HOTELS • October 2020

The Club’s favourite winter sun escapes

If you’re in need of a sensational getaway to escape the chill, these knock-out hotels are the hottest (and safest) spots for a fix of the warm stuff. Better yet, all are available via British Airways Holidays and booking.com – where you’ll collect Avios as part of the bargain

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Curtain Bluff, Antigua

Location: On a small peninsula on the island’s south side, Curtain Bluff is flanked by two beaches, one with crashing waves, the other with calm waters for swimming in. Flowering orchids grow in the trunks of the palm trees and hummingbirds join you for breakfast.
What’s on offer: Water-skiing, sailing and snorkelling (or just contemplate conch shells rolling in the surf). There’s a 5,000sqft spa, and you can take cooking classes, play squash or sample wines from the spectacular cellar.
Best bit: Owner Chelle Hulford invites guests to a weekly drinks party at her cliff-top house. Everyone has worked here for years and you’ll feel as if you’re returning to a second home.

Take off to Antigua

The Residence, Dhigurah, Maldives

Location: The Residence sits the 2km island of Dhigurah on the uncrowded Gaafu Alifu Atoll and immerses you in a natural abundance of blue sapphire lagoons, sand as fine as icing sugar and lush greenery. All villas have large private pools and ocean views, yet remain delightfully secluded.
What’s on offer: Spend days sun- and sea-worshipping, cycling along sandy paths between banana and palm trees populated by cuckoo bats, or diving to frolic with turtles and crazily striped fish among the coral reefs.
Best bit: Take a boat trip before dusk to watch families of dolphins spinning out of the water, then chug on towards a marmalade sunset.

Take off to the Maldives

Hilton Labriz Resort & Spa, Seychelles

Location: Just 40 minutes by boat – or 15 minutes by helicopter – from Mahé, this is the only resort on car-free Silhouette Island, the rest of which is pristine rainforest, dramatic mountains and Insta-exceptional beaches.
What’s on offer: Snorkel with (harmless) white-tip sharks in its shallow lagoon, or find ‘me time’ in the eforea spa: a jungle sprawl of treatment rooms and private pools cut from surrounding granite boulders.
Best bit: This island was made for walking, so don’t skip a trek along the old coconut trail to Anse Mondon, one of many pinch-yourself-you’re-in-paradise beaches. Affable guides will get you there safely and point out exceptional flora and fauna along the way.

Take off to the Seychelles

Palacio Can Marques Palma, Mallorca

Location: All sultry curves and labyrinthine suites, this 18th-century Old Town bolthole has been sensitively restored by Parisian designer Aline Matsika with a hint of St Barths flash. Of the 13 rooms, the showpiece is the Riad, which sleeps up to six in three ensuite bedrooms and has a plunge pool and a terrace with dreamy views of the cobbled streets.
What’s on offer: In the main hotel, a mixologist whips up potent tipples on the rooftop, or enjoy a glass of bubbles at the Lanson Champagne bar. Downstairs, the palm-fringed courtyard provides al-fresco meals.
Best bit: Stroll to the nearby marina, where you’ll find WinWin, the Palacio’s superyacht. Hop aboard for a private excursion.

Take off to Mallorca

Tintswalo Atlantic, Cape Town

Location: Only half an hour from the city, yet light years from the thrum, this unparalleled hideaway with a super-light carbon footprint virtually melts into the crook of shoreline at the foot of Chapman’s Peak, in Table Mountain National Park.
What’s on offer: It’s very intimate, with just a few public spaces, including a pool. Linked by raised boardwalks, each timber-built room is cheerful and cushioning (and you might even spy whales and dolphins from your bed). Staff will arrange boat trips, penguin-spotting, shark-cage diving, helicopter flits to the Winelands or a full-blown safari.
Best bit: Hiking up the mountain on your doorstep.

Take off to Cape Town

Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, Nice

Location: Less than an hour after your flight’s touched down in Nice, you could be sunbathing in one of the chic new cabanas at this legendary hotel.
What’s on offer: There’s a Michelin-starred chef in the kitchen, so expect lunch to be long and delicious. This being one of the most exclusive addresses on the Cap since 1908, you can look forward to plenty of other ooh-la-la moments during your stay, from the glass funicular that whisks you to the beach, to the landscaped gardens, marble floors and faultless service.
Best bit: Exploring the stunning coastline behind the wheel of a classic 1960s car, equipped with a personalised driving route and a feast created by the hotel chefs.

Take off to Nice

Round Hill Hotel and Villas, Jamaica

Location: A 25-minute drive from Montego Bay airport, the kids will barely manage an ‘Are we there yet?’ before the rainforest clears and you spot the pinstriped awning of Round Hill’s iconic lobby.
What’s on offer: Back in the 1950s, Round Hill Hotel & Villas was where the who’s who of high society came to bag themselves a Gatsby-esque cottage (American fashion designer Ralph Lauren still owns his, almost 40 years later). These days, the 36 ocean-front guestrooms and 27 private villas open their French doors to families, honeymooners and the beau monde alike.
Best bit: There’s nothing you could want from a tropical resort that these guys haven’t already thought of, but don’t let beaches, bars, water sports and Kids’ Clubs distract you from a trip to its particularly perfect spa.

Take off to Jamaica