Set your out-of-office message to ‘gone browsing’ and step away from the laptop computer. It’s nonetheless – nearly – the summer time of Barbie and your job, for now not less than, is simply seashore. As luck would have it, we’ve reduce down your commute with our decide of the continent’s luxurious motels a stone’s throw from the ocean. From Greece’s too-cool resorts to cosy Cornish boltholes, discover your subsequent beachfront keep right here.
GREECE
Domes Noruz Kassandra, Halkidiki
Typically it’s onerous to inform whether or not the occasion’s over or simply getting began in Halkidiki, however whichever finish of the day sees you crashing again bedwards, Domes Noruz Kassandra is your luxurious touchdown pad. Tremendous-soft duvets and a spoiling spa keep at bay any signs of a no-holds-barred night time out, and the lodge’s all-white design goes simple on worse-for-wear eyes.
If shifting is completely not in your agenda, mattress down on Chaniotis seashore – out of your parasol-shaded lounger, drinks are solely ever a button-press away.
However when the pull of the occasion scene will get the higher of you, it’s the out-size pool you need to head to. By day, settle there for sea-gazing swing chairs and straight-to-your-sunlounger cocktails. Keep after hours, and issues rev up with stay DJ units and till-sunrise events.
Dexamenes Seaside Resort, Western Peloponnese
Many a Greek lodge has made claims to the approval of the gods, but it surely’s onerous to think about a keep extra up Dionysus’ road than Dexamenes Seaside Hotel. Set in a former vineyard, this oenophile’s dream makes ingenious use of the unique constructions. Wine tanks have been remodeled into stylishly industrial suites – a repurposed stone slab right here, an upcycled water pipe there.
You’ll discover a chic Greek restaurant within the engine room, and concrete grape-crushing silos are actually the setting for artwork exhibitions, non-public dinners and (what else?) wine tastings. Talking of which, swirl and sniff your means by means of the 100-strong wine record on the bar, which spills out onto Kourouta seashore’s golden sands. And simply as intoxicating is the Western Peloponnese wilderness, the place there’s an abundance of historical forest and antiquities to discover.
Meraviglia Gradual Residing, Epirus Coast
For those who’re into the Greek classics, Epirus will attraction. Certain, this northwestern nook of Greece is house to the door to Hades and shores that star in Homer’s Odyssey, however we’re extra speaking golden seashores, sun-warmed sea and straight-from-the-surf seafood.
And these are the Hellenic staples that Meraviglia Slow Living has in spades. For those who ever wanted proof that endurance is a advantage, it took native constructor Aris Tzimas twenty years to good his imaginative and prescient. The payoff? Seven hanging suites, every with a non-public pool, backyard and eye-popping Ionian views.
Life right here strikes at a languid tempo. Put up lie-in, begin your day with an alfresco therapy on the sea-gazing spa. Mooch right down to Monolithi seashore to work on that tan, then it’s again to your suite for a regionally sourced supper delivered straight to your door.
Numo Ierapetra Seashore Resort, Crete
Prepared to drag an Irish goodbye on the Greek island occasion scene? Numo Ierapetra Beach Resort has you coated. At this adults-only keep on Crete’s quieter southern coast, soothing interiors fall in keeping with the surroundings – influences embody the volcanic gray of the seashore, the tamarisk timber’ earthy greens and the honey tones of the mountains past.
Don’t grasp up your dancing sneakers simply but – down on the pool and seashore bar, mixologists are onerous at work and DJs spin deep home beats. However when a gentler rhythm calls your identify, abscond to the spa or slip away to the secluded second pool.
In spite of everything, you’ll need to be filled with beans come morning to flit in regards to the fairly neighbouring villages, filled with conventional tavernas and low homes. That mentioned, there are three eating places on the lodge, every showcasing recent Cretan produce – snag your self a candlelit spot on the fine-dining terrace proper by the waves, and also you would possibly discover staying put appears the smart resolution.
SPAIN
Nobu Resort Ibiza Bay
You’d suppose the namesake restaurant can be the headline act at Nobu Hotel, however prime billing is hotly contested at this luxurious Ibiza resort. Chef Matsuhisa’s miso black cod has competitors within the type of a Six Senses spa and the scene-y white sands of Talamanca Bay seashore. Right here, sun-drenched days are dawdled away on plush double daybeds, supplemented, maybe, by a frankincense-scented therapy on the spa or some beats-a-tea-towel memento looking within the artisanal boutique.
And when massive names band collectively in Ibiza, a bells-and-whistles night time out is all however assured. First cease, the John Frieda salon to fine-tune your look, adopted by the Nobu bar for some see-and-be-seen sake sipping. From there, the lodge can kind membership tickets, however DJ-spun beats hold the cool youngsters on the pool bar until late.
El Vicenç de la Mar, Mallorca
Sculptural ridges and the electric-blue Balearic kind the backdrop for El Vicenç de la Mar, a boutique keep on Mallorca’s dramatic north coast, the place the Serra de Tramuntana plunges into the ocean. Between the pool with heart-pattering views and the resident grasp mixologists, there’s a persuasive case to be made for indefinite rooftop lounging. However actually, that is surroundings finest seen on two wheels – and the lodge has bikes to hire and a restore store onsite, so that you’re all set to hop within the saddle.
The rewards for returning cyclists are lots. The spa is your restoration pitstop, the place a Turkish bathtub and cramp-banishing therapies beckon. Aches averted, restorative treats await within the two eating places, the place the Mediterranean menus are overseen by a Michelin-starred chef.
Puente Romano Seashore Resort, Marbella
If ever a lodge referred to as for an enormous floppy hat and your most outrageous sunnies, it’s Puente Romano. On Marbella’s Golden Mile, this sprawling resort is the most important identify on the town – or fairly, a group of the most important names. Nobu and Coya quantity among the many 20 eating places and bars, and there’s an award-winning spa by Smith favorite Six Senses. Plus, Fendi have taken trendy cost of the seashore membership for the summer time.
However there’s no should be starstruck. Regardless of its measurement and celeb-luring credentials (Djokovic is a daily on the tennis membership), the resort’s whitewashed buildings and strollable sub-tropical gardens lend it a laidback village really feel. Lively types can strive their hand at browsing, stand-up paddle boarding or skippering one of many lodge’s non-public crusing boats, however actually, it’s the super-luxe sluggish life the place Puente Romano’s star high quality shines.
ITALY
Verdura Resort, Sicily
A household affair in all senses, Verdura Resort is the joint effort of hotelier Rocco Forte and his designer sister Olga Polizzi. Interiors are, after all, supremely trendy – darkish wooden and daring patterns are paired with lashings of pure mild. However Eleanor Pritchard prints don’t imply a lot to Little Smiths, so swing by the award-winning youngsters’ membership – antics embody artwork courses, seashore journeys and coaching classes on the Juventus academy.
Juniors off your fingers, head for the super-size spa, the place soothing therapies are infused with Sicilian herbs and the hammam is spacious sufficient to gap up in for so long as your nerves want. In any other case, conceal out on one of many two championship golf programs, or go awol underneath the orange timber within the balmy gardens.
Bringing the prolonged clan? Guide a villa for ample acreage plus a bevy of VIP bonuses, together with a non-public seashore cabana, outings deliberate by the resident Sicily professional, and – maybe most crucially – a bottle of bubbly on arrival.
Capo La Gala and Wellness, Amalfi Coast
Amore can’t assist however flourish on the Amalfi Coast – these swoon-inducing views be sure that of that – however Capo La Gala and Wellness, 5 miles from Sorrento, makes a greater than worthy wingman.
The lodge’s design is an ode to its seaside setting, filled with navy stripes and nautical prospers, besides, the true star right here is your plus one. Date nights comply with a heart-fluttering method: Mediterranean positive eating, adopted by a Tyrrhenian-gazing tipple on the bar and a hand-in-hand stroll alongside the rocky seashore – the scene, native legend has it, of a star-crossed love story.
The seafoam-green spa woos with wildflower-infused therapies, and down by the seashore, the osteria is open for lingering love-is-in-the-air lunches. There could also be loads of fish within the sea, but when it’s a boutique love nest by the seashore that your coronary heart wishes, Capo La Gala is The One.
UK
Three Mile Seashore, Cornwall
Three Mile Beach on Cornwall’s north coast delivers the basic Nice British seaside vacation with a glamorous twist – packing record: bucket, spade and Bulgari shades. In every of the 15 seashore homes, cheery-coloured clapboard (and a wet day board recreation assortment) ship a dose of seaside nostalgia; out in your non-public terrace, a cedar-hewn sunken sizzling tub and barrel sauna nudge issues into diva territory.
Each home has a kitchen, too, however when you’re tied up with a sea salt-scented soak on the deck, name on the non-public chef. Even higher, come out for an Atlantic-facing feast, courtesy of the tuk-tuk turned bar and meals truck dispensing globetrotting tapas.
And steps away, the nominative miles of golden sand await on Gwithian seashore, the place browsing, biking and seal-spotting are all the fad.
Wish to get off the overwhelmed monitor? Hunt down our decide of the world’s best hidden beaches
