Apparently, I am one of the 5 percent of Americans who doesn’t have a grandparent in Florida and never went to Walt Disney World as a kid. (I have a thing against mascot costumes, okay?) That statistic might be totally made up, but trust me. The serious Florida FOMO I’ve been experiencing since the age of, like, 5 is very, very real.
Obviously, when I got the opportunity to spend a long fall weekend in the Sunshine State to hang out at the fabulously renovated W Fort Lauderdale, I snatched it up right away. My girlfriend and I love to go out to eat and then spend the rest of the day lounging by a pool (who doesn’t?!), but we also wanted to go somewhere where we could Do All the Touristy Things. Fort Lauderdale turned out to be the perfect place to strike the impossible balance between leisurely and action packed. Here’s how we relaxed and played for three days in Florida.
First, let me pack your bag for you.
Levi's Levi’s Wedgie High-Waisted Denim Short
Sincerely Jules by Scunci Sincerely Jules by Scünci Satin Turban Headband
Okay, now do the things.
1. Celebrate your arrival with a champagne mojito. (Yup, that’s a real drink.)
Listen, I’m not trying to change you as a person. I’m just saying, if you like to unpack your suitcase and put all your clothes in the drawers as soon as you touch down at a hotel...you’re wasting serious sun time. Even if your room is an incredible penthouse suite with the most bonkers view you’ve ever seen (it me!), your best bet is to dump your bags, grab some SPF, and head straight to the nearest rooftop pool. It’s impossible to have a bad day when you kick it off in a daybed sipping champagne mojitos and mowing down tacos, lobster rolls, and french fries.
2. Make your way to the spa.
Okay, quick rewind: I landed in Fort Lauderdale at 8:53 a.m. on the dot...which means I woke up WAY earlier than I normally do. (It’s a three-hour flight from New York, by the way.) Shout-out to Spirit Airlines for giving me a checked suitcase and still letting me board with a carry-on and the two humongous bags under my eyes. Luckily, W Fort Lauderdale has an incredible spa called AWAY. It’s legitimately a little slice of heaven. (I’m not exaggerating. They gave me cake pops and a yummy detox elixir upon arrival. It’s called balance, people.)
I received a 50-minute detox facial, which is just a fancy way of saying that an amazing aesthetician sucked a bunch of gunk out of my pores. My skin was the glowiest it’s ever been. I literally looked like a baby seal. I wasn’t scheduled to have a manicure, but when I saw the cute lil display of nail polish, I asked if they had time to squeeze me in. Thankfully, they did, and I had another champagne mojito while I got my nails done.
3. Take a sunset kayak tour at Park and Ocean.
I pretty much assumed Fort Lauderdale was made up of beaches, fancy hotels, restaurants, and shops. Obviously, I was pretty surprised when I discovered there’s a state park only a five-minute Uber from the hotel. Inside Hugh Taylor Birch State Park sits Park and Ocean, where you can canoe (or kayak, jet ski, or paddleboard) across a mile-long freshwater lagoon. There’s also an open-concept bar and restaurant that’s stocked with delicious local beers. Of course, I grabbed a drink (or two) before heading out on the lagoon.
The 90-minute kayak tour brings you through the mangroves, and it’s such a blast to look out for wildlife, even though the “turtles” I spotted turned out to be floating coconuts. I am no Bindi Irwin.
4. Have the meatiest dinner of your entire life at Steak 954.
I’m the worst kind of person, and by that I mean I’m always like, “Yeah, I’m basically vegan,” until I get the opportunity to go to a steakhouse. (Or as previously revealed, a rooftop pool with a seafood menu. Oops.) All I have to say about Steak 954 is that I am SO GLAD it’s located directly in the hotel, because after mowing on a giant Wagyu steak and potatoes, I needed to slip into pajamas and lie down immediately. It was so good.
Oh, wait, I actually have one more thing to say about the restaurant. It has a mesmerizing jellyfish wall, and I’m obsessed with it.
5. Wake up and order room service. (JK, I scheduled it the night before so I could snooze a little longer.)
Before my trip to Fort Lauderdale, I did not identify as a breakfast person. Honestly, that’s just because I’m really not a morning person. I quickly discovered that mornings are super doable when you order breakfast in bed the night before and wake up to a scrumptious spread. Our room had a balcony with an insane panoramic view of the city, which is the absolute best spot to sip a mimosa before you take on the day.
6. Explore Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
Anglin’s Square is the adorable central plaza at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. TBH, the white-sand beaches and bright umbrellas and chairs are reason enough to visit, but there are shops and restaurants all within walking distance too.
It’s also home to Sloan’s Ice Cream, which is apparently (and unsurprisingly) one of the top 10 ice-cream spots in the United States. They also have tons of candy, so you know I had to stock up on gummies before heading to the next activity.
7. Have lunch on the water at Kaluz.
Wow, it’s wild that sipping bubbly drinks by the water literally never gets old. Like, not even a little bit. For lunch, we went to a modern American cuisine restaurant called Kaluz. It’s the kind of place that’s aesthetically perfect enough to host a bridesmaid proposal. (No, really. There was one happening while we ate, and I guarantee they got the dopest photos.)
We’d been eating super-heavy meals since we got to Florida, so we decided to share a variety of bites instead of order full entrees. It ended up being the perfect way to taste a bunch of things on the menu (the tuna salad is sooo *chef’s kiss*) and still leave room for dessert. Which was key lime pie, if you wanted to know.
8. Check out the FATVillage Art Walk.
On the last Saturday of every month, Flagler Arts and Technology (FATVillage) holds an art walk in the center of downtown Fort Lauderdale. It’s an opportunity for galleries to open up to the public, local artists to sell goods, and *AIR HORN NOISE* FOOD TRUCKS to roll up.
After exploring all the vendors and galleries (I ended up with a sick tie-dye shirt), we ate at Henry’s Sandwich Station. It’s an actual restaurant, so it’s open even when the Art Walk isn’t on. At the risk of sounding dramatic, I’m pretty sure these guys have Chik-fil-A and Popeye’s beat in the never-ending chicken sandwich war.
9. Get back to the hotel for a Night of 1000 Gagas.
I understand that saying “I love Lady Gaga” is exactly like saying “I love fall!” Like, duh. Everyone does. But seriously...I really freaking love Lady Gaga and was next-level thrilled to hear that W Fort Lauderdale was hosting a Gaga-themed party in its Living Room. (The Living Room is a lounge with an ocean view and a massive bar, by the way.) We drank Mother Monster–inspired cocktails while we watched drag queens who had recreated Gaga’s most iconic looks perform some of her greatest hits. It was magical and just an elevator ride away from our room. Ideal night out, IMHO.
10. Get your brunch on at Louie Bossi’s.
New York City thinks it’s the unofficial brunch capital of the world. After brunching at Louie Bossi’s Italian Ristorante, I now think that’s really cute. Even Manhattan’s buzziest bottomless brunches can’t hold a candle to Louie Bossi’s. I’m not exaggerating when I say that at one point, a woman sitting at a table near us pulled our (incredible and hilarious) waiter aside to ask if he thought we were going to finish all the food we ordered. I love a challenge.
I don’t actually remember how many courses we ate because the food just kept coming out and I may or may not have experienced a nero-pasta-induced blackout. But I can tell you that we started with an intense antipasto spread, followed by entrées large enough to feed a village and ending with a dessert selection I’ve had approximately three dreams about since. There was also a prosecco pop cocktail somewhere in that mix, which is a glass of prosecco with a house-made popsicle dunked in.
11. Chill at the pool until it’s time to go home.
Who needs an airport waiting area when you can burn time on a rooftop pool? We chilled at WET for the last few hours of our visit. Yeah, this made it infinitely harder to leave...but a nap in the sun is the ideal way to avoid pre-flight jitters.
If anyone needs me, I’ll be scrolling through my camera roll and agonizing over which vacation photos to Instagram in the dead of winter when I’m cold and sad. Everyone gets at least one “Wish I were back in paradise” post, okay?
Hannah Chambers is an entertainment editor at Cosmopolitan. She loves Little Mix, true crime, and blaming literally everything on Mercury Retrograde.
