Published: 30 June 2026
There is a noticeable shift in how summer travel is being approached at the top end of the market. The emphasis has moved away from volume - how much can be seen, booked or experienced - and towards something more measured. Privacy, quality, service consistency and access to space are now the defining factors, with destinations selected as much for how they feel as for what they offer on paper.
A well-structured summer holiday, particularly at this level, tends to deliver more than temporary escape. It introduces a change in pace that carries through beyond the trip itself: better sleep, clearer thinking and a reset in routine. In 2026, that sense of restoration has become a primary driver, shaping both where people travel and the types of properties they choose to stay in.
Below is a considered guide to five destinations that are delivering on that balance.
Île de Bendor, French Riviera
Stay at: Zannier Île de Bendor
The French Riviera, or Côte d'Azur, remains one of Europe’s most established summer destinations, its reputation shaped by aristocrats and well-heeled visitors who have gathered here since the 18th century. It is home to some of France’s best beaches, along with a notable stock of private villas along the southern coast. While places such as Saint-Tropez and Monaco still attract dense seasonal crowds, attention has increasingly moved towards quieter, lower-density stays set just beyond the main centres of activity.
Île de Bendor, just off the coast of Bandol, has been repositioned by Zannier Hotels as a private island retreat with limited access and a reduced number of rooms. Once developed by Paul Ricard, the island now centres on sea swimming, shaded terraces and the art of slow living, alongside a hospitality model focused on privacy and discretion.
The hotel comprises 93 rooms - including 70 junior suites - and five two-storey Madrague houses, spread across three distinct areas: Delos, Soukana and the Madrague residences. Rates typically include breakfast, boat transfers and selected activities, while facilities are dispersed across the island, from multiple pools and a 1,200-square-metre spa to tennis and pickleball courts and several coastal dining spaces. Each area carries a distinct identity: Delos leans into the polished glamour of the 1960s Riviera with a more sociable feel; Soukana, set near the wellness centre, adopts a quieter approach with muted materials and sea-facing rooms; while the Madrague houses, positioned by the harbour, offer a more private, Provençal-style base with gardens and a greater sense of separation, better suited to families or longer stays.
Praslin, Seychelles
Stay at: La Réserve Seychelles
Spread across 115 islands, the Seychelles continues to rank among the most exclusive island destinations, with around 50% of its territory under environmental protection. Often described as a “Garden of Eden” and known for its white-sand beaches, striking granite boulders and consistently warm climate, it draws couples, nature-focused travellers and those seeking a more secluded escape, with dense rainforest, clear waters suited to diving and snorkelling, and a distinct Creole culture.
On Praslin, the second-largest island, this is particularly evident. Beaches remain largely undeveloped and visitor density is kept deliberately low. Scheduled to open in September 2026, La Réserve Seychelles has been conceived as a low-rise, environmentally integrated retreat with direct access to the Indian Ocean. The property centres on six private villas designed to sit lightly within their surroundings, where the emphasis is placed on space, natural materials and an unforced pace of living. Each villa faces towards the Curieuse Island Nature Reserve and its protected marine park, providing uninterrupted views across clear turquoise water.
Stays typically include housekeeping, a private chef and butler, return airport transfers, full-board dining and access to kayaks, paddleboards and snorkelling equipment, alongside concierge support. Additional services, including spa treatments and private boat charters for fishing or excursions, can be arranged on request.
Bodrum, Turkey
Stay at: Maçakızı
The Bodrum Peninsula has, in recent years, emerged as Turkey’s closest equivalent to Saint-Tropez, with a steady rise in high-end resorts and smaller boutique hotels reshaping its coastline. Despite this, much of the coastline remains relatively untouched, while the town itself has retained a sense of character, with a working bazaar and a waterfront where traditional gulets still depart each morning for unhurried day trips along the bay. The marina at Yalıkavak caters to an affluent crowd, while Göltürkbükü draws a steady flow from Istanbul’s boutique scene.
Located on the northern side of the peninsula, Maçakızı has been established as one of the area’s defining properties. Founded by a mother-and-son team, the property retains a distinctly personal feel, balancing a long-standing reputation with a more understated, contemporary approach. Days tend to centre around the waterfront decks, where guests gather along the shoreline of Göltürkbükü, while gardens, restaurant and bar spaces carry a steady rhythm into the evening.
Despite its scale at just over 70 rooms, including a number of suites, the hotel reads as more intimate, helped by its hillside location and terraced design that steps down towards the Aegean. Interiors are deliberately restrained, with a light, pared-back aesthetic that delivers on comfort, with features such as French king-size beds, blackout blinds and Aqua di Parma amenities. The focus remains on outdoor living, with layered decks and open views across the bay, alongside an open-plan Nuxe spa with hammam and treatment rooms. The bar sits just below and the atmosphere shifts naturally through the day from an unhurried pace to a more animated evening scene, particularly in peak summer when it draws a regular Istanbul and yachting crowd.
Kyoto, Japan
Stay at: Aman Kyoto
Japan offers a fundamentally different type of summer travel, centred less on relaxation in the conventional sense and more on cultural immersion and environmental contrast. For travellers, standards of cleanliness, safety and service, often referred to as omotenashi, remain among the most consistent globally.
In Tokyo, the contrasts are immediate: skyscrapers and transport systems operating at full tilt. Beyond the capital, the tone shifts. Kyoto moves more slowly, defined by temples, gardens and a long-standing cultural legacy. As one of the country’s oldest municipalities, it was largely spared the destruction of the Second World War and retains a notably intact concentration of shrines, traditional streetscapes and historic districts, where older rhythms of life continue alongside the modern city.
In the south, Fushimi Inari Taisha is marked by its network of vermillion torii gates, while to the north, Kinkaku-ji and Ginkaku-ji present contrasting approaches to Zen design within carefully structured gardens. Beyond the city, sites such as Jōruri-ji extend that tradition, while Kyoto remains central to the preservation of craft and ritual, from tea production in Uji to sake brewing in the Fushimi Sake District, where centuries-old techniques are still in use.
Set within an 80-acre forested estate on the outskirts of Kyoto, Aman Kyoto is arranged as a series of low-slung pavilions hidden among stone pathways, moss gardens and woodland. Just 24 rooms and two private pavilions keep the scale deliberately restrained, with interiors drawing on traditional ryokan design, such as tatami flooring, cypress-wood soaking tubs and tokonoma alcoves, that are offset by floor-to-ceiling windows that frame the surrounding landscape. The hotel sits within walking distance of Kinkaku-ji, though the emphasis remains on seclusion, with on-site onsens, a small spa and a restaurant centred around seasonal Kyoto cuisine, all designed to keep the focus inward rather than on the city beyond.
San Sebastián, Spain
Stay at: Nobu Hotel San Sebastián
Set on Spain’s northern coast, San Sebastián has gradually built a reputation as one of Europe’s food capitals, often cited as having one of the highest concentrations of Michelin stars per capita in the world. But to frame it purely through dining undersells it, as the city pairs that culinary weight with a distinctly liveable rhythm: Belle Époque architecture, a sweeping urban beach in La Concha, the Bay of Biscay and an old town where daily life still centres around the bar counter.
Food, though, is the main appeal. Pintxos culture, which are small plates taken standing up, turns entire neighbourhoods into a kind of informal tasting menu, particularly in Parte Vieja, where bars specialise in a single dish perfected over decades. At the other end of the spectrum, restaurants such as Arzak and Akelarre have helped redefine high-end Basque dining.
Set along the curve of La Concha Bay, Nobu Hotel San Sebastián occupies a restored 1912 villa, originally Villa Eder, with later additions kept deliberately subdued to preserve the original building. Part of the wider Nobu group, founded by chef Nobu Matsuhisa alongside Robert De Niro and Meir Teper, the property sits just outside Parte Vieja, within easy reach of the old town. Interiors showcase the brand’s recognisable Japanese minimalism, layered with traces of Belle Époque detailing.
Rooms are pared back and neutral, with design details that nod subtly to Kyoto-style ryokans, while shared spaces carry more of the hotel’s identity. A rooftop terrace and infinity pool overlook the bay, referencing the area’s early 20th-century resort history and a second-floor terrace operates as a more social, open space used by both guests and locals. Dining remains central: the restaurant is led by chefs with long-standing ties to the group, merging signature Nobu dishes, such as black cod with miso, with Basque influences and seasonal Spanish produce.
