The Wellesley
The luxury travel advisors at Virtuoso have named it. Now that travelers have had a taste of private yachting, they don’t want to give it up. According to insights released at Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, private yacht bookings are up 79 percent this year compared to 2019.
As more and more people turn to chartering yachts for their vacations, the world’s finest hotels are taking note and transferring their five-star service to the water. “Luxury hotels are masters of their own environments and deliver impeccable experiences for their guests. A yachting experience enables them to add an extra dimension to their service,” Ben Casey, owner of U.K. luxury travel agency Out of this World Travel, tells Robb Report. “They become their guests’ personal tour guides in some of the world’s most breathtaking environments.”
Half-day excursions or week-long charters or available, on classic sailing yachts or elegant superyachts. For many travelers, it means taking their first steps in yachting on a vessel with the same five-star touches as their favorite land-based hotels.
Here are 13 of the best hotel-and-yacht combinations around the world.
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‘Satori,’ Borgo Santo Pietro, Italy
Image Credit: Stuart Pearce In the Middle Ages, Borgo Santo Pietro served as a place for weary pilgrims to rest. Centuries later, the sprawling 270-acre property near Florence has lost none of its healing properties. A handful of rooms and suites are set inside a carefully restored 800-year-old farmhouse and paired with Michelin-star dining, a medicinal garden, and an organic vineyard. Less than an hour away on the coast, the estate’s wooden schooner, Satori, is waiting to whisk guests away to Sardinia or Sicily. The 136-foot vessel evokes the romance of the 1920s and 1930s with touches including silverware from the era and deck chairs identical to the legendary Harry’s Bar in Venice. But the timeless aesthetic comes with a modern twist. Onboard you’ll find all the latest tenders and toys, spa facilities, and an open-air cinema. From $118,000 per week.
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‘The Wellesley,’ United Kingdom & Mediterranean
Image Credit: The Wellesley Before the Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons got in on the yachting act, a five-star hotel in London’s ultra-exclusive Knightsbridge neighborhood purchased a classic 183-foot Oceanco superyacht to bring its brand of luxury to sea. Both hotel and yacht share the same name: The Wellesley. They also share a Roaring 20s design and feel: The cigar cabinet mirrors the selection in the hotel, as do the Hermès toiletries in the marbled Art Deco bathrooms. It’s all designed to make it as easy as possible for you to tack a charter in the Mediterranean onto a stay in the British capital without feeling like you’ve left any of the silver service and attention to detail behind. From $246,000 per week.
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‘Milos at Sea,’ Xenodocheio Milos, Greece
Image Credit: xenodocheio milos First came the restaurant: Montreal’s Estiatorio Milos in 1976 (followed by New York, Athens, Las Vegas, Miami, London, and another New York address). Then came the hotel: Xenodocheio Milos in Athens in 2022, an opening that heralded a return to the roots of chef Costas Spiliadis. Now comes the yacht: Milos at Sea, the 113-foot Codecasa motoryacht that brings Spiliadis’s culinary philosophy to the water. On weekly charters for groups of up to 10 in the Greek Islands, local cuisine, and culture come to the fore, as does a carefully curated menu from this celebrity chef’s personal chef. Low season from $48,000 per week.
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‘Major Affair,’ Anantara Layan Residences, Thailand
The Man with the Golden Gun was the last James Bond novel Ian Fleming penned, but the story lives on at Anantara Layan Residences in Thailand. As part of its “Golden Gun” experience, guests fly from Bangkok to Phuket by private jet before transferring to a chauffeur-driven limo for the final stretch to the resort. Martinis (shaken, not stirred, of course) are offered up by a private butler on arrival, as is the actual golden gun from the 1974 Bond movie of the same name. It’s all designed to whet your appetite for the main course: a cruise around Phang Nga Bay, where the movie was filmed, on board the property’s sleek Sunseeker 90 Major Affair. If 007 isn’t to your taste, the yacht is available to guests for day charters and comes fully stocked with wakeboards, inflatables, and water skis to recreate your own superhero adventure. $10,000 for 8 hours.
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‘Bella,’ Hurawalhi Maldives & Kudadoo Maldives Private Island, Maldives
Image Credit: Hurawalhi Maldives Plenty of yachts flock to Hurawalhi Maldives to drop guests at 5:8 Undersea Restaurant, an all-glass fine-dining room resting on the seafloor. But only one calls the resort home: Bella, a Princess F55 Flybridge shared between Hurawalhi and Kudadoo Maldives Private Island, the ultra-luxe sister resort next door. Captain Nasri hails from the Indian Ocean nation and, when the captain and crew aren’t ferrying guests on sunset trips to the restaurant, they are showing them the best local dive sites, searching for manta rays, or setting up desert-island picnics on day excursions. $3,000 for 2 hours.
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‘Revolution,’ Puente Romano Beach Resort, Spain
Image Credit: Puente Romano Beach Resort, Spain Puente Romano Beach Resort in Marbella already has a Six Senses spa and a two-star Michelin restaurant, so the arrival of a sleek sailing yacht to enhance the guest experience was the logical next step. Built in 1990 and restored in 2020, Revolution is a 53-foot vessel fully crewed for half- and full-day excursions off the southern Spanish coast. Guests can learn sailing and navigation basics or make a splash with paddleboards in the water while catching glimpses of the Rock of Gibraltar or Africa’s coastline. “For guests, it is a wonderful way to experience the area in the intimacy of their own private space,” says general manager Gonzalo Rodriquez. $2,000 for 4 hours.
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‘Star of the Sea,’ Bequia Beach Hotel, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Image Credit: Bequia Beach Hotel Bengt Mortstedt stumbled upon Bequia, a castaway island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, by chance as he explored the Caribbean on his sailing ketch in the early 1990s. He never left, founding the Bequia Beach Hotel. From just 10 rooms and a rum shack on the beach, the hotel has grown into the definition of barefoot luxury, offering suites and private villas across 10 waterfront acres. The sailing yacht has also been traded up for a classic 114-foot Benetti motoryacht, Star of the Sea. Up to 12 guests can soak up the yacht’s vintage styling on day trips or multi-day charters to chic neighboring islands Mustique and Canouan.
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‘Escape,’ W Maldives, Maldives
Image Credit: W Maldives From its home base, the heart-shaped W Maldives resort island, Escape roams the crystalline waters of the North Ari Atoll. Styled like a traditional two-masted gullet, the 78-foot motorsailor first set sail in the Indian Ocean in 2022. Leisurely top speeds of eight knots keep the pace perfect for snorkeling and diving day trips, relaxed afternoons resting on the expansive sundeck, or even a romantic proposal. Two cabins make longer sailings a reality. Keeping to the W brand, the vessel comes equipped with a Bose sound system, flat-screen TVs and W’s signature beds and amenities. Overnight for $3,800
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‘Vision,’ Rosewood Little Dix Bay, British Virgin Islands
Image Credit: Rosewood Little Dix Bay The island hideaway built by Laurance Rockefeller in the 1960s, Little Dix Bay in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, has hosted royalty and celebrities over the years. Now part of the Rosewood Hotels & Resorts family, the resort has lost none of its secluded allure with suites and villas concealed from prying eyes by a canopy of breezy palm trees. Vision is its 57-foot catamaran, tailor-made for dipping in and out of the BVI’s aquamarine bays. On private day sailings for just four people, you can launch onboard toys that include seabobs, kayaks, and inflatables. Larger groups can opt for an extended stay: Vision can sleep up to eight guests in four en-suite cabins. $1,500 for a half-day sail.
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Private Paradise Villa, Cozumel, Mexico
Image Credit: Private Paradise Villa Private Paradise Villa in Cozumel, with its luxury villas, 25-foot waterfalls, four theaters, and heated pools, not to mention butlers and private chefs, does not have its own yacht. But it does offer something more exceptional on the sailing catamaran that transports guests into the gin-clear waters of the adjoining Marine Park. As guests soak in the water after a snorkel or swim, a butler carries a tray of drinks and refreshments from the boat, displaying the ultimate in customized service. The resort is family-friendly, with resident actors, singers, and entertainers adding to the fun vibe, but it’s also secluded enough to allow guests the privacy that is part of the resort’s name.
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Four Seasons ‘Explorer,’ Palau
Image Credit: Four Seasons The 11-passenger Four Seasons Explorer, which was recently based in the Maldives between two resorts, will move next month to the even more pristine island nation of Palau, with 340 volcanic and coral islands. Rather than being connected to a Four Seasons resort, Explorer is the resort, offering spa services on board, or kayaking, paddle-boarding and surfing, and of course, exceptional cuisine. It’s also a Five-Star PADI dive center that offers exceptional diving and snorkeling. Sites like German Channel offer manta rays and reef shark as well as healthy coral reefs, while the Peleliu Wall has caves and canyons, with marine life like pygmy killer whales and silvertip sharks. Onland activities like visiting cave paintings or learning traditional Palauan music are part of the charter. Explorer is available on a per-stateroom basis, or can be chartered whole.
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‘Marina di Principe,’ Principe Forte dei Marmi, Italy
Image Credit: Principe Forte dei Marmi From his rooftop restaurant Lux Lucis, atop the Hotel Principe Forte dei Marmi, chef Valentino Cassanelli’s Michelin-starred Italian fare comes with a side of sweeping Tyrrhenian Sea views. Cassanelli also plates up his cuisine at sea, with a carefully prepared menu designed for guests who charter the five-star hotel’s yacht, Marina di Principe, for the day. As the 78-foot Mazarin yacht speeds between the Tuscan coast and Portofino or Cinque Terre, you can feast on dishes such as Risotto with fresh sea urchins and Tuscan black truffle, and Grilled turbot with bbq aubergine and rhubarb. Splash some extra cash and Cassanelli can even come onboard to cook for you. From $4,300 per day.
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La Guérite Restaurant, Cannes, France
Image Credit: La Guerite La Guérite Cannes on the island of Sainte-Marguerite is like a private sanctuary that provides a nice respite from the bustling city on the French Riviera. Diners can choose to look back at Cannes or out to the pristine blue Med. Accessible only by boat, La Guerite boasts one of the most authentic Mediterranean menus in the region, courtesy of Greek chef Yiannis Kioroglou. Chargrilled seafood, aromatic meats, and an impressive wine cellar are complemented by musicians who serenade diners. As a bonus, its private beach club offers true waterfront solitude.