Four stunning summer getaways by the sea

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a lot of twist

Fashion fades; style is timeless. The famous words are from Yves Saint Laurent, spoken in the context of clothing, but the apothegm is equally apt in the world of hotels, which also has its trends in design, service and amenities. Yet the style endures: witness the millennial enthusiasm for unadulterated classics like Vienna’s Hotel Sacher, or how the mighty of Rosewood knew better than to even think about playing Bemelmans Bar during the recent renovation of The Carlyle in New York . Maroma, in Mexico’s Riviera Maya, was for many of its nearly 30 years of existence the ne plus ultra of old-school Quintana Roo style. But now it’s owned by LVMH, a conglomerate not known for letting its brands accumulate, which acquired Belmond in 2019. So this summer, Maroma is putting the finishing touches on a nutty-soup revamp. You might not guess it at first glance, since all the curvaceous stucco architecture has been (wisely) left undisturbed.

Inside the 72 rooms and suites, however, British designer Tara Bernerd has reinvented everything from the textiles and glass chandeliers to the Saltillo tiles, most of which, naturally, are made in Mexico. LVMH’s own Guerlain has been installed in the spa, the first of its kind in Latin America. The most exciting and anticipated is Fotografia Maroma, the on-site exhibition curated in collaboration with Mexico City dealer Patricia Conde, which will show works by nationally renowned artists; the inaugural, starting August 3, will travel to Art Basel Miami and Photo London. belmond.com, reopens on August 1; from $1,095

Keeping it chalky and tidy

On the north coast of Cretenear the city of Heraklion, a new adults-only resort sheds the Mediterranean model to focus on food, welfare, and the intersections between the two. The name, Pnoé Breathing Life, is not exactly easy to understand, but what it proposes is simpler: 60 suites, all with private pools; some with saunas and hammams; ample access to a semi-private and serviced beach (on what can sometimes be an overwhelmingly crowded island); and some state-of-the-art wellness, including hyperbaric oxygen and Zerobody dry floatation chambers, combined with conventional massages, facials and body treatments. The architecture is low, lean, and sexy: walls of glass, no walls, infinity pools, light terrazzo floors, sleek woodwork. The food doesn’t push any agenda: there are juice, raw, and raw menus for anyone wanting a cleanse, and specialty cuts of meat from a local butcher and house cocktails for everyone else. pnoe-breathinglife.comfrom €550

How Roqqa the peninsula of Monte Argentario

On the Tuscan peninsula, there is a very contemporary new take on tourist life. Set to open in July, the 55-suite La Roqqa enlists Stockholm-based developer Conni Jonsson, who enlists celebrated Milanese architects Ludovica and Roberto Palomba Serafini to reinvent the former Hotel Don Pedro here. Overlooking the picturesque village and the fishing boats of Porto Ercole, La Roqqa is now all angles and light.

Modernity reigns in the interiors, where iconic Italian designs inspired by the ’60s and ’70s fill the open spaces with terrazzo floors and terracotta painted walls. You can walk into town and hire a boat to explore the peninsula’s beautiful coves and secret beaches, or simply admire the expansive seascape from your perch on Forte’s promontory. laroqqa.comfrom €1,540

Rosewood makes Kona great again

On the Big Island of Hawaii, an old-school classic has turned heads, courtesy of Rosewood. Kona Village was genuinely iconic Americana, a 1970s and 1980s childhood stalwart of many West Coast tourists until it was largely destroyed in 2011 by the same tsunami that devastated Japan. Rosewood has upped the game considerably here, rebuilding and styling the rooms and suites, and upping the count, so there are now 150 keys. They all have outdoor lanais (verandas), lots of outdoor showers too; they range from garden-view thatched cottages that sleep two to four-bedroom villas of more than 6,000 square feet. rosewoodhotels.comfrom $2,500

@mariahollenbarger