Is there anything better than getting away for a few days with your girlfriends? I think not. With no kids, husbands, or pets to care for, you can truly kick back and enjoy all the wine-drinking, gossip-sharing, sleeping in, and heart-to-hearts you can handle.

I recently had my best friend in town from North Carolina, and it was the perfect excuse to do a little staycation while also sharing what I love about West Palm Beach. We’ve got it all: cityscapes, the beach, arts and culture, great restaurants, museums to tour, outdoor activities to enjoy… Sharing my adoration for this city is (obviously) one of my favorite pastimes, and we had a blast soaking up the sun, exploring downtown, and just generally spending time together, bonding and chatting and doing what girls do.

A girls getaway to West Palm Beach—like any good vacation—must have a mix of activities. Leave plenty of time to relax by the pool or on the beach, but also make sure to find new things to enjoy together. Love art? Devote an hour or two to the Norton Museum. Want to dress up for a special night at the theater? Buy tickets to a Broadway play at the Kravis Center. (Both are under renovation as of August 2018, so double-check their availability.) Take a walk along the Intercoastal during golden hour, then check out Clematis Street or CityPlace to enjoy West Palm Beach’s nightlife scene.

West Palm Beach is Perfect for a Girls Getaway! — In beautiful CityPlace. / Photo: Skye Sherman, WPB Magazine

For my best friend’s visit, I booked us a night at the Hilton West Palm Beach—one of West Palm Beach’s most happening spots for locals and visitors alike—to take advantage of the hotel’s many amenities and perfect downtown location. My recommendation? Time your stay to coincide with a weekly Saturday Pool Brunch at the Hilton. This Vegas-esque pool party is the place to be every weekend.

We checked in on Friday and were greeted by a rum cart delivering fresh-made mojitos to our room (no better way to kick off a girls’ night!), then headed out for a bike tour of the public art of West Palm Beach. There are around 70 murals and public art installations—both 2D and 3D—between Okeechobee and Palm Beach Lakes Blvd, which translates to a ton of cool photo opps and some beautiful, unique pieces! This tour is conducted via SkyBike and is led by Ashley Capps of Gravity for Good; you can visit this link to book a tour.

Part of our bike tour got rained out, but we enjoyed having a bit of extra time to rest and get ready for dinner at Galley, the Hilton’s fabulous on-site restaurant. We kicked off our meal with cocktails made tableside (the Smoked Old Fashioned is one of my favorite drinks in West Palm Beach!) then dug into delicious plates of fresh, local-caught fish. We rounded out our dinner by sharing a gigantic fresh-baked cookie topped with housemade vanilla ice cream, and honestly, I’m still dreaming about it. From there, you can head out on the town for live music and dancing… or you can head right back up to your room, change into comfy pajamas, dive under the fluffy duvet, and watch a rerun of Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! on TV. (I’ll never tell which route we took.)

The next morning, we awoke for yoga on the back lawn. We spent an hour sweating and stretching, then headed to the poolside brunch and scouted out our lounge chairs! With a lively pool party every weekend plus clean, spacious suites with killer views, the Hilton provides the ideal space for relaxing in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach. From there, the day is yours: hang poolside with a frozen drink in hand, or walk to nextdoor CityPlace to enjoy shopping, dining, movies, and more.

PHOTO GALLERY (click on the photo to enlarge it)

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