Reserve Club Seaplane Miami

Venture past the welcoming, personable (and let’s be honest, good looking) front desk staff with time to spare on your visit, and boy, is there merch. The pro shop, though small, houses just what you’d want, and expect, from a Reserve Padel visit: a concoction of elegant, classic, preppy tracksuit zip-up tops, polo shirt whites, stylish and subtle padel accessories, and that all-important baseball cap in class whites and greens that wouldn’t look out of place at a Queen’s Club or Hurlingham Club 4,425 miles to the east, and wouldn’t look out of place, frankly, in a Rolex-sponsored golf photo shoot at Augusta (were such a photo shoot ever allowed at Augusta). 

Aside from the four courts hugging the (let’s call it) clubhouse, there’s the two waterfront courts. Given their views of the picture-postcard Miami skyline, these two courts surely can’t ever be vacant because if you are fortunate enough to grace this club, it’s one of these two courts that you want to be playing on (for the record, we didn’t, we played on one of “the other four” during our visit, which in itself was still an unforgettable, premium experience). Glance to the left of these two courts and you have the private Reserve helipad and seaplane landing pad. To the right, the sea-container-style bathrooms which, though small, still manage to capture the attention to detail befitting a Reserve Club, with luxury hand lotions, shower gels and power showers available for members and guests. Do a 180 from these two courts, and you have the outdoor under-cover viewing area, lounge, and patio-style dining.

Make no mistake, Reserve Seaplane has an atmosphere, and a distinct one at that. The foreground sounds of social, yet competitive padel befitting its A-list membership, symbolises a sport who’s time has come. On our visit, the club had the hum of a sport whose players are more than a little pumped about. A sport that feels fresh, that is keeping its players guessing, learning and evolving – easy to pick up, hard to master, indeed. These on-court sounds are occasionally interrupted by the sounds overhead of a helicopter passing en route to Miami (or, occasionally, landing at Reserve itself); a jolting reminder, should you forget, that this is a club for the few, not the many. This combination of on-court and off-court really is the soundtrack to Reserve Seaplane. A serene, tranquil country club oasis that has echoes of the British country club of old - think Hurlingham, think Queen’s Club, think the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, for those familiar with the London rackets clubs of old - and a tranquility so at odds with the dazzling, bright Downtown Miami lights (and, yes, Miami vices) so ubiquitous on the opposite side of the water. In fact, it’s this at-odds-ness that makes Reserve Seaplane the unique beast that it is. 

Now, talking of Augusta, and without wishing to default to lazy comparisons, Reserve Seaplane (as perhaps do all the Reserve Clubs) does feel a little Augusta-like. In fact, a lot Augusta-like. And perhaps that’s the point. Because, for every urban Brooklyn warehouse style club, a la Padel Haus, and for every mass market offering, a la Taktika Padel, long may there be a Reserve Padel. Because in Reserve Seaplane, padel has its golfing ally – a club replete with the green turf, calm tranquility, well-stocked bar and respectable etiquette we’ve come to expect of the traditional golf club over the decades. And best of all? This club does the golf club vibes well, oh so well, without the stuffiness and stigma still held by its more traditional sporting cousin.

Did someone say padel is the new golf? In the Reserve Seaplane brand of padel, it might have proven to be just that. 

All the good parts of golf, that is. 

As you might expect of a Reserve Club, the menu on offer at the pop-up Après Lounge is one we’ve come to expect from a club of such distinction. Though we might never know the favoured drink of Lando Norris when he plays padel here, or the preferred poison of Zac Efron when he steps on court, what we do know is that Reserve Seaplane has a more than suitably-stocked bar menu. Alongside the free-flowing LVMH Moët Hennessy, the club’s signature cocktail is Miami’s favourite; the Mojito.

Après Lounge is the simple, ideal, offering befitting the less-is-more Reserve experience.

Miami’s favourite; a large Mojito

Reserve Seaplane would be nothing without the staff to match the other touchpoints of its well-crafted brand. And here, in the carefully-chosen team of staff, the club doesn’t disappoint.

From the moment you arrive and are greeted by the attractive front desk Reserve-ers, to the moment you step on court with Director, Jordan Brail, the member or guest here is well looked after. Smiles on faces are baked into the experience, a helpful and proactive team of staff (though not, importantly, in your face) are on hand to do everything from offering you the complimentary Wilson overgrips (much-needed given the humid conditions, and therefore, slippery padel-playing hands) and Liquid IV electrolyte thirst-quenching sports drinks. 

Talking of salt, as is the sign of any country club worth its salt, the staff know when to provide you with a towel within minutes of stepping off court - and let’s just say the Egyptian cotton thread count is more at the 800 end of the scale than 200 - and where to point you for an ice cold lager. The team at Reserve Seaplane do all this, with a welcoming no-try-hard aura.

There are six world class courts. Two have fabulous waterfront views of the the city, the seaplanes and the Ocean liners.

If you’re not yet fully immersed enough in the Miami padel scene to have your three fellow go-to on-court companions to call upon, then what else does the club offer its players? Plenty, is the answer. 

Private lessons with head coach Juan Martin Diaz and round robin competitions are complemented by an extensive choice of member programming from Monday to Thursday for every level from beginner, to intermediate, to advanced. The offering is extensive.

Be prepared to have movie stars, athletes and other celebs playing on the neighbouring court.

Don’t let it put you off your game.

British Racing Green Baseball Cap