by Chantal Perreault

Sandestin's Elephant Walk Restaurant, fashioned after the plantation owner's home in the 1954 Elizabeth Taylor film of the same name, overlooks the Gulf of Mexico. The menu features creative cuisine specializing in fresh local seafood with an exotic flair. photo: © Sandestin.

Located in Northwest Florida between Pensacola and Panama City is the highly impressive 2,400-acre Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. The resort, located just off the Gulf of Mexico's sugar-sand beaches, creates the perfect backdrop for a luxurious Southern retreat.

Sandestin first opened in 1973 and exchanged ownership hands several times before the Vancouver-based Intrawest Corporation purchased the resort in 1998. Intrawest, better known for such famous ski resorts as Tremblant and Whistler Blackcomb, launched a $400 million development program to revitalize the property. Progress to date has included the addition of the world-class Raven Golf Club in March 2000 and the 28-acre Village of Baytown Wharf, which introduced its first phase in 2002.

To coincide with Sandestin's 30-year anniversary, the resort opened the elegant Grand Sandestin hotel and adjoining Baytown Conference Center in Fall 2003. Both are designed with Southern sophistication and perfectly demonstrating this is the conference center's Magnolia Ballroom, the largest ballroom on northwest Florida's Gulf Coast.

With the Grand Sandestin and nearly thirty additional types of accommodations throughout the resort, you're certain to find something that suits both your budget and taste -- from spacious villas and cottage-style town homes to beachfront condos.

The Grand Sandestin is a 168-unit Southern plantation-style estate featuring a sweeping two-story veranda offering picturesque views of the Bay and lush formal gardens. Photo: © Sandestin.

As a guest at the resort, I stayed in the beautiful Grand Sandestin, an upscale, 168-unit luxury condominium hotel offering one-, two-, and three bedroom suites. First glance at the hotel evoked a sense of Southern grandeur with formal gardens and architecture reminiscent of a lavish Savannah estate. The lobby features large white pillars and gleaming marble floors with a full service wet bar, seating area and a piano mechanically playing relaxing classical notes.

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