This part of the year is a slog. Holidays are over and the summer is far too distant to contemplate, so we wait patiently for rain, remind ourselves to stack all tax-related mail over there, and drum our fingers on the table. But there’s another option, and a better use of your time: Throw sarong and sandals into your smallest suitcase and find a white beach with bent palms and a sapphire sea. SoCal weather and the IRS—not to mention the primaries—will chug along just fine without you.
Four Seasons Resort Seychelles, Mahe Island, Seychelles
We’ve had the Seychelles in our back pocket for a while now, but chose to save the honeymoon spot of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for the season of greatest need: the start-of-the-year doldrums. This ultra-exclusive Indian Ocean archipelago of 115 islands lies midway between Madagascar and the Horn of Africa (a very romantic address). Forty-five islands are composed of the oldest and hardest granite on the planet (massive, rounded boulders have tumbled onto the white sands, turning great swaths of beach into a multitude of private coves); the rest are coral islands, skirted by acres of pristine reef.
We recommend the new Four Seasons Seychelles: this is not a massive resort hotel, but 67 jewel-like villas featuring plunge pools, daybeds that overlook the ocean, doors of glass that slide out of sight and create open-air living spaces…and languid seclusion. You’ll find two restaurants, two lounges, and a spa, of course. But meals, refreshments, and massages also can be enjoyed “in-villa.” Book by Feb. 29 and save 20 percent, bringing the rate for a garden-view villa down to $935 per night. Visit fourseasons.com/seychelles for more information.