The 13 best beach retreats in the world

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Lorenzo Castillo, interior designer
“Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic is an incredible place. We stayed at the Playa Grande Beach Club, with interiors by New York designer Celerie Kemble. The seaside location and laidback decor are breathtaking.” playagrandebeachclub.com

Angela Missoni, fashion designer
“Where I live, just south of Olbia in Sardinia, is all about beautiful beaches and nothing else. In the summer there are some tourists, but if you go in the winter, you won’t even be able to buy a coffee or a newspaper – and that’s the beauty of it. Of the nearby islands, Piscinas, with its white sand dunes, is not to be missed – it’s wild and the sea can be rough, but it’s very special. The hotel Le Dune Piscinas has been around for years; it’s right on the beach, very simple and secluded, and the quality of the spaces, rooms and beach are unmatched on this side of the island.” ledunepiscinas.com

Patrick Grant, fashion designer
“Ilha Grande National Park in Brazil is great. I stayed on Bonete Beach in a rustic cabin that is part of Pousada Canto Bravo. It was a magical place with only candlelight, no wifi and no road access. An idyllic escape.” pousadacantobravo.com.br

Alexandre Mattiussi, founder and creative director of Ami
“I’ve been to Formentera in the Balearic Islands every summer with friends for the past 10 years. We go everywhere by bicycle. At the end of the island there’s a lighthouse with a little café and a beautiful view of the Mediterranean, which is the colour of the Caribbean Sea. And La Savina beach is an idyllic stretch of sand that’s only accessible if you walk through the sea with your belongings on your head.”

Elin Kling, co-founder of Totême
“Gouverneur Beach in St Barths is an amazing place. My husband and I spent a weekend there last year for a friend’s birthday; we were on the beach, alone. There are no shops, you just bring a towel and that’s it. We stayed at a hotel nearby called Le Sereno.” serenohotels.com

Nadia Rosenthal, scientist
“I’m longing to go to Fogo Island Inn, off the coast of Newfoundland. It’s run by locals and funnels all surplus profits back into the community, sustaining one of Canada’s oldest rural cultures. It’s a great example of modern architecture with minimal environmental impact. The furnishings are all traditional and it serves up locally caught and foraged ingredients.” fogoislandinn.ca

Francesca Amfitheatrof, artistic director of watches and jewellery at Louis Vuitton
“The Napali coast on Kauai – the oldest of the Hawaiian islands, geologically – is dramatic and voluptuous; you can feel the mana, or spirit, there. We learnt to weave hula skirts, picked shells on the beach, hiked, sketched.”

Oliver Reichert, CEO of Birkenstock
“Lindsay Castle, in Knysna, South Africa, is set on the white-sand Noetzie Beach, and the rough Indian Ocean and the light are very dramatic. It’s very understated as castles go, but it was hand-built, stone by stone, and every beam was chosen by hand. It isn’t ‘luxury’ in the traditional sense, but I think of it as an eagle’s nest – just a very relaxing and special place.” noetziecastles.co.za

Lee Broom, furniture designer
“Shelter Island is a little more laid-back than the rest of The Hamptons, and a lot quieter. I stayed at The Chequit, which used to be very famous, then fell out of fashion; it was refurbished last year. André Balazs’ hotel Sunset Beach is a great place for a glass of wine while you watch the sun go down; it’s boho, relaxed and quite European in feel.” sunsetbeachli.com

Patrick Johnson, menswear designer
“I live above Tamarama Beach in Sydney, so I swim every morning before work. But Thistle Island, a small island off the coast of South Australia, is possibly the most beautiful place I have ever been. There are no hotels, just a dozen modest private homes. And incredible fishing: tuna, King George whiting (my favourite), abalone and more.”

Suzy Hoodless, interior designer
“I fell for the simplicity and ease of Ile de Ré, off the west coast of France. I went with my family; we had a complete tech detox and spent our time biking about, stopping at seaside shacks for laid-back lunches of langoustines, oysters and rosé.”

Lulu Lytle, co-founder and creative director of Soane Britain
“I love the area around the border of Calabria and Campania in southern Italy. It’s so rich in dramatic coastal towns, pretty fishing villages and spectacular forests. We stayed in a friends’ house near the charming seaside town of Sapri, which overlooks the beautiful Gulf of Policastro.”

Olga Polizzi, hotelier
“The Cornish village of St Mawes, with the boats bobbing in and out of the harbour, is the perfect, quaint seaside spot. Summer is the ideal time to take the ferry across to Place Creek, and walk to either St Anthony’s Lighthouse or the pristine Porthcurnick Beach on the Roseland Peninsula. If one is motivated, the coastal path extends for many more miles from here. This area is a true walker’s paradise.”