Fly & Flop

Perhaps the most purely indulgent form of travel, a fly & flop is all about relaxation. It’s hard to argue with the concept of checking into a resort – where everything you could ever need or want is at your fingertips -- and never leaving, but for some reason, the concept fills travelers’ brains with panic. But if the end of a long year has you yearning to travel, and you’re in no mood to keep up with the pressures of sightseeing and dinner reservations, these 10 resorts are waiting for you…all you need to do is book your plane ticket.

La Residencia, a Belmond Hotel

Mallorca

In such a sublime setting, between the rugged Tramuntana mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, amid towering cypresses and fragrant olive trees, nothing, could really be bad -- but the Belmond La Residencia manages to be impressive in spite of its enchanting surroundings. The 72-room property, housed in converted 16th century stone villas, hugs the gentle hillside, where a labyrinth of pebbled walkways leads guests past quiet gardens, sun drenched patios, and impossibly perfect lookout points. Rooms, sweetly tuned with the essence of home, have the honeyed patina of late afternoon sunlight. Stucco fireplaces and terracotta floors are brought to life with local watercolors, tawny ceiling beams, and ikat fabrics. And while rooms provide every temptation to curl up with an albarino and never leave, the storybook village of Deia is a five-minute stroll down the hill. 

Amanzoe

Peloponnesus

A place so utterly beautiful, you’d think its name was Greek for “perfection,” Amanzoe is a flawless display of intelligent design. The hilltop property sits poised above Porto Heli, a tiny resort town on the Peloponnese, offering views of distant olive groves and swaths of Aegean blue. White colonnades and carved entablatures recall the country’s architectural history, while swaths of slate and marble direct the aesthetic towards the modern era. Standalone guest pavilions, set between walled courtyards and swaying cypress trees, are supremely private and feature slate plunge pools. Guests spend their days lounging at the on-site beach club or exploring the nearby islands of Spetses and Hydra, before gathering for nightly sunset cocktails on the property’s legendary terrace.

Little Palm Island

Florida Keys

When you first step foot on the sandy shores of Little Palm Island, it’s hard to reconcile that this is, in fact, Florida, not the West Indies. Theme parks, night clubs, and race tracks are all but faint memories at this adult-only paradise, where the outside world fades away with the removal of your first flip flop. It’s easy to live by the Little Palm motto “Get Lost,” as you while your days away in the belly of a beachfront hammock or cast your reel in placid bonefish flats – your most troubling concern being where to enjoy your sunset round of Gumby Slumbers. If you care to venture beyond the privacy of your suite’s shady terrace, sunrise massages and torch-lit dinners on the beach are highly recommended.   

Sweet Bocas

Bocas del Toro

Sweet Bocas is the realized dream of Canadian born, African raised, restauranteur-turned-hotelier Annick Belanger. As exotic as its owner, this seven-bedroom villa sits on a floating platform above a private lagoon – its open-air, hammock-strung gathering spaces the pure embodiment of a Caribbean vacation. At Sweet Bocas, mornings are filled with yoga on floating pontoons and afternoons are spent surfing, ATVing, and swimming with manatees. Evenings begin with sunset boat rides to beachside rum shacks and end with night fishing for shrimp, knee deep in the river. Sweet Bocas is the opposite of your everyday. It isn’t a place, but a deep exhale.

Blackberry Mountain

Great Smoky Mountains

The wilder younger sister of famed Blackberry Farm, Blackberry Mountain opened in 2019. Town and Country Magazine called the pair of properties an “Appalachian Arcadia;” where at the Farm you’ll find rolling lawns and picturesque red barns, 20  minutes away and 2,800 feet higher into the clouds, you’ll forage for wild morels and spend an afternoon learning to throw clay pots on the wheel in the ceramics studio. Your room may contain the full 12-book Foxfire set, a how-to series written in the 1970s about life in Southern Appalachia (“Moonshining as a fine art” and “Making a foot powered lathe” among the articles), but if you’re worn out after a long hike, the Mountain staff will drop you at your cottage in one of the property’s Lexus GXs – just the type of balance we’d expect from a resort perched on top of a peak.

COMO Parrot Cay

Turks + Caicos

A private island resort with a health and wellness focus, the 75-room COMO Parrot Cay is one of the most luxurious resorts in Turks and Caicos. The sprawling 1,000-acre property is a 30-minute boat ride from Providenciales, offering guests unrivaled privacy in a tranquil atmosphere. The standout feature is the COMO Shambhala spa, a world renowned wellness facility with a yoga pavilion, Pilates studio, numerous treatment rooms, and an in-house Ayurvedic doctor. The holistic theme continues in restaurants, where chefs happily cater to individual dietary restrictions. Rooms have a simple Balinese style and high-end amenities, while the resort’s private villas have luxe features like outdoor showers and private pools.

Adare Manor

Limerick

Ireland is no stranger to the private estate-turned-hotel property. It seems as though every castle hotel or manor house has been the former home of some esoteric earl or obscure viscount. And while Adare Manor certainly finds itself wedged in this category, it stands apart from the rest after the completion of a two-year, 130 million euro renovation -- the most expensive in Ireland’s history. After a grand reopening in 2018, Adare Manor stands poised as one of Ireland’s best hotels. From its hulking neo-gothic exterior, across its meticulously manicured grounds, to its exquisitely designed rooms, no detail has been overlooked. And with a Tom Fazio designed golf course, an array of outdoor activities, and five distinct dining experiences, no matter how many days you spend at Adare, there will always be a reason to return.

The Brando

Tetiaroa

When filming Mutiny on the Bounty here in 1962, Marlon Brando called the island of Tetiaroa “beautiful beyond capacity to describe,” so it’s only fitting that his namesake resort leaves visitors inadequately equipped to explain its appeal. Sure, there are lots of beautiful spots in French Polynesia, but this private island resort 33 miles from Tahiti still feels like a movie set. A sanctuary for endemic flora and fauna, the Brando’s pristine beaches, coral gardens, and sandy lagoons form a kind of paradise few people are lucky enough to experience in a lifetime – a place where palm-roofed villas appear between coconut groves and star-filled skies provide the only night light. Have breakfast delivered by outrigger canoe or learn to play the pahu in the middle of the afternoon. At the Brando, the simplest pleasures become the world’s most exquisite indulgences.  

Amangiri

Canyon Point

It took ten years and an Act of Congress to construct Amangiri, on a 600-acre expanse of wilderness in Southern Utah. Like a mirage in a vast desert, Amangiri appears from nothingness – a rock-hewn structure emerging from its colossal surrounds. The 35-room resort is tucked away in a protected valley, with sweeping views of the colorful, stratified rock that stretches toward Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Architecturally, Amangiri seamlessly blends into the landscape, with natural hues, materials, and textures incorporated into the sleek design. Its modern structures echo the grandeur of their natural surroundings, but provide an intimate setting to relax within the region’s immense beauty. Some guests spend their days exploring the desert, while others opt for the pool (built around a rock formation, naturally) and epic spa.

One & Only Portonovi

Bay of Kotor

Not many people while their days away dreaming of Montenegro. Those who make it here often do so by happenstance – because they’re visiting Croatia and decided to take a road trip or because Kotor was one of the ports of call wedged between more exciting destinations like Dubrovnik or Bari. But One & Only, the luxury resort brand known for its exclusive enclaves in far-flung locales like the Maldives, Rwanda, and Dubai, is making a splash along the Adriatic coast with its brand new outpost, Portonovi. The decadent newness of this 131-room resort is only outdone by its majestic setting at the mouth of Boka Bay, framed by a backdrop of black mountain peaks and medieval villages. Portonovi puts everything imaginable at guests’ fingertips – Michelin star dining by Giorgio Locatelli, wellness by Chenot Espace, an outdoor pool for every day of the week, and a laundry list of outdoor activities ranging from boat charters to day hikes.