Ultimate OC: Maryland’s Party City goes upscale     Thoughts of Ocean City usually lead to images of saltwater taffy, sandy flip-flops, kids playing on hot sand, and fruity drinks served at sunset. Rarely would one think of red snapper served on a green-tea coconut rice cake, turndown service in the hotel, and a candlelit aromatherapy massage. But there’s a new tide moving into town that’s bringing a wave of sophistication to the land of honkytonk summer fun. And it may just change the way you think about your next Ocean City vacation. Luxury’s Leading Edge     At the apex of this wave of change is John Fager, a Baltimore native who moved to Ocean City in 1975 and has been setting the bar for entrepreneurship in the area ever since. On a series of islands overlooking the bay, Fager has slowly grown his entertainment empire. The center of this domain is Fager’s Island. While the casual bar-and-grill side is a popular hangout, the restaurant is more subdued and still serves the seafood and prime rib that built the restaurant’s reputation as one of the first fine-dining establishments in OC.     Fager’s most recent addition is his boutique hotel, the Edge. While it may be just blocks from the pastel-painted motels and high-rise hotels, it feels a world away. “I named it the Edge because it would be on the cutting edge of boutique hotels,” he explains.     Fager states that his goal at the Edge is to create something unique, special, and first-class. Every room has a fireplace and a bay view, a walk-in shower complete with scented soaps, a double Jacuzzi overlooking the bay, and beds made plump by feather mattresses and down duvets wrapped in Italian linens. Every night brings turndown service: The bed is prepared with Godiva chocolates, the lights are dimmed, candles are lit, and a Continental breakfast is left in the refrigerator for the next morning. Every room at the Edge is different, and each name hints at its décor. “You can stay here 12 times and have 12 different experiences,” says Fager.     The options range from the Hang Five room, complete with its own Hobie surfboard, to the Orient Express, which has a king-sized, black lacquer pallet bed lit by 12 white Chinese lanterns. After a long soak in a jasmine-scented bath, wrapped in a plush robe, it’s hard to imagine that the frivolity and kitsch of the boardwalk are just outside the door. Rarified Rations     But even on the main drag, there are signs of change. Squeezed in between the T-shirt mongers and tiki bars are restaurants, shops, and services meant to accommodate the needs of the area’s growing population of affluent homeowners and discerning vacationers. Foodies flock to restaurants such as Marlin Moon Grille, Jules, and Iguana Surf. Those whose jewelry tastes require a little more sophistication than a pooka-shell necklace find shopping solace at Liljenquist & Beckstead Jewelers. Housed in the unassuming Gold Coast Mall, this is the destination for gold and fine gems.     Even the boardwalk has been bitten by the upscale bug—at Wockenfuss Candies, one can bypass the ubiquitous fudge, jelly beans, and licorice for something that smacks of the gourmet, like chocolate-covered pistachio marzipan, decadent truffles, or chocolate-dipped strawberries.     While central Ocean City may be primping its five-star feathers, to really get into the area’s latest indulgences, you need to head just over the bridge to hit some of the new high-end retail shops, like the Monkey’s Trunk, a home interior and gift shop, and Avalon Market, a one-stop shop for any gourmet need. Avalon Market’s owner, Rick Vach, says he opened the store out of frustration at the lack of wares available in Ocean City for the home cook. He couldn’t find what he wanted, and he didn’t think he was alone.     “The people who can afford a place down here now are a demographic who wants this,” he says. “These people are moving here from places where they have these kinds of goods and services, where they have a Dean & DeLuca.”     Vach’s wine shop stocks over 500 labels, which can be tasted at frequent in-store events. There’s a marketplace with extravagant displays of meats, cheeses, desserts, and prepared foods, everything from Vermont butter and Virginia smoked trout to hoisin sauce and stuffed lobster tail. The market also carries Reidel glassware and Le Creuset and All-Clad cookware, and has a full coffee bar. “We’re a microcosm of many things,” says Vach, noting that response to the store has been overwhelmingly good. Premium Pampering     Carol Withers is a first-class service pioneer as well, but she began her crusade over 20 years ago when she opened A Perfect Face spa, the first such establishment in Ocean City. No five-star Ocean City retreat would be complete without an indulgent spa treatment such as a chocolate-raspberry body scrub or a little foot reflexology. To feel truly pampered, have Withers administer a Hydraderm facial, one of the spa’s specialty services, in which a wand non-invasively passes an electrical current through to the face, allowing deeper penetration of the applied products.     The level of decadence in the spa experience can be measured by the attention to detail; at A Perfect Face, the hands and feet are placed in warm mittens and boots after a short relaxing massage. The movement of the Hydraderm wand becomes a gentle massage, as well. And after the facial is completed, there is no product stuck in the hairline.     “Anyone can give a facial, but there’s a difference in being meticulous, making the person feel comfortable and pampered,” says Withers, who is active in training her 30-plus staff members. “The massage techniques, that personal touch, are what really brings people back.”     Withers’ spa may be just the destination to head to for a rubdown after a day on the Lighthouse Sound golf course. With its stunning panoramic view of Ocean City across the bay, its well-kept, challenging greens designed by Arthur Hills, its posh clubhouse, and amenities such as golf carts with GPS systems, Lighthouse Sound may look like an exclusive country club. In actuality, it’s a public course, ranked among the top 100 courses in the country.     “The whole point of this is to bring the country club experience to the public,” says Dennis Winters, the head golf pro. Set into 1,000 acres of wetlands, Lighthouse offers natural beauty, the longest cart bridge in the country (spanning the St. Martin’s River), and immaculately groomed greens that are a long way from the Putt-Putt courses associated with Ocean City. “It’s like a carpet out here,” boasts Winters of the smooth-as-silk grounds.     While Ocean City is a long way from losing its Coppertone tan, flip-flop attitude, or Boardwalk-fries palate, it’s refreshing to know that there can be a glass of Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon and some candlelight in your vacation itinerary, too.