What to expect: A long driveway lined with palm trees leads weekend golfers, leisure travelers, and executives on retreat to a commanding fountain and the lobby of this golfing aficionado's resort. Inside are high, molded-beamed ceilings with massive wrought-iron and glass chandeliers, cool slate floors, railings made of crisscrossed golf clubs, and British Colonial-style furnishings.

Amenity highlights: The Tiburón Golf Club features two 18-hole courses designed by Greg Norman, with a total of 800 acres. A 43,000-square-foot clubhouse has a pro shop with golf and resort apparel for men and women, locker facilities, and a workout room. The Rick Smith Golf Academy offers personalized instruction and private video rooms. Guests also have full privileges at the golf resort's beachfront partner property, The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, with a complimentary shuttle operating between the two resorts.

Insider tip: The Briggs Nature Center, 23 miles away, covers 13,000 acres and is home to many Florida birds and plant life. A boardwalk takes guests through rare-plant communities, and a butterfly garden is dense with plants selected to attract 27 species of Florida's butterflies. The center is home to herons, osprey, egrets, mangrove cuckoos, and prairie warblers.

What to expect: Inside The Ritz-Carlton Naples, a grand lobby features Carrera marble, immense Palladian windows, crystal chandeliers, fine art, and antiques. The mahogany concierge station maintains a staff to assist with resort activities, dining, and recreational reservations. Guests include vacationing travelers and families, weekend romantics, conference attendees, and executives.

Amenity highlights: The Ritz-Carlton Spa offers a fitness center as well as 33 treatment rooms (and 90 treatments). The spa menu includes therapeutic massage, body wraps, nourishing facials, and hydrotherapy. There are hot and cold plunge pools, steam and sauna rooms, and tiled spa tubs with waterfalls. Other hotel amenities include four lighted Har-Tru tennis courts, a Nature’s Wonders center, and outdoor family and lap pools.

What to expect: This Caribbean-style, boutique hotel offers guests a chance to relax in an intimate environment and to explore the tropical beauty of the Gulf of Mexico. Sunlight fills the lobby, where guests congregate near bubbling fountains for breakfast or afternoon tea. The island-inspired bar and grill offers poolside service for lounging guests, as well as waterfront terrace seating.

Amenity highlights: The signature of this hotel is its prime waterfront access. The Bayfront Inn's 24-slip marina offers small-boat and charter-boat access to the Gulf of Mexico. Guests can relax in the outdoor pool and spa tub, or arrange for a massage or spa treatment with the hotel.