Our readers have traveled all over the globe, so who better to turn to when selecting the best resorts in the world? Sure, these resorts can cost thousands of dollars a night, but you only live once! Treat yourself to incredible cuisine, impeccable service, relaxing spa treatments, ocean views, and more at TravelAwaits readers’ favorite resorts.
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(Photo Credit: Meritage Collection)
1. Koʻa Kea Hotel & Resort At Poipu Beach (Winner)
Hawaii, United States
TravelAwaits readers’ favorite resort in the world and the winner of our 2022 Best of Travel Award is the Koʻa Kea Hotel & Resort at Poipu Beach! Located in the South Shore area of Koloa on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, this popular oceanfront retreat was also voted as one of the best luxury hotels.
Known for sheltered Poipu Beach, golf courses, and shaved ice spots, this is a great home base to access other island attractions such as state parks, artisanal markets, the shopping village, and more.
With great food, water sports, a gorgeous pool, and friendly and accommodating staff, this intimate, romantic boutique hotel is popular with honeymooners. With the exception of cozy garden rooms, all of the guest rooms boast lanais and ocean views. Open the door and fall asleep to the waves — and sign up to learn some hula moves.
Serving locally sourced Hawaiian seafood and produce, Red Salt Restaurant offers resort dining at its finest. For breakfast, enjoy Poipu-inspired fare such as lobster benedict and lemon-pineapple soufflé pancakes.
The resort’s pool and whirlpool are just steps away from the Garden Isle’s sunniest beach, where you can surf, snorkel, stand-up paddleboard, canoe, or just relax. After a long day of hiking, golfing, surfing, or other various adventures, schedule a seaside cabana massage.
Pro Tip: This Hawaiian resort is also pet-friendly, allowing two dogs under 25 pounds per room for a fee.
2. Blackberry Farm
Tennessee, United States
Not only do our readers love Tennessee’s Blackberry Farm, but this relaxing weekend getaway also happens to be one of our writers’ favorite “all-inclusive” resorts in the U.S. Located just south of Knoxville in the Great Smoky Mountains, this high-end resort is 10 miles from Tuckaleechee Caverns in Townsend, Tennessee.
Situated on a hillside, the 4,200-acre farm boasts breathtaking vistas. Accommodations range from rooms and suites with fireplaces and soaking tubs to cottages with porches and golf carts and charming three- to five-bedroom farmhouses with kitchens.
Featuring an extensive wine collection and Smoky Mountain-influenced farm-to-table cuisine, its renowned fine-dining restaurant is for guests aged 10 and over, but there is also a casual eatery on site.
Amenities include an outdoor pool, gym, and spa. Wellness programs help visitors destress, detoxify, and reenergize, while activities keep guests entertained. Book experiences such as fly-fishing, horseback riding, hiking and bicycling, archery, carriage rides, wake surfing, and more. Plus, there’s live entertainment and special events year-round.
(Photo Credit: Jekyll Island Club Resort)
3. Jekyll Island Club Resort
Georgia, United States
Beautiful Jekyll Island, a protected barrier island on the Atlantic coast, is one of Georgia’s best-kept secrets. A former private hunting and recreational club, the historic Jekyll Island Club Resort once played host to such names as the Vanderbilts, Pulitzers, and Rockefellers.
Now the upscale resort boasts a trio of island cottages (read: mansions) as well as the Jekyll Ocean Club, the island’s only oceanfront, all-suite resort. Steps from the beach, the AAA Four Diamond luxury resort features 40 oversized suites with breathtaking ocean views and one of the property’s two pools.
Enjoy access to the beach, the private beach pavilion, putting green, croquet court, and salon and spa. One of Jekyll Island Club’s six dining outposts, The Wharf, made our list of Top Restaurants With A View, According To Our Readers for its magnificent water views, open-air dining, and wide variety of seafood and Southern favorites. Read more about it in our article, 9 Fabulous Restaurants To Try On Jekyll Island, Georgia.
(Photo Credit: Miraval Arizona)
4. Miraval Arizona
Arizona, United States
Miraval Arizona is yet another of our readers’ favorite resorts that also topped our writers’ list of favorite “all-inclusive” resorts in the U.S. For renewal, refreshment, and the beauty of the high desert, look no further than this Tucson wellness resort. Guests set an intention for their trips and receive a lovely sounding itinerary of suggestions for fitness classes, activities, programs, and spa treatments tailored to what they are looking to get out of the experience. Intentions or themes include
- Grief and Loss
- Mental Wellbeing
- Outdoor Adventure
- Culinary and Nutrition
- Spa Experience
- Self-Connection
- Couples Retreat
Activities and experiences can be booked (at least one month in advance) with the help of an Experience Planner.
Packages come with credits to use toward spa treatments or for special activities like the horse whisperer program and hikes off-property. Rooms are very comfortable, many set in casitas or villas built with local adobe. Delicious Southwestern-inspired dishes are prepared with local and organic ingredients. Beverages are included except for alcohol.
5. InterContinental Bora Bora Le Moana Resort
Bora Bora
Located on the white sandy beaches of Bora-Bora’s main island, the InterContinental Bora Bora Le Moana Resort is home to the overwater bungalows that the French Polynesian island is known for. This luxury hotel can only be reached by boat from the Bora Bora Airport.
Wake up and jump right into the water. Breakfast is delivered over the azure waters via canoe. Explore world-class dive sites, relax on Matira Beach, and hike the summit of Mont Otemanu.
Highlights include two open-air restaurants, a saltwater lagoon, an infinity pool, a spa, direct beach access, and kayaks and snorkeling.
(Photo Credit: Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Resort & Spa)
6. Sandals Emerald Bay
The Bahamas
One of two Sandals resorts in the Bahamas, Sandals Emerald Bay is in Exuma. This adults-only all-inclusive resort is nestled on 500 tropical acres along a pristine, mile-long beach. It boasts three pools — one of which is a half an acre, zero-entry pool with a fire pit in the middle.
What is included with your stay? All your meals at any of the 11 fine-dining restaurants; unlimited premium liquors from any of the six bars, including the swim-up bars, and unlimited select wine; tips, taxes, and gratuities; roundtrip airport transfers, WiFi, scuba diving, snorkeling, paddleboards, kayaks, Hobie Cats, professional instruction for water sports; games such as volleyball, basketball, tennis, and billiards; live entertainment, green fees included at Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Course; and more.
They’ll even throw you a complimentary wedding if you stay there for at least three nights. Tours to visit the swimming pigs and other sightseeing excursions are not included.
(Photo Credit: Jam Travels / Shutterstock.com)
7. The Caves Hotel
Jamaica
Great minds think alike — both our readers and our writers agree that The Caves Hotel in Negril, Jamaica, is one of the best resorts out there. Named for the magnificent coastal sea caves it is perched upon, this extraordinarily luxurious resort will make you “feel like you’re in a movie because this can’t be real life,” according to TravelAwaits writer Sheryl Nance-Nash, who included this artsy, boho enclave as one of her favorite all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica. No two of the 12 tropically designed cottages are alike.
Join a snorkeling expedition around and through the natural caves led by the resident cliff diving expert. Book a spa treatment in a cabana, candlelit cave, or outdoors in the sunshine.
Local Jamaican favorites such as jerk chicken are incorporated into the cuisine. Charm the pants off your significant other with a five-course candlelit dinner inside one of the caves. Then, take the coral staircase down to the water’s edge and cross the wooden footbridge to Blackwell Rum Bar to have a cocktail while surrounded by volcanic cliffs with candles tucked in the nooks and crannies of limestone.
(Photo Credit: Dead Sea Marriott Resort & Spa)
8. Dead Sea Marriott Resort & Spa
Jordan
Overlooking the Dead Sea in Sweimeh, a village located in the southern Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea Marriott Resort & Spa is within close proximity to area attractions such as Mount Nebo, the Baptism Site, Mujib Biosphere Reserve, Amman Beach, and more.
Enjoy sea views from your guest room balcony. Take advantage of the healing properties of the Dead Sea and cover yourself with mud at the private beach (don’t worry, there’s a shower to clean off afterward). Or if you prefer, the hotel spa has a Dead Sea salt pool. It is one of several outdoor and indoor pools onsite, including one that is family-friendly and another that is adults-only. There are also four restaurants, a cafe, and three bars on premises.
(Photo Courtesy of Playa Viva)
9. Playa Viva
Mexico
Situated on a private beach along the Pacific Ocean in a woodsy, remote area of forest in Mexico, the Playa Viva is a seasonal sustainable all-inclusive boutique hotel. This eco-lodge uses 100 percent solar power. From treehouses to casitas, rustic accommodations offer ocean views and breezes, which is good since there’s no A/C.
Farm-to-table meals and snacks are included as are non-alcoholic and non-blended drinks plus airport transfers. Attend the complimentary oceanside morning yoga classes. Relax to the sound of the ocean with a beachside massage.
For the adventurous, guided activities include riding an ATV up the Sierra Madres, hiking to a hidden waterfall, paddling through mangroves and lagoons, snorkeling, diving, and surfing. Volunteer in the turtle sanctuary and visit in January to witness as hundreds of baby turtles are released.
(Photo Credit: Leonard Zhukovsky / Shutterstock.com)
10. Eden Rock St. Barths
St. Barthélemy
Perched on a rocky promontory in St Jean Bay on the secluded Caribbean Island of St. Barths (or St. Barts), Eden Rock is surrounded by white sandy beaches, clear sea, and amazing coral reefs. This luxe boutique hotel features ultrachic rooms, suites, and villas, cuisine by the world-famous Master Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, a beach bar with a wood-fire oven, activities for kids, spa treatments, and a shop.
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