Vacation Ideas From the World's Coolest Luxury Escapes Book

By Jared Paul Stern Apr. 25th, 2011

Photo Courtesy of teNeues

German uber-luxury publisher teNeues has just anointed the most stylish luxury resorts on the planet in its massive new book Cool Escapes: Top of the World. Eighty of the globe's most glamorous getaways are featured in the voluptuous volume containing over 700 full color photographs.

The book focuses on resorts that are off the beaten path and surrounded by glorious natural landscapes, yet still equipped with every imaginable amenity - as they should be. The chosen spots "fulfill our desire for space, peace, seclusion and intense experience of nature," the editors note.

"They let us dive into another world far from our hectic and stressful lives. Some of them take us to untouched landscapes that exist even in densely populated European countries, while others press ever deeper into inhabitable regions, into the deserts of Namibia, the rainforests of Costa Rica or the barrenness of Arizona." And James Bond would feel right at home at every one of them.

Among the top picks are Amanyara, the amazing Asian-inspired retreat overlooking the ocean in the Turks & Caicos islands; La Reserve Ramatuelle, perched above the sea in St. Tropez with an impressive spa; the chic cottages of the Cocos Hotel in Antigua; the fabulous Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica on the Peninsula Papagayo; the amazing Amangiri, nestled in the desert in Canyon Point, Utah; the stylish Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain in Arizona; and Mexico's must-visit Tides Riviera Maya. Bon voyage!

Aleenta Phuket Phang Nga, Thailand

North Island, Seychelles

Tsala Treetop Lodge, Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

Jared Paul Stern

Jared Paul Stern, JustLuxe's Editor-at-Large, is the Executive Editor of Maxim magazine and has written for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the New York Times' T magazine, GQ, WWD, Vogue, New York magazine, Details, Hamptons magazine, Playboy, BlackBook, the New York Post, Man of the World, and Bergdorf Goodman magazine among others. The founding editor of the Page Six magazine, he has al...(Read More)