Six of you by the sea

01Who sleeps where

The king suite takes the corner with the walk-in closet and the bathroom with the tub. The queen suite has its own bathroom with the rain shower and the desk. The sofa bed in the living room sleeps two more, with the half bath off the hall and the balcony outside the glass. Six is the listing's maximum, and it is the right number: everyone has a bathroom in the morning, and nobody is sleeping in a hallway.

Decide the sofa bed before you arrive. In a group of friends it is usually the two who wake earliest and want the balcony first, which is not a bad trade.

02The limits

The building is a resort with full-time residents, and the house rules are written for that. No parties or events. Quiet hours from 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM. No more than six people in the residence at any time, visitors included. No smoking, inside or on the balcony. A Ring doorbell covers the front door, and the building has cameras in its shared spaces.

None of that gets in the way of a good week. Dinner for six at the table for eight is what the table is for. Drinks on the balcony until eleven, then the conversation moves inside. The loud nights happen across the bridge in West Palm Beach, where they belong, and the residence is where you recover from them.

03Days on the water

The pool deck is the group's living room during the day: the residents' heated pool and whirlpool, the oceanfront pools, and the beach with attendants who set up chairs and bring food and drinks. From there the island offers as much as the group has energy for.

• A boat day. Take the water taxi to Peanut Island for the lagoon, or charter a boat from the marinas for the afternoon; the boating and fishing guide covers both.
• The reef. Snorkel under the Blue Heron Bridge at slack high tide, ten minutes away.
• The state park. Kayaks in the estuary and a wild beach at MacArthur Beach.
• Golf for the ones who play; the golf page plans the morning and the courses within half an hour.

04Nights in and out

The kitchen is a Miele suite around an island that seats four, with a wine fridge and a table for eight beside the glass. Stock it from the groceries guide and one night in becomes the best dinner of the week: the ocean at eye level, the balcony doors open, nobody driving.

For the nights out, West Palm Beach is twenty minutes: Clematis Street and the waterfront for the late ones, Rosemary Square for dinner, and Palm Beach itself for the dressed-up table. The Palm Beach dining and waterfront seafood guides have the lists, and guests have found Uber and Lyft easy so nobody has to stay sober for the drive.

05The spa as a group

The hydrothermal circuit below the residence is a good group afternoon: hot pools, cold plunges, the salt room and the sauna, taken at your own pace over ninety minutes or two hours. Residence guests book with the resort at preferred rates. Book the circuit for the whole group at once the week you confirm the residence, and add massages for the ones who want them; the spa guide explains the menu.

The fitness centre, with its Technogym floor and spin studio, is part of the residents' amenities. For a larger gathering than the residence's six-guest limit and quiet hours allow, the pool deck and the resort's restaurants are the places for it; ask the resort about the building's shared spaces.

06A sample long weekend

1. Friday. Check in from 4:00 PM, the pool deck until sunset, dinner in with the doors open.
2. Saturday. Peanut Island by water taxi in the morning, the beach in the afternoon, dinner in West Palm Beach.
3. Sunday. The hydrothermal circuit as a group, the balcony, dinner at the table for eight.
4. Monday. An early swim, checkout by 10:00 AM.

For a full week, the itineraries page adds Palm Beach, the state park and a day at sea.