Image Name: sunset-facing beachfront
If the Tahiti on-screen scenes during the Paris Olympics appeal, then head to Le Tikehau, a private island neighbor of Fa rench Polynesian island hosting the surfing event. Over shallow crystalline seas of variegated blue, thatched cottages with glass-floor parts are suspended, interspersed with reefs colored with fluttering fish. Unlike at Tahiti’s Teahupo’o, where strong rollers pull a surf crowd, here it’s newlyweds slipping into a silent lagoon off the pink-sanded shores, and sipping sunset-hued cocktails after gardenia-scented massages in the on-site spa.
Grenada’s Calabash Hotel
Concurrent Grenada is a logical choice for anyone with a taste for food since it is bursting with farms raising nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger – the most Christmassy of smells. Along with the Calabash Hotel, a family-run resort with just 30 suites but three restaurants, The Island of Spice boasts beautiful beaches and rich green hiking paths. Pulling all the brakes for the Christmas meals results in an extravagant buffet on December 25th preceded by a Boxing Day rum sampling. The hotel can also schedule tours to markets, cocoa fields, and a local’s house for a Grenadian lunch from garden to table.
One&Only Mandarina Mexico
Perhaps you still want lots of holiday cheer but of a different taste in which case this luxury stay at Riviera Nayarit on Mexico’s Pacific Coast offers with its unique December events calendar. From restorative yoga to tortilla-making, barista seminars, or temazcal cleansing ceremonies in a conventional Mexican sweat lodge, pick. That is if you can drag yourself away from your treehouse base, overlooking a rainforest and marine view with private deck plunge pools. In these circumstances, instead of pear tree partridges, look for exotic birds tucked up in tall figures.
Image Name: The eco-friendly experience
Hermitage Bay, Antigua
An adults-only resort is a solution for anyone who wants to avoid the Christmas pandemonium caused by too eager young people. Hermitage Bay, an all-inclusive tropical paradise covering 140 acres of garden on Antigua’s sunset-facing white beachfront, reopened just after a major refurbishment. You will toast the holidays with rum punches and lobster at the new beach club, stretch out in updated suites with new private pools, or relax with private meditation sessions in the picture-perfect spa instead of juvenile Father Christmas kitsch.
Tanzania’s Bawe Island
Originally a 15-minute speedboat trip from Zanzibar’s ancient Stone Town, this new 30-hectare private island resort has been raising Tanzania’s luxury level since it opened in June. Cast off from Zanzibar While DJ-soundtracked sunsets at the bar, several restaurants, and top-notch diving tempt you off the sun deck, epic indoor-outdoor villas with private pools encircle the island – precisely the place to ring in Christmas Day.
Conclusion
Trade the frost and fog this Christmas for sun and sand. These tropical destinations have something for everyone whether your search is for a lavish break, an eco-friendly experience, or a quiet haven. From the isolated beaches of Nihi Sumba to the private islands of Islas Secas, the biodiversity of Madagascar to the gastronomic pleasures of Grenada, there is the ideal place just waiting for you. Plan your escape right now to savor an unlike Christmas.
