The Breakers, Palm Beach's grande dame, gets an elegant new seaside dining destination. Here's a look inside

In the 130 years since it first flung open its doors, The Breakers has been a steadfast symbol of the Palm Beach lifestyle, that heady mix of leisure, luxury and Florida sunshine. But The Breakers hasn’t been a stranger to change, either. The property burned down, twice (one blaze purportedly sparked by a ‘newfangled’ curling iron), and later served as a US Army hospital during the Second World War.

Designer Alessia Genova of the New York firm Tihany Design has spent the last 14 years writing the grande dame’s more recent chapter by elegantly reimagining the 534-key property’s guest rooms, suites, lobby, lounges and eateries. The latest space to receive her studio’s sophisticated touch? The hotel’s casual poolside restaurant, the Beach Club.

While the restaurant was beloved by guests, it hadn’t been updated in nearly 15 years and had heavy-feeling features like mahogany panelling and beige carpets. ‘It was a very sad restaurant. It was very dark,’ Genova says.

The hotel and Tihany Design saw an opportunity to breathe new life into the restaurant, with a revamped all-day Italian menu and effervescent decor that evoked the ease of the Mediterranean coast. And, of course, it needed to be chic. ‘This is The Breakers. Like, people go to the pool in full make-up, you know,’ Genova jokes.

The designer and her team saw an opportunity to enclose an existing arched loggia, a move that would create additional indoor square footage and add some architectural interest to the interiors. ‘We were trying to bring a residential Florida look and feel to the hotel,’ Genova explains. ‘We tried to create something that was strong enough to make a change, but at the same time, was very complementary to the space you are in.’

The transformed Beach Club, which is open exclusively to guests and members, is a light-filled dining destination that feels like an extension of its coastal setting. The primary dining space is anchored by a two-sided marble bar that serves guests in the more formal dining room, as well as those in the enclosed arcade.

Genova and her team kept the palette crisp, with tones of white in the fluted plaster walls, the inlaid stone floors and festive beach-striped fabrics. But it was also important to integrate subtle hits of colour. ‘Palm Beach is like a little island,’ says Genova. ‘We’ve never tried to do Lilly Pulitzer style, but there is a sense of colour and graphics that I think is very Palm Beach.’

The arches, for instance, are accented in a pale turquoise, while select dining niches are lined in a leafy scenic wallpaper. Zesty punches of yellow – inspired by the hue of fresh lemons – appear in flower-shaped ceramic artworks. ‘The intent was to give that feeling of like a beachside restaurant along the Mediterranean,’ Genova explains.

Outdoors, past a new trickling fountain, a sunny terrace scene unfolds. The design team swapped plain terra-cotta pavers for a graphic checkerboard pattern of white and green. Iron outdoor furnishings, topped with fluffy piped cushions congregate poolside beneath generous umbrellas

At night, as the sun sets over the Atlantic, guests can sip on champagne while indulging in fresh scallops or langoustine scampi. ‘Everyone loves the space. It's such a transformation,’ says Genova. ‘At night, the lights become very soft – it feels very, very special.’