08.23.17

Money Inc.

Six New Resort Villas to Put on Your Travel List

By Matt Kirouac

From Alpine slopes to Thai pools, villas are a surefire way to up the ante on luxury travel, and elaborate new versions are popping up all over the world. Decked out with multiple rooms and amenities, villas are all about capturing that ultimate escape, immersing guests into a faraway world while still making them feel right at home. Here are six of the most noteworthy new and upcoming villas to put on your international itinerary.

Grand Geneva Resort, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Hidden away in the serene Wisconsin woods a couple miles from downtown Lake Geneva, historic Grand Geneva Resort has been a popular draw for Midwestern Americans for decades — the hotel originally served as the Playboy Club, ca. 1968. It’s come a long way over the years, implementing new attractions, incredible restaurants, activities and expansions, all while maintaining the warm hospitality and woodland comfort that’s always made Grand Geneva so endearing. Chief among those expansions is a brand-new set of familial villas. Tucked along a private stretch of roadway, the villas offer the ultimate peaceful escape for families, couples and groups of friends looking for a sense of home with the added bonus of luxury and Lake Geneva proximity. Villas range in size from studios to three bedrooms, each one elegantly appointed with ample living areas, full kitchens, private bedrooms, grocery delivery, washers, dryers and furnished outdoor patios. Exclusive to villa guests are a couple fire pits and pools. Depending on what size villa you’re after, various options include lofted bedrooms, stone countertop kitchens and soaking tubs. Just outside the villas is a nature trail that weaves through the woods, offering a fun way to explore the grounds. While you’re here, be sure and book a reservation at Geneva Chophouse. The steak- and seafood-centric restaurant in the main resort building fills up fast, thanks to its quality food and views overlooking the ground and golf course.

Banyan Tree Cabo Marques, Acapulco, Mexico

Banyan Tree Cabo Marques is already one of the ultimate destinations for villas, what with its 45 private enclaves housed on stilts and surrounded by mountains and Acapulco coastline. Now there’s even more to fawn over with the introduction of the resort’s latest, the jaw-dropping Villa Cerezo, a 4,500-sq.-ft., three-story villa nestled over cliffs along the Pacific Ocean. With enough room for up to 15 guests, the sprawling space features five ocean view bedrooms, eclectic artwork, a full kitchen, 43-inch HD LED TV screen, an office and an outdoor space with heated swimming pool, ocean views, a solarium and garden.

DoublePool Villas by Banyan Tree, Phuket, Thailand

Proving itself to be quite the expert on all things villas, Banyan Tree also operates a boutique establishment in Phuket’s Bang Tao Bay anchored by some pretty incredible poolside villas. There’s an impressive 24 of these villas, each one wholly immersive, transportive and distinct, surrounded by gardens and a lagoon. Villas range in size from one- to three-bedroom, decked out with sleek, contemporary Thai decor and cozy comforts. Most striking is the floating bedroom pavilion, a sleep space surrounded by tall glass windows over a private wading pool. It doesn’t get much more zen than this. Outside, each villa also has its own personal infinity edge pool and a Thai sala, a thatched roof pavilion that’s great for spa treatments or stargazing. In addition to resort dining at French-Vietnamese restaurant Tré, guests can also utilize in-villa dining programs, including breakfasts prepared by villa hosts and optional meals and events conducted by a private chef.

Hôtel Le Toiny, St. Barth’s

Come December, the most iconic hotel on St. Barth’s is getting a major upgrade with the addition of eight new villas to the 25-year old property. The villas are capping off an extensive series of multi-phase renovations for the hotel, whose hillside locale overlooking Toiny Bay has long marked it as one of the most beautiful vantage points on the island. Guests can expect four one-story one-bedroom villas, three two-story one-bedroom villas and one two-story two-bedroom king villa. In line with the rest of the resort, each villa will be totally secluded and freestanding, with private infinity pools and terraces looking over the Caribbean Sea.

Milaidhoo Island Maldives, Maldives

Private villas are the name of the luxury game at Milaidhoo Island Maldives, an immaculate property that opened late-2016 over 13 acres in the Baa Atoli’s UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Altogether, there are 50 villas on the grounds, each one meticulously designed by a local Maldivian architect. Accessed via seaplane from Maldives International Airport, the villas are exquisite in their beautiful natural surroundings, boasting 180-degree outdoor views. Inside, each one is bedecked with contemporary art pieces and custom-made furnishings. While remote, each one is easily accessible to restaurants, water sports, yoga and other activities, with private freshwater pools on the sun deck, day beds, soaking tubs, rain showers and hanging Maldivian swings called “undhoali.” Guests can ultimately choose from one of two styles of villa, a water pool villa or a beach pool. The former consists of thatched-roof villas situated on stilts over the ocean, with steps leading right into the water and a glass wall shower that affords views into the ocean. Then there are the beach pool villas, located on the white sand beach amid a shroud of palm trees.

Blockhaus, Lucerne, Switzerland