Playa del Carmen: Esencia
Swap the sweaty subway platform for Esencia’s secluded stretch of Mayan sand. Less than an hour’s drive south of Cancún, Hotel Esencia’s a laid-back beauty with fashion-shoot worthy style, a spa that feels like a sacred temple and clean foodie fare on the beach, by the pool or in the oh-so-romantic, pure white peacock-graced garden restaurant.
Bahamas: Ocean Club
Paradise Island. A weekend escape destination couldn't have a better name. Sitting regally among Versailles-style gardens on the little island north of Nassau, One&Only’s Ocean Club is just a quick 3-hour flight from NYC. Elegant and fit for Bond (Casino Royale's 007 has a thing for their sea-view villas), the resort has top-notch cuisine and flawless service—just wave a flag at the beach and your butler will appear.
Tennessee: Blackberry Farm
Highrise views may be elevating, but they’ve got nothing on Blackberry Farm’s mist-mopped valleys. A beautiful three-hour ride from Nashville through glade-like hills and farm country, Blackberry Farm is an all-inclusive getaway set in a classic red barnhouse straight out of Capote. Wine-tastings, watersports, fly-fishing and facials make this wholesome all-American resort an ideal pied-a-terre for a concrete-free long weekend.
Jamaica: Rockhouse
NYC got you stressed? Maybe some reggae and a Red Stripe is in order. Just 15 minutes from Negril, for us the chillest island hangout is Rockhouse Hotel, a cliffside boutique (you could easily spend hours at its rock-cut infinity pool) with a saucy character and a reggae sense of relaxation. Summer here sees sunsets not even Turner could describe--which is why you should request your evening Thai massage Caribbean-side!
Anguilla: Malliouhana
Why not trade the drab Metronorth core aesthetic of your commute for an azure tapestry of crystal-clear water and cloudless sky? Just four hours from NYC, Anguila’s Malliouhana is a Caribbean cliche in the best possible way: sands as white as the buildings, a Greg Norman signature golf course and all the usual watersports to take advantage of Anguilla's coral-filled coastline.
Québec City: Antoine
Only a two-hour flight from New York, you’ve no reason not to soiree in Quebec. Nestled smack center in the city’s historical district, Auberge Saint-Antoine is set in three riverside French 17th-Century buildings and features a collection of colonial era artifacts found on-site. Summer air and St. Lawrence breezes make old-town Quebec as pleasant as it is picturesque to stroll through.