Got a windfall to spend? Then why not blow it sitting by an infinity pool in the Maldives or at the eye-wateringly expensive La Mamounia, where Johnny Ronan and Rosanna Davison were recent guests? ALANNA GALLAGHERselects some luxury resorts that you won't want to leave
1 Angsana Velavaru InOcean Villas, Maldives
This cluster of villas, standing in water on the edge of a reef a kilometre from the island of Velavaru, is a great escape. There is nothing to do but relax and admire the sea life, either at the edge of your deck or with a diving class. Each villa has an infinity pool, hammock and private access to the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. For an aerial view of the Maldives you can book a sightseeing transfer on your way to or from the complex.
- Angsana Velavaru, South Nilandhe Atoll (Dhaalu Atoll), Maldives, 00-800- 30020000, angsana.com. Twohigs (01- 6480800, twohigs.com) has seven nights full board, including flights and taxes, from €2,369 per person sharing, or 10 nights full board from €3,359pps. Valid for travel completed between May 1st and July 14th or August 16th and September 30th
2 Cap Estel, FranceThis luxury seaside villa between Nice and Monaco fast became a fixture of jet-set life on the Côte d'Azur after it opened, in 2004. The one-time home of Count Sergei Stroganoff of Russia has hosted well-known names from Greta Garbo, Laurence Olivier and Jacques Brel to Rudolf Nureyev, Catherine Deneuve and Robert De Niro. Bono, a neighbour, drops in occasionally, according to general manager Bernard Apthorp. The bijou hotel has only 14 suites and four guest rooms. All have sea views.
- Hôtel Cap Estel, Eze-Bord-de-mer, France, 00-33-4-93762929, capestel.com. Three nights costs from €4,050 through Luxury Explorer (00-44-20- 83392121, luxury explorer.com). Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) flies to Nice from Dublin and Cork. Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies from Dublin
3 Château de Bagnols, FranceIf you owe someone close to you a grand-scale apology, then repent at leisure at Château de Bagnols. Set in the rolling hills of Beaujolais, this five-star pad is regarded by many as the world's finest vineyard chateau hotel. Originally built in the 12th century, it has 21 lavish antique-filled rooms and suites, plus a Michelin-starred restaurant.
- Château de Bagnols, Bagnols, France, 00-33-4-74714000, chateaudebagnols.co.uk. Luxury Explorer (00-44-20-83392121, luxuryexplorer.com) has rooms from €350 per night. Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) flies to Lyons, about 70km from the hotel, from Dublin
4 Atlantis the Palm, DubaiAtlantis, on Dubai's man-made Palm island, is a place to go to spoil the kids rotten. Guests have unlimited access to Aquaventure water park, with its speed slide, river slides, rapids and more. (Some rides have minimum height requirements.) And big kids might like to upgrade to a Poseidon suite, whose bedroom and bathroom have underwater views into a huge lagoon. It must feel like being inside an aquarium.
- Atlantis the Palm, Dubai, 00-971-4- 4260000, atlantisthepalm.com. Twohigs (01-6480800, twohigs.com) has seven nights’ BB, including flights, from €1,459 per adult and €559 per child under 12. Prices are based on two adults sharing, including taxes, for travel completed between May 9th and June 30th or August 16th and September 8th
5 Six Senses Hideaway Zighi Bay, OmanThe private villas here come with pool, sun deck, outdoor showers and 24-hour butler service. The unique selling point of this resort, which is about two hours' drive from Dubai, is how you make your entrance. You can choose to arrive by road, by speedboat or, in true James Bond style, by paraglider. (Don't worry: you'll be with the resort's professional.)
- Six Senses Hideaway Zighi Bay, Musandam Peninsula, Oman, 00-968- 26735888, sixsenses.com. Trailfinders Tailormade Holidays (01-8814994, 021- 4648888, trailfinders.ie) has seven nights from €2,369 per person, including Emirates flights from Dublin or Cork to Dubai, transfers, taxes and charges, a sunset cruise, a dhow trip, a spa treatment and an Arabic cookery lesson. Valid for departures from May 10th to July 15th
6 Kempinski Hotel Bahía Estepona, SpainThe rooms at this recently renovated hotel come with a balcony or terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. There are also three outdoor pools to luxuriate in. Breakfast outdoors, lunch by the sea and book a private dinner under the stars at the Almenara Watchtower. There's also golf, not least at nearby Valderrama, one of Europe's top courses.
- Kempinski Hotel Bahía Estepona, Playa El Padrón, Estepona, Spain, 00-34- 952-809500, kempinski.com. ITC Classics (00-44-1244-355550, itcclassics.co.uk) has five nights for the price of four, departing May 10th. Five nights’ BB costs from £880 (€980) per person, a saving of up to £230 (€260) per person. The offer is based on two adults sharing a standard room and includes Ryanair flights from Dublin to Malaga and private transfers
7 Le Blanc Spa Resort, Mexicois a five-star adults-only temple to relaxation. With almost one member of staff for every guest, the level of service is incredible. Rooms come with balconies offering ocean or lagoon views. A butler will unpack and pack your bags, iron your clothes, select the perfect pillow and ready the double Jacuzzi at your request. The resort has three outdoor pools, with a concierge to attend to your every need while you lounge.
- Le Blanc Spa Resort, Cancún, Mexico, 00-52-998-8814740, leblancsparesort.com. Twohigs (01-6480800, twohigs.com) has seven all-inclusive nights from €1,879pps and 10 all-inclusive nights from €2,339pps, both including flights and taxes. Based on two adults sharing. Book by April 30th for travel completed between May 1st and June 30th
8 Casa Angelina, ItalyWhen you need to work hard at showing someone how much you love them, why not whisk them off to the Amalfi coast? Mr and Mrs Smith (mrandmrssmith.com), a London-based agency that understands the delicate nuances required to dissolve discord, recommends Casa Angelina, a boutique hotel whose Mediterranean minimalism won't distract from the task at hand, which is to spend time in each other's company and remember what it was that attracted you to each other in the first place. If you do get stuck for words, then make the spectacular ocean views a talking point. The hotel has a private beach that you reach by a glass lift, plus a boat so you can book a private tour of the coast.
- Casa Angelina, Praiano, Italy, 00-39- 089-8131333. Rooms cost from €280 to €720 in low season and from €320 to €990 in high season. The breakfast buffet costs €21 a person. Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) flies to Naples from Dublin
9 Hôtel La Mamounia, MoroccoThis art-deco palace in Marrakesh is one of the world's great historic hotels. Since it opened, in 1923, the hotel has accommodated Hollywood stars from Yul Brynner to Joan Collins and been a location for Alfred Hitchcock's film The Man Who Knew Too Much. It reopened last September, after a three-year refurbishment by the French architect Jacques Garcia. Among recent guests were the property developer Johnny Ronan and the former Miss World Rosanna Davison, who flew over for a night last month.
- Hôtel La Mamounia, Marrakesh, Morocco, 00-212-524-388600, mamounia.com. Rooms start at €665 per night – or book the hotel’s three-bedroom riad, with pool and terrace; the extras might make the eyes water: lunch, for example, is €106 per person, excluding drinks. Ryanair (ryanair.com) flies to Marrakesh from Ireland via Bristol or London Luton. EasyJet (easyjet.com) flies from London Gatwick
10 Grande Real Villa Itália Hotel Spa, PortugalSet atop cliffs near Cascais, this recently opened hotel offers Asian-standard luxury only a few hours from Dublin. The property, which is now one of the top five hotels in the Lisbon region, is the former house of Umberto II, prince of Piedmont and the last king of Italy, who lived in exile there for 37 years. (Cascais first became a fashionable resort when, in 1870, King Luís I converted a 17th-century building into his summer residence.) You can pass your time lounging by the pool or, if you prefer, amble to the beach, three minutes away.
- Hotel Real Villa Itália, Cascais, Portugal, 00-351-291-724257, granderealvilla italiahotel.com. Sunway (01-2311888, sunway.ie) has seven nights’ BB in June, including flights, transfers and taxes, from €1,019pps. The hotel website has two nights’ BB from €300
Why luxury is back
Last year a lot of people didn’t take a break even if they could afford one, according to Jonathan Bridge of Trailfinders Ireland. “They felt they shouldn’t be seen to be taking a fancy holiday. This year there’s an element of splurging to make up for going without in 2009,” he says.
That said, understatement is key, says Nadia Latif of Travel Intelligence, a booking and advice site whose writers include AA Gill of the Sunday Times.
Customers are also looking for the personal touch, according to Emma Powell of Grifco, a UK-based company that helps promote luxury travel brands. “Extra-special touches are now expected as standard. An amazing dinner has evolved into a bespoke private dining experience,” she says .
Colm Flanagan of Twohigs, the Irish travel agency, says: “One of our properties in Thailand, the Sarojin in Khao Lak, can organise whatever your heart desires, whether it be a cooking lesson by a waterfall in the middle of the jungle or a private dinner for two on the beach.”
Often, upmarket travellers want a holiday that gives them so much they don’t have to leave their rooms, Flanagan continues. “They want private plunge pools and a high staff-to-guest ratio. At Le Blanc in Mexico, for instance, there is a ratio of almost one member of staff to every guest.”
That can suit hotels. Even though many other establishments have had to drop their prices, five-star properties are offering free nights and other extras instead of reducing their rates.
