Caneel Bay Resort

Caneel Bay, A Rosewood Resort, has a long history as a blue-blooded Caribbean resort — a destination for “the man who has everything,” if you like. Take it from no less an authority than Nelson Rockefeller, who fell in love St. John in the 1950s and purchased five thousand acres, most of which has now been given to the government for parkland. On the 170 acres that remain, Caneel Bay, Rockefeller’s dream resort, still stands today.

There are seven real, sizable beaches at Caneel where you can be utterly alone in your own private paradise; these are among the best-loved beaches in the world. The rooms are scattered on the estate in bungalow form, some on the hill by the tennis court, others on the very edge of the beach. Not everything is quite untouched since Rockefeller’s day, of course. Additions include an interior-design makeover, a modern wellness center, and a few necessities, like air conditioning. But much of the experience is still intentionally bare-bones — there are no telephones or televisions, a choice that marks Caneel Bay as an outlier in a world of ever greater connectivity.

In fact it’s not in the list of amenities, but in the nearly intangible details that Caneel Bay excels. True luxury, at least for traditionalists, means studiously ignoring the glitzy fixings expected of a typical high-end resort. There are no fawning staff, no high-speed anything, and as fitness centers go, a fairly minimal one (pack your tennis whites). And as there’s no phone, there’s no room service either: you’ll have to physically walk to the concierge desk if you need anything. Privacy comes at a price.

Why is it worth it? The walls at Caneel Bay are slat, not stone, letting in the ocean breeze through louvered wooden windows. The hotel has its own dock, and they’ll gladly pick you up at the St. Thomas airport and ship you straight to your room. In the morning, they serve breakfast by the water, and each night, without the dreaded TV and telephone, you can stretch out on the veranda, sip a cocktail from your in-room bar, and survey the empty stretch of beach with nothing but the water as your soundtrack.

How to get there: St. John is only accessible by boat or ferry. No passport is required for U.S. citizens traveling to the USVI. An original copy of one’s birth certificate with photo I.D. may be presented for entry.