Travel Trend: Adults-Only Luxury Resort Vacations

THE PANDEMIC BROUGHT many families closer together, but even the tightest clans can squabble over Scrabble matches after one too many game nights. A surfeit of together-time is triggering a rise in demand for kid-free vacations, said Jack Ezon, founder of travel company Embark Beyond. Sixty-one percent of the summer trips that Embark Beyond booked this year were for adults only, compared with 48% in 2019. These grown-up escapes aren’t just for couples. Some are booked by groups of friends who want to travel together after many months of Zoom-only contact or individuals seeking solo sojourns. To help you plan your own immersion in maturity we’ve selected five resorts that offer decidedly grown-up diversions, from wining and dining to flopping down on a beach with a thick page-turner and uninterrupted nap time.

Sun, Sea, Spritz

One of the Amalfi coast’s most iconic hideaways, Il San Pietro (which welcomes ages 10 and up) is perched dramatically on a cliff edge. The rooms, carved into rocky hillsides, almost blend into the landscape, while the décor marries old-world elegance with Mediterranean chic. All 56 rooms open onto balconies with sea views. An elevator whisks guests down the cliff to the only private beach associated with a hotel in Positano. With an Aperol spritz in hand, stare at the sunset from the grand terrace. Its Michelin star Zass restaurant prepares local Mediterranean dishes like scampi tartare, with ingredients from its on-site organic gardens. From about $1150 a night, ilsanpietro.com

Big Sur’s Big Little Skies

The Post Ranch Inn stands 1,200 feet above the Pacific on the cliffs of Big Sur. Like the home at Green O, the inn’s 39 guest rooms bring to mind lavish treehouses, most built for two (no guests under age 18 allowed). The spa offers massages and private yoga and meditation classes. You can also book an astrology or shaman session. Or commune with the celestial spirits yourself by taking in the night sky—far from city lights, the hotel is a sublime place to stargaze. From approx. $1934 a night, postranchinn.com

Greek Squad

Canaves Oia Suites sit on top of a cliff on the Greek island of Santorini. A kid-free enclave (only ages 13 and up allowed) of Canaves Oia Resorts, the suites are housed in a whitewashed building facing the Santorini Caldera and the Aegean Sea. Verandas come with private pools and if you feel like mingling with the wider world, book a sailing tour or wander around the mazelike village of Oia admiring the Cycladic architecture. From about $1126 a night, canaves.com/canaves-oia-suites

A Glass Home on the Range

Dude ranches typically attract fidgety families but Montana’s Green O, a secluded part of the sprawling Paws Up Ranch, is a more grown-up approach to the great outdoors. Guests (ages 21 and up) stay in 12 sleekly modern, glass-walled homes. One of them, the Tree Haus, elevated at least 23 feet above ground, makes a sophisticated perch to spy on wildlife. Guests can indulge in spa treatments or more active pursuits, including fly-fishing and biking. From about $3787 a night, thegreeno.com

Bottle Up in Wine Country

South of France meets California at Napa Valley’s Auberge du Soleil resort, which only accepts guests age 16 and over. Sandstone-coloured buildings are set in groves of heritage olive and oak trees in the Rutherford hills, just off the winery-lined Silverado Trail. Fifty earth-tone rooms and suites offer cozy luxury, with gas fireplaces, soaking tubs and private terraces with valley or hillside views. Linger in the resort’s sculpture garden and dive into scallops and the extensive wine menu at the hotel’s Michelin-star restaurant. From approx $1690 a night, aubergeresorts.com

Well Versed

Need to shed some pandemic pounds or reboot your fitness routine? Sensei Lanai, a Four Seasons resort and wellness retreat on the Hawaiian island of Lanai, offers a range of personalized packages with different goals and tools. Sensei, which only permits guests age 16 and older, was founded by Oracle tech mogul Larry Ellison (owner of 98% of Lanai), with Dr. David Agus, a prominent cancer researcher. At the spa, slow down for meditation, or self-compassion sessions. Get active snorkelling, hiking or biking. At its Sensei by Nobu restaurant, the menu includes dishes created by the celebrity chef in collaboration with its nutritionists, such as desserts using monk fruit instead of sugar. Many ingredients are from an on-island sustainable farm. If your budget is especially vital, revitalize your life with its 30-day sabbatical program. Standard room rates from approx. $882 a night, fourseasons.com/sensei

As Paris makes its final preparations for the Olympic games, its residents are busy with their own—packing their suitcases, confirming their reservations, and getting out of town.

Worried about the hordes of crowds and overall chaos the Olympics could bring, Parisians are fleeing the city in droves and inundating resort cities around the country. Hotels and holiday rentals in some of France’s most popular vacation destinations—from the French Riviera in the south to the beaches of Normandy in the north—say they are expecting massive crowds this year in advance of the Olympics. The games will run from July 26-Aug. 1.

“It’s already a major holiday season for us, and beyond that, we have the Olympics,” says Stéphane Personeni, general manager of the Lily of the Valley hotel in Saint Tropez. “People began booking early this year.”

Personeni’s hotel typically has no issues filling its rooms each summer—by May of each year, the luxury hotel typically finds itself completely booked out for the months of July and August. But this year, the 53-room hotel began filling up for summer reservations in February.

“We told our regular guests that everything—hotels, apartments, villas—are going to be hard to find this summer,” Personeni says. His neighbours around Saint Tropez say they’re similarly booked up.

As of March, the online marketplace Gens de Confiance (“Trusted People”), saw a 50% increase in reservations from Parisians seeking vacation rentals outside the capital during the Olympics.

Already, August is a popular vacation time for the French. With a minimum of five weeks of vacation mandated by law, many decide to take the entire month off, renting out villas in beachside destinations for longer periods.

But beyond the typical August travel, the Olympics are having a real impact, says Bertille Marchal, a spokesperson for Gens de Confiance.

“We’ve seen nearly three times more reservations for the dates of the Olympics than the following two weeks,” Marchal says. “The increase is definitely linked to the Olympic Games.”

Worried about the hordes of crowds and overall chaos the Olympics could bring, Parisians are fleeing the city in droves and inundating resort cities around the country.
Getty Images

According to the site, the most sought-out vacation destinations are Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique, a seaside region in the northwest; le Var, a coastal area within the southeast of France along the Côte d’Azur; and the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean.

Meanwhile, the Olympics haven’t necessarily been a boon to foreign tourism in the country. Many tourists who might have otherwise come to France are avoiding it this year in favour of other European capitals. In Paris, demand for stays at high-end hotels has collapsed, with bookings down 50% in July compared to last year, according to UMIH Prestige, which represents hotels charging at least €800 ($865) a night for rooms.

Earlier this year, high-end restaurants and concierges said the Olympics might even be an opportunity to score a hard-get-seat at the city’s fine dining.

In the Occitanie region in southwest France, the overall number of reservations this summer hasn’t changed much from last year, says Vincent Gare, president of the regional tourism committee there.

“But looking further at the numbers, we do see an increase in the clientele coming from the Paris region,” Gare told Le Figaro, noting that the increase in reservations has fallen directly on the dates of the Olympic games.

Michel Barré, a retiree living in Paris’s Le Marais neighbourhood, is one of those opting for the beach rather than the opening ceremony. In January, he booked a stay in Normandy for two weeks.

“Even though it’s a major European capital, Paris is still a small city—it’s a massive effort to host all of these events,” Barré says. “The Olympics are going to be a mess.”

More than anything, he just wants some calm after an event-filled summer in Paris, which just before the Olympics experienced the drama of a snap election called by Macron.

“It’s been a hectic summer here,” he says.

Hotels and holiday rentals in some of France’s most popular vacation destinations say they are expecting massive crowds this year in advance of the Olympics.
AFP via Getty Images

Parisians—Barré included—feel that the city, by over-catering to its tourists, is driving out many residents.

Parts of the Seine—usually one of the most popular summertime hangout spots —have been closed off for weeks as the city installs bleachers and Olympics signage. In certain neighbourhoods, residents will need to scan a QR code with police to access their own apartments. And from the Olympics to Sept. 8, Paris is nearly doubling the price of transit tickets from €2.15 to €4 per ride.

The city’s clear willingness to capitalise on its tourists has motivated some residents to do the same. In March, the number of active Airbnb listings in Paris reached an all-time high as hosts rushed to list their apartments. Listings grew 40% from the same time last year, according to the company.

With their regular clients taking off, Parisian restaurants and merchants are complaining that business is down.

“Are there any Parisians left in Paris?” Alaine Fontaine, president of the restaurant industry association, told the radio station Franceinfo on Sunday. “For the last three weeks, there haven’t been any here.”

Still, for all the talk of those leaving, there are plenty who have decided to stick around.

Jay Swanson, an American expat and YouTuber, can’t imagine leaving during the Olympics—he secured his tickets to see ping pong and volleyball last year. He’s also less concerned about the crowds and road closures than others, having just put together a series of videos explaining how to navigate Paris during the games.

“It’s been 100 years since the Games came to Paris; when else will we get a chance to host the world like this?” Swanson says. “So many Parisians are leaving and tourism is down, so not only will it be quiet but the only people left will be here for a party.”