Ocean Reef Club

guest blogger: Alison Musselman

Recently, I was invited down to Key Largo, FL to check out the very luxurious Ocean Reef Club, and they kindly said I could bring a friend along, too. Much to the chagrin of my BFF who had imagined a fabulous girls' vacation, I took my hubby with me—it was our wedding anniversary after all, so I would have felt slightly guilty leaving him behind.

We arrived at Ocean Reef at about 9pm, and were met by Bill, the very knowledgeable, very friendly Executive Director of Communications. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Burgee Bar and had a chance to chat with some of the local characters who seemed happy to sit and share a few stories with us.

This is pretty much what our room looked like. We had an iHome to listen to music and an incredibly well stocked mini bar!

And this is what our bathroom looked like. (Both these pics are from the press kit—I can’t take credit for them.)

Waking up the next morning, we got to see how beautiful the place really was. After breakfast at Michelle’s at Carysford (a restaurant that boasts renowned chef Michelle Bernstein in the kitchen during their high season, and an amazing wine cellar), Bill took us on a guided tour.

The secluded property actually started as a private fishing community back in 1945 and over the years has expanded from a couple of rustic buildings into what it is today. Nestled at the northern tip of Key Largo, it's set on 2000 acres of lush flora and is surrounded almost entirely by the Atlantic Ocean.

The preferred mode of transport at the Ocean Reef is the golf cart, so we hopped in Bill’s and set off to see the property. I was surprised at how expansive it was and all the things there were to see and do. (Imagine wishing for a luxurious town where anything you could possibly want to do is no more than a golf cart ride away.) He showed us the three golf courses, multiple tennis courts, the airstrip (if only we’d known we could have chartered a plane!!), the shopping village, medical center, library, cultural center, movie theatre, church, the town hall, the arts center, fitness centers, spa, school (for the families that spend months at a time here), nature trails, nine top-notch restaurants, (did I mention there was a lot to do?) and—and this was one of my favorite things—ORCAT, their cat rescue facility.

Ocean Reef has taken a natural, eco-friendly approach when it comes to keeping shipyard pests in check, and as such, there are a number of cats that roam about the property. Keeping them healthy, and their numbers under control, is what the facility is all about, so they generally have kittens that need homes—I was able to play with some when we stopped by.

And of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention all the aquatic options. The fishing is fantastic—you can go reef fishing, deep sea sport fishing or bone fishing, and depending on the time of year, you can expect to catch a long list of different kinds of fish including Mahi Mahi, Marlin, Kingfish, Wahoo, snapper and grouper. There are three swimming pools to choose from, scuba diving or snorkeling and they even have guided eco-kayak tours on the weekends.

After the morning of sightseeing, I was treated to a "bridal luncheon." (Hubby was banished to lounge poolside—sigh…) The catering team set things up as they would for a girl’s bridal party lunch, and it was gorgeous. They had prepared a table in one of the villas overlooking the ocean, so all you could see was miles and miles of water. The food was absolutely delicious, and as with everything else that I had experienced there, the attention to detail was meticulous. I ate with a couple of girls from the team, and they told me that menus are planned out and personalized for each event, whether it be a girls' luncheon, rehearsal dinner or the reception itself.

The menu was chilled mango soup with crispy duck cracklings to start, followed by curried chicken salad with fried green tomatoes and poppyseed lavash, then Passionfruit Bavarian with a duet of kalamansi and raspberry coulis. YUM! (OK, I’m still not totally sure what kalamansi is, but it was delicious.)

It was so good I forgot to take a picture before we started eating—we were sitting in one of the villas overlooking the ocean. Oh, and there was an infinity pool out there on the balcony, too!

That afternoon, they showed me the different wedding venue options on the property, and it was obvious that they can be as elaborate or as low-key as you like. The staff works closely with renowned florists and vendors from Miami, Fort Lauderdale and beyond, to ensure everything is exactly as you want it.

A popular ceremony spot is The Point, which as the name suggests is a piece of land that juts out into the water, so your backdrop is the ocean—and the occasional passing yacht.

Or you can opt for the palm tree-lined beach—there are Tiki Huts, too you just can’t see them in this picture.

For the reception, you could go ultra-formal in the Town Hall (think cocktail hour on the roof deck overlooking the boats), followed by a sit-down affair inside, or you could check out the Ocean Room for a more laid-back Keys-inspired soiree. Its décor of rattan chairs and lazily rotating ceiling fans, fully embraces the location, and there’s a dance floor and room for a live band, too if grandma wants to kick her heels up.

Or, you could chose nature as your backdrop and spend your first few hours as Mr. & Mrs. at the Palm Court, a paved area—also overlooking the water—surrounded by palms. They string lights in trees and turn them on when night falls for a little extra ambiance.

After saying goodbye to the girls, I went to join the hubby by the pool. As you can see, we had our pick of the loungers!

We decided to have an early dinner as we were meeting Bill and his wife for a movie in the Club’s movie theatre, and made reservations at The Islander. It’s known for serving up delicious fresh seafood caught by the local boats. (They serve sushi there, too, but there was a crab cake with my name on it!)

Our waiter took this picture—we were the first people at the restaurant that evening as we were off to an early movie. He was telling us about some of the more lavish weddings Ocean Reef has hosted; multi-million dollar affairs with celebrity entertainment; Miami Sound Machine apparently played at someone’s reception!

As we were waiting to go into the movie, we saw playbills on the wall of the theatre and realized that Ocean Reef Club was no stranger to the celebrity set. People like Willie Nelson and Kenny Loggins had come through and performed there, and Liza Minelli, Christopher Cross and America were on their way. Even Mikael Gorbachov had come down to speak.

The next morning, before we left, we did a little more exploring on our own and wandered through The Village. Everywhere was so perfectly manicured, and I loved the colorful buildings. As we were there during the off season, there weren’t very many people there.

In addition to the fine dining restaurants, Ocean Reef has some fun casual places, too. The Raw Bar serves fantastic local seafood overlooking the water. (Think plastic tables and chairs—very low key.)

Did I mention there was a beach volleyball court?

Who is that cute cabana boy?

We had such a wonderful time there, the weekend just wasn’t enough!

Posted by Alison at 3:50 p.m.