PLANTERS INN
Savannah, Georgia
To sleep in the epicenter of the city’s beautiful historic district, book some time here, on Reynolds Square. The 60-room Planters Inn offers elegant rooms, great service, and a jovial wine and cheese reception where people linger each afternoon. Breakfast is self-serve, with delicious selections but without intrusive fuss. Adjacent to the inn, The Olde Pink House restaurant provides room-service dinners. For a view, request one of the few rooms overlooking Reynolds Square Park (others face a parking garage—not as bad as it sounds). Most Savannah guided tours include Reynolds Square, so you can join one right outside the hotel. You can also walk to numerous restaurants and shops on Broughton and River streets. Better yet, step outside the inn and get lost among the azaleas and architecture. Just make it back in time for your daily dose of wine and cheese.
• Rates: $149–$229; 800/554-1187 or plantersinnsavannah.com.

LAGO MAR RESORT AND CLUB
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Cached away on a secluded beach, hugging the Atlantic Ocean, this family-owned resort embraces Florida’s classic past while extending four-star service. The carefully appointed decor throughout the complex and its 204 rooms and suites eases weary arrivals into a restorative pace. The spacious swimming lagoon, Olympic-size pool, and abundant beachside lounging grant everyone a spot in the sun or shade, depending on preference. With the full-service spa and four dining options, there’s little reason to venture outside the resort. For gourmet offerings, sup on tonno asciutto in padella (seared tuna, three-olive/sun-dried-tomato tapenade, sweet-potato mash, and sautéed spinach); it’s just one of the many Italian-style entrées offered at Acquario. Or sit by the pool under the stars and trees for a relaxing dinner at the Seagrape Terrace. It’s not easy to leave this hidden gem.
• Rates: $160–$950; 954/523-6511 or lagomar.com.

9 BEACHES
Sandys, Bermuda
The hypnotic sounds of water surround you. You seem to be floating yet solidly anchored at the same time. Standing on stilts over the blue-green Atlantic Ocean, six of the 84 cabanas at 9 Beaches provide this ethereal experience. Other cabanas perch at the water’s edge or overlook the sea from an elevated peninsula. You need a bit of backpacker spirit at this most casual resort in buttoned-up Bermuda: The lodging consists entirely of high-tech tents. They feel, however, quite substantial, with real baths, French doors, verandas, ceiling fans, and even air-conditioning. And, though they do lack soundproofing, they have sailed through the toughest storms, including a 2003 hurricane.
• Rates: $170–$375; 866/841-9009 or 9beaches.com.

GULF COAST
LONGBOAT KEY CLUB AND RESORT
Longboat Key, Florida
If you’re a high-energy traveler seeking “active leisure,” you’ve come to the right place. Technically a private country club, the high-rise Longboat Key Club and Resort welcomes visitors vacationing in the Sarasota area. Golfers find challenge and paradise across the water, trees, and sand of the resort’s two championship courses—45 holes total. Some 38 courts answer the question, “Tennis, anyone?” Bikes entice guests to explore, as rafts and body boards invite ocean plunges. For lodging, you can choose among the 216 one- or two-bedroom suites or popular full-kitchen club suites. But don’t cook every night: Four casual-to-elegant resort restaurants wait to please your palate.
• Rates: $250–$1,160; 888/237-5545 or longboatkeyclub.com.

MONTROSE HIDEAWAY BED-AND-BREAKFAST RETREAT
Montrose, Alabama
For years, the neighboring towns of Point Clear and Fairhope offered all the prime lodging along the beautiful Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. But when Mary and Greg McNair moved to Montrose from Bandon, Oregon, they transformed a private home into classically appealing space for themselves and their guests. Visitors in the five units awake to Mary’s rich breakfasts, relax among the 10 acres of flowering trees and shrubs, and meander Montrose’s shaded residential streets. For less peace and quiet, it’s only a 15-minute stroll to the cafés and bayfront park in the village of Daphne.
• Rates: $125–$325; 866/443-3299 or montrosehideaway.com.

CONTRIBUTORS
Steve Millburg, Tate Taylor, Kelly Brown Tomas, and Vicki J. Weathers

(published September 2006)