Anantara Hotels & Resorts

Anantara Maia Seychelles Villas

Anantara Dhigu Maldives Resort

A classic Maldives overwater stay in South Malé Atoll, glass-floored suites over the lagoon, a spa built out on the water, and sunset dolphin cruises. There's substance beyond the postcard too, with Maldivian cooking classes and easy diving. Romantic without being stuffy. Come November through April for the dry season.

Anantara Veli Maldives Resort

Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort

Anantara Peace Haven is a clifftop resort in a coconut estate at Tangalle, for travellers who want the quiet end of Sri Lanka's south coast. It is about an hour from Mattala's airport and roughly three from Colombo, with 152 rooms and villas, a 25-metre infinity pool above the ocean, a children's pool, four restaurants and a large spa. All-inclusive is a rate plan some channels sell rather than the resort's own product. Guests praise the beachfront coconut-estate setting, the rooms and the pool villas, the breakfast and the buffet, the spa, and the family facilities. The complaints are how isolated it is, the long transfer for anyone flying into Colombo, premium extras that feel dear, and a sea whose conditions vary. The thing people wish they had known is that Tangalle is quieter and more remote than Galle or Mirissa, and that an all-inclusive rate here needs its inclusions confirmed. Where a rate carries all-inclusive, confirm exactly which of the four restaurants and which drinks it covers before comparing prices, because the spa, the excursions and the transfer all sit outside it, and the resort's chauffeur car from Mattala, about 75 minutes, is arranged on request and charged. The 56-square-metre Premier Ocean View Room is the entry with a view, the 97-square-metre Beach Pool Villa is the splurge, and the 171-square-metre Two Bedroom Garden Pool Villa sleeps six. Anyone who wants to walk out to dinner should base themselves at Weligama or Galle instead.

Anantara Bazaruto Island Resort

About as far-flung as this list gets, a remote island off the Mozambique coast where the marine life is the whole point: snorkeling with mega-fauna, dhow sailing, horseback rides on the sand, and castaway picnics on your own stretch of beach. Barefoot, genuinely remote, romantic. Best May through October.

Anantara Kalutara Resort

Anantara Kalutara is a design-led resort on the peninsula where the Kalu Ganga meets the sea, for travellers who want architecture and space. It is about 90 minutes from Colombo's airport, with 141 rooms, two pools including one for adults only, four restaurants and a kids' and teens' club, on a site whose buildings trace back to a Geoffrey Bawa design. All-inclusive is a rate plan some channels offer rather than the resort's own product, and that is the first thing to check. Guests praise the architecture and the setting, the size of the rooms and villas, the pools and the family amenities, and the quiet of a position between lagoon and ocean. The complaints are all-inclusive terms that are not clear across channels, food consistency, and swimming that varies with the surf. The thing people wish they had known is to treat all-inclusive here as an upgrade to price rather than the default, and to ask about lagoon and ocean conditions for their own dates. Where a rate carries all-inclusive, expect the meals and bars named in that rate's terms; Wi-Fi and the kids' and teens' club are included as standard, the spa, babysitting and the airport transfer are extra, the minibar depends on the rate and leaves out wine and spirits, and premium labels are not spelled out publicly. Get those inclusions in writing before comparing the price against a Caribbean all-inclusive, because it is not the same product. The One Bedroom Pool Villa Residence is the room to book for the design, and the 180-square-metre Two Bedroom Pool Villa Residence sleeps six. Anyone who wants a wristband and no questions should look down the coast at Beruwala.