Where to rest your head at night
Known as a ‘conservation jewel,’ Tetepare is a unique, locally owned and managed eco lodge, housing only 13 visitors at a time. You’ll sleep in a leaf-house set on the edge of the rainforest, close to a sparkling azure lagoon. Explore rich coral reefs and cultural sites, assist rangers with conservation work and snorkel in one of the largest marine protected areas in the Solomons.
In 1993, Taula and Litia Sini closed their small shop on Upolu Island and restored this once-dilapidated area into a beautiful resort. There are 16 modern yet traditional-looking Samoan beachfront falés to choose from – all with superb ocean views.
This resort is part of the Sini’s vision to welcome overseas visitors to their home, and provide a sustainable living to their children, family and village. While you’re there, take a day trip to the local village of Lalomanu, where you can have a crack at weaving with coconut fronds and help prepare an umu, the traditional Samoan feast cooked in the ground.
Step into the Belle Époque in one of Paris’s most lavish new hotels, Maison Souquet. Hidden in the saucy Pigalle district, the abode pays homage to the courtesans who once sashayed through its halls. From the exterior, the only hints of opulence are two red lanterns and a canopy flanking a simple facade, but enter the former house of pleasure and you’ll plunge into a world of intricate panelling, plush furniture and gold, gold, gold.
The 20 rooms offer unique designs created by French artist Jacques Garcia, whose credits include the tearooms of Ladurées, the refurbishment of Château de Versailles and the styling of more than 30 rooms of the Louvre with 18th-century decorative art. This is how one should slumber in the city of love.
This isn’t any ordinary resort. Actually, it’s not a resort at all. This is your own private guesthouse run by Laurel and James Samuela on Moorea Island. You’ll still get all the little mod cons – a barbecue, fully equipped kitchen, iPod dock and the internet – but in a truly local environment. Te Nunoa is Tahitian for ‘red sky’ and that’s exactly what you’ll see every evening from your bungalow, which sleeps up to three adults and two children.
The bungalow is surrounded by a lush garden and just across the road from a gorgeous beach. There are bikes to go exploring, and that’s completely possible on Moorea, one of the bigger islands in French Polynesia. The Samuelas also run a tour company so can organise excursions, including ATV tours, 4WD safaris to the island’s volcanic crater or a snorkel trip where you get to interact with Moorea’s friendly stingrays.
Get back to nature on Gatokae Island in the Solomons’ Western Province. The wonderful Wilderness Lodge, parked on the edge of Marovo Lagoon, has just two private oceanfront bungalows, housing up to four people each, and lodge accommodation for a paltry six more. Each of the bungalows has traditional palm leaf roofs, stunning timber finishings and outdoor stonework showers heated by a wood fire, while the lodge is popular with research groups and families.
Not only will you enjoy real Melanesian hospitality with your host Waelinah, but you’ll also have access to a number of wild, uninhabited islands and the jungle-clad peak of Mt Mariu. There’s snorkelling off the island, or get one of the guides to take you on a tour of epic local spots where you’ll see coral gardens, turtles and fish of all persuasions. For divers, there’s the chance to dive at night on a thousand-foot drop-off and swim with pelagic and sharks. On land, go bird watching, hang out in a hammock by the water, take a tour of the local village or go on a hike through the interior of Gatokae Island.
Oyster Island Resort offers a genuine and warm Vanuatu experience. It’s located in a superb spot, only a short boat ride from Espiritu Santo and a kayak away from the Blue Hole. Choose from a simple Frangipani Bungalow or a bamboo bungalow with hammock – both styles are right on the water, so you can sit in the breeze and just stare out (occasionally a dugong swims by, so it’s not a bad pastime). You can also snorkel straight off the beach, where you can see about 50 different species of fish.
There’s plenty to do around Espiritu Santo. Local tour companies can organise horse riding, trips to the Blue Hole and Champagne Beach, and scuba diving at some of the island’s famous sites like Million Dollar Point and SS President Coolidge.
‘It’s not about the experience of luxury but rather, the luxury of the experience’ states the website of this eco-sensitive, family-run retreat located in New Ireland near Kavieng. Set on a beautiful sandy point and surrounded by spectacular swimming and surfing beaches, and some excellent dive sites, you can do as much or as little as you like here.
It offers several simple, high-quality overwater and beach bungalows that sleep up to six people. For larger groups there’s also a large two-storey house.
When the frenetic pace of city life has you feeling like a battery hen, it’s time to put yourself out to pasture. Check yourself in at the wholesome hideaway that is the Farm at San Benito and begin your personalised journey of transformation, whether you’re after the detox, stress management or wellness options.
While the term ‘holistic wellness’ is used loosely and liberally by any resort that boasts a spa and a gym, this Philippines establishment is the real deal. A team of doctors is on staff and your arrival begins with a rigorous health assessment to map out a course for achieving a new and improved you. You can expect to undergo colonic irrigation, reiki and possibly an intravenous vitamin infusion or a liver and gall bladder flush.
That’s the icky bit, now the indulgent bit: there’s a full suite of spa therapies to enjoy, from body scrubs and massages to facials and steam therapy. The retreat is tucked within 10 hectares of lush landscaped gardens in the foothills of Mount Malarayat and organic produce is all grown on site.
Forget about a Big Mac, meals here are vegan and served raw, using specially designed dehydrators to lock in the natural nutrients and enzymes that make your body sing. By day take part in yoga, meditation, boot camp, calisthenics or trampoline dance, and at night enjoy a moonlight massage, before retreating to your luxurious villa for your makeover’s most important ingredient – a restful night’s sleep.
With no roads, no mobile signal and no electricity, Scotland’s Skiary is the ultimate destination for getting away from everything. The remote cottage, which accommodates just six guests at a time, is located on the shores of Loch Hourn in the northwest Scottish Highlands and is considered one of the most remote places to stay in Britain.
Skiary is only accessible by foot or by boat (don’t worry, your hosts will meet you where the road ends) and is completely disconnected from the stresses of the modern world. Your days are left free to explore the surrounds, unleash your creativity or clear your mind.
Pursue all those activities you’ve ever wanted to try, without technology and the frenzy of life to get in the way. Shoot some nature photography, fish in the loch or observe the wildlife. Local red deer visit at dusk and seals often perch on the rocks nearby.
As for accommodation, think warm, cosy fireplace with gourmet home-cooked meals. Although Skiary may be a digital detox, it’s surely an indulgence of simple pleasures.
Feel like a kid again – or re-create scenes from some of your favourite movies – at these summer camps for adults. With the slogan ‘disconnect to reconnect’, Camp Grounded is the ultimate gadget-free getaway for tech addicts who want to get off the grid. Hand in your smartphone, laptop and assorted devices because here face time honours the true definition of the term, and the only posting you might do involves a mallet and dirt.
This is the perfect environment for grown-ups to tap into more wholesome childhood pastimes. For four days you can roast marshmallows during a campfire singalong, stargaze, learn to play a ukulele, take part in creative workshops, hike, bake, swim in the lake and shoot arrows. Hold your own in a laughing contest and be on guard for one hell of a pillow fight. You’ll have so much fun, you won’t want your gizmos back.
There are camps in New York, Texas and North Carolina, but our favourite Camp Grounded is set on 800 hectares on the edge of Jackson State Forest in California. It’s a renovated 1930s camp, surrounded by old-growth coastal redwoods. Trek into the forest to find secret forts and bands playing late into the night, or take a dip in the River Noyo, which runs through the property.
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