Sorry, Kid: These 9 Luxe Resorts Are for Grown-Ups Only

Sandra Ramani

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With family and multi-generational travel on the rise, many hotels and resorts are catering to that clientele with things like larger suites, casual dining options, and kid-friendly facilities and activities. Which is great—unless you’re an adult who’d rather not spend your vacation looking for a quiet spot on the beach or in the restaurant. At these nine hotels with minimum age requirements, couples or groups of friends will find things like vintage champagne salons, underground spas, romance and adventure concierges, and open-walled rainforest villas—all made for a grown-up getaway.

Casa Angelina

Hidden high on the cliffs overlooking the Amalfi Coast, between the towns of Positano and Amalfi, Casa Angelina offers a dreamy, intimate getaway for guests aged 12 and over. Designed in a contemporary, minimalist style, the 39 rooms and suites come with things like private balconies or terraces, Jo Malone amenities, and designer furnishings. Higher category suites also have extras like Philippe Starck bathtubs and binoculars for scanning the coastline. (Each unit is also decorated in all-white, so it’s even better that there are no chocolate-covered little fingers around.) With 35 percent of guests getting engaged on property, the hotel offers a dedicated Proposal Concierge who can arrange things like private chef-led cooking classes on the rooftop terrace, sunset boat rides, and romantic dinners—even if you’re not there to “say yes.”

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The Henderson Park Inn

A romantic, New England-style inn on the sandy shores of the Northwest Florida Panhandle? At The Henderson Park Inn, it works. Set on the white sand beaches of Florida’s Emerald Coast, in the coastal city of Destin, the 36-room inn is the region’s only adults-only hotel. To book a room, guests need to be at least 25 years old (unless married.) With no little ones to worry about, the spacious rooms and suites feature balconies, fireplaces, and whirlpool tubs, while the on-site amenities include complimentary beach services and bike rentals. (Guests also have access to the facilities at sister property, The Henderson Beach Resort & Spa, which is home to a Salamander Spa.) Rates include breakfast, a picnic-style lunch (which you can take on a bike or boat ride), afternoon tea, and happy hour. For dinner, book a “Toes in the Sand” dining experience at the Beach Walk Café, the only fine-dining restaurant in the area that’s set right on the Gulf.

Post Ranch Inn

One hundred acres of was once a vast homestead and working ranch along the California coast has, since the ’90s, been home to one of the top-rated luxury hotels in the country. Located in Big Sur, along a stunning stretch overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Post Ranch Inn is made of a collection of buildings each more unique than the last, from mountain-side homes designed to curve around old-growth trees to treehouses built on nine-foot stilts and suites that look like they are cantilevering off the side of a cliff—so it’s a good thing that the no guests under 18 are allowed to run around the place. All accommodations are designed for adult-time, with (depending on the room) touches like private entrances, wood-burning fireplaces, soaking tubs, and outdoor hot tubs; none have TVs or alarm clocks, to further promote the relaxing vibe. Elsewhere on-site, enjoy ocean-view infinity pools, a full-service spa, multiple elegant dining options, and excellent spots for taking in sunset and night sky views.

Domes Noruz Chania, Autograph Collection

For its first adults-only property (this one welcomes guests 16 and older), Autograph Collection headed to the coast of the Greek island of Crete. Notable for its contemporary design, Domes Noruz Chania has 83 rooms and suites, each with a plunge pool and hammock (or, in top-tier ones, larger pools and Jacuzzis). You won’t have to navigate any vacationing kids at shared spaces like the two resort pools (one with swim-up bar) or the underground Soma spa, which has its own pool and juice bar. Take advantage of on-site activities like private yoga sessions and dinners of sushi and poke bowls, or enjoy exclusive off-site fun like hikes or helicopter rides to the Samaria Gorge, moonlit jazz on the beach, brewery tours, and speedboat trips to secluded beaches.

Viceroy Riviera Maya

With amenities like dedicated butlers for the 41 villas (each also comes with a pool, hammock, and outdoor shower) to a Soap Concierge (who’ll customize the products in your bathroom) and an in-house Shaman (who greets guests with a traditional Mayan welcome), Viceroy Riviera Maya aims to make guests 12 and older feel relaxed and at home. You’ll find plenty of that at the spa, too, where treatments like the Xaman-EK “Love Ritual”—a couple’s massage and herbal soak—have been crafted to foster re-connecting with a partner. Take a dip in the Caribbean or a moonlight swim in your private pool, swing in a hammock to the sounds of the jungle, sip hand-crafted cocktails in the library, or sign-up for a tasting/cooking pairing sessions like “Mezcal and Ceviche” or “Tequila and Tacos.”

Goodstone Inn & Restaurant

For some serene downtime and excellent food and wine, head an hour outside of Washington, DC, to Middleburg, in the heart of Virginia’s “wine and hunt” country. There, on 265-acres of rolling hills and farmland, sits the Goodstone Inn, a romantic 18-room, six-residence hideaway that welcomes guests 14 years-old and over. While there’s plenty to enjoy in the area, from hiking and winery visits to hot air balloon rides, you’ll probably just want to relax in a hammock, in the gardens, or around a fireplace at the property—except come meal times, which are highlights of a Goodstone stay. Using ingredients sourced from the on-site farm, orchards, apiary, and chicken coops, the chefs create award-winning fare for the French-inspired fine dining restaurant and the newly unveiled bistro—all of which can be paired with something from the extensive wine cellar.

Playa Cativo Lodge

Tucked away in the rainforests of the Dulce coast, on Costa Rica’s southwestern Osa Peninsula, Playa Cativo Lodge is only accessibly by boat, and only welcomes guests aged 12 and up. Built in harmony with the natural surroundings, the beachfront eco-luxe lodge has just 18 guest rooms and casitas, all crafted using reclaimed hardwoods and colorful tiles, and all featuring an open-walled design that frames 180-degree views from the ocean to the rainforest. If you can tear yourself away from your sanctuary, head out on an excursion planned by the Adventure Center Concierge, such as a dolphin- and whale-spotting boat trip; a kayak tour through the mangroves; a hike to a waterfall; or a Off-Grid Alternative Energy Tour, on which you’ll learn about the Lodge’s sustainability and clean energy programs. Both the main restaurant and the sunset bar draw from ingredients grown in the on-site organic farm, while the Lotus Spa uses herbs and techniques inspired by folk healing traditions.

Las Alcobas Napa Valley

Following the success of its chic Mexico City hotel, the Las Alcobas team headed to California wine country to create a hideaway with an entirely different—though no less sophisticated—vibe. Located in the charming town of St. Helena, in a Georgian-style farmhouse built in 1907, Las Alcobas, Napa Valley (open to guests 16 and older) houses 68 rooms and suites, many with terraces that overlook the Beringer vineyards. Indulgence is the prevailing theme here, from the meals at “Top Chef” Master Chris Cosentino’s Acacia house and the treatments at the Atrio spa to the luxe custom furnishings and plush Rivolta linens that adorn the rooms. In addition to visiting vineyards and wineries in the area, guests can just walk across a bridge from the hotel to the Beringer vineyards to enjoy a tasting—a unique, and decidedly adult, perk.

Blantyre

Set in a 1902 Tudor-style mansion and estate, and surrounded by 110 acres of rolling lawns and pristine woodlands, the Relais & Chateaux-member Blantyre in the Berkshires still feels the grand private home that it once was—right down to intimate guest experience, which typically concludes each night with cognac and live piano music around the ornate parlor’s original fireplaces. It’s not a setting that screams “family-friendly”—so it makes sense that the hotel has an age 16-and-up policy. (Younger guests are welcome with a full property buy-out.) The classically-elegant rooms are located both in the main manor house and a nearby converted carriage house; a few stand-alone cottages are also available for larger parties. Make like you’re in the Gilded Age with round of croquet, afternoon tea (or sherry) on the terrace, lobster picnics on the lawn, and refined meals at the fine dining The Conservatory, where the menu changes daily. More modern additions include the seasonal Dom Perignon Champagne Salon, which serves specialty vintages and bubbly-based cocktails, and the spa, featuring a quiet pool and organic product-based treatments.

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