all ages with an arts-and-crafts area and a 1,000-gallon aquarium.
An ingenious element of the center is an Italian restaurant with adjacent playrooms. The setup allows mom and dad to dine with their children until that moment every parent is familiar with: when the kids can no longer sit still.
At that point, adults can monitor the little ones having fun while they finish their meal in peace.
For guests who prefer to eat in one of the other six on-site and two off-property dining options, all restaurants offer children's menus as well as coloring books and crayons. (See related article, "HMF a Palm Beach hot spot.")
All this doesn't mean that the Breakers feels like Disney World. On the contrary, the property does an excellent job of separating children's areas so adults traveling without kids don't feel like they are.
This is also the case at the Breakers Beach Club, which features five pools overlooking a strip of beach on Palm Beach, a barrier island.
There is a pool to serve the needs of every type of guest here: a three-lane lap pool; a children's pool; a family pool with zero-depth entry; a quiet pool, the de facto adults pool; and the main pool where everyone mingles.
For guests wanting further privacy, and pampering, a private Beach Bungalow is highly recommended.
The Breakers has 25 of them, all freshly renovated over the past year, as part of the hotel's 10-year, $250 million revitalization program (the hotel also completed a five-year, $80 million renovation and redesign of all its rooms and suites). Each bungalow boasts a full, private bathroom, some with outdoor showers; an indoor sitting area as well as outdoor loungers on a private patio; refrigerators stocked with nonalcoholic beverages; and a dedicated concierge who seems to be nearby when wanted but never intrusive.
Hewen, the concierge for the bungalow I was using, somehow knew exactly when my travel companions and I might be in the mood for a fruit platter with frozen grapes, but otherwise allowed us to rest and enjoy the spa music piped throughout the quiet pool area.
Bungalow daily rates range from $250 in the summer to $900 in the peak season.
Guests with children who choose a bungalow in the family or children's pool areas may be in interested in the flat-screen TV each bungalow has, along with PlayStation 3 video games and a DVD player.
"Breakers is very family-oriented, especially with the new renovations and the [bungalows]," said Jaclyn Sienna India, president of Sienna Charles Travel in Palm Beach. "For affluent families, having that space to keep snacks and corral the kids in a small area, and the beach access, is great. You have everything you need in that area without going too far. … The Breakers has that one-stop-shop thing going on."
The Breakers pays travel agents 10% commission. For rates and more information, visit www.thebreakers.com.
Follow Johanna Jainchill on Twitter @jjainchilltw.