Love Shack

Little Palm Island Resort in the Keys is a place where couples can get together.

The first question someone asked me when I returned from a few days at Little Palm Island Resort & Spa was if there were televisions in the rooms. Honestly, I didn’t notice, though I do recall that the thatched-roof cottages with a pair of sumptuous, adults-only suites were without phones, and I couldn’t get a decent signal on my cell phone or computer if I were standing more than a few steps from the main lodge.

But that’s really the point of being here: Little Palm Island is about truly getting away from distractions so you can focus on what brought you here in the first place—love.
A five-acre speck of land located about two-thirds of the way to Key West, Little Palm Island is accessible only by boat or seaplane. Guests who arrive by cars park at the resort’s welcome center on Little Torch Key and take a ferry to the private island. If you go, try to time your boat trip for sunset; the view of the island’s tiki torches sparkling in the twilight as you approach is stunning.

Once ashore, guests are escorted to their private suite, which is decorated with a Tommy Bahama-meets-West Indies plantation vibe.
The bedroom, dominated by a majestic four-poster bed swathed in gauzy mosquito netting, is the stuff of which dreams—and honeymoons and anniversary getaways—are made. In addition to the decadent beds, the suites’ oversized jetted tubs and outdoor showers are clearly designed for sharing. (The resort allows guests to bring children 16 and over, but LPI is not a family destination.)

For guests who can drag themselves out of their rooms, there are kayaks, boats, water bikes, snorkeling gear, beach floats and fishing poles available for the asking, and chaises ready for lounging along the shoreline and by the pool.

But the most tempting reason to venture outdoors is to enjoy the resort’s incomparable cuisine, which has won numerous awards from AAA, Mobil and Golden Spoon. The menu boasts such delicacies as imported caviar, Kobe beef and fresh-caught seafood, all expertly and delectably prepared.  During one of our dinners, a young couple got engaged, with the groom-to-be announcing, “She said yes!” His newly minted fiancée went from table to table showing off her ring while guests applauded.
TVs and good cell reception on Little Palm Island? Who needs them when you have each other?

Prices for the Island Escape Suites average about $1,190 per weekend night in February and March. Dining on the island is over-the-top expensive, which makes the meal-plan option, at $195 per person per day (excluding tax and gratuity), a bargain. Liquor, also very pricey, isn’t included. Bring bug spray to keep the mosquitoes at bay.  littlepalmisland.com.