If you’re looking for a hotel with character, the Biltmore is it. It has played host to numerous famous (and infamous) faces in its long history, including Judy Garland. The Biltmore is where jazz babies came to show off cropped cuts and shapely knees, and in the hotel’s heyday, Florida society descended en masse for fashion shows, golf tournaments, rowdy gala balls, and thrilling aquatic shows in a 700,000 gallon pool. Today, the Biltmore’s Old World elegance is proudly (and amply) displayed via the lobby’s sculpture garden, the largest hotel swimming pool in the U.S., and the impeccably manicured grounds. Although Ginger Rogers no longer trips the light fantastic here, the hotel’s pre-war glamour lives on. The Biltmore seems to have nine lives—jazz haunt, WWII hospital, modern luxury palace. Even the mention of its name conjures up associations of Astors and Vanderbilts on holiday. These days, the clientele is more diverse and no longer is old money a requirement for registration. Former President Clinton prefers the suite once used by Al Capone, but all the rooms display a Spanish-style elegance that is well-suited for pleasure. The imposing facade and poolside colonnades have the feel of an Italian villa belonging to someone with a 10-generation pedigree. Sink into one of the European feather beds and gaze at the tapestries on the wall, and you might start to feel blue-blooded yourself. In a hotel as sumptuous and Mediterranean as the Biltmore, it should come as little surprise that the culinary flagship bears the name of the top prize handed out at the Cannes Film Festival. The Palme d’Or’s gilded decor may remind you of the dining room on the Titanic, but the only thing sinking here is your resolution to skip dessert. The mirrors, chandeliers, gleaming wood floor, and plush chairs create a regal atmosphere. The chef, Philippe Ruiz, is young but inventive, and the point of bringing him here was to diversify the crowd and draw in a younger clientele. It’s working. At Palme d’Or, you have the opportunity to create your own menu by mixing and matching from a list of 20 options. The beef tenderloin will melt in your mouth, complemented by a smooth and seductive porcini risotto. Some of the combinations seem counterintuitive at times (carmelized cod with Spanish sausage chips; foam mushroom bisque), but Ruiz plied his trade with great success in St. Martin and the adventurous epicure will be handsomely rewarded.