In July, the resort at 100 S. Ocean Blvd. stopped calling itself Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa and became Eau Resort & Spa. The resort described it as a change of emphasis. The aim is to point attention at the property itself, and the timing fits. Nobu has settled into a larger permanent room, Angle and the spa have been refreshed, and guestroom balcony work is starting from a staging base inside Plaza del Mar.
For people who own homes in Manalapan, the more useful fact is older than any of this. When the Town Commission approved the Ritz-Carlton in 1988, it wrote La Coquille Club into the plans. Under the town's posted terms, Manalapan property owners can still apply for membership with no initiation fee and no annual dues. The resort has put the focus on itself, and the town has held a seat at that table for nearly four decades.
What the Name Change Points To
The property covers 7 acres. It has 309 rooms, a 42,000-square-foot spa, pools, tennis courts, ballrooms and several restaurants. Larry Ellison bought it for more than $277 million in August 2024, and improvements have continued since then. Michelle Phillips, Eau's director of marketing and brand, explained the rename in terms of the resort itself:
"While the destination remains an important part of our identity, the new name places the spotlight squarely on the resort, defined by the moments and memories created within it."
The site has changed names before. In the late 1970s, Melvin and Bren Simon acquired La Coquille Club, a well-known society beach club, razed it and built The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, which opened in the early 1990s. It became Eau Palm Beach in 2013. The club name survived every one of those changes because the town kept it in the approval.
The Room Nobu Moved Into
The biggest physical change this year is at Nobu Manalapan. It opened at Eau in late 2024 in a temporary 65-seat room. Last autumn it began moving into a permanent oceanfront dining room that had previously held a 140-seat Italian restaurant, and by May the Palm Beach Daily News reported it had settled into the larger room. Phillips now calls Nobu a 140-seat operation and part of "the new Eau experience." That is more than twice the original seating, and getting a table on short notice is easier than it was last season.
Elsewhere on the property, the changes are quieter:
- Angle has a new interior. The menu remains a seafood-forward take on the modern American steakhouse.
- The spa has new décor and has added treatments. Visitors who aren't staying at the hotel can book treatments by reservation, with posted hours of 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
- Breeze Ocean Kitchen serves Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with guitarist Arturo Romay playing from 11 to 4. This month it also has an Oktoberfest special: a pretzel burger with a German-style lager from Copperpoint Brewing in Boynton Beach.
Eau's dining page lists Nobu, Angle, Breeze Ocean Kitchen, Stir, Savor and Oceana. It welcomes diners who aren't hotel guests and recommends reservations.
The Work Is Being Run From Plaza del Mar
The resort's next project will show up across the street. At its Sept. 8 meeting, the Manalapan commission approved new black aluminum railings with teak-look cladding to replace the palm-tree-pattern railings on Eau's guestroom balconies. The commission also approved a lease of the town-owned former bank at 131 S. Ocean Blvd., inside Plaza del Mar, to MPB Property LLC, the resort's owner, as a base for the renovation. The lease runs one year from Sept. 11 at $4,600 a month. Commissioners separately approved a fenced materials-storage area next to the building for the resort's contractor to use. Eau general manager Tim Nardi said the work was about to start.
The report gives no completion date, and no closures of restaurants, pools, the spa or the beach have been announced. For now, the visible sign of the renovation is a construction staging yard in the shopping center.
Plaza del Mar's Anchor Changes Hands
The plaza is going through its own change, centered on its best-known tenant. John G's began in 1973 in the casino building in Lake Worth Beach and moved to Plaza del Mar in 2011. The Giragos family sold it in 2019 to Doris and Laurent Di Meglio. Their biggest change was accepting credit cards. In May 2026 they sold the restaurant to a Canadian businessman.
The new owners are expanding the brand. General manager Napoleon Barone has described plans for at least nine John G's in South Florida within five years, with possible locations in Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Boca Raton and maybe Miami. The first location was projected for early September. A later TCPalm report pushed it back: the Port St. Lucie restaurant on U.S. 1 is now expected in November 2026.
No post-sale menu change has been reported for the Manalapan location. The dishes the Coastal Star names as best sellers are the cinnamon-nut French toast, fish and chips with a unique tartar sauce, slaw and a corn fritter, and seafood chowder on Fridays. The restaurant's website lists 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, but that page predates the sale. A quick call before going is the safer choice.
Other plaza changes are smaller and haven't happened yet. In May the town approved a Fred Astaire Dance Studio in the former dry-cleaner space. The plaza's leasing directory still lists it as coming soon, along with a 1,753-square-foot space available in the fourth quarter of 2026. Addicted Chic is listed as coming soon on the boutique roster. Art Basil Modern Italian Cuisine, Ice Cream Club and Thaikyo Asian Cuisine & Sushi Bar round out the dining directory.
Just Over the Bridge in Boynton Beach
The closest change outside town is on East Ocean Avenue. Hurricane Alley Raw Bar and Restaurant had to leave 529 E. Ocean Ave. so its building could be demolished for The Pierce, a $105 million mixed-use project. Owner Kim Kelly signed a five-year lease, with options up to 15 years, for the former Paloma Mexican Restaurant space at 510 E. Ocean Ave., on the south side of the street. She is planning minor renovations and a grand reopening around Thanksgiving. The new space will have no outside bar. Kelly plans to keep the menu, though prices may rise slightly, and the patron-donated memorabilia is moving across the street with her.
A few blocks west, The Good Day Market has moved from Boynton Beach Mall to 129 E. Ocean Ave., next to the Schoolhouse Children's Museum. It has more than 50 vendors and runs on select Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Fall Calendar, in Order
- Oct. 17: Taste of Nobu, an anniversary evening with Chef Nobu Matsuhisa at Nobu Manalapan, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., $275 per person plus tax.
- Oct. 24: Delray Beach's GreenMarket opens its 31st season at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton, on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with about 70 vendors.
- Nov. 7: Lake Worth Beach Farmers Market returns to Old Bridge Park at A1A and Lake Avenue, Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- November: John G's Port St. Lucie opening is expected, per TCPalm.
- Nov. 26: Thanksgiving at Eau, with a prix-fixe menu at Angle alongside its regular à la carte menu, and small-bites specials at Stir.
- Around Thanksgiving: Hurricane Alley's targeted reopening at 510 E. Ocean Ave.
The Boca Green Market is already open in its new home at the 5th Avenue Shops, 1954 NE Fifth Ave., Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Using the Club Route
La Coquille Club has three membership levels. Approved Manalapan property owners get most amenities either free or at the same rates resort guests pay. The town lists examples: a private club room and terrace, specialty dining, fitness facilities, pool and whirlpool, beach and tennis. People who lease a home in Manalapan may be granted access under certain conditions. The town's page is undated and still uses the resort's old name, so check current terms with the Club Manager at 561-540-4909.
Eligibility for La Coquille Club comes from owning property in Manalapan, and that is part of what a home here includes. If you're considering a purchase or sale and want to know how club access, ocean or Intracoastal frontage, and the distance to these two corners fit into the decision, The Jack Elkins Team can walk you through it. Request a private consultation.
