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: Set back from the busy street, the Bellasera Hotel, with its Tuscan-style Italian architecture, evokes a bygone era. Two-story wooden doors open to a lobby decorated in rich woods with oversized domed windows and a two-story atrium. Guests appreciate the spacious accommodations and complimentary beach shuttle, combined with the services of a deluxe hotel.

Amenity highlights: The Bellasera Hotel wraps around a lush tropical courtyard with a pool, spa tub, and rental cabanas. Tuscan-style fusion fare is showcased in Zizi Restaurant, which also offers poolside and cabana service, as well as live entertainment two nights weekly. The hotel provides complimentary shuttle service to the gorgeous white-sand beach, one mile away.

Insider tip: Live entertainment, street vendors, and singers are a staple on weekends along Naples’ popular Fifth Avenue and throughout the Third Street Shopping District—both less than a mile from the hotel. Outdoor cafés are plentiful, and people-watching is a favorite pastime.