As far as appearances go, my summer stay at LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort in Naples, Florida, was nothing out of the ordinary for a vacation along the Gulf of Mexico. That is to say, it was dazzling.
With a few minutes left until check-in on the first day of my reservation, I turned onto the street leading to the hotel and immediately spotted the 15-story Gulf Tower, the tallest of the hotel’s two beachfront buildings, soaring into the sky.