Five Exotic Island Hideaways 101
The hustle and bustle of New York and London make for fantastic luxury trips, what with the elegance, fine dining, and extravagant theater. But what if you want to escape the workaday world, kick off your shoes, and lounge in the lap of luxury?
To really let your hair down and totally focus on that all-important goal of letting go, it’s time to shut out the world entirely. The fewer Blackberry’s, phones, TVs, and 21st-century distractions, the better—it needs to be just you, your special someone, tropical waters, and a horizon flecked with puffball clouds. Ready to concentrate? Here's what to look for:
Romantic Ambience
There's something undeniably sensual about island destinations. The sexiest resorts seduce you with a sublime sense of comfort and simplicity, like at Maui’s Grand Wailea Resort & Spa, where tastefully furnished rooms look out onto the soothing waters of Wailea Bay. Elegant can mean minimalist, as long at it’s designed with meticulous attention to harmony, good taste, and detail. Take that description as your mantra at Kona Village Resort on Hawaii’s Big Island, a peaceful garden retreat comprising simple thatch-roofed hales that evoke Hawaii’s traditional culture and hospitality.
In such locales, it’s the little things that matter, like fragrant orchid blossoms that the staff at the Big Island’s Four Seasons Hualalai leave floating in your bathtub every evening, or waking up with a private beach on the other side of your bed. Bermuda’s Cambridge Beaches or The Reefs are both stellar examples of the fact that location, location, location is one sure way to seal the romantic deal.
Exotic and Unforgettable
Turks and Caicos. Bora Bora. The Seychelles. The names alone epitomize the very essence of exotic. Imagine your own bungalow overhanging the waters of a turquoise lagoon, a cabin perched on a mountainside with incredible ocean vistas in every direction and no one else around, or your own private beach chair half-submerged in the aquamarine waters. And although a trip to any one of the thousands of islands in French Polynesia or the Indonesian archipelago will dish up a lifetime of tropical heaven, several isles in the otherwise-mainstream Caribbean will deliver that otherworldly escape without the long-haul flights. Attainable tropical lures lie within reach at Caneel Bay in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Bermuda’s Pink Beach Club & Cottages, or the Parrot Cay Club on Turks and Caicos.
But if you do have the time and budget, the island escapes on the other side of the world are definitely worth the extra mile. When you want to be induced to a perfect lassitude by reverent stillness, the pampering at Amandari in Bali proves that you get what you pay for. Tucked within their own garden courtyards, these thatched stone-walled suites provide the perfect idyllic blend of serenity, hospitality, and grace.
Matters of Class
Seclusion
When it comes to island vacations, less is more. Once you’ve arrived, you typically won’t be looking to dash out for duty-free shopping, pulsing discos, or days of sightseeing, much less to mingle with clamoring hordes of humanity. And for that perfect slice of behind-the-gilded-curtain living, you’ll want to check into the Kahala Mandarin Oriental on Hawaii’s Big Island. Here the number-one activity is: Do nothing. Silence is another imperative. Of course, if you are the sort who bores quickly with such effortless nothingness, several luxe spots do combine seclusion with activities, like access to your own private kayak and remote hiking trails, or you could charter a sailboat and island hop. Point Grace in the Turks and Caicos or the Ritz-Carlton on St. Thomas scoop awards for their attention to guest’s every whim—be it active or totally, serenely lackadaisical.
Service
Service at any of the top luxury destinations is going to be superb. It has to be. But on an island hideaway, service is less about securing theater tickets and dinner reservations than bringing you a Mai Tai when you need it most. It’s about ferreting out a yacht and providing soothing, pool-side massages. When you really don’t want to do anything, you really don’t have to do anything. For the absolute best service in Hawaii, nothing bests Oahu’s Halekulani, where you can spend your days by the palm-fringed pools, head out on a deep-sea-fishing expedition, or dine on seared ruby snapper with the setting sun over the Pacific as your heart-rending backdrop.