Splurging on a resort vacation creates memories that last forever. Whether you regularly indulge in 5-star tropical seclusion or simply pull out all the stops for a special occasion—a marriage proposal, honeymoon, babymoon, or milestone birthday or anniversary, perhaps—that feeling of the rest of the world slipping away as you relax in an ultra-luxurious suite or villa is incomparable.
Some of our favorite islands and coastal resort areas, from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, are home to spectacular, over-the-top luxury resorts that are worth the price—and many are recently opened or newly re-opened. So, get ready to start planning the island getaway of your dreams at one of these seven indulgent resorts.
Moskito Island, British Virgin Islands
One of the most exclusive private islands in the world, Moskito Island joined Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Limited Edition collection when it opened to guests in October 2021. Located just two miles from Branson’s Other upscale BVI enclave, Necker Island, 125-acre Moskito Island features three lavish private estates sleeping up to 22 guests—ideal for an escape with your entire family or closet friends—plus a social grouping of stand-alone guest houses called The Village. By design, it offers ultimate seclusion with the added attention to detail and service of all Virgin Limited Edition resorts.
The Branson Estate, which has access to a private beach, sleeps 22 guests in three stand-alone villas connected via wooden walkways. Each Balinese-style villa has a spacious primary suite with panoramic views and a pool and hot tub. The Point Estate is also tropically inspired and sleeps up to 14 adults and eight children in a four-level main villa with an infinity edge pool and in surrounding guest houses.
The Oasis Estate changes things up with its sleek contemporary design. It sleeps up to 18 guests and features a large wraparound infinity pool with a swim-up bar. The Village sleeps 20 guests and is comprised of seven standalone guesthouses, including the Main Pavilion with its primary suite and swimming pool.
Rates start at $20,250/night and include all meals and beverages, in-villa chef services, transfers, Wi-Fi, and watersports.
Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort, Hawaii
If wellness from dawn till dusk is a top priority, the perfect place to escape is the sleepy Hawaiian island of Lanai, home to a secluded, adults-only oasis offering a customized renewal experience set amid 24 acres of fragrant pine trees and gardens. Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort , which opened in 2019 (formerly, it was known as the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele), focuses on personalized well-being programs that combine spa treatments, fitness and wellness classes and consultations, outdoor activities and healthful cuisine with menus designed by legendary Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa.
Whether you’re seeking a solo wellness deep dive, a transformative couple’s retreat or a mother-daughter getaway, the resort offers Guided Sensei Experiences and Discover Sensei options to customize your journey.
Sensei’s décor is awash in a palette of soothing neutrals—white, cream, and taupe in the 96 rooms and suites—and its equally elegant public spaces are accented by hardwood floors and beams. The lodge and its impeccably landscaped grounds feature a collection of fine art and sculptures by Fernando Botero, Claude Lalanne, Jeff Koons, Mark Quinn, and others.
There’s a heated 25-meter pool with lap lanes and three whirlpools, an 18-hole putting green (and access to the Jack Nicklaus Signature 18-hole Manele Golf Course located at the beachfront Four Seasons Resort Lanai) and guests can enjoy hiking, biking, horseback riding, sailing, snorkeling and other adventure or cultural excursions.
Rates start at $1,080/per night room only; Discover Sensei packages starti at $1,560/night single and $2,040/night for two; and a Guided Wellness Experience starts at $1,585/night single and $2,090/night for two.
The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands
Minimalist design has a way of soothing away the stresses of daily life filled with distracting stimuli—especially when it’s used in a resort overlooking the serene aquamarine waters of the Maldives. The Ritz-Carlton Maldives Fari Islands, open since June 2021 as the first property located within a new development on North Male Atoll, has minimalism at its heart.
The 100-villa property features seven categories of spacious one-and-two-bedroom villas (the smallest is 1,615 square feet), with many of the one-bedroom accommodations set over the water in a dramatic oval configuration and others along the beach, and a 16,000-sq. ft. Ritz-Carlton Estate with its own private beach. All accommodations feature a private pool and are designed with a sleek, modern aesthetic and floor-to-ceiling sliding doors that allow guests to focus on the natural beauty around them.
The property, located over three interconnected islands, features seven restaurants and bars serving global cuisine (Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Mediterranean and the flavors of the Maldives) prepared with simple ingredients, including produce from an on-site garden, by chefs with top culinary skills. The Ritz-Carlton Spa, a ring-shaped haven located in the center of the overwater villa oval, was designed to harness natural healing energy as guests enjoy treatment journeys using organic wellness products. On-site activities, from watersports to tennis, as well as a Ritz Kids program make the property family-friendly.
Rates start at $2,500/night for an Ocean Pool Villa.
Rosewood Le Guanahani St. Barth
St. Barth has long been a haven for celebrities and other A-listers, but the December 2021 reopening of one of its signature luxury resorts under the Rosewood banner has created a compelling reason for anyone seeking upscale indulgence to revisit this ultra-chic, eight-square-mile French-Caribbean island.
Rosewood Le Guanahani St. Barth offers 66 rooms and suites, and its 10 one-of-a-kind Signature Suites invite you to enjoy 915 to 1,967 sq. ft. of beautifully curated living space for two to seven guests. Signature Suites feature a private pool, offer garden or ocean views, and come with exclusive personalized service. All accommodations are in bright, cheerfully colored cottages while the interior décor mixes tones of white, sand, and blue for a look that’s contemporary but feels at home in the Caribbean.
Located on 18 acres on its own private peninsula along Marigot Bay and Grand Cul-de-Sac lagoon, Rosewood Le Guanahani features adjacent golden-sand beaches and two pools as well as Sense, A Rosewood Spa, offering soothing treatments and journeys. You can also enjoy superb Mediterranean-meets-Caribbean cuisine in its oceanfront Beach House St. Barth restaurant, where the signature tasting menu includes caviar, lobster ravioli and sea bass. The Beach House also has an a la carte dinner menu and serves breakfast and lunch, while the elegant Bar Mélangé serves bespoke cocktails, fine wines, and shareable appetizers.
Rates start at $2,045/night for rooms, $2,470/night for suites and $4,415/night for Signature Suites.
Susurros del Corazón, Auberge Resorts Collection, Punta de Mita, Mexico
For a “bungalow by the beach” escape with pampering amenities, the new Susurros del Corazón, Auberge Resorts Collection property in Punta de Mita, Mexico pairs fabulous Pacific sunsets and an elevated bohemian ambience to perfect the art of relaxation. Opened in November 2022 and located 45 minutes north of the airport in Puerta Vallarta, the resort offers 59 rooms and suites—each with open floor plans, expansive ocean views and large, private terraces—set along a serene beach backed by jungle cliffs.
Accommodations, which range from 800-to-1,500-sq. ft. guestrooms and 1,400-to-2,400-sq. ft. one- and two-bedroom suites to spacious two-to-seven-bedroom villas sized from 3,200 to 17,000 sq. ft., are light-filled, airy, and designed with natural materials that celebrate Mexico’s rich artisan culture.
The resort’s culinary program is rooted in local ingredients, from fresh seafood to produce farmed nearby. Casamilpa restaurant serves globally referenced but distinctly local dishes from a rustic Mexican farmhouse-inspired menu, while open-air La Boquita and poolside La Piscina offer tacos, ceviche, and other familiar favorites along with tequila and mezcal cocktails. Three infinity-edge pools cascade down toward the beach and the Ondita Spa takes inspiration from the healing energy of the ocean—exemplified by its signature Wave Massage.
Rates start at $1,124/night for a Garden Studio.
Six Senses Zil Pasyon, Seychelles
If it’s a swept-away kind of seclusion you seek, Six Senses Zil Pasyon, the sole resort on Félicité island in Seychelles, has it. The property’s luxurious and spacious accommodations are tucked amid the dramatic granite rock formations that give the island, a neighbor of better-known La Digue, its postcard-perfect allure.
There are 28 One-Bedroom Pool Villas (1,880 to 2,622 sq. ft.), two Two-Bedroom Pool Villas (4,740 sq. ft.) and a trio of three- and four-bedroom Residences (7,890 to 15,242 sq. ft.). All feature private pools and sundecks, vaulted wood ceilings and effortless indoor/outdoor living.
Six Senses Zil Pasyon has an eco-conscious philosophy that extends from in-room amenities (Naturalmat organic mattresses and Organic Pharmacy toiletries) to growing its own organic herbs, fruits and vegetables and offering guests reusable glass water bottles. The island is also a nesting site for endangered Hawksbill turtles (the property protects nests during hatching season) and home to indigenous and endemic plant species.
Amid this Eden-like backdrop, guests can enjoy Seychellois specialties that combines the flavors of Africa, French, Chinese, English, Indian, and Creole cuisines in three restaurants and two bars. The ultimate indulgence? A respite in one of the Six Senses Spa’s airy treatment rooms, perched amid massive boulders as seafoam waves ebb and flow below.
Rates start at $1,415/night for a Hideaway Pool Villa.
Rock House Turks and Caicos Resort, Providenciales
Grace Bay Resorts added a stunning new luxury property to its portfolio in May 2022 when it debuted Rock House Turks and Caicos Resort, an intimate enclave located on the less-touristy north shore of popular Providenciales island. Designed to bring a Mediterranean essence—the feeling of being in a villa along the Amalfi Coast or the French Riviera—to this Caribbean hot spot, it features 46 architecturally striking villa-style accommodations constructed along limestone cliffs and is a member of Leading Hotels of the World.
Accommodations range from 553-sq. ft. oceanfront studios to 1,747-sq. ft. Oceanfront Two-Bedroom residences with a private infinity-edge pool and full kitchen. All feature exterior walls of chiseled limestone, outdoor terraces, and pacifying interior décor that channels the natural hues of the area’s cliffs, sand, and turquoise water.
The resort’s three restaurants and bars draw inspiration from the Mediterranean, with Vita Restaurant, perched 30 feet above the sea, serving Italian specialties with a Caribbean influence along with stunning views. Cave Bar, with its natural rock walls, is the spot for shared plates and pizza, while the elevated and open-air Sunset Bar is designed for savoring wine or cocktails. Rock House also boasts a white-sand beach, a 100-foot-long infinity pool, a yoga pavilion, and a 130-foot private jetty.
Rates start at $1,034/night for an Ocean View Ridge Studio.
