A Caribbean revival and sunbathing with DiCaprio: 2019's best beach resorts revealed
It's cold outside, in Europe at least. But there are plenty of private island resorts and beautiful beach boltholes you can escape to over the coming months. Here's our take on the most exciting new beach break destinations set to emerge in 2019.
The Maldives a resort revolution
It can be difficult to ascertain points of distinction in the morass of high-end resorts spread across the Maldives, but this Indian Ocean idyll is perhaps the luxury-travel world’s quintessential beach destination. Over the coming months, a slew of new arrivals will go all out to ensure they stand out in what is already a saturated market.
On the undeveloped Raa Atoll, just-opened Joali is the country’s first immersive art hotel; by the end of 2019, it will be complemented by a nearby standalone Joali wellness retreat. Opening this month, solar-powered Kudadoo aims to be the Maldives’ ‘first truly all-inclusive luxury private island’. Whether you want a champagne breakfast or four massages a day, it’s all covered by rates that start at £2,450 a night.
New arrivals in the new year include The Nautilus, developed by a noted Maldivian considered one of the country’s tourism pioneers. His intimate 26-villa ‘sanctuary free from time’ has dispensed with rigid scheduling – jet-lagged travellers can breakfast at 5pm if they wish – and its waters are rich with manta rays, whale sharks and green turtles.
Distinctive design will set Lux* North Malé Atoll apart. Instead of traditionally thatched villas, guests will reside in two-storey ‘penthouses’, inspired by superyachts and the facades of Miami’s South Beach.
To make travellers’ choices even harder, the above properties will soon be joined by new resorts from some of the world’s foremost hospitality brands, not least JW Marriott,Waldorf Astoria, Raffles and Italy’s Baglioni.By John O’Ceallaigh
South Pacific this island’s mine
When the novel Robinson Crusoe was published 300 years ago, it was considered more of a commentary on society than the stuff of luxury-travel brochures. These days, however, every successful entrepreneur from Silicon Valley to Singapore fantasises about owning their own uninhabited atoll.
The latest example is Guy Laliberté’s Nukutepipi, a triangular-shaped isle about 1.7 miles long in the remote Tuamotu archipelago, about 620 miles from Tahiti and Bora Bora. Over 10 years ago, the pioneering founder of Cirque du Soleil had been on the hunt for a remote escape in the Pacific, and he found it while cruising around French Polynesia: Nukutepipi, which translates loosely as ‘little pearl’.
On buying the island, he spent almost three years studying its existing flora and fauna to ensure nothing was lost during building; it’s currently both a bird and marine sanctuary.
Up until now Laliberté has largely kept Nukutepipi to himself, but from March he will share his Cruso-esque paradise with others (up to 50 people can rent it on an exclusive-use basis for €1m – £875,000– a week), through Sunset Luxury Villas, his personal collection of private retreats.
In anticipation, his team has upgraded the accommodation (there are 13 spacious bungalows on the beach, two junior villas and a master residence). Sustainable farming of chickens, bees and vegetables has been recently introduced; within five years, Laliberté says, the island will be completely self-sufficient.
The combination is attracting significant interest, and it promises to be one of the most extravagant exclusive-use launches of 2019. It’s certainly a lot easier to re-enact Robinson Crusoe when your island has tennis courts, a movie theatre, DJ booth and two restaurants, and a massage therapist, yoga teacher and dive master on call.
By Gisela Williams
South Africa sweet water works
South Africa is blessed with 1,700 miles of extraordinary coastline, but few stretches compare to the World Heritage Site found near the continent’s southern tip.
An 84,000-acre sanctuary for bontebok (antelope) and Cape mountain zebra, De Hoop Nature Reserve is also the largest protected area of rare lowland heathland, a twitchers’ delight, and home to the continent’s biggest Southern Right whale nursery–a record 1,116 cows and calves were photographed within the marine reserve in August.
For decades, access to the eastern portion of the reserve was limited to Whale Trail hikers, but that is set to change this April, when Natural Selection opens its seven-room eco-lodge. Lekkerwater – literally ‘sweet water’ – Beach Lodge was built on the footprint of the name-sake cottage that was FW De Klerk’s ‘Camp David’ between 1990 and 1994. It was here that De Klerk took the call from Norway informing him that he and Mandela had won the Nobel Peace Prize.
"There are not many undisturbed, complete reef systems left," says Colin Bell, co-founder of Natural Selection. "The revenues generated will help protect one of the richest coastal and marine reserves in Africa."
By Pippa de Bruyn
Via Natural Selection Travel From £158 pp
The Carribbean back in business
St Barts, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands were devastated in September 2017 by Hurricane Irma, but they – and, in fact, the whole Caribbean – are firmly back on the map this winter season. Throughout the region, resorts are preparing to show off the results of top-to-tail rebuilds and renovations.
The biggest splash is the return of Cap Juluca on Anguilla, totally redone by Belmond. CuisinArt has also reopened, as have Malliouhana (under new ownership but still managed by Auberge) and the Four Seasons.
Several of St Barts ’ stalwarts – Villa Marie, Le Toiny, Le Sereno and Cheval Blanc Isle de France - have reopened. Eden Rock, Le Guanahani and Hotel Barrière are on track to open at some point next year. Barbuda was hit terribly, but curious castaways could try the new faux-rustic Barbuda Belle.
On nearby Antigua, Hodges Bay has finally opened, and Oetker Collection’s Jumby Bay is in magnificent form. Silversands on Grenada debuted this month, while Mandarin Oriental has brought a reliability to Canouan in the Grenadines. On Barbados, Fairmont’s refurbed Royal Pavilion is a triumph. The exception is the poor old BVI.
Its waters are as beautiful as ever (so you could consider sailing), but on land only Guana and Necker Island have opened. Peter Island, Biras Creek and Rosewood’s Little Dix Bay are now gunning for next winter or beyond.In the meantime, Rosewood fans can opt for its recently opened property in the Bahamas, which has some of the comfiest rooms in Nassau.
By James Henderson
Sunny Days some other sparkling new arrivals
Extraordinarily, Hotel Byblos in Saint-Tropez has never had a private beach, until now. Opening in April, Byblos Beach Ramatuelle will feature a Mediterranean restaurant, bar and its own stretch of sand with sunbeds.
In Puglia, Rocco Forte Hotels has taken over the stunning 16th-century Masseria Torre Maizza near Savelletri di Fasano and will reopen it in May with 10 new suites, a rooftop bar and a private beach club.
On the Greek island of Santorini the sleek-but-earthy, all-suite Andronis Arcadia will open in June on the edge o f pretty Oia, with the island’s most comprehensive spa and its largest pool.
Further afield, Six Senses launches in Cambodia this month with the opening of the all-pool villa resort Six Senses Krabey Island, which will feature an observatory.
On Mozambique’s Quirimbas archipelago, Mogundula Private Island, an exclusive-use five-bedroom retreat by the owners of nearby Ibo Island Lodge, will open this summer.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Blackadore Caye near Ambergris Caye in Belize is finally expected to launch sometime in 2019. Designed to meet the sustainability minded Living Building Challenge, the development will be completely powered by renewable energy.
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