Polpo restaurant at Eau Palm Beach Resort — bi-fold glass wall open to the Atlantic Ocean
Manalapan · Florida · Owner-Led Design-Build
★★★★★ Forbes Travel Guide · Five-Star Resort

Eau Palm Beach.

An owner-led, multi-phase design-build renovation of one of the Atlantic coast's most decorated resorts — seven signature areas, executed inside an occupied Forbes Five-Star property.

Location
Manalapan, Florida
100 S Ocean Blvd
Delivery
Owner-Led Design-Build
Direct with Ownership
Rating
Forbes Five-Star
Preferred Legend Collection
Scope
Seven-Phase Glazing Renovation
Glazing Contractor
American Commercial Glass
The Resort

Seven private acres
on the Atlantic.

Eau Palm Beach is one of South Florida's most iconic oceanfront properties — seven private acres of Atlantic beachfront in Manalapan, formerly the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach. It rebranded in 2013 and has held a Forbes Five-Star rating for more than a decade, one of the rarest distinctions in American hospitality.

The resort encompasses 309 guestrooms and suites, a 42,000-square-foot spa, multiple dining outlets including the signature Polpo restaurant, and a member place in Preferred Hotels & Resorts' Legend Collection — reserved for the highest echelon of independent luxury. The guest who stays at Eau notices thread count. They notice lighting. They notice glass.

This is the context in which ACG worked.

7acres
Private Beachfront
Direct Atlantic Ocean exposure
309
Guestrooms & Suites
Including oceanfront villas
42K SF
Eau Spa
Among Florida's largest resort spas
7
Glazing Phases
Executed by ACG, owner-direct
10+ yrs
Forbes Five-Star
Re-evaluated annually since 2013
0
GC Layer
Direct with ownership & resort mgmt
Eau Palm Beach Resort aerial — seven private acres on the Atlantic Ocean, Manalapan FL
The Assignment

A design-build
by ownership.

Eau's renovation wasn't delivered through a general contractor. Ownership and resort management ran the project themselves — a design-build program that put ACG in the room with the principals who cared about the outcome most, working straight to their standard, on their timing, without a layer in between.

Seven signature areas. Seven scopes. Each with its own design intent, its own timeline, and its own standard of execution. The phases ranged from statement pieces visible from the beach to the precise details that only professionals notice. All of it had to be built inside an occupied, operating Five-Star resort — around dinner service at Polpo, around spa appointments, around guests checking in.

The photo of Connor Walsh at the resort's new front doors, with the Eau monogram mat at his feet, captures the arrangement. Not a sub-sub. A trusted partner, owner-direct, on seven private acres of the Atlantic.

The Program

Seven areas,
one standard.

From the first impression at the front door to the rear facade no guest is supposed to notice — the same material specification, the same alignment tolerance, the same installer.

Custom decorative glass entrance doors at Eau Palm Beach Resort
No. 01
Signature · First Impression

The new front door.

A custom decorative glass entrance set — the resort's first impression from S Ocean Blvd. Curved, interlocking pattern in white framing, executed to the detail level the address demands. The glass a guest touches before they touch anything else on the property.

Decorative Glass Custom Framing Entrance
No. 02
Centerpiece · Oceanfront

Polpo — the
ocean wall.

The centerpiece of the renovation. A bi-fold opening glass wall for Polpo restaurant that collapses the boundary between the dining room and the ocean terrace. When it opens, guests dine with the Atlantic uninterrupted — palm trees, sea breeze, and the full oceanfront panorama. A Euro-Wall system carrying the engineering load of a hurricane coast and the aesthetic of Five-Star hospitality.

Euro-Wall Bi-Fold Oceanfront Impact-Rated
Polpo restaurant bi-fold glass wall open to the Atlantic Ocean
Arched window framing at Polpo during construction Custom arched glass windows at Polpo with ocean view
No. 03
Interior · Fine Dining

Polpo interior.

Arched glass windows throughout the fine dining room — custom curved glass in arched frames. Chandeliers visible through the glass, crisp white linens below, the Atlantic beyond. A dining room designed around what the glass frames and reveals.

Arched Windows Custom Curved Glass Interior Glazing
No. 04
Amenity · Family

Kids Club &
ice cream shop.

Floor-to-ceiling glazing for the resort's children's activity center and ice cream shop. Natural light and ocean views built into what could have been an interior space. The same standard of glass, applied to every corner of the property — because at Eau, there is no second-tier standard.

Floor-to-Ceiling Natural Light Family Amenity
Kids Club at Eau Palm Beach — floor-to-ceiling glass with ocean views
Spa — 42,000 SF
Among Florida's largest resort spas
No. 05
Expansion · Wellness

Spa additions.

New glazing for the expansion of the resort's 42,000-square-foot Eau Spa — one of the largest resort spas in Florida. Glass for the new addition areas, maintaining the spa's connection to natural light and the Palm Beach landscape that makes a treatment there a treatment worth booking.

Spa Expansion Storefront Wellness Glazing
No. 06
Facade · Back-of-House

Rear facade
entrances.

Updated glazing for the rear entry points of the resort — the back-of-house entrances that staff, service vehicles, and some guests use. Held to the same standard as the front, because at a Forbes Five-Star property, there is no "back-of-house" standard. Every surface is reviewed. Every surface is seen.

Rear Entries Storefront Impact-Rated
Eau Palm Beach rear entrance at dusk with updated glazing and blue accent lighting
Operating Around Guests
Through every phase — no service interruptions
No. 07
Execution · Discipline

The seventh
phase is how.

The work was sequenced around dinner service, around spa appointments, around guests checking in. Cranes arrived before arrivals. Punch lists closed before turndown. The seventh phase isn't a scope you can point at — it's the discipline that made the other six possible without the resort ever losing a reservation or a star.

Live-Resort Install Owner-Direct Zero Service Impact
~
The Standard

What Five-Star means
for glass.

A Forbes Five-Star rating isn't awarded — it's earned, and it's re-evaluated every year. The criteria cover hundreds of touch points: the response time on a guest request, the temperature of the towels, the condition of every surface in every space.

Glass is everywhere in a resort. It's the lobby entry. It's the restaurant wall. It's the spa window. It's the view from the guestroom. At this standard, glazing isn't infrastructure — it's design. Every frame aligned. Every seal invisible. Every pane crystal clear, without distortion or imperfection.

Guests at this level notice glass the way they notice thread count. They can't always name what they're seeing, but they feel it when it's right — and they definitely notice when it isn't.

The Installer's Discipline

What holds a five-star rating.

01Frame alignment within tolerance
02Invisible sealant joints
03Distortion-free monolithic lites
04Impact-rated assemblies throughout
05Custom-radius arched framing
06Crane work before guest hours
07Daily punch closure around service
08Glass decorative-pattern registration
09Site-protected interiors at all times
10Zero service interruptions logged

At a Forbes Five-Star property, the glazing standard isn't "meets code." Every frame has to be aligned. Every seal invisible. Every pane crystal clear.

— Connor Walsh · President, American Commercial Glass
A Personal Project

The photo of Connor at the door.

Eau Palm Beach was one of ACG's earliest projects. Connor Walsh built the relationship directly with ownership and resort management — before ACG had a portfolio of hospitality projects to show.

It was the project that proved something: that a lean, owner-operated glazing company could deliver at the highest level of hospitality construction in Palm Beach County. Direct with the people who cared about the outcome most. Held to the standard that evaluated the entire resort every year.

The photo of Connor standing at the new front doors — Eau monogram at his feet, custom entrance he helped design and install behind him — represents that. Not just a completed scope. A relationship, a standard set, and a standard met.

For ACG, this project is the reference. When a luxury hotel or resort developer asks what we've done at this level, the answer is standing on the Atlantic coast in Manalapan — Forbes Five-Star, and seven signature areas of custom glazing that have held up to the daily scrutiny of the most demanding guests in the country.

Field Notes

Eau Palm Beach,
answered.

Where is Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa?

Eau Palm Beach is located at 100 S Ocean Blvd, Manalapan, Florida 33462 — seven private acres of Atlantic Ocean beachfront in Palm Beach County. The resort is approximately 15 minutes south of Palm Beach International Airport and minutes from the Town of Palm Beach.

What was ACG's scope on the renovation?

ACG executed a seven-phase glazing renovation across the resort: the new custom front entrance doors, Polpo restaurant's bi-fold ocean wall, Polpo's arched interior windows, the Kids Club and ice cream shop floor-to-ceiling glazing, the Eau Spa additions, the updated rear facade entrances, and the overall sequencing discipline that kept the resort operating through every phase.

Was there a general contractor on the project?

No. The renovation was delivered as an owner-led design-build. ACG worked directly with resort ownership and management — no GC layer — on each of the seven phases.

What glazing systems were used?

The Polpo bi-fold ocean wall is a Euro-Wall system. Other phases use impact-rated storefront and curtainwall with custom framing to accommodate the resort's arched openings and decorative-glass entrance doors.

How did ACG work inside an operating Five-Star resort?

The work was sequenced around resort operations — around Polpo's dinner service, around Eau Spa appointments, around guest arrivals. Cranes and heavy work were scheduled before guest hours; daily punch-list closure happened before turndown. The resort never lost a reservation or a star during any phase of the renovation.

Is Eau Palm Beach still Forbes Five-Star?

Yes. Eau Palm Beach has held a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating for more than a decade and is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts' Legend Collection, reserved for the highest echelon of independent luxury properties.

Can ACG take on similar luxury resort glazing work?

Yes. Eau Palm Beach is ACG's reference project for Forbes Five-Star hospitality glazing. We've since delivered for additional luxury hotels, oceanfront clubs, and private communities across Florida. If you're an owner, operator, or design-build partner at a property of this caliber, send us the plans and we'll quote within 48 hours.

Luxury Hospitality Glazing

A Five-Star property
is a five-star install.

If you're an owner, operator, or design-build partner renovating a luxury resort, hotel, or private club — get in touch. ACG will quote your scope within 48 hours and bring the same owner-direct standard we ran at Eau.

Client
Eau Palm Beach
Rating
Forbes Five-Star
Collection
Preferred — Legend
Delivery
Owner-Led Design-Build