Online - March 19, 2004

Where Goes the Bride?

The Honeymoon Guide

Mission accomplished: You’re married. Now where to go to recover from the seating-chart fiasco, the bachelor-party “incident,” the newly beloved in-laws, and — oh, right — to celebrate your new life together? Some honeymoon ideas.

Eat, Drink, and Be Married
Want to do nothing but chill and eat the world’s best food? Heck, yeah. This May Alain Ducasse opens two new properties: L’Andana (+39 0564-944321), on a former duke’s manor in Tuscany, and Ostape (+33 1-5534-1614), a converted eighteenth-century manse in French Basque country. Ideal for foodies (no more wedding dresses to fit into — yippee!), both are situated on massive estates amid forests, olive groves, and vineyards. Take a cooking class at L’Andana (don’t forget to bring home some olive oil), and go horseback riding at Ostape (and commune with the sheep on your ride).

Beach Bumming
Mexico’s Hotelito Desconocido (+52 322-222-2526) has everything you’d expect from a beautiful seaside resort. Except electricity. This unpretentious paradise, 60 miles south of Puerto Vallarta, is all candlelight and torches. Waterfront bungalows have bamboo showers and Mexican-artisan furnishings. It’s luxurious but untraditionally so.

On the other side of the Pacific Thailand’s Rayavadee Premier Resort (+66 75-620-7403) promises adventure — rock climbing, sailing, caving — or not. Feel no pressure to do anything except stroll the unspoiled beaches, where you’ll linger through sunset. Bring your tennis rackets (these are “jungle courts”; don’t be alarmed if monkeys stop to watch the game), and book a villa with a private pool. The resort is accessible only by private boat. Just how you want it.

Farther east, off the coast of Africa, the island of Mauritius is a melting pot of European, African, and Asian cultures. Head to the Oberoi (800-562-3764) in the less developed northwest. Isolationists should book a private villa (each has a walled garden, pool, and dining pavilion). Try the Himalayan Pancha Karma body treatment or the Youth Bliss facial (restore what you lost on the plane). If you want to leave the resort (you won’t), take a jeep to the botanical gardens.

Jewel of India
Live like a maharaja at the Devi Garh Fort Palace (+91 2953-289-211) in Rajasthan. Built in the eighteenth century and recently restored in modern (read: luxe) boutique style, the hotel has fewer than 30 rooms, promising you unrestricted access to its five sumptuous courtyards. Get the hotel to arrange a private dinner in one of the turrents (pillows + candles + open air = pure romance), and skip the Ayurvedic spa (it’s not great yet). Go exploring: Udaipur and Ranakpur are easy day trips.

I Promessi Sposi
Did the gods invent Venice and the Amalfi Coast for honeymooners? Quite possibly, especially during the off season (October-April). Overlooking the Grand Canal, Il Palazzo (+39 041-520-7022), recently renovated to its full Venetian glory, is discreet, swanky, and has a hot tub on the top floor. Try to reserve suite 304 (the Jewel Box) or the Royal Suite (Catherine Deneuve sleeps here). Need anything at all, from a meal to a scarf? The excellent hotel manager, Danilo, will hook you up.

Hotel Santa Caterina (+39 089-871-012) is on the side of a cliff in Amalfi. You take an elevator down to the pool and the sea. Privacy freaks should request the Romeo and Juliet suite, which is a converted old fisherman’s shack. Just two kids in love, the sea and the sunset out their windows. For breathtaking views, unleash your inner contessa at the Palazzo Sasso (+39 089-818-181) in Ravello, one of Italy’s most beautiful hilltop towns. A recent multimillion-dollar renovation has modernized this former jet-set playground, originally built in the twelfth century. Eat at the in-house resto, Rossellinis. Chef Pino Lavarra is a Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons alum.

South of the Border
Seeking adventure on a remote corner of the globe? Head to the two Explora lodges (+56 2395-2533) in Chile. Hotel de Larache offers hiking, horseback-riding, and biking tours through old villages and volcanoes. (Get your picnics from the kitchen before you go.) Hotel Salto Chico in Patagonia is a converted base camp. Stay in the Exploradores suites for stunning mountain views, in the Salto Chico suites for waterfall views. Climb glaciers in the morning, then soothe your muscles in the outdoor hot tubs.

The recently opened Cipriani Punta del Este (+598-42-771000), set in the forest in Uruguay, is like summer camp for the fabulous. A helicopter whisks you to the estate, where you can while away your days gambling, golfing, boar hunting, or sailing. Feeling lazy? Beckon your butler to book a sunset massage and fetch something yummy from the Cipriani restaurant.

Out of Africa
You want to commune with lions and elephants but also want to splurge on a hotel with kickass amenities and cuisine. The Singita (+27 21-683-3424) lodges are scattered throughout South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Lebombo is constructed on stilts; Ebony lies along the Sand River. What’s more impressive: the wildlife, the decor, or the views? Oh, it’s your honeymoon. You can have it all.

Caribbean Me Away
It’s the next Caribbean fantasy. Swaying hammocks on the white-sand beaches. An eighteen-hole golf course next door. A deluxe spa (ask for the over-the-water treatment bungalows). Frette and Bulgari goodies. A breathtaking hilltop casino that’s actually not tacky. Be one of the first to experience the Raffles Resort on Canouan Island (+1 784-458-8000), in the Grenadines, when it opens this summer. Island hopping? They’ll send a jet to pick you up.

Another excellent take-me-to-my-palace-on-my-own-private-island option is Peter Island (800-346-4451) in the British Virgin Islands. It’s picture perfect, with outstanding personal attention, excellent cuisine, and total privacy. Deadman’s Beach is the best of five beaches; the bathrooms in the junior villas are insane.

So DailyCandy is always recommending places. Where do we go? Well, one of us just came back raving about her honeymoon at Martineau Bay Resort and Spa (+1 787-741-4100), the newest hotel in Vieques. Private beaches, plantation-style decor, and a genius masseuse named Naomi kept her blissed out for days. Hit the unspoiled beaches (especially Navio) and the bioluminescent bay for a night swim. We almost never heard from her again.