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I t’s that time of year when snowbirds need to check their plumage. It’s time for them to flee south. To pack all those delicious resort collection lovelies that have come courtesy of the holiday gift check from Great Aunt Verta: the jewel-toned polos, the floral-print dresses, the madras trousers, the capris. Never mind the howling wind, the snowdrift that’s enveloping the Beemer and the forecast that’s calling for "highs in the 20s"—the hottest spots of the season are waiting. Whether you want to dangle your pedicure in the chicest pool in the Caribbean, attempt par on the sun-soaked courses of Bermuda or nod off to a symphony of crickets in an eco-cottage on the shores of St. John, RalphLauren.com has found the hottest escapes this cold-weather season.
Barbados
Polo matches twice a week, dinners with year-rounders Jodie and Jemma Kidd at Daphne’s and yacht-hopping up
at Port St. Charles—sounds like the season in Barbados. Join posh Brits, footballers from Manchester
United and the likes of Madonna and Guy Ritchie for the winter whirl. For the ultimate people watching, check
into splashy Sandy Lane, now with a state-of-the-art spa, three golf courses and a Bentley that will fetch you
from the airport. If low-key cool is more your style, stay at the House, where Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick
retreat to Spanish-tiled rooms stuffed with billowy white linen. Your private "ambassador" will unpack your duds,
arrange for your welcome massage and gently remind you that it’s time for cocktails down in the white-washed lounges,
where hipsters recline on deep-blue sofas admiring the hotel’s contemporary art and photography collection while
sipping chilled pinot grigio. For Sandy Lane, call 246-444-2500 or visit www.sandylane.com. For the House, call
246-432-5534 or visit www.eleganthotels.com.
Antigua
The Hollywood celebs who have blocked a series of rooms? The English starlet who’s booked for the holidays? Anyone
who’s anyone this winter is headed down to Antigua for a peek at the Caribbean’s most anticipated resort opening,
Carlisle Bay. The brainchild of award-winning hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray, who founded London’s style-setting One
Aldwych, is a haven of hush-hush privacy, with Asian-fusion cuisine, wellness lectures, a spa and a killer library.
(Victoria Beckham’s autobiography? Yes!) Caribbean cool gets a new contemporary look here with white-on-white rooms,
bathrooms of pickled grey pine and louvered shutters that open to views of mangrove forests. Don’t miss afternoon tea
among the wild orchids in the Pavilion. Now toss in Antigua’s powdered-sugar sands and bathwater-warm waters and it’s
time to put in for another week of vacation time. Call 268-484-0000 or visit www.carlisle-bay.com.
Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos
Wouldn’t be surprised if People and InStyle had offices on-island, such is the celeb inflow and outflow to Parrot Cay
in the Turks and Caicos. Gosh, now who was most recently staying in Bruce Willis’s villa on this 1,000-acre private island?
Was it Bruce, or Demi and Ashton? The Paul McCartneys were here, but word is they stayed in the main resort in one of the
teak-furnished rooms with a white linen-shrouded four poster and a terrace overlooking the sea, as did Julia Roberts, who
spent most of the time not walking the island’s spectacular strands, doing laps in the Infinity pool or joining daily yoga
in the Asian spa, but working on needlepoint in her room. How ‘bout Britney? She sunned, swam and, you guessed it, made a
splash. Call 649-946-7788 or visit http://parrotcay.como.bz.
Mustique, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
If Mustique is your destination of choice, you’ll need to have a good think as to who owns a villa there, then pray for an invite. This superexclusive isle in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is populated with homeowners with names like Jagger, Hilfiger and Windsor (as in “the House of”). But a visitor can still experience a taste of the good life with a stay at the Cotton House, one of the island’s few resorts, where an outdoor shower at your oceanfront suite, a good night’s sleep in a plantation-style king-size under a haze of mosquito netting, and warm breakfast croissants and homemade strawberry jam on your terrace just might inspire you to start looking at real estate. The Cotton House: 877-240-9945 or visit www.cottonhouseresort.com
St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
When you’re ready to leave the cell phone, Palm Pilot and laptop at the office and really get away from it all, head down to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where eco-heaven awaits. Sure, the island, two-thirds of which is national park, has plenty of villas and choice resorts, but nothing compares to the back-to-nature digs tucked into the northwestern corner of the island at Maho Bay. Part campground, part resort, this 100-percent environment-friendly marvel is easy on the budget and good for the soul, with everything from tree house-like cottages on stilts overlooking the sea to eco-camping. Add kayaking, sailing and snorkeling in the underwater park at Trunk Bay to the décor—coconut palms and stars—and you’ll make this an annual. Call 800-392-9004 or visit www.maho.org.
Jamaica
The classic that never goes out of style, Jamaica is the Caribbean isle that was our first love affair, and we can’t help going back. When we’re here, there’s really only one place to be, and that’s tucked into one of the magnificently appointed hillside villas or the oceanfront rooms at Pineapple House at Round Hill. One of the Caribbean’s first resorts, Round Hill set the standard for laid-back tropical glamour when it opened 50 years ago on the lush hills of a former coconut, allspice and pineapple plantation. Generations of well-heeled sun-seekers have returned ever since for a little reggae, a lot of fresh fish (OK, maybe a planter’s punch or two) and a little A-list hob-knobbing with chums Harrison Ford, Meryl Streep, Taye Diggs, George Soros and, of course, Ralph Lauren. Round Hill’s latest? The Welcome Wharf Spa, where pineapples and papayas are transformed into rubs and wraps. Call 800-972-2159 or visit www.roundhilljamaica.com.
Harbour Island, the Bahamas
Not since the Ocean Club opened has there been such a buzz in the Bahamas. But this year, everyone’s headed not to flashy Paradise Island but to laid-back Harbour Island for the easy preppy elegance that’s taken root there. Record mogul Chris Blackwell, who develops Caribbean resorts on the side, is one of the pacesetters, attracting the likes of Harry Connick, Jr., Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece and Elle Macpherson—all with families in tow—to his quirky beach-chic resorts where the uniform is pareus and flip-flops. Ocean lovers, check into a pastel cottage at Pink Sands, one of the island’s original resorts, where the beach is your front yard. Oriental rugs blend with Indonesian rattan and Indian prints in the stylish interiors of these hideaways. For people watching, stay at Harbour Island’s newest addition, the Rock House. This nine-room inn, renovated by Blackwell, feels like the luxurious island home that it once was, with Italian antiques, local art and guestrooms that you wish were your own. Be sure to be seen by the pool, lounging under a thatched cabana. For Pink Sands, call 242-333-2030 or visit pinksandsresort.com. For Rock House, call 242-333-2053 or visit www.rockhousebahamas.com.
Bermuda
East coasters: Come January, just remember, the first tee is only two hours away—in Bermuda. Pack your sticks and fly to this British colony where New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, Ross Perot, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones flee to escape winter. The gulfstream keeps the Atlantic isle just right with 60- to-70-degree days—perfect for a round on the links, some Dark ‘n’ Stormies at sunset and a cozy dinner in front of a crackling hearth before bed. The beauty of old Bermuda reigns at one of the island’s classic cottage colonies, Cambridge Beaches, a favorite with European aristos and clubby Americans, who’ve been returning for decades. No two cottages at Cambridge are the same, though, so inquire before you book. Traditionalists prefer the pink-and-green chintzed classics, some more than 200 years old with stone garden terraces overlooking the sea. The younger set often opts for freshly renovated abodes, all rattan, brilliant tropical fabrics and marble baths. Log onto www.cambridgebeaches.com, and note that if you have children under the age of 13, you must travel with a nanny.
Photography credits:
Beach in Sandy Lane, Barbados: courtesy of sandylane.com
Villa in Sandy Lane, Barbados: courtesy of sandylane.com
Carlisle Bay at Dusk, Antigua: courtesy of Nicole Mouck
Pool in Carlisle Bay, Antigua: courtesy of Nicole Mouck
Round Hill, Jamaica: courtesy of David Massey
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