Paradise, like beauty, depends on who’s looking. Yet while this selection of private-island crashpads and beachfront beauties varies in character — from hushed Balearics outposts to culture-rich Indonesian idylls — first impressions invariably run along one theme: mind-blowing. In these hotels, time and possibility stretch out before you like the horizon, whose sidelong position really is where, in parallel, you’ll want to be.
The Sanubari
Sumba, Indonesia
You’d be forgiven for assuming The Sanubari was dreamt up for some sort of elaborate Hollywood dream sequence, except this stretch of paradise on Indonesia’s isle of Sumba is, in fact, real. There really are enormous stone shrines mysteriously scattered across the landscape; you really can ‘swim’ with horses along deserted white-sand beaches; the island really is inhabited by a community still living by the ancestral practices of an ancient megalithic civilisation. You’ll not play Indiana Jones here, but you will drift into a state where the modern world quietly falls away.
Broaden your horizontals The bar, predictably, is right on the sand, making it almost too easy to kick back with a banana daiquiri or vodka, lemongrass and lime.
Six Senses Douro Valley
Portugal
For many – and you need only consult, oh… just every ancient sacred text — paradise is closely associated with wine. At Six Senses Douro Valley, you can be closely associated with wine, too. On the hotel’s sun-drenched terrace, say, overlooking the river and row upon endless row of vines. Or by pairing a glass or two of the good stuff with locally reared lamb and estate-grown vegetables. Or in the wine ‘library’ a high-class take on the vending machine where you can pick your own mini bottle from an extensive Douro Valley selection.
Broaden your horizontals the saltwater pool, lined neatly with loungers and parasols, is hidden down a flight of stairs and looks directly along the Douro River, shimmering under its heat-blurred haze.
Jicaro Island Lodge
Nicaragua
You’re cast adrift on an inland sea, washing up on a tiny island of coconut palms, mango trees and very little else. Well, except for Jicaro Island Lodge. Here, your dream comes into hazy focus. By the shore stands a row of stilted, overwater casitas crafted from recycled wood; nearby, pancakes doused in rum are served to other dreamers on a floating deck overlooking the green cone of Mombacho, a sleeping volcano. Much like you here, it’s very relaxed, with no eruptions in 500 years.
Broaden your horizontals From each casita hangs a luxurious hammock for daydreaming and gazing across Lake Nicaragua.
Teranka
Formentera, Spain
Formentera earns its paradise credentials by virtue of being the last in a line of Balearic Islands where, with each sea crossing, the bohemian spirit of the archipelago grows more concentrated, until it finds its purest expression at Teranka. Surrounded by pine forest and sand dunes, the hotel’s unfussy textures of rattan and wood put you at ease instantly, setting the tone for days that drift between long lunches, barefoot walks to the beach and evenings that arrive on island time — rather than by the clock.
Broaden your horizontals Rows of superior double day-beds make Teranka’s pool terrace attractive to couples — and that’s before you factor in the waitstaff who circulate, proffering free samples of freshly blended juices and slices of chilled fruit.
Gili Lankanfushi
Maldives
Thatched roofs, turquoise lagoon, wooden walkways over the water: all the Maldives prerequisites are present and correct at Gili Lankanfushi. But it’s the little details that make this particular nirvana a cut above: at the spa, ask for a massage table with a glass floor so you can spy on the fish darting around beneath you. From room service, choose breakfast that primes you for the day, with platters called things like ‘Pre-dive’ or ‘Spa Day’, or book in a private screening at the jungle cinema. Every inch of this five-star stay is geared towards one thing: your complete and utter relaxation.
Broaden your horizontals Even the entry-level villas here have overwater sundecks with two sun-beds, an umbrella and stairs leading to the ocean. Upstairs, there’s a large rooftop sundeck with day-beds and a dining space.
Feeling at ease? Why not drift over to our round-up of the top wellness retreats for 2026…