The vast majority of Isla Holbox—an island north of Cancun off of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula—is an untouched nature preserve. Only the eastern most tip of the island is permanently inhabited. That’s where you’ll find the few square blocks of sandy streets that make up Holbox town. Most residents get around by walking barefoot. (The island has no rocks). Those few who drive pilot golf carts, not cars.
Leaving Holbox town you can walk along the beach, past a few tiny shops, fishing boats and a ramshackle beach hut that doubles as a “slow food” restaurant. Eventually you’ll reach the last place on the beach, a cluster of buildings with white stucco walls and thatched roofs. This is where you’ll find the best accommodations on the island: Las Nubes de Holbox Hotel
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Every villa is perched on stilts above calm, crystal clear waters, so you're never more than a few steps away from a refreshing swim
There are only two rules at the Soneva Gili by Six Senses in the Maldives and, trust us, after a few minutes at this honeymoon-oriented beach resort you won’t mind following either:
1) No shoes are allowed.
2) Do not discuss news from the outside world.
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When a beach-side hotel is part owned by Madonna it's got to have a stylish pool.
Water views. Frozen drinks. The smell of sunscreen. Celebrities and scantily clad socialites mixing it up. The hotel swimming pools of South Beach do indeed offer all that. But did you know you can also find the world’s largest hot tub and the world’s shallowest swimming pool shallow end? For a scene like no other hop a flight to Miami and check out this selection of the city’s best hotel swimming pools:
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The Eco-Villa is made from locally sourced materials, is powered by renewable energy and features a private natural swimming pool that uses plants to clean the water.
Spot Cool Stuff has reviewed a pod bed, a pod ski resort and a pod treehouse hotel. But this is our first ever pod restaurant.
And what an amazing location our first pod restaurant is blessed with: on the grounds of the gorgeous “six star” Soneva Kiri beach resort located on Thai island of Ko Kood.
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Since the early 1960s the Italian island of Sardinia has been a popular destination for the international jet set. The beautiful landscape, the clear blue sea, the amazing archeaology (such as the 3,000-year-old megalithic edifices that are the Nuraghi) and the friendly locals are all part of the attraction. The island’s ultra-excluvie hotels are also a major reason for Sardinia’s luxury appeal.
So what are Sardinia’s most posh hotel rooms like? Here’s our peek into the three most expensive. (Rates given are for the high season).
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Many people, even those well-traveled, have never heard of the rugged, tropical nation of Dominica. Tourism does not dominate here in the way it does many other small Caribbean islands where development often crowds out ecological concerns. Much of Dominica is green, wild and untouched. No wonder Dominica was chosen as the filming location for the “remote feeling” outdoor scenes of Pirates Of the Caribbean.
If you are looking for a Caribbean destination with magnificent diving, fantastic hiking and lush jungles, you should choose Dominica too. The natural beauty of this place makes it one of Spot Cool Stuff’s favorite island nations. Spend some time here and you’ll come away wondering why more people haven’t heard of this paradise.
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The resort also has a massive indoor pool complete with waterfalls, jet massages and a beach with heated sand.
You know a swimming pool is big when an average swimmer is unable to complete a single lap within it. And when this swimmer is likely to be passed by a sailboat while trying.
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The idea of staying in a thatched hut on a tropical beach has nearly universal appeal—the beauty of it, the seclusion, the connection to nature, the lack of televisions and telephones and hectic bustle of life, the napping in hammocks to the sound of the waves, the perfect beaches and swims in the ocean . . . what’s not to like?
Well, for one thing most thatched huts don’t have indoor plumbing. Or outdoor plumbing. Or electricity. Or a bed devoid of sand bugs, to say nothing of a private whirlpool or a location near a superb spa and romantic restaurant.
For a stay in a thatched hut that doesn’t feel like you are taking part in an endurance contest or an episode of Survivor there’s the Kona Village Resort on the northwest coast of Hawaii Island.
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