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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

The League Collective-at-Opal-Sands

Coastal Distancing on Cruise Control: Clearwater Beach to Sarasota

We tasked the husband-and-wife couple behind the travel brand The League Collective with taking to the open road for a long weekend getaway. Their point A to point B? Clearwater Beach south to Sarasota along the Gulf Coast of Florida. The result? The perfect marriage of freewheeling and comfort-seeking.

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Wood Street Studio

Inside Sarasota’s Wood Street Studio

Across the country, more and more woodworkers are jumping on the urban lumber bandwagon by breathing new life into old wood destined for the dump. But only in Sarasota will you find an abundance of rare tree species and a man, named Dale Reike, who transforms it into stunning pieces that tell a unique story about this southwestern spot on the gulf.

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Birdrock Taco Shack

7 Must-See Stops in Bradenton’s Village of the Arts

Located no more than 10 miles north of Sarasota proper in Bradenton, a colorful artist colony, known as the Village of the Arts, has taken root in the recent years, offering a diverse mix of quirky art studios and galleries, eclectic shops, restaurants, and even a microbrewery.

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Sarasota Surf Scene

Sarasota’s Secret Surf Scene

When it comes to the best surfing in Florida, your mind likely goes to the East Coast stretch of the state. That’s not the case for waterman Juan Rodriguez, who, despite having surf all over the world, has always been partial to the surf scene of Sarasota.

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