The Greek Isles look like something out of a dream, with their jutting hills and whitewashed towns cascading down to the sea – blue-green water where, if you squinted, you might spot Poseidon himself. A cruise is the classic way to fit several islands into a visit (Windstar and Oceania Cruises, among others, are planning 2021 Greek odysseys), but it’s also inviting to settle in at a mythic hotel with stop-in-your-tracks views and postcard architecture – 18-room Canaves Oia Hotel on Santorini, for instance. Virtuoso guests of Canaves Oia receive breakfast daily and a $100 dining credit.
The Maldives
Snorkeling off the deck of a private overwater bungalow sounds like the ideal 2020 reset to us, and, apparently, we’re not alone: The Maldives lands right up there with Italy for our poll’s leading destination. (We might even yield it the top spot, given how many of you simply replied, “A beach.”) Long a honeymoon and diving favorite, the Indian Ocean archipelago consists of 1,200 sand-fringed coral islets – none more than eight feet above sea level. Make a splash at the 151-room Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, one of 14 Virtuoso properties spread across the atolls and home to 71 overwater villas. Live out mermaid fantasies from The Muraka, a first-of-its kind, bilevel residence with a master bedroom 18 feet under the sea beneath a clear domed ceiling. Virtuoso guests receive breakfast daily, a $100 resort credit, and a sunset fishing excursion for two.
Saint Lucia
The Caribbean hideaway of Saint Lucia delivers vertiginous backdrops reminiscent of the Greek Isles just a three-and-a-half-hour flight from Miami. Its two most iconic peaks are the UNESCO World Heritage-designated Gros Piton and Petit Piton volcanic plugs. Check into the 96-room Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort, set on 100 acres of rain forest in the Piton Valley, with plunge pools at every room, villa, and white-sand-beach-fronting bungalow. Virtuoso guests receive breakfast daily and a $100 resort credit
The Adirondacks
Lake Kora, a historic Great Camp on a 500-acre private lake in upstate New York, is available for exclusive use only. That means groups can live like the Gilded Age vacationers who arrived with their entourages at the turn of the last century, commandeering the entire 12-room camp and its spa, dining room, flotilla of canoes and kayaks, and more. Rooms are spread among seven log lodges, complete with stone fireplaces and handcarved furniture straight out of a posh “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” Virtuoso guests receive a $100 beverage or spa credit per person.
Later: Antarctica
Penguin colonies, leopard seals, and whales – and let’s face it, bragging rights – ensure Antarctica’s white-hot appeal with globe-trotters. Exploring the world’s most unforgiving continent is about to get a lot more luxe with two new ships: Crystal Cruises’ 200-passenger Crystal Endeavor and Quark Expeditions’ 199-passenger Ultramarine, which up the adventure quotient with two helicopters for flightseeing on each ship – an industry first. On top of that, cruisers on the Endeavor can get whale’s-eye views of icebergs and marine life from its seven-person submersible, while Ultramarine will introduce activities such as heli-hiking on previously inaccessible terrain, sea-kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding, and overnight camping on the ice.
