Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Manalapan, the wealthy town just south of Palm Beach, is one of the 10 best waterfront hotels in America.
That’s according to travel experts and readers of USA Today.
Eau, with its own private beach and a host of amenities, ranks No. 9 in the publication’s 2025 list of the country’s 10 best waterfront hotels.
“Breathtaking ocean views” are key among the 7-acre resort’s attributes and bolster an “elegant, inviting and serene” atmosphere, USA Today editors write in their review of the resort at 100 S. Ocean Blvd. in Manalapan.
Guests, they note, “can indulge in the ultimate relaxation lounging by two oceanfront pools or dining at on-site restaurants with stellar views.”
To be recognized as a top-10 waterfront-hotel designee is an honor, Michelle Phillips, Eau’s director of marketing, told the Daily News, noting the resort’s waterfront location is at “the heart” of its allure.
“From the moment you arrive at Eau, you’re surrounded by the beauty of the Atlantic (Ocean), whether you’re enjoying breakfast with the sunrise, unwinding by the pool or strolling along our pristine stretch of beach,” she said Aug. 13. “It’s this seamless connection to the water that makes the resort feel both energizing and serene, and why so many of our guests return year after year to experience that magic again.”
Topping USA Today’s 2025 list 10 best waterfront hotels: Acqualina Resort & Residences on the Beach in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.
Chatham Bars Inn in Chatham, Massachusetts; Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa in Point Clear, Alabama; and Madison Beach Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton in Madison, Connecticut are others that landed top spots in the list, which can be viewed in full at https://10best.usatoday.com/awards/best-waterfront-hotel-resort/.
The 10 waterfront properties deemed superlative resulted from a process that began with nominations determined by a panel of hotel and travel experts, according to USA Today.
Then winners were selected by readers of USA Today, which is owned by Gannett, which also owns the Daily News.
Most of this year’s designees also were winners in USA Today’s 2024 list of the country’s 10 best waterfront hotels released last August.
In that ranking, Eau rated No. 5. It is the only Palm Beach County honoree the past two years.
In addition to its panoramic oceanfront setting, Eau Palm Beach also features a 42,000-square-foot spa, three tennis courts, two pools, 30,000-plus square feet of meeting/event space and activity centers for young children and teens.
The property, which has been enhanced several times over the years — including in 2022 as part of a multi-million-dollar transformation — also includes several food-and-beverage outlets.
Among them: a Nobu restaurant, plus Polpo Palm Beach, a sister to the Polpo in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Forbes Travel Guide has awarded Eau and its spa with its highest ranking — five stars — for more than a decade.
With more than 300 rooms and suites, Eau was purchased in August of 2024 by Oracle software billionaire Larry Ellison. for $277-plus million. As a resort hotel, Eau’s roots began in the early 1990s, when the property, formerly home to a private club, debuted as The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach.
