­Our plane landed nearly an hour early, but I was groggy.  My husband, Kai, and I were on the last flight to LAX out of JFK, and I had dozed off after my second glass of wine, just after the credits began rolling for the in-flight movie, 'My Life in Ruins'. By the time our Prius left the rental car lot, and we’d navigated our way to Beverly Hills using the GPS on my iPhone, it was half-past midnight.  

­When the owners of Hacienda Tres Ríos Resort Spa & Nature Park decided to transition from running one of the region’s first eco adventure parks to opening a green all-inclusive resort they faced big challenges. Their Tres Rios eco park on 326 acres is home to 120 species of plants and 90 species of animals and a delicate mangrove system including the only above-ground rivers in the Yucatan Peninsula (hence the name). Careless planning, construction and operation of a resort on the property could spoil the environment—and their reputation (Lonely Planet writers deemed the Tres Ríos park operation as the least environmentally harmful park in the Riviera Maya).

So, how’d they do?

­­Before I stayed at my first Aman resort, I knew that the hotels had a dedicated base of ‘Aman junkies’ who were nothing short of obsessed with the brand – but I didn’t entirely understand why. After all, there are a lot of luxury boutique hotels out there specializing in minimalist, stark architecture. But after a few heavenly days spent at the Amanyara in the Turks and Caicos, I know exactly why people will travel to the ends of the earth for the Aman experience.

­Someone always has to be first and in the world of luxury nature retreats Chan Chich Lodge was way out in front. Opened in 1988, this cluster of 12 bungalows and one villa deep in an enormous swath of privately owned jungle continues to get rave reviews more than 20 years later. Chan Chich was named Andrew Harper’s Lodge of the Year in 2007 and in 2010 the lodge earned a Condé Nast Johansens Award as the Most Excellent Lodge in Mexico and Central America.

­Just inland from the Costa Esmeralda in the state of Veracruz lies one of the most unusual towns in Mexico. Back in the early 1800s, French men and women began settling in Jicoltapec, near San Rafael, after fleeing Dijon and the wine region of Champlitte in search of work after a parasite ravaged the grape growing industry in France.

Over the ensuing decades, the food, architecture, clothing and traditions the French brought with them melded with the indigenous Mexican culture and the resulting unexpected (but thoroughly pleasing) mix is at the heart of the new Maison Couturier.

­The JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa looks and feels like a JW anywhere in the world: polished, accommodating, understated. You can count on a copy of USA Today being delivered to your room every morning along with your freshly polished shoes. However, take a look out the windows of any of the 448 rooms (all have water views) and the signature aquamarine blue of the Caribbean reminds you exactly where you are.

In the 1800s, Dunton was a mining camp with workers housed in some of the most basic living quarters imaginable. Today, the miners’ shacks of Dunton (and a few other mining ghost towns) have been relocated, restored and reinvented as Dunton Hot Springs featuring some of the most luxurious digs in the world.

­One of the main problems that comes with being a New Yorker is that you expect New York levels of service – and style- everywhere you go, and this can often lead to disappointment. If you’re a New Yorker looking to escape this winter to someplace warm but also groovy, then consider the Gansevoort Turks and Caicos, a Wymara resort.

­Looking outside my window right now I’m faced with 30 mph winds blowing the first snow of winter sideways in 20 degree weather that feels like nine degrees when you factor in the wind chill. This has got me thinking (no, dreaming) about a place where that never happens. A place where the sun shines all year, the breezes are always gentle and the margaritas flow. A place called Casa de Mita.

­“Where you guys headed?” a friendly American asked, as my husband and I queued to check-in at the airport. “St. Barth,” I replied, with a gigantic smile on my face. “Ah, St. Barth,” he said, a dreamy look slowly spreading on his face. “I say that’s where God goes on vacation. The beaches, the food, the beautiful people!”

Where God goes on vacation?  To be sure, the island of St. Barthelemy, a heavenly island in the middle of the Caribbean, is replete with picture perfect beaches, refined cuisine, and of course, beautiful people. It’s also full of small surprises. To enjoy them all, The Hotel Guanahani & Spa, an award-winning hotel managed by the expert hotelier Marc Theze, is an idyllic place to stay.