Residents’ Beach Clubs: Three South Florida New Developments With a Private Beach Club
What a residents’ beach club usually includes, and how three South Florida new developments describe the club on their own beach, from Bal Harbour to Pompano Beach. No rankings.
Plenty of South Florida towers face the ocean. Fewer run a beach club for their residents: a staffed setup on the sand with seating, food and drink service and equipment, so the beach works like another amenity floor. If you’re looking for a beach club condo in Miami or farther up the coast, the term deserves a close read, because buildings use it in different ways. This guide is about clubs a building runs on its own beach for its owners, not off-site memberships. It explains what a residents’ beach club usually means, then looks at three new developments whose own websites describe one: Rivage Bal Harbour, The St. Regis Resort & Residences, Bahia Mar in Fort Lauderdale and The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Pompano Beach. Prices shown are the building-level “from” figures on our new developments cards, not unit prices.
What a residents’ beach club usually includes
In general use, a residents’ beach club is a serviced beach area operated for a building’s owners and their guests. Attendants set up chaises and umbrellas, bring towels and serve food and drinks, and many clubs keep paddleboards, kayaks or other water equipment on hand. Some add a bar or restaurant at beach level, showers and storage. The idea is that you can spend a day on the sand without carrying anything down from your residence.
That’s different from three things that sometimes get the same label. A pool deck that faces the ocean is a pool amenity, however close it sits to the water. Attended beach service, where staff set up chairs for residents, can run without a club or any dedicated facilities. And a membership in an off-site club, or access to a hotel beach club shared with hotel guests, is an affiliation rather than an amenity the building runs for its residents. This guide sticks to clubs on the building’s own beach. Our private club amenities guide covers operator-led club programs and off-site memberships.
One more point about the word “private.” Under Article X, Section 11 of the Florida Constitution, beaches below the mean high-water line are held by the state “in trust for all the people.” A building’s private or dedicated beach doesn’t give residents exclusive use of the shore below that line; the term usually describes the area and services the building sets up on the sand. Ask the developer how the beach area is defined in the condominium documents.
Why the condominium documents matter
Developer websites describe beach clubs in marketing language, and their legal disclaimers usually say amenities are conceptual and subject to change. The documents settle the practical questions. One developer in this guide states in its website disclaimer that use of and access to its beach club may require fees in addition to regular assessments. That isn’t unusual for a hotel-serviced amenity, but it means the monthly association figure may not be the whole cost of using the club.
Before you sign, ask who operates the club and whether it is a common element of your condominium, part of a master association or run under a separate agreement. Ask which residences carry access, and how guests, hours, food and drink charges and chair or cabana reservations are handled. Ask, too, what happens to the club if a hotel or management agreement changes. Our HOA fees guide and due diligence checklist cover the wider document review.
1. Rivage Bal Harbour
Our new developments card: from $13.5M.
At Rivage Bal Harbour, the beach club sits at the ocean edge of the amenity plan. According to the developer’s website, residents have access to a private shoreline and a private beach club that “includes food and beverage service and a wide selection of water sports equipment,” and the site’s amenities summary lists a “fully serviced resort-style beach club with a suite of water toys.” On the developer’s amenities plan, a dedicated beach and beachfront dining sit beside the Sunrise Pool, which the developer says offers a seamless connection to the ocean. Our project page describes the club as fully serviced and residents-only. The 56 residences are at 10245 Collins Avenue in Bal Harbour.
With 56 residences sharing one club, the service model is the thing to understand. Ask how the beach club is staffed through the year, whether residents reserve chairs or cabanas, how guests are handled and whether water equipment is part of the service or charged separately. Our Inside Rivage Bal Harbour guide covers the residences and the design team.
Suits buyers who want a staffed beach and oceanfront dining as part of a small beachfront building in Bal Harbour.
2. The St. Regis Resort & Residences, Bahia Mar
Our new developments card: from $3M.
At The St. Regis Resort & Residences, Bahia Mar in Fort Lauderdale, the beach club carries the hotel brand. Our project page lists an exclusive, full-service St. Regis Beach Club and delivery in 2030. According to the developer’s website, owners reach the club across a private footbridge from Bahia Mar to the beach, and its service includes food and beverage, towels, umbrellas and water toys. The developer lists the beach club among the amenities for The Private Residences and says the Resort Collection residences have full access to it. Its website disclaimer adds that use and access may require fees in addition to regular assessments.
The development also plans a separate residents’ club that is easy to confuse with the beach club. According to the developer’s website, The Bahia Mar Club is a one-acre private club “set along the waterfront” and reserved exclusively for owners of The Private Residences, with amenities for sport, wellness, dining and gathering. It is a waterfront wellness and racquet club, not a beach club, and the developer presents the St. Regis Beach Club on the Atlantic as a separate amenity. Our report on The Bahia Mar Club covers the racquet courts, lap pool and clubhouse planned there, and our Inside the St. Regis Bahia Mar guide covers residence types and the marina.
Suits buyers who want a St. Regis-serviced beach day and a marina setting in one Fort Lauderdale community, and who will confirm any beach club fees up front.
3. The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Pompano Beach
Our new developments card: pricing on request.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Pompano Beach runs from the Atlantic to the Intracoastal Waterway, with a 32-story Beach Tower on 250 linear feet of oceanfront and a 14-story Marina Tower on the Intracoastal, per our project page. Residents in both towers share a private Beach Club, staffed and serviced by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and our page lists a beach restaurant, bar and grill and private cabanas there. According to the developer’s website, owners can “eat, drink, and relax” at the Beach Club, which has a bar and grill with indoor and outdoor seating, an open lounge area on the beach with Lissoni-designed chaise lounges, private beach cabanas and health and wellness programming. The developer’s beach-level amenity list adds beach storage, food and beverage service and water sports. Interiors and the landscape concept are by Piero Lissoni.
Cabanas are the detail to check here. The developer’s resort-deck list includes private cabanas “available for sale” alongside poolside cabanas available for day use. Ask which cabanas are offered at the beach and which at the pool, how purchased and day-use cabanas differ, and what each costs. Because the Marina Tower sits across the property on the Intracoastal, also ask how its residents reach the Beach Club. Our project card lists the development as near completion, with estimated delivery in Q4 2026. For the wider market, see our Pompano Beach new developments guide.
Suits buyers who want a Ritz-Carlton-serviced Beach Club and a yacht club on the Intracoastal in the same owners-only community.
Questions to ask about any residents’ beach club
- Who operates it? The association, a hotel operator under a management agreement or a third party.
- How is it owned? A common element of your condominium, part of a master association, or a separate club with its own fees.
- Who has access? Which residences carry it, and whether access passes with a resale.
- What’s included? Chairs, umbrellas, towels and water equipment, or charges per use.
- What about guests? How many you can bring, and whether guest fees apply.
- When does it run? Hours, seasons and storm-closure procedures.
- How do cabanas work? Whether they’re sold, leased or reserved by the day.
Ask for the club pages of the condominium documents for the residence you’re considering, not just the brochure.
Comparing the three
Rivage Bal Harbour’s developer describes a fully serviced beach club with food and beverage service and water toys on its Bal Harbour beachfront, beside beachfront dining. At St. Regis Bahia Mar, the developer describes the St. Regis Beach Club across a private footbridge, with towels, umbrellas, food service and water toys, and its disclaimer says fees may apply; The Bahia Mar Club is a separate waterfront residents’ club. The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Pompano Beach pairs a Beach Club with a bar and grill and cabanas with a yacht club on the Intracoastal, shared by both towers. In each case, the condominium documents, not the brochure, set access, operation and cost. For more on choosing a waterfront exposure, see our oceanfront, bayfront and Intracoastal guide, and for the full carrying-cost picture, our guide to what a $5M new-development condo costs per year. You can browse every tracked project on our new developments page.
FAQ: Residents’ beach clubs at South Florida new developments
What is a residents’ beach club at a condo?
A residents’ beach club is a staffed beach area run for a building’s owners and their guests. It usually includes chaises, umbrellas, towels and food and drink service, and often water equipment. It differs from an ocean-facing pool deck, simple chair service or an off-site club membership. Check the condominium documents for what your building provides.
Which developments in this guide have a residents’ beach club?
Rivage Bal Harbour’s developer describes a fully serviced beach club with food and beverage service and water toys. The St. Regis Resort & Residences, Bahia Mar lists the full-service St. Regis Beach Club, separate from its waterfront Bahia Mar Club. The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Pompano Beach has a private Beach Club with a bar and grill and cabanas.
Do residents pay extra to use a condo beach club?
Sometimes. One developer in this guide states that beach club use and access may require fees in addition to regular assessments, and branded buildings often charge separately for some hotel-style services. Ask whether chairs, cabanas, food, water equipment and guest passes are included, and request the budget and club documents before signing.
Is the beach in front of a Florida condo private?
Not entirely. Under the Florida Constitution, beaches below the mean high-water line are held by the state in trust for all the people. A building’s “private” or “dedicated” beach doesn’t give residents exclusive use of the shore below that line. Ask the developer how the beach area is defined in the condominium documents.