10 Amazing Winter Island Escapes
If you lived through last winter’s polar vortex, you know that one needs an arsenal of coping mechanisms. On the plus side, the freezing weather is a great excuse to binge-watch your favorite TV series, to splurge on a cozy parka, and to indulge in hearty soups. But after the fifteenth snow storm of the season, more extreme measures are called for. Here, a list of ten island escapes with new and newly renovated resorts where summer temperatures always await.
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Photo: Courtesy of Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France1/10St. Barts
It’s no secret that St. Barts is one of the premiere winter destinations, and the rebranded Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France just gives you yet another reason to head there. Now owned by LVMH, the resort’s spa is the only one in the Caribbean to offer signature treatments by Guerlain. If you’re more of an adventurist, the new Big Blue Escape offers a trip around the island’s most gorgeous bays on a 69-foot yacht. At Le Sereno, you can indulge in an Eau de Rêve Aqua Massage, given while you float in the water of the hotel’s private lagoon.
Photo: Courtesy of The Gates Hotel2/10Key West
Though it’s steeped in vintage charm, Key West hasn’t offered much in the way of stylish accommodations in the past, but that will change in December with the opening of two chic hotels. The Marker Waterfront Resort, the first new resort built in Old Town in two decades, marries the island’s laid-back vibe with a more modern feel, including three daybed-lined pools and female staff outfitted in Pret-a-Surf, Vogue Entertainment Editor **Jill Demling’**s beachy clothing line. In New Town, set apart from the tourist bustle, The Gates plays on the island’s pastel palette with rooms done in winter whites, pine paneling, and prints by local photographer Jorge de la Torriente. Its poolside Rum Row features live music and tasty Cuban cuisine.
Photo: Courtesy of Paresa3/10Phuket, Thailand
New to Thailand’s Phuket island is the 106-room Point Yamu by COMO, home to the Shambhala wellness retreat—and a 330-foot infinity pool overlooking the Phang Nga Bay and Andaman Sea. If you’re after a spa experience, try the chocolate-based treatments at Paresa, which include a dark chocolate champagne body wrap and a chocolate honey facial. While there, dine along the resort’s fiber optic–lit infinity pool.
Photo: Courtesy of Belle Mont Farm4/10St. Kitts
For an alternative to the usual sun-and-sand vacation, visit the soon-to-open Belle Mont Farm on Kittitian Hill, a collection of villas and farmhouses set on an organic farm. Opened by Trinidadian social entrepreneur Val Kempadoo, the hotel offers a Saturday-night fish fry with locals in nearby Dieppe Bay and West Indian cooking classes. Though it’s set in the countryside, the accommodations are anything but rustic. Inspired by St. Kitts’s vernacular architecture, architect Bill Bensley created the wood-shingle guesthouses, which feature private infinity pools, outdoor rainwater showers, and daily farm-fresh produce. More than 100 types of mango grow on the property.
Photo: Manuel Tama5/10Galapagos Islands
Sitting atop two extinct volcanic craters on Santa Cruz Island is the recently opened Pikaia Lodge, a new carbon-neutral hotel that offers yacht excursions around the archipelago. Exploring lava tunnels and hanging out with fur seals and penguins, your inner science nerd is sure to be awakened.
