Dreaming of a relaxing hotel break where there’s a distinct lack of crying babies, hyperactive toddlers and phone-addicted pre-teens? You’re not a monster, and you’re not alone.
From dedicated DINKS to exhausted parents needing a break from the littles — as well as expectant ones seeking a last blast of freedom before life changes for the next 18-plus years — everyone needs a grown-up holiday now and then.
These sleek stays guarantee you won’t have any kids spoiling the mood, with official policies that keep the average age well above the Bluey demographic.
Neema Maison, Santorini, Greece
A tranquil pool with no kiddos in sight
Neema Maison / Domes Resorts
Between its sweltering summer temperatures, glut of design-forward boutique hotels and step-studded Fira old town — an excellent buggy deterrent — Santorini is gloriously un-child-friendly.
Newly opened this July in the village of Finikia, 16-suite hotel Neema Maison makes it official, with an adults-only policy that permits over-16s only. In a stylish, flirty aesthetic, contemporary rooms marry traditional Santorini architecture with retro design touches and a lipstick-red colour palette. Lie around sipping strong Greek coffees til noon before decamping for grown up drinks of a different breed by the outdoor pool; you’ve got no responsibilities, and no to-do list.
The Scarlet Hotel, Cornwall
The natural pool at The Scarlet is for adults only
The Scarlet Hotel
With a focus on spa serenity, introspection and reconnection with nature, this coastal retreat on the clifftops of Mawgan Porth is resolutely 18s-and-up. That means when you slide open your floor-to-ceiling glass doors to a terrace overlooking the sea, you won’t hear the wailing of a toddler emanating from the outdoor natural pool.
Nor will you ever have to squeeze in next to a highchair when you sit down to dine on a seven-course evening tasting menu featuring cured local gurnard. No wonder so many guests return again and again, particularly during school holidays when the rest of Cornwall can feel overrun.
Forestis, Bressanone, Italy
Wake up to THAT view in an architecturally swanky stay
Forestis
Sorry to the design-inclined under-14s, but there’s no chance you’ll get to enjoy the simple, serene and immaculately crafted interiors at this Dolomites hotel — a masterclass in alpine woods, flickering fireplaces and glass-lined windows that widescreen across jagged peaks.
Active types come here to hike the South Tyrolean mountains in summer, or ski in winter, but you can just as easily hole up in the spa, which takes inspiration from natural materials like stone and tree bark to set your internal register to ‘serene’. Come evening, a very grown-up, multiple-course feast awaits in the middle of the forest at new immersive restaurant Yera, where in a bid for mindful eating (and drinking) mobile phones are banned.
Nido by Mar-Bella Collection, Corfu
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All the sunshine and pool time, with none of the children
Nido by Mar-Bella Collection
Families book Mar-Bella Corfu for the waterpark, free ice creams and all-inclusive vibe. But they don’t get a sniff of sister hotel Nido Mar-Bella, just a few minutes down the coast, where the tone is grown-up and the access is restricted to those with a bedtime past 8pm.
Instead the experiences here focus on private yacht excursions, luxury outings to historic Corfu Town, rambling Sunday morning buffets (yes, with booze) and restorative yoga sessions. Suites are modern, furnished with romantic sea views and may come with verandas with private whirlpools.
Villa Paola, Calabria, Italy
Villa Paola provides a grown-up stay in a Disney fairytale-style setting
Eric Cuivillier
Perched above the cobalt Adriatic in a wedding-cake-like flourish of pastel pink, white trim and dramatic turrets, this intimate stay in Calabrian seaside resort Tropea has a timeless, regal feel.
White sandy beach below, flanked by cliffs, sets the scene for an intimate break with your plus one, upped by the small pool and suntrap garden that adjoins the hotel frontage. Serenity is guaranteed with a no-kids policy, while the 12 rooms with vintage furniture pieces, Calabrian terracotta floors and Trani marble dial up the romance.
After a sophisticated feast featuring sweet Tropea onions at onsite restaurant De’ Minimi, call it an early night.
Lounge, nap or sip poolside at Casa Cook Samos
Casa Cook Samos
Part of the appeal of staying in an adults-only hotel is the often-ambitious design, from infinity pools and delicate rattans to unforgiving fabrics that don’t scream ‘easy-wipe’. Casa Cook collection is known for its good looks, and their retreat on Samos island retreat — where average autumn temperatures hover at 20C or more — certainly applies the brief.
Just a hop from historic village Pythagoreio, the 16-plus retreat comes with six pools, a private beach and daily open-air yoga and Pilates classes. And as you’d expect in a grown-up establishment, there are multiple bars, ideal for sipping sunset-hued sundowners like the Mi Casa spritz, with Aperol strawberry, mandarin and bergamot soda.
Cape of Senses, Lake Garda, Italy
No buggies or highchairs to spoil this sensational view
Cape of Senses
Waking up to a yawning view of Lake Garda is all the more spectacular when it’s free from the irritating pitter-patter of little feet. Though it’s not only the plush suites, overlooking the water and surrounding peaks, that draw couples to this adults-only hotel in Torri del Benaco.
Rather it’s the regenerative wellness USP, which puts an extensive spa with garden, saunas, spa library and yoga and meditation facilities all at the heart of your stay. Book in for a nourishing candle-lit massage, then drift out towards the sun-warmed osteria terrace, without a worry that your zen bubble might be pierced by the young and feral.
White Orchid Hotel, Sivota, Greece
Dive into your adults-only break
White Orchid Hotel / Simpson Travel
Not to be confused with the White Lotus hotel — though we’d take a hols with Tanya McQuoid anytime — this eight-room hotel just a five-minute stroll from the beach is offered by Simpson Travel, a well-established operator with adults-only creds.
The views are really something special, overlooking the shifting Ionian blues all the way to Paxos and Corfu in the distance. A 12m infinity pool lets you spend your days splashing in the water, if you don’t fancy venturing out for the easy, short wander to a nearby ‘secret’ cove.
VIVOOD Landscape Hotel, Alicante, Spain
It’s all about the spa at VIVOOD
VIVOOD Landscape Hotel
Nestled into wooded cliffscape in Alicante’s Guadalest Valley, sustainably minded VIVOOD blends architecturally impressive suites with immersion in nature, letting you tune out the world beyond and focus on reset.
With no under-16s to spoil the silence, you can savour the verdant panoramas from your tree-wrapped terrace or plunge pool, before shuffling in your robe to the spa — which is kitted out with all the thermal facilities, plus a range of couple-y spa treatments like aromatherapy baths and Dead Sea mud wraps. Though if you book one thing, make it the late-night romantic spa experience, including light dinner for two and a bottle of fizz.
L’Avenida, Mallorca, Spain
Swerve the family-friendly vibes with a stay at L’Avenida
Hotel L’Avenida
Families love Mallorca but (what a shame) you won’t find them here at L’Avenida. With just 12 rooms, the century-old mansion-cum-hotel serves island culture on a plate, strictly to adults-only. It’s located in pretty Sóller, a north-western town connected to Palma by wooden vintage train, and provides the space for a mature-style unwind.
A stone-fronted facade flanks a sparkling lounger-ringed pool, just the place to devour a book in the shade of a palm tree. Meanwhile, a gym is on hand if you want to work off the Mallorcan indulgences — as is plenty of lush local rolling scenery, ideal for walking or cycling.
Adults-only serenity reigns at Domes Miramare
Domes Miramare / Domes Resorts
With its sun, sea and tranquil seaside panoramas, Corfu is a brilliant place for a kiddo-free break — and especially when you check into Domes Miramare, a 16-years-and-up hotel from the plush Domes group.
Set on the south-eastern coast near Moraitika village, it fills your days with soothing minimalist-cream interiors, sushi bar fare (no beans on toast here) and beach days by cerulean surf.
If you’re ready to venture out into the world (warning: children will be present), then make the half-hour journey into historic Corfu Old Town, home to Venetian fortresses and atmospheric churches.