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Indulging Your Senses at The Shores
By Mary Awosika

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The Shores' famous SpaTerre cuts to the core of what the resort is all about: relaxation, from the outside in

most recent trip to the Daytona area was packed with a lot of, well, pampering. I even left the laptop at home for this quick weekend jaunt to the other coast. It's amazing what a few short hours (and a luxury beach resort) can do to deflate your stress-level.

A Real Retreat
I pull into The Shores Resort & Spa on a Friday evening, happily handing off my keys and car to the valet. I won't be needing either once I settle into this oceanfront playground on Daytona Beach Shores. My "guest ambassador" greets me at the entrance and escorts me to my Caribbean-themed bungalow room, complete with a four-post canopy bed,

flat-screen TV, lanai and gorgeous view of the Atlantic Ocean. This is what I call a retreat!

The Shores indulges all the senses, putting you into a mode where you want to do nothing but relax and soak it up. Artfully presented gourmet fare is pleasing to the eye and makes the taste buds dance. Fine wines exude rich aromas as you imbibe. Atlantic waves wash ashore, providing the perfect soundtrack for your cabana-bound day. Therapeutic massages from the resort's famous SpaTerre cut to the core of what The Shores is all about: relaxation, from the outside in.

Do what feels relaxing, and you will be relaxed. I quickly buy into this idea.

Four-Diamond Dining
After settling in, I make a reservation for me and a friend at the resort's Baleen restaurant, the only AAA Four-Diamond restaurant in Daytona Beach (the resort carries the same Four-Diamond distinction). I freshen up and head to the Tiki Bar on the pool deck, where my friend and I both pick refreshing mint chocolate martinis to start the night.

The host calls us to our table, and we walk inside to the elegant but fun dining room, where the restaurant's slogan promises "serious food with a whimsical mood." Sure enough, the candle-lit room looks distinguished, but there's a fun-spirited monkey motif, too (a throwback to British-Colonial style).

A Sensation of Flavors
Baleen boasts executive chef Lonny Huot, whose 15-year career includes many fine dining restaurants along the country's eastern coast. And he doesn't disappoint us.

For appetizers, we debate between the lobster trio (lobster risotto, crisp baby lobster


Savor a gourmet meal at Baleen, the only AAA Four-Diamond restaurant in Daytona Beach

tail and silky lobster bisque) and diver scallops with sweet orange blossom vinaigrette. We go for the trio and find bliss.

For my entree, I stay the seafood course with Southern Comfort Prawns, which come with creamy anson mills stone-ground grits, black eyed peas and smithfield ham, spiced with Southern Comfort butter sauce. My friend goes with the Brandied Peppercorn Veal Chop, served with black truffle gnocchi, sautéed rainbow chard, Georgia peach and pearl onion chutney. The sensation of flavors doesn't so much as bombard us as it does slowly overcome our palates, each bite growing ever more delicious and complex. By the end, we feel like personally congratulating the chef.

Afterwards, we have one more nightcap while sitting and chatting in front of the fire pit on the pool deck. Before too long, my pillow-top, king-sized bed with ump-teen thread count sheets beckons my name.

Spa-Style Refreshment
Minutes later, I slither into bed and fall into a deep sleep, only to be awakened in the morning by the massage therapist from Spa Terre. What better way to get the blood flowing than with an intense in-room Aromatherapy Blend Massage?

This Saturday morning is glowing, and so am I. Reinvigorated and ready for the day, I sip a mimosa and munch on scrambled eggs and fresh fruit. Then, it's off to the SpaTerre for a manicure and pedicure before finally settling down for the day's main activity – lounging on the beach to catch some rays.

The Last Luxury
Laying on the peaceful, beautiful beach a few hours later, I acknowledge that it probably can get better than this – but at the moment I can't think of how.

On the way home, I figure it out. I stop to check out the shops and boutiques along Daytona's quaint Main Street, and after a few finds, decide to take a little excursion to the Volusia Mall. What weekend getaway would be complete without a little shopping?

For more information on planning your own escape to The Shores Resort & Spa, call 866-934-SHORES or 386-767-7350 or visit www.shoresresort.com.

Mary Awosika is a freelance writer based in Sarasota. She has written for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and StarNewsOnline.com.


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