Boca Raton (Deerfield Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Palmetto: real estate, good hotel, house)

[MrTudo]

What do you now about Boca Raton, West Boca, etc and would you care to share your opinions of this place?

From the cost of real estate in comparison with elsewhere, the landscaping thruout Boca, ( or seems to be ), the schools, the nighlife, job scene, restarants, gourmet food markets, even an Asian market ( is it still on Federal Hwy ? ), synagogues, churches. The beach. I lived in West Boca for several years and never once went to a beach in Boca Raton. Is there a public beach in Boca? Is it nice? Can anyone post a picture? How about pics of Boca Raton in general?

Who makes the best fallafel in Boca or is there a place within 15-30 minutes that's worth traveling to? Is the Meating Place still off Yamato and do they still have great quality? Someone told me that Kings is gone but that "Josephs" is even better. What say you?

I know it's not Nirvana but it's pretty dang nice to me and I'm looking forward as is my Wife to buying what just may become the "last stand" house, meaning the one we retire in one day and we've told one realtor that we're interested in Boca Raton-Delray. "Maybe" Palm Beach Gardens but we prefer the 2 I mentioned.

Almost everything goes here, the good, the bad. Don't hold anything back Have some tips? Suggestions? Favorite places in Boca or the area? Cmon let us know, anything at all about Boca Raton. What say you?

[Swimmom32]

Being from Brooklyn NY we must say we have some great restaurants here in Boca...Our Favorite Sushi Place is Blue Fin on Yamato and Congress...There is a Costco on Congress and Clintmoore great place...Our Favorite Italian Place is in Central Boca Sal's in the Garden Shops as they redid and expanded this Magnificent Publix which is my favorite to shop in..anyway Sal's is on Palmetto and Powerline in the Garden Shops Plaza...Our Favorite Chinese Restaurant is in West Boca we normally dont shop go to West Boca Much however we love this place...Lucky Palace on Glades Rd in the Target Shopping Center..Our Favorite Mexican Place after trying 3 others in the area is La Bamba is in margate off of Sample Road and 441 Close to West Boca...and although some people will disagree with that suggestion but its still our Favorite we were there last night and it was certainly the best we have had in a while..they have one in Delray but its Just Ok.. We love Steak N Shake for Burgers and Shakes...We tried Boardwalk Burgers and it was pretty awful..there is also Five Guys they are good too we prefer Steak N Shake...We live 10 minutes from the Beach but never go..There are ALOT Of Spinner Sharks right now in the Water like Hundreds and Hundreds..We live in Central Boca We have moved from our last location but still in the Area and we love it...Our Son attends Spanish River and Our Daughter is currently at Calusa however Id recommend Del Prado..Our Son Attended West Boca HS when we 1st moved here in June of 09 he was on the swim team however Acedemically he wasn't challenged enough like he is in Spanish River...He has made some great friends here at River and is also on their swim team, where as in West Boca well they werent very Welcoming...After our trip up to Loggers Run Middle and Eagles which out of the 2 Eagles seemed to better than Loggers, we decided taking a trip to Omni Middle and after our discussions with them and some of the kids we know and the parents we decided to move to Central Boca after 7 months in West Boca...It was the Best Decision we made..Our daughter is a social butterfly and is very popular and couldnt make friends in Water Edge where here she has such nice ones....Remember What is good for our children might not be for someone's Else's however We had experience with those schools and that would be our Opinion.... Our son has 3 kids in his class from West Boca HS who transferred into River in January of this year and they love it...Falafal believe it or not there is this place in the MALL Boca town Center has the BEST FALLAFAL around so my husband tells me.. We dont go to Temple so I cant Speak of them although we are Jewish...We prefer Central Boca over West Boca for alot of different reasons we also really like our Surroundings...West Boca for Real Estate Purposes is a little cheaper and you will certainly get a bigger place for less then you will in Central or East Boca....Central Boca has more Gated Communities although there are quiet a few really nice ones that are not gated like Colonnade and Millpond Just off the top of my head...Good Luck with where ever you decide..feel free to DM me if you have any questions..

[alemap]

Swimmom-did the kids that transfered into Spanish River move to Central Boca, or were they able to "switch" schools? We are not ready for HS yet, but may affect our decision of west vs central. I have heard nice things about homes, prices, communities, etc. west, and thought we were sold, but am hearing better things about schools central. Hard to decide without seeing both yet, but you seem to have such a high opinion of central, especially after experiencing both.

[Swimmom32]

No we had to move into the Spanish River School zone which was fine by us..We got lucky that we were able to move in the 1/2 of the Year which was January of 2010 to Spanish River and We too were "sold" on West Boca which was why we moved there when we 1st came down here however after living here for 7 months and becoming friends with people who lived Central and my daughter and Son Swimming with Kids who attended the Middle School here OMNI and the Spanish River HS we knew that was where we wanted to be..and im sure you've heard good things about Del Prado Elem as it seems to be the Best Elem school in Boca..

[Swimmom32]

We do have a high opinion of the Central after living in West Boca and having friends there too again its just our opinion but we took the advice of others when we were looking in Central and glad we did...

[City Guy997S]

Central or West Boca is "land of the wannabe rich." Boca Raton High School was rated as one of the best high schools in America last year. East Boca costs more, but it is worth it.

Nobody wants to admit it, but west Boca is not in the City of Boca Raton, but rather unincorporated Palm Beach County meaning all the City's parks/amenities are not open to you without paying a higher fee. Police protection/Fire Rescue is provided by Palm Beach Sheriff's/County F/R not City of Boca PD/FD. Quality of life is not the same on 441 no matter how hard they try out there!

[Swimmom32]

Yeah spanish River is in CITY OF BOCA...West Boca is NOT in city limits that is correct and do not get serviced by The Boca Raton Police Dept only the Palm Beach County Sherriff's and Boca high and Spanish river are neck in neck if you look at their scores and Accountability...East Boca is also Not much more than we are unless your looking High End...

[MrTudo]

For the 2nd time in a month my Wife and I stayed at the Hilton Suites hotel located on Glades road across from the turnpike exit/entrance. We booked what they call a "pure room" which has an air filtration machine among other things.

Bed bugs have become a major problem across the USA as reported in NYC and elsewhere. The 1st time we stayed at this Hilton a few weeks ago, both my Wife and I agreed there was something to this as we both had the itchies and felt like we had been bitten by some type of insect in the night. I mentioned it to the check in person who sounded german and she more or less poo pooed me ( vee don't have bed bugs, period ) Not the best way to respond to a customer, especially a returning customer who was looking right at her. Did she insinuate we were lying? Who knows, but I know that if she worked for me she would have had a meeting in my office by now.

The hotel in general is a nice hotel. I have logged a few hundred thousand miles traveling in Asia ( Hong Kong, Taiwan, a LOT in South Vietnam, Bangkok Thailand, Koh Samui Thailand, Penang Malaysia, to a lesser extent China, S Korea , maybe a half dozen+ places in the caribean, Colombia, many many many times in NYC, a few times in California so I'm not a stranger to hotel rooms and not a stranger to primarily starred hotels ranging from 3 star to Four Seasons hotels.

The hotel is I think geared mostly to the business traveler because of it's location, however we had a nice enough stay the first time with the exception of what we think were FLEAS ( they apparently allow pets as the people next door to our room had a poodle which barked a few times that night. It's also right off the turnpike which is the road we came in from so it was convenient for us. We did not have the issues with the "Pure Room" so maybe it was fleas or something temporary and not bed bugs. Still, the front desk Woman's reply was arrogant and not professional.

That was however the ONLY member of the hotel staff that I found that way. EVERY other person I had some contact or communication with was highly professional, friendly and helpful. One night when we just returned from driving down to Ft Lauderdale for a burger ( If you enjoy good hamburgers and haven't had one you MUST check out Jacks Old Fashioned burgers on federal highway, just south of Commersh. Terrific burgers and while somewhat smaller than a Flanigans burger, these are a really good old fashioned cheeseburger and they also have very good fries and birch beer soda! (Anyway, sometimes while reminicing about good food I go off on tangents, please forgive me ) We went past the house we are interested in buying and while driving slow slow slow, we heard a clicking sound coming from the right front tire of our Jeep. Got back to the hotel and I got out with flashlight in hand and found a screw right into the tread of the tire. Went into the lobby, announced our problem to the front desk people and they immediately called Triple A for us. Less than 20 MINUTES on a friday night in West Boca someone from a local towing company ( Chris was the operators name ) was right there and proceeded to repair the tire! The cost was infinitesimal especially considering how it could have turned out and you can say that between the quickness and professionalism of both the hotel front desk staff as well as the local towing operator for triple A and triple a itself, it turned out to be a positive experience. Thank you!

The suite itself consists of 2 rooms. The bedroom is nicely furnished and includes a pretty comfortable bed and good pillows. I have major problems with my neck and lower back so sleeping in hotels can be a real pain for me, no pun intended. Not so at this Hilton. 2 flat screen televisions with one in the bedroom and the other in a sitting room/living room. Granite counters in the bathroom and the water pressure in the shower was pretty good. Most hotels don't get a pretty good from me by the way. They get a good or worse so this is a positive report. Good square footage overall. Wish we could have had the nicer view of the manmade lake and water spout. Maybe next time?

Parking is fine although they are all labeled City Fish Market for the restarant on location. It won't be the best of scores. Not the worst either but, well you'll read it soon. We ate there twice. The 1st time went pretty well although they didn't give me the Grouper which I ordered. It looked like they gave me swordfish instead. I was too hungry so say anything plus the Natucket Scallops WERE ABSOLUTELY OUT OF THIS WORLD! Little buttery melt in your mouth tender and I'm not a scallop person but the waiter suggested them and boy oh boy that is the reason we went back to eat for a 2nd time. The 2nd time was a disaster. The waiter was as bad as the food . He was essentially "there's the menu, anything in the specials that are checked are available and that was it. Not helpful at all and had an attitude as though he maybe deep down in side didn't want to be there ) The food was terrible. I ordered clams casino for an appetizer and they were like rubber. I also ordered a whole lobster and unfortunately it too was so overcooked the tails were tough and rubbery, could have used one of those old Ginsu knives to cut it but then when I got to a claw that was actually hard on the inside, and my Wife who never complains ( Not 99% of the time ) started telling me how poor the food was, that was it. I went searching for the manager. Turned out the manager was not there and a Lady was managing the main hostess desk came over, apologized, asked us if we would like to start over. I told her we were tired from a long day and that I'm sorry to complain, I'm not trying to give anyone a hard time but that the meal as as bad if not worse than the waiter and we would just go. I was prepared to pay but she asked me if I wanted coffee at least, then got me a double expresso ( Roger Wilko! ) We found out after I had my coffee that the entire meal was written off. I will give them another shot, a 3rd shot because of the Nantucket Scallops ( they didn't have them anymore this trip ) and the professionalism and helpfulness of this Lady Manager, I wish I could tell you her name. Again, I'll be more observant next time.

The breakfast I'm sorry to say leaves much to be desired and I'd rate as poor. Coffee, bitter and just poor. Fake scrambled eggs. Cold eggs which were supposed to be cooked over medium. Uncooked veggies in whatever that thing was they called an omelet the last time. We brought our own coffee so we were saved on that part of it. But the food really needs to be dealt with.

All in all a good trip and starting to get exciting as we may be engaged in the offer process within hours or certainly days. ( waiting on various estimates as mentioned before proceeding although we'll have a talk with the realtor tomorrow and ask if it's more prudent to wait while obtaining this info or make an offer with the possibilities of adding this stuff into the contract somewhere)

It's a good hotel despite the few negatives ( seems to be something mostly in the US quite frankly but that's another discussion), if coming to Boca and want a location like that, it's well worth the stay ( It was roughly $200 night as Florida travelers, $152 for the 2nd night. They had us facing the parking lot which wasn't nice as we would have preferred the other side but maybe next time they'll face us in the direction we prefer and we WILL be back *)

I hope this is helpful to those readers who are considering a trip to Boca Raton and are not looking to stay at Boca Beach Club


* we might try an embassy suites on the beach in deerfield. They claim to have 2 bathrooms in each suite?? Does anyone have experience with this hotel?

[Swimmom32]

We stayed at the Embassy Suites in boca on Yamato quiet a few times when we were looking we were very happy and the rooms were great...

[DaniellaG]

I would stay at the Boca Raton Marriot or Hampton Inn. There is also a Marriot Residence Inn I have heard a couple people stay at when there homes have been remodeled. I always ask for a top floor and away from the road. That is especially true if near a turnpike. That noise can travel. I am not familiar with Deerfield Beach hotels. I like trip advisor for reviews though a couple I have stayed at were way off base.