After a year of uncertainty, there is a compelling case for simply bolting – leaving work-life stresses at home and making for the pristine beaches and islands of the Caribbean or the Indian Ocean.
Here, current affairs seem to evaporate into salty air, dissolve in a fresh cocktail or simply be forgotten somewhere between the early-morning dip and late-afternoon snooze.
British Airways Holidays’ alluring curation of island escapes promises just that, with added flexibility on bookings, low deposit schemes and that now highly valued ATOL-protected stamp.
With oodles of space to splay out in and explore, schedules set only by the tide, and guests’ safety ensured by rigorous new measures, these four island hotels from British Airways Holidays across Barbados, Bermuda, the Maldives and the Seychelles are the ideal escape this winter.
FAIRMONT MALDIVES, SIRRU FEN FUSHI
Locals call Sirru Fen Fushi ‘the secret water island’ – an egg-timer-shaped sliver of vanilla sand and jewel-coloured reefs on the western edge of the Shaviyani Atoll.
With its secret gardens and mysterious wooden sculptures, it’s home to the Fairmont Maldives, Sirru Fen Fushi, reachable only by seaplane and perhaps the last word in social distancing. At all times here, the water beckons: in the overwater villas with rope chandeliers, macramé swing seats and rectangular plunge pools; in the long aquamarine pool that juts into the ocean.
A resident marine biologist guides guests on trips to see the green turtles, eagle rays and luminous trumpetfish that drift in the clear shallows around the shore. On the island itself, there are bikes for zipping between yoga, photography classes and spa treatments using neroli blossom or caviar proteins. Local fishermen arrive daily with their catch for the Azure grill restaurant.
At night, the sky lights up with stars and the sounds gradually reduce to a gentle water-lap, interrupted only by the occasional splash of a flying fish.
RAFFLES SEYCHELLES
Rising up a lush hillside on the north-eastern slopes of Praslin, with views over the opal-hued ocean to the green island of Curieuse, Raffles Seychelles offers one of the world’s most romantic vantage points.
When the Victorian explorer General Charles Gordon sailed into Praslin in 1881, he swore he had arrived in Eden – and it’s not hard to see why the Singapore-born hotel group chose the go-slow island for its first purpose-built resort.
This spot is particularly magical, rising up from the coral-fringed Anse Takamaka beach, with constant views of Curieuse, a marine park known for its looming takamaka trees and Aldabra giant tortoises. Each of the immensely private cream villas, woven into the jungle canopy and reached by golf carts, makes the most of the setting with a private plunge pool and terrace for romantic suppers overlooking the sea.
All around the hotel, the soundtrack is of rainforest chirrups and sea murmurs: at the lagoon pool, like a paddyfield disappearing into the tangle of trees; the spa, with its indoor-outdoor pavilions; and at the pan-Asian Curieuse restaurant, with aromatic dishes from Bombay, Mongolia and Sichuan served on a softly lit walkway among the greenery.
It is an Eden – a place that makes the real world feel a long way away.
THE HAMILTON PRINCESS & BEACH CLUB, BERMUDA
The Hamilton Princess & Beach Club has sat on the harbour of Bermuda’s capital since 1885 – a beloved landmark that locals call the Pink Palace, after its distinctive hue.
While many of the old traditions remain, from the doormen in Bermuda shorts to the punchy cocktails made with the local Gosling’s rum, the hotel is also open to fresh ideas.
Modern artwork by Damian Hirst and Banksy sits alongside Picassos and Matisses, and a theatrical open-kitchen restaurant run by Harlem culinary superstar Marcus Samuelsson leans into the now. The views across the harbour are gorgeous, best embraced on a jet-ski or while paragliding (just some of the activities at the hotel’s watersports centre).
But it’s the beach club that makes this a true escape from lockdown woes, on the private Sinky Bay, with kayaks, overwater hammocks and cabanas on the blush-coloured sand. Away from the vibrant life of Hamilton, it is a self-contained world.
FAIRMONT ROYAL PAVILION, BARBADOS
Right on the white sand of Alleynes Bay, one of the loveliest stretches of beach in Barbados, the Fairmont Royal Pavilion has been a stalwart since the 1940s.
As the first hotel on the island’s quietly elegant smart coast, it has an enviable location with unobstructed views throughout the resort.
Recently renovated, it has raised the bar of luxury hospitality on the island: crisp white linen, blue-cushioned sofas, marble bathrooms, and elegant arches and planters at the alfresco Palm Terrace restaurant. And while surrounded by lush foliage, the Fairmont Royal Pavilion is really all about the dazzling Caribbean sea. Even the palm trees lining the bay seem to lean towards the water, casting long shadows on its turquoise surface before sunset.
Use of kayaks, sailboats and paddleboards is free for guests, as are morning yoga classes to help you ease into long, lazy days. These can be spent wandering through the vast tropical gardens, across expansive sands, or simply gazing out to the Caribbean sea from the hotel rooms – a dreamy sort of solitude.
