Posted on Sun, May. 04, 2008

New resorts around the world offer chance to live the sweet life

By JUNE NAYLOR

Special to the Star-Telegram

West Coast Resort at Pelican Hill

Opening in stages this year on 504 acres near Newport Beach, Calif.

Why go: Rising over quiet, white beaches along the Pacific Ocean, this extravagant retreat began with a Tom Fazio-designed, 36-hole golf club, opened in November with clifftop shots among the happy distractions. Italian architecture dominates the resort, which will include 204 bungalow rooms and suites and 128 villas, all set to open this fall.

You can hang out by your fireplace and gaze at the ocean or -- if you're in a villa -- have your butler whip up a pitcher of martinis while your chef puts together dinner.

The circular swimming pool, with a design evoking the Roman Coliseum, features terraced decks with cabanas, sunbathing areas and dining spots. There's terrace dining at Andrew, the northern Italian restaurant, and the 23,000-square-foot spa, designed after the Baths at Caracalla, has Roman-style soaking pools, every kind of treatment and a top-notch fitness center. Itching to get hitched? Pelican Hill has indoor and outdoor wedding venues.

Good to know: Pelican Hill is close to the Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Playhouse, Orange County Art Museum, shopping at Fashion Island and Corona del Mar Plaza. It's also near great horseback riding, hiking and cycling at Crystal Cove State Park.

Details: Fly into Orange County's John Wayne Airport, 10 minutes from the resort; air starts at $299. Resort rates start at $695. 800-820-6800; www.pelicanhill.com.

East Coast Sandpearl Resort

Opened last summer in Clearwater Beach, Fla.

Why go: The first new resort built at this point on Florida's Gulf Coast in a quarter-century, this eco-friendly retreat along a 700-foot-long reach of sugar-white beach offers healthful food and nature-oriented programs. Among 253 rooms are two-bedroom suites with full kitchens and private balconies overlooking a picture-perfect beachfront.

When you're not lounging in a private cabana beside the beachside swimming pool fashioned like a lagoon, you can while away the day in the spa for the signature therapies, such as a facial incorporating extracts of powdered pearls and a massage utilizing crushed pearl paste.

If romance is on the itinerary, you can't beat a moonlit nature walk.

Good to know: You can book an Audubon excursion to nearby Three Rooker Island, where you can study nesting practices and observe dolphins and sea turtles. On Clearwater Beach, you can kayak, canoe and parasail, and young visitors can take part in Camp Ridley Kids Club, which includes campfire storytelling, sing-a-longs, treasure hunts, nature outings and arts and crafts.

Details: Fly to the Tampa airport, about 22 miles from the resort, or the St. Petersburg airport, 25 miles from the resort. Airfare starts at $265. Lodging rates start at $299 per night, double occupancy. 877-726-3111; www.sandpearl.com.

Naples Bay Resort

Opened in February within a short walk of downtown Naples, Fla.

Why go: Of the 85 rooms with private balconies overlooking Naples Bay Marina, Gordon River or Curlew Canal, 65 are suites with granite kitchens and master baths, Bose entertainment systems with iPod docking stations and washer-dryer areas. Families, however, might opt for the two- and three-bedroom cottages at the resort.

Whatever you choose, you can avail yourself of a 5,000-square-foot pool with a waterfall, a lazy river pool, an infinity pool, a lap pool, a kids' pool and a pool bar and grill, while the little ones go play in the Kidz Club. You can take a shuttle to the pretty beach nearby, and the spa has a long list of homeopathic therapies. When you're revitalized, there's tennis at the fabulous Cliff Drysdale center, golf at a number of nearby courses and a fitness center with a high-tech gym and a menu of Pilates and yoga classes. You can even book a fancy or simple wedding here, with all the planning done for you.

Good to know: Plenty of shopping is close by in the Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South districts, as well as at Venetian Village on Naples Bay and at Waterside Shops, the latter home to Tiffany & Co., Burberry and Hermes. Also in easy reach are the Conservancy Nature Center, with trails, tours and wildlife rehabilitation center, and the Naples Zoo.

Details: Fly into the Southwest Florida Airport at Fort Myers, 30 minutes from the resort; airfare starts at $218. Lodging rates start at $265 through Oct. 31. 866-605-1199; www.naplesbayresort.com.

Caribbean Aura Cozumel

Opened in January in the Mexican Caribbean

Why go: The couples-only Wyndham boutique resort offers 96 one- and two-bedroom suites in four low-rise buildings, each featuring oversized tubs and plenty of marble interiors.

The whole resort is about pools -- if you have a ground-level suite, for instance, it opens directly onto a pool from your patio, and each of the resort's several pools connects to the central pool via lazy river.

Third-floor suites have solariums and lap pools, and some have private rooftop terraces with pools. Rooms have the expected amenities for such a luxury lodging, including iPod docks, big flat-screen TVs, Bose sound systems, electronic safes sized for laptop storage and top-of-the-line bedding. Two restaurants and three bars are on-site.

Good to know: The Islander Spa is nearby, and the Aura will make your reservations at the Cozumel Country Club golf course.

Details: Fly nonstop to Cozumel, starting at about $564 including fees. Lodging starts at $340. 866-551-2872; www.auraresorts.com.

Seven Stars Resort

Opening in July in Grace Bay, Turks & Caicos Islands

Why go: The complex of 165 studios and suites opening onto 12 miles of powdery beachfront takes its name from the stars in the Pleiades constellation. You'll find the 22-acre spread covered by courtyards and gardens, surrounded by rolling landscape decorated with wild yellow orchids.

Want privacy on the sand? Ask your concierge to book one of the bedded pavilions in the dunes for a day, where you can read, nap, and have lunch and drinks. You can spend ample time in the spa for every possible treatment, or you can have a hand-and-foot massage by the swimming pool.

Good to know: The Tour Desk can book oodles of activities. There's fishing for wahoo, tuna and blue marlin, and birding is exceptional in the islands, as there are 33 protected areas for nature preservation and conservation. Snorkeling and scuba diving in the clear waters is huge, as are kayaking, parasailing and kiteboarding. You can go horseback riding, too, or explore the largest chain of underground limestone caves in the Caribbean.

Details: Fly to Providenciales, Turks & Caicos from about $684. Lodging starts at $395. 866-570-7777; www.sevenstarsresort.com.

Europe Schloss Elmau Hotel and Spa

Reopened last July about 60 miles south of Munich

Why go: This beloved Bavarian resort was rebuilt after a devastating fire. The renovation infused the beautiful sanctuary with new levels of luxury, served up with breathtaking Alps and forest views on the side. Crafted from ancient local stone and decorated with silks and linen from India, with design accents in woods from Asia and South America, the resort has 62 rooms and 78 suites. One of the four -- yes, four -- on-site spas is a family spa, and another is a Hammam, or Turkish bath. The resort's cultural program brings more than 200 events and festivals incorporating international jazz and classical music stars and noted writers.

Good to know: Golf and skiing are close by, as are art museums and castles straight out of fairy tales.

Details: Fly to Munich; airfare starts at about $432. Lodging rates start at about $375. 800-745-8883; www.lhw.com/SchlossElmau.

Africa La Sultana Oualidia

Opened in April 2007 in Morocco

Why go: Found about two hours from Casablanca, Sultana Oualidia is a quiet resort on the Atlantic coast where the daily special is all things sublime. The design, naturally, is Moorish, and each of the 11 suites has its own terrace with an outdoor, saltwater Jacuzzi and views of the protected lagoon. You can roam the hanging gardens on the grounds or spend the day in the spa at the heart of the resort, with Turkish baths and a central swimming pool surrounded by soaring columns. Fresh fish is a big draw, with sea perch in a salt crust the specialty.

Good to know: There's surfing, fishing, sail-boarding and birding on-site, and golf and canoeing are nearby. On a side trip to El Jadida, you get a history lesson in Portuguese-Moroccan heritage, where you can rock the Kasbah and taste local wines.

Details: Fly to Casablanca, typically via New York, starting at about $1,234. Lodging rates start at $560. 800-525-4800; www.slh.com/lasultanaoualidia.

Asia Courtyard by Marriott Phuket

Opening June 1 in Surin Beach, Thailand

Why go: This is the first of four high-concept Courtyards opening in Thailand this year. In contrast to the somewhat simple motor hotels we know Courtyard to be in our part of this world, the Southeast Asian version of this brand brings resort elements to extensively remodeled, existing hotels. The Surin Beach location has 256 rooms that present affordable, family-friendly lodging for travelers at this hugely popular Thai beach resort. Surin gives you extensive, uncluttered beaches, where you'll find seafood shacks and cafes, and plentiful snorkeling, kayaking and surfing. The hotel will also have its own beach club with food service. If you bring the kids, they'll be tickled to have their own swimming and play places at the hotel's Kids' Club, with arts and crafts, science lab, computer room, dress-up area, cooking classes and movie theater.

Good to know: Opening later in the year, Courtyard by Marriott will have similar resorts at Patong Beach, a magnet for its nightlife and restaurants; Kamala Beach, next to the 140-acre Thai-culture theme park with carnival, games and shopping; and Cha-Am Beach, a quieter destination with a fishing village.

Details: Fly to Phuket, typically with stops in Los Angeles and Hong Kong or Seoul, for about $1,684 and up. Lodging rates start at about $127. 888 236-2427; www.marriott.com.

Note: In researching airfare prices, we found prices based on low- or shoulder-season travel periods for each destination.

For Munich, fares searched were for mid-October; for Cozumel/Caribbean, mid-September; for Orange County, Calif., mid-October; for Florida, mid-August; for Casablanca, mid-May; and for Thailand, mid-May.