BestResorts
Beach resorts, island properties and all-inclusive escapes where the resort is the destination, grouped by scale and how far they sit from anything else. The question worth asking first is whether you intend to leave it: several of these sit far enough from anything else that the property has to carry the whole trip, which is the point for some travellers and a trap for others.
Jumby Bay Island
Long Island, Antigua
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A car-free private island off Antigua reached by boat, spread over roughly 300 acres, with rooms, suites and villas, a nesting beach for hawksbill turtles, and quiet beaches.
Southern Ocean Lodge
Kangaroo Island, South Australia
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A clifftop lodge on Kangaroo Island facing the Southern Ocean, rebuilt after the 2020 bushfires, with all-inclusive suites, guided nature walks and native wildlife on the doorstep.
Qualia
Hamilton Island, Great Barrier Reef
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An adults-only resort on the secluded northern tip of Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays, with pavilions overlooking the Coral Sea and a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.
Longitude 131°
Uluru-Kata Tjuta, Northern Territory
Details & links
A tented-pavilion camp in the desert near Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, each luxury tent framing a direct view of Uluru, with guided experiences of the surrounding Red Centre.
Saffire Freycinet
Coles Bay, Tasmania
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An all-inclusive lodge on Tasmania's east coast overlooking the Freycinet Peninsula and Hazards mountains, with curved contemporary suites and access to Wineglass Bay.
Musha Cay
Exumas, Bahamas
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A private island in the Exumas owned by illusionist David Copperfield, rented with several surrounding cays as a whole-island retreat of a handful of houses and many beaches.
Sandy Lane
St. James, Barbados
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A coral-stone resort on Barbados's west coast, long a favourite of high-profile guests, with a beachfront setting, a noted spa and three golf courses including the Green Monkey.
Amankora
Five lodges across Bhutan
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A circuit of five Aman lodges across Bhutan's western and central valleys, designed to be travelled in sequence, pairing minimalist rooms with monasteries and Himalayan landscapes.
Mombo Camp
Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta
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A raised tented camp on an island in the Okavango Delta, long celebrated for exceptional wildlife density and its role in reintroducing rhinos to the region.
Jack's Camp
Makgadikgadi Pans
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A tented camp on the edge of Botswana's vast Makgadikgadi salt pans, styled after 1940s explorer expeditions, known for meerkat encounters, quad excursions and desert wildlife.
Necker Island
British Virgin Islands
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Richard Branson's private island in the British Virgin Islands can be hired exclusively or booked by the room on selected individual-stay dates, with a Balinese-style great house, villas, tennis courts and beaches.
Song Saa Private Island
Koh Rong Archipelago
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A two-island eco-resort off Cambodia's southern coast linked by a footbridge, built with reclaimed materials and paired with a marine reserve and community foundation.
Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge
Tofino, British Columbia
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A remote safari-style tented camp on an inlet near Tofino on Vancouver Island, reached by floatplane or boat, offering wildlife viewing, kayaking and horseback riding in the rainforest.
Fogo Island Inn
Fogo Island, Newfoundland
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A striking modern inn on stilts on the rocky coast of Fogo Island off Newfoundland, run as a social enterprise returning profits to the community, with all rooms facing the Atlantic.
Explora Patagonia
Torres del Paine
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An all-inclusive lodge inside Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia, overlooking the Salto Chico waterfall and the massif, with a large programme of guided explorations.
Tierra Patagonia
Torres del Paine
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An all-inclusive lodge with award-winning low-slung timber architecture on the edge of Torres del Paine, set above Lake Sarmiento with wide views toward the granite towers.
Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal Resort
La Fortuna, Arenal
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A thermal resort near Arenal Volcano where a naturally heated river flows through rainforest gardens into a series of outdoor pools and waterfalls. Resort guests have access to the thermal-river complex, spa and views toward Arenal's slopes.
Eden Roc Cap Cana
Cap Cana, Punta Cana
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On the southern tip of the Cap Cana marina complex, Eden Roc is built in the style of a Mediterranean villa dropped onto a Caribbean beach — whitewashed walls, bougainvillea terraces, and a private beach club with crystal-clear water. The estate includes one of the largest marinas in the region for deep-sea fishing, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, and Scape Park, a cenote and zip-line complex accessible to hotel guests. Rooms are arranged across a series of villas, all walking distance from the beach club and marina.
Mashpi Lodge
Mashpi Cloud Forest, near Quito
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A glass-walled modern lodge set within a private reserve in the biodiverse Chocó cloud forest northwest of Quito, with resident naturalists and a forest canopy gondola.
Laucala Island
Cakaudrove Province
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A privately owned island estate with villas, an on-island farm, golf course, dive centre and private airstrip. The property closed for renovation in January 2026; its COMO management agreement ended, and the owner has not announced a firm reopening date.
Six Senses Fiji
Malolo Island, Mamanucas
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A resort in the Mamanuca Islands with 24 pool villas and multi-bedroom residences, using on-site solar electricity alongside reef restoration, native-forest work and wellness programming.
Kokomo Private Island
Kadavu Group
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A private-island resort in southern Fiji with beachfront villas and hilltop residences, an on-site farm, and direct access to the Great Astrolabe Reef for diving and snorkelling.
Cheval Blanc St-Tropez
Saint-Tropez, Côte d'Azur
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An LVMH-owned waterfront hotel in the heart of Saint-Tropez, formerly La Résidence de la Pinède, with a private beach and a Michelin-starred restaurant overlooking the bay.
Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc
Cap d'Antibes, Côte d'Azur
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A storied Riviera hotel whose original Villa Soleil was completed in 1870 and opened as the Grand Hôtel du Cap in 1889, set in pine-covered grounds with a cliffside pavilion and seawater pool above the Mediterranean.
La Réserve Ramatuelle
Ramatuelle, near St-Tropez
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A hillside hotel, spa and villas estate above Ramatuelle near Saint-Tropez, focused on wellness, with contemporary design and wide views over the wooded coast and Mediterranean.
The Brando
Tetiaroa, Tahiti
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A private-island resort on the atoll once owned by Marlon Brando, run on renewable energy and seawater air-conditioning, with villas set along a coral-fringed lagoon and bird sanctuaries nearby.
Four Seasons Bora Bora
Bora Bora
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An overwater-bungalow resort on a motu in Bora Bora's lagoon, known for turquoise water, a coral-rich private reef, and framed views of the volcanic peak of Mount Otemanu.
Conrad Bora Bora Nui
Motu To'opua, Bora Bora
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A resort on a secluded motu on Bora Bora's outer lagoon, with overwater and hillside villas, a hilltop spa, and sunset-facing western views across the water.
Canaves Oia Epitome
Oia, Santorini
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A contemporary suites-and-villas property in the Ammoudi area on the outskirts of Oia, most units with private pools and direct views across the Aegean toward Santorini's sunset.
Amanzoe
Porto Heli, Peloponnese
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A hilltop Aman resort near Porto Heli inspired by a classical acropolis, with colonnaded pavilions and villas overlooking olive groves and the sea, plus a private beach club.
Cavo Tagoo
Mykonos Town
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A design hotel carved into the hillside just outside Mykonos Town, known for cave-style suites, a lively pool and bar scene, and a signature gold-tiled swimming pool.
Costa Navarino
Messinia, Peloponnese
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A large resort destination on the southwest Peloponnese coast in Messinia, gathering several branded hotels, championship golf courses and beaches across an olive-grove landscape.
The Retreat at Blue Lagoon
Grindavík
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A hotel built into a moss-covered lava field on the Reykjanes Peninsula, with a private geothermal lagoon and spa fed by the same mineral-rich waters as the adjacent Blue Lagoon.
Deplar Farm
Troll Peninsula, North Iceland
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A former sheep farm turned adventure lodge on Iceland's remote Troll Peninsula, with a geothermal pool and a focus on heli-skiing, fishing and other guided wilderness pursuits.
Taj Lake Palace
Lake Pichola, Udaipur
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An 18th-century white-marble former royal palace on an island in Lake Pichola at Udaipur, reached by boat, now a heritage hotel appearing to float on the water.
Oberoi Udaivilas
Udaipur, Rajasthan
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A palatial resort on the shore of Lake Pichola in Udaipur, built in the domed Mewar architectural style with courtyards, reflecting pools and views across to the City Palace.
Oberoi Amarvilas
Agra, Uttar Pradesh
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A Mughal-inspired hotel in Agra a short distance from the Taj Mahal, designed so that every room and suite has a direct view of the monument across the intervening gardens.
Aman-i-Khas
Ranthambore, Rajasthan
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A seasonal camp of large Mughal-style tents near Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, used as a base for tiger safaris in one of India's best-known tiger reserves.
Amandari
Ubud, Bali
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An Aman resort perched above the Ayung River gorge near Ubud, built as a Balinese village of stone-walled suites with a spring-fed pool overlooking terraced rice paddies.
COMO Shambhala Estate
Ubud, Bali
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A wellness retreat in the jungle outside Ubud, set among rivers and springs, offering residence-style accommodation with resident health experts and structured wellbeing programmes.
Nihi Sumba
Sumba Island
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A remote resort on the wild island of Sumba, known for a famed left-hand surf break, horseback riding along the beach, and a strong local community and foundation focus.
Bulgari Resort Bali
Uluwatu, Bali
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A clifftop resort on the Bukit Peninsula set high above the Indian Ocean, with private villas, an Italian-Balinese design language, and a beach reached by inclined lift.
Belmond Hotel Caruso
Ravello, Amalfi Coast
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A restored 11th-century palazzo high in the hilltop town of Ravello, best known for its cliff-edge infinity pool that appears to merge with the sea far below the Amalfi Coast.
Grand Hotel Tremezzo
Tremezzo, Lake Como
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An Art Nouveau grand hotel on the western shore of Lake Como, open since 1910, with lakefront gardens, a floating pool on the water, and views across to Bellagio.
Il San Pietro di Positano
Positano, Amalfi Coast
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A cliffside hotel built into the rock just outside Positano, with terraced rooms cascading down toward the sea and a private beach reached by an elevator cut through the cliff.
Borgo Egnazia
Savelletri di Fasano, Puglia
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A resort in Puglia built to resemble a traditional whitewashed village, with a spa, golf and beach club, which hosted the 2024 G7 summit and has drawn celebrity weddings.
Belmond Hotel Splendido
Portofino, Liguria
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A former monastery turned hotel set on a hillside above the harbour of Portofino, with terraced gardens and a swimming pool overlooking the yachts and pastel village below.
Hoshinoya Kyoto
Arashiyama, Kyoto
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A riverside ryokan-style retreat in the Arashiyama district, reached only by boat along the Oi River, occupying a former private estate amid maples and hillside gardens.
Aman Tokyo
Otemachi, Tokyo
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Aman's first urban hotel, occupying the upper floors of a tower in the Otemachi business district, with a soaring stone-and-paper lobby and city views toward the Imperial Palace gardens.
Hoshinoya Tokyo
Otemachi, Tokyo
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A vertical ryokan in central Tokyo where guests remove shoes at the entrance, with tatami rooms stacked over many floors and a top-floor open-air hot-spring bath.
Angama Mara
Maasai Mara, Kenya
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Two camps of glass-walled tented suites sit high on the Oloololo Escarpment overlooking the Maasai Mara. The property offers guided game drives, walking safaris, balloon flights and a photographic studio with a darkroom.
Soneva Fushi
Baa Atoll
Details & links
A barefoot-luxury pioneer set in dense jungle on a large Baa Atoll island, known for spacious villas, an open-air observatory and cinema, and a no-news, no-shoes ethos.
One&Only Reethi Rah
North Malé Atoll
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A sprawling resort on one of the largest islands in the Maldives, shaped to create a dozen private beaches, with large beach and overwater villas across an irregular, hand-formed coastline.
St. Regis Maldives Vommuli
Dhaalu Atoll
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A design-forward resort on a private island in the southern atolls, noted for its sculptural architecture, overwater and beach villas, and a signature bar suspended over the lagoon.
Gili Lankanfushi
Lankanfushi Island, North Malé Atoll
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An eco-minded resort built almost entirely of timber and thatch, with large overwater villas reached by wooden jetties, emphasizing sustainability and a rustic, castaway character.
Velaa Private Island
Noonu Atoll
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A privately owned island resort in the northern atolls, known for its curving overwater residences, an over-lagoon wine cellar, and a nine-hole golf academy designed by José María Olazábal.
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi
South Malé Atoll
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A large resort spread across three connected islands, offering beach, reef and overwater villas plus an extensive spread of restaurants and a separately bookable private island.
One&Only Le Saint Géran
Belle Mare
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A long-established resort on a private peninsula on Mauritius's east coast, bordered by a lagoon and beaches, with a golf academy, spa and a Vongerichten-led restaurant.
Shangri-La Le Touessrok
Trou d'Eau Douce
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An east-coast Mauritius resort spread over the mainland and small offshore islets, with access to a private island beach and a championship golf course on nearby Île aux Cerfs.
One&Only Mandarina
Riviera Nayarit
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A resort on Mexico's Pacific Riviera Nayarit coast where jungle meets the ocean, with elevated treehouse-style villas and cliffside homes, a beach club and equestrian centre.
Chablé Yucatán
Chocholá, Yucatán
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A resort built around a restored 19th-century henequen hacienda in the Yucatán jungle, with a spa set around a natural cenote and casitas scattered through tropical grounds.
Rosewood Mayakoba
Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen
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A resort in the Mayakoba development on the Riviera Maya, with suites set among mangrove lagoons and reached by boat along canals, plus a beach and an island spa.
Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal
Cabo San Lucas
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A hillside resort at the edge of Cabo San Lucas reached through a private tunnel carved into the rock, with rooms climbing the cliff and plunge pools overlooking the Pacific.
Royal Mansour Marrakech
Marrakech Medina
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A palatial hotel commissioned by Morocco's king near the Marrakech medina, laid out as a private city of individual multi-storey riads linked by gardens and hand-crafted courtyards.
La Mamounia
Marrakech
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A landmark palace hotel in Marrakech opened in 1929, set within historic walled gardens of olive and citrus trees, long associated with visiting artists, writers and political figures.
Huka Lodge
Taupo, North Island
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A pioneering New Zealand lodge on the banks of the Waikato River near Taupo, close to the Huka Falls, long known for fly-fishing and understated country-house hospitality.
Matakauri Lodge
Queenstown, South Island
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A small Rosewood lodge on a hillside outside Queenstown, with suites and villas overlooking Lake Wakatipu and the jagged Remarkables range, serving as a base for the region's alpine activities.
Juvet Landscape Hotel
Valldal, Western Norway
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A minimalist hotel in a river gorge in western Norway, made up of detached glass-walled cabins set among trees and boulders, and used as a filming location for Ex Machina.
Six Senses Zighy Bay
Musandam Peninsula
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A pool-villa resort on a remote bay of Oman's Musandam Peninsula, ringed by rugged mountains, where guests can arrive by mountain road, boat, or tandem paraglide down to the beach.
Belmond Sanctuary Lodge
Machu Picchu, Cusco Region
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The only hotel directly beside the entrance to the Machu Picchu citadel, convenient for the site's timed-entry sessions and official visitor circuits. Entry still requires a valid ticket for a selected time and route.
El Nido Resorts — Miniloc Island
El Nido, Palawan
Details & links
A private-island resort in the Bacuit Archipelago with 50 rooms and cottages, including water cottages on stilts above the lagoon. Limestone karsts surround the island, and guests can kayak, snorkel the house reef and join boat excursions through the protected seascape.
Eden Rock
St Jean Bay, St. Barths
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A landmark St. Barths hotel set on a rocky promontory jutting into St Jean Bay, with rooms and villas scattered around the outcrop above two beaches.
Jade Mountain
Soufrière, Saint Lucia
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A dramatic resort above Soufrière in Saint Lucia where each open-walled sanctuary omits its fourth wall and adds a private infinity pool, framing views of the twin Piton peaks.
Fregate Island Private
Fregate Island
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A 200-hectare private-island conservation sanctuary currently closed while new villas and infrastructure are built. The relaunch plan calls for 17 villas and estates; the official site says bookings will reopen soon but gives no firm date.
Four Seasons Seychelles at Desroches
Desroches Island
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The only resort on a remote coral island in the Seychelles' Outer Islands, offering beach and coral villas, an on-site conservation centre, and diving on surrounding drop-offs.
North Island
North Island, Inner Islands
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A small private-island resort in the granitic Inner Islands with a handful of hand-built villas, known for rehabilitating native wildlife and its castaway-luxury design.
Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay
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A large hotel of three towers topped by a boat-shaped SkyPark, whose rooftop infinity pool overlooking Marina Bay has become one of Singapore's most recognisable images.
Singita Sabi Sand
Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Mpumalanga
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A collection of safari lodges in the Sabi Sand reserve adjoining Kruger National Park, known for reliable Big Five and leopard sightings and a strong conservation programme.
One&Only Cape Town
V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
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An urban resort on a private marina island at the V&A Waterfront, with a spa on its own island, city-centre access and rooms facing Table Mountain across the harbour.
Finca Cortesin
Casares, Andalusia
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A low-density Andalusian estate resort between Marbella and Sotogrande, centred on a highly regarded golf course that hosted the 2023 Solheim Cup, with a beach club by the coast.
Cap Rocat
Palma de Mallorca
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A hotel set within a converted 19th-century military fortress on a private headland at the edge of the Bay of Palma, with rooms built into former gun emplacements and stone walls.
Marbella Club
Marbella, Andalusia
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A beachfront resort founded in 1954 by Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe that helped establish Marbella as a jet-set destination, with garden bungalows and villas by the Mediterranean.
Amanwella
Tangalle, Southern Coast
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An Aman resort on Sri Lanka's southern coast set among coconut palms above a crescent bay, with minimalist concrete suites, many with private plunge pools, near Tangalle.
Cape Weligama
Weligama, Southern Coast
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A clifftop resort of villas and suites on a headland above Sri Lanka's south coast, with a crescent infinity pool and seasonal blue-whale watching offshore near Mirissa.
Bürgenstock Resort
Lake Lucerne
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A cluster of hotels on a ridge high above Lake Lucerne, with cliffside views, an Alpine Spa whose infinity pool seems to spill toward the lake, and a historic hillside cliff walk.
Badrutt's Palace Hotel
St. Moritz, Engadin
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A grand Alpine hotel opened by Caspar Badrutt in 1896, its landmark tower overlooking Lake St. Moritz. The family connection reaches back to Johannes Badrutt's winter-tourism wager at the nearby Kulm Hotel decades earlier.
The Dolder Grand
Zurich
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A hillside hotel above Zurich blending a restored 19th-century building with a modern Norman Foster wing, known for a large spa and an extensive contemporary art collection.
&Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
Ngorongoro Crater rim
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A safari lodge perched on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, with ornate stilted suites overlooking the caldera floor, one of Africa's densest concentrations of wildlife.
Amanpuri
Pansea Beach, Phuket
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The first Aman resort, opened in 1988 above Pansea Beach on Phuket's west coast. Its 40 guest pavilions and 40 private villas reopened in September 2026 after a four-month enhancement programme.
Six Senses Yao Noi
Phang Nga Bay
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A hillside resort of pool villas on the island of Yao Noi, looking out over the dramatic limestone karsts that rise from Phang Nga Bay between Phuket and Krabi.
Kiri Private Reserve
Koh Kood
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The former Soneva Kiri was renamed Kiri Private Reserve in 2025. Its large pool villas sit in the jungle and along the beach on Koh Kood, with treepod dining in the forest canopy; the official booking engine is currently inactive, so confirm operating dates directly.
Four Seasons Koh Samui
Ang Thong, Koh Samui
Details & links
A resort of hillside pool villas descending a steep, forested slope on Koh Samui's quieter northwest coast, overlooking a private bay and the Gulf of Thailand.
Anantara Golden Triangle
Chiang Rai Province
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A hillside lodge in northern Thailand overlooking the meeting of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, home to an elephant camp and conservation foundation caring for rescued elephants.
Mandarin Oriental Bodrum
Cennet Koyu, Bodrum
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A resort on a hillside above two private beaches on Turkey's Bodrum Peninsula, with terraced rooms and villas, a marina, and a cluster of restaurants and a beach club.
Amanruya
Torba, Bodrum
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An Aman resort of stone-built cottages, each with a private pool, set among pine and olive groves on a hillside above the Aegean near Torba on the Bodrum Peninsula.
COMO Parrot Cay
Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos
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A private-island resort in the Turks and Caicos reached by boat, set along a long white-sand beach, known for its holistic COMO Shambhala spa and understated beachfront villas.
Burj Al Arab Jumeirah
Dubai
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Dubai's landmark sail-shaped tower on an artificial island off Jumeirah Beach, an all-suite hotel known for its opulent interiors, helipad and status as a symbol of the city.
One&Only The Palm
Palm Jumeirah, Dubai
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A low-rise, Moorish-Andalusian-style resort on a secluded tip of the Palm Jumeirah, with a private beach, manor-house suites and views back toward the Dubai Marina skyline.
Atlantis The Royal
Palm Jumeirah, Dubai
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A striking stacked-block tower on the Palm Jumeirah, a sister property to the original Atlantis, known for its sky pools, celebrity-chef restaurants and large-scale entertainment.
Al Maha Desert Resort
Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve
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A tented-suite resort deep within the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, each suite with a private pool, offering camel treks, falconry and wildlife drives among oryx and gazelle.
Four Seasons Hualalai
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
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An oceanfront resort on the Kona coast of Hawaii's Big Island, built into black lava rock, with low-rise bungalows, several pools and a Jack Nicklaus golf course.
Four Seasons Lanai
Lanai, Hawaii
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A resort above Hulopoe Bay on Lanai, most of which is privately owned, with an oceanfront setting and the Jack Nicklaus-designed Manele Golf Course.
Montage Kapalua Bay
Kapalua, Maui
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An oceanfront resort of spacious residential-style suites on the Kapalua headland in northwest Maui, overlooking Kapalua Bay with access to golf, a spa and snorkelling.
Amangiri
Canyon Point, Utah
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A minimalist desert resort on a large plot near the Utah-Arizona border, its concrete architecture built around a rock formation, close to Lake Powell and the region's canyons.
Post Ranch Inn
Big Sur, California
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An adults-only retreat perched on a ridge high above the Pacific in Big Sur, with low-impact tree houses and cliff rooms designed to blend into the coastal landscape.
The Resort at Pelican Hill
Newport Coast, California
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An Italianate resort on the Newport Coast bluffs of Southern California, with villas and bungalows, two Tom Fazio golf courses, and a large circular Coliseum-inspired pool.
Blackberry Farm
Walland, Tennessee
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A large estate resort in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, known for its farm-to-table Southern cuisine, extensive wine cellar and country pursuits on the grounds.
Triple Creek Ranch
Darby, Montana
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An adults-only luxury guest ranch in Montana's Bitterroot Valley, with log cabins set among forest and mountains, offering horseback riding, fly-fishing and all-inclusive stays.