Category: Travel

Oh, to be able to get away from it all…for a minute…

Here are some spots that just might strike your fancy:

1. The Resort at Pedregal (Cabo San Lucas, Mexico)                                                                 Each room has its own terrace ‘outfitted with a private hot tub overlooking the Pacific Ocean’.
2. Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru (Maldives)                                         Here you will find standalone bungalows.  There are tantric couples massages and sunset champagne cruises around the surrounding UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
3. Shangri-La Hotel, Paris (Paris)                                                                                                   Stay in one of the ‘opulent, antique-filled’ rooms that overlook ‘lush, landscaped gardens’.  And, the views of the Eiffel Tower are ‘unparalleled’, compared to other hotels.
4. Cap Juluca (Anguilla)                                                                                                                    This is a boutique hotel that overlooks the pristine, turquoise blue waters of Maundays Bay.  Enjoy romantic horseback rides and candlelit dinners.
5. &Beyond Kichwa Tembo (Kenya)                                                                                             These newly revamped minimalist, but luxurious rooms come with
   ‘plush oversized beds and roomy ensuite bathrooms’ and a view of Masai Mara from every single angle.  Enjoy a safari by hot-air balloon and ‘sunset cocktails at Oloololo, which overlooks the expansive wilderness’.
6. Gritti Palace (Venice)                                                                                                                   ‘Built in 1475, this stunning palazzo is one of the most luxurious and romantic hotels in La Serenissima.
   It occupies the loveliest spot on the Grand Canal, looking across to the magnificent Santa Maria della Salute church and the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, home to the Guggenheim Museum.
   Rooms are downright decadent, furnished with Venetian antiques, exquisite original art and rich brocade silks.
   Its intimate, fresco-adorned restaurant, Club del Doge, is one of the most beautiful restaurants in Venice (if not all of Italy)’.
7. Wildflower Hall Shimla (Shimla, India)                                                                                    This one sits 8,250 feel above sea level and is surrounded by cedar forests and wildflower fields.  Each room has exquisite Colonial furniture, colorful hand-woven Indian carpets and original watercolor paintings.
8. Royal Mansour (Marrakech)                                                                                                       Commissioned by King Mohammed VI, the Royal Mansour, these rooms are ‘strewn with suede and silk carpets, velvet brocade sofas and Baccarat crystal’.  Each private spa suite comes with its own hammam, plunge pool and terrace.
9. Soneva Kiri (Koh Kood, Thailand)                                                                                             You want jungle meets beach?  Each one of these guys has its ‘own private infinity pool, sundeck and a lavish indoor-outdoor bathroom’.  An option for a nice date would be the ‘jungle-enshrouded Cinema Paradiso, an open-air movie theater set above a lagoon’.
10. Amangiri (Utah, USA)                                                                                                                 These suites will give you a stunning desert view, with some having private pools. This property includes a ‘Navajo-inspired spa with a desert-facing water pavilion and a stunning main pool, wrapped dramatically around an enormous natural sandstone butte’.
11. Helena Bay Lodge (New Zealand)
    This small, but, luxurious lodge is ‘set upon nearly two miles of windswept coastline where you can enjoy a fine-dining Italian experience, sipping on one of the 1,000 bottles in which to choose.  Also, one can enjoy the spa that was inspired by a traditional Russion banya (bath house).
12. Four Seasons Maui at Wailea (Hawaii, USA)                                                                           Voted most luxurious hotel in Maui, it recently got a “face lift”, offering plush linens, relaxing massage services on the beach and the adults-only serenity pool, where you can enjoy a candlelit dinner and have exclusive access to the pool at night.  For the adventurous types, helicopter rides and more are now available.  🙂
13. Belmond La Samanna (St. Martin)                                                                                             Eight mediterranean-style luxurious villas are perched atop a cliff overlooking the beach making them very private.  Enjoy a champagne sunset cruise or go jet-skiing, if you so desire.
14. Ponta dos Ganchos (Santa Catarina, Brazil)                                                                           This beauty is on Brazil’s picturesque Emerald Coast, hidden ‘blissfully’ inside a rainforest.  It’s luxurious, has infinity plunge pools, deep-soaking hot tubs and even private saunas.
    *Added bonus: It’s adults-only, making it that much more tranquil.
15. The Beverly Hilton Hotel (Los Angeles, California)                                                               This sexy, retro-styled hotel has a dimly-lit Circa 55 restaurant and a classic Hollywood-style pool, heated to 75 degrees year-round open all day.  ‘Cabana suites are breezy and tropically inspired and open directly onto the pool deck, but the most romantic rooms are in the Wilshire tower: they’re bright and airy, with wraparound terraces and heart-stopping views over Beverly Hills and the glittering LA skyline’.
16. La Bastide de Gordes (Gordes, France)                                                                                    ‘Perched on a cliff next to a 12th-century castle in the picturesque Luberon village of Gordes, La Bastide is romantic by default.  With the multi-million dollar makeover, it’s more luxurious than ever with a new Sisley spa, four swimming pools and a second restaurant by Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire’.
17. Conrad Bora Bora Nui (Bora Bora)                                                                                           These brand new (opened April 1) two-story over water bungalows has a ‘hilltop spa, a white-sand beach, an infinity pool with a swim-up bar and a sunset lounge with a glass floor that offers a glimpse into the coral reefs below’.
18. Southern Ocean Lodge (Australia)                                                                                             This one can be found at the southwest tip of far-flung Kangaroo Island.
    The landscape is wild and rugged rather than breezy and tropical, which makes it a bit different, in a good way.  With the 21 glass-fronted windows, you are sure to enjoy panoramic views of Hanson Bay.  ‘And though the resort is eco-friendly and built entirely from sustainable materials, it’s also incredibly luxurious: each suite has a private terrace, sunken lounge and a deep-soak tub with a view’.
19. Four Seasons Resort Serengeti (Tanzania)                                                                               Here you can enjoy floating sunset dinners atop the ‘desert-facing pool to burudika spa treatments using local plants and healing minerals.
    All have open-air sundecks and several even offer private infinity-edge pools that face directly out onto the watering hole’.
20. InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort (Danang, Vietnam)                                 These ‘whitewashed villas cascade dramatically down a green mountainside into the ocean.’  They are just ‘heavenly’…’outfitted with sprawling terraces and spa-like bathrooms with ocean-facing tubs.’  Go on a date to their signature restaurant, Citron, where you can dine in a cone suspended over the mountain, and/or go for a swim in their adults-only infinity pool.
21. Marquis Los Cabos Resort & Spa (San José del Cabo, Mexico)                                             This is an all-inclusive, adults-only resort, built along the coastline on the emerald-blue Sea of Cortez.  Perhaps, you may want to take dance lessons, or partake in tequila tastings or get a massage at the 13,000-square-foot Spa Marquis.
22. The Caves (Negril, Jamaica)                                                                                                       This is an adults-only hotel and is considered to be one of Jamaica’s most romantic escapes.  ‘Property highlights include a lovely Aveda mini-spa perched above the water, a romantic bar built inside of a grotto and dining in the al fresco gazebo.
    But what you’re here for is the famous cave dinner — a private, five-course dinner set inside a cave that’s lit up with dozens of flickering candles’.
23. Halekulani (Honolulu, Hawaii)                                                                                                 One of the oldest hotels, built in 1883, remains the top choice for a romantic getaway.  It has an ‘oceanfront freshwater pool — laid with 1.2 million pieces of blue glass in the shape of an orchid — is easily the most luxurious on Waikiki’.
    You can also enjoy ukulele ballads under the stars at House Without a Key, Halekulani’s signature restaurant.
24. Il Sireno Hotel (Lake Como, Italy)                                                                                             This newly-opened Il Sereno is ‘refreshingly minimalist, sleek and ultramodern’.
    It has just 30 wood-and-stone suites that ‘allow its spectacular lakeside setting to steal the show.  Romantic offerings include couples’ cooking classes and Riva boat tours of the lake.
25. Secret Bay (Dominica)
    Bungalows are equipped with so many luxurious features — hammocks, plunge pools, sundecks, personal libraries, chef’s kitchens.

And, there you have it!  Do any of these strike your fancy?

Have traveling,

Lisa

P.S.  I can be your personal travel agent in the somewhat near future.  🙂

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/17/hotels/best-honeymoon-hotels/index.html