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A Top 25 Best Hotel Portfolio in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards, 2025
A holiday-themed cocktail part of Opal's seasonal cocktail program.

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Top Holiday Cocktails To Ring in 2026
These holiday cocktails – part of Opal’s specialty holiday cocktail program – aren’t just complex symphonies of flavor, they’re liquid works of art. And we’ve got the recipes for you to recreate during your own holiday festivities.
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A Florida-themed Christmas ornament on a tree.

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5 Game-Changing Benefits of Taking Your Holidays on Vacation
If the stress of your holiday hustle has been weighing you down (especially if you’re the one hosting the festivities), this may be an article you want to read. Because a holiday week getaway may just be the best gift you can give yourself.
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Aerial view of a winding coastal road bordered by dense forest with autumn foliage, rocky cliffs, and waves crashing against the shoreline below.

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Why Mount Desert Island Was Voted America’s Favorite Island
It wasn’t a tropical escape that scored number one in the “Top 15 Islands in the Continental U.S.” list in Travel + Leisure’s 2025 World’s Best Awards. It was a lobster-claw-shaped piece of land off the craggy coast of Downeast Maine.
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The view of Frenchman Bay from Bar Harbor

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A Coveted Coastal New England Road Trip
The beauty of a multi-day, 220-mile road trip up the craggy coast from Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Bar Harbor, Maine isn’t just the plethora of enticing pit stops along the route – from high culture to scenic coves. It’s also the way that Opal properties serve as your easy and convenient overnight waypoints for piecing together one epic coastal cruise.
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A man and three children, all wearing swimwear, run and play together on a sandy beach with Sandpearl Resort in the background.

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Best Family Beach Resorts in Florida
Planning a family beach vacation to Florida? From morning splash time to sunset s’mores, Opal Collection offers a variety of beach resorts up and down the coast that take the hassle out of family vacations.
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A serene beach scene unfolds in Clearwater, Florida, with a long pier extending into calm, blue waters. Sandy dunes with patches of grass grace the foreground. The clear sky holds a whisper of clouds near the horizon, while small structures dot this idyllic attraction on the pier.

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Must-See Clearwater Florida Attractions You Never Knew About
Think you’ve experienced all of Clearwater Beach? This list of hidden gems might make you think again.
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A father and daughter play in the gin-clear waters of Jupiter, Florida.

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6 Best Crystal-Clear Water Beaches in Florida that Rival the Caribbean
You don’t need a passport to frolic in the blue waves identical to what you’d find in everyone’s favorite tropical sea. You just need these favorite Florida beaches.
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A family enters the lobby at Hutchinson Island Beach Resort & Spa.

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10 Experiences to Level Up Your Next Opal Escape
Opal Collection resorts and hotels are more than just luxurious places to lay your head. From private chef-led culinary events to hands-on outdoor adventures you’ll be raving about for years to come, here’s how our collection can craft and connect you to indelible experiences that discerning travelers covet.
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Whether you're planning where to go next or what to do on an already‑booked vacation, discover the travel destinations with Opal

A vibrant sunset over a beach with palm trees, a curved shoreline, and a few people relaxing on the sand. The sky is painted with hues of pink, orange, and purple, reflecting on the calm ocean waves. A road runs along the coast.

Your Guide to Clearwater Beach, Florida

Leave the planning to the pros – this Opal-approved guide to Clearwater Beach, FL gives you an easy-to-digest list of all the top attractions, restaurants, beaches, and local favorites in the area.

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The main entrance leading into the 20 different art spaces of Fairgrounds St. Pete.

FloridaRAMA: An Artist’s Surreal Salute to the State of Florida

When it comes to art created in the age of Instagram, the recipe for success is that it must be immersive and interactive in order to be indelible. Fairgrounds St. Pete takes that formula one step further by throwing in a heaping helping of technology to create a wander-worthy wonderland that is a hat tip to the state of Florida.

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A beach scene with gentle waves under a cloudy sky. Blue beach umbrellas and chairs are arranged on the sand. Lush greenery and swaying palm trees line the pathway to the shore, creating a tropical ambiance.

Morning Glory: 12 Best Ways To Start Your Day

Start your day off right, and the rest of it will fall into place. Luckily, Opal hotels boast a myriad of top-notch early-morning experiences sure to get you out your hotel room quickly. From standout breakfasts to scenic yoga sessions, here are the best things to do before the clock strikes 12 (p.m.).

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HEADER_Behind the Brushstrokes

The Hotel Today: Part 2

Simultaneously, while Belleview Inn’s restoration was being done, master Florida artist Christopher Still was conducting his own elaborate history project to create these commissioned works for the hotel.

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A large, elegant resort-style hotel with green roofs and white exterior sits behind a serene pool. Palm trees flank the building, and lounge chairs are arranged around the pool area under a partly cloudy sky.

The Hotel Today: Part 1

While the hotel is obviously not the same as it was when it was first built in 1897, there are so many preserved portions and unique nods to the past scattered throughout. You just need to know where to look.

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A grand hotel with multiple gables and white facade stands behind a pool area. The pool is oval-shaped with a smaller circular pool in the center. Palm trees and lounge chairs surround the pool, and the sky is partly cloudy.

The Project

Before the crumbling Hotel Belleview could be renovated and reborn as Belleview Inn, she needed to be moved to her new foundation. So how do you move a 1,750-ton structure the distance of roughly the length of a football field?

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Memories of the original belleview inn illustrated with vintage postcards, old photos and memorabilia

#MyBelleviewMemory

If these walls could talk, they’d whisper stories about past presidents wandering these halls, weddings taking place generation after generation within the ballrooms, special anniversary dinners, and more. But alas, walls cannot talk. Luckily, these longtime locals can.

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