By Adam Erace
Deadman’s Beach on Peter Island, the largest private island in the BVI.
If you’re feeling the Spring Break indecision, we have a solution: do it all. Your itinerary? Two legendary luxury resorts recently reimagined with major renovations—Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne and Peter Island Resort where you’ll sail, swim, and sip frozen drinks. Let your body clock calibrate to Island Time, and maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ll miss your flight back.
The family pool at The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne; courtesy The Ritz-Carlton.
Day 1
Start with a staycation On the way to Key Biscayne, make a pit stop in nearby Coconut Grove—the oldest neighborhood in Miami. Grab a chrome-rimmed swivel stool along the terrazzo counter at sunny Chug’s Diner, for lechón hash and arroz-con-leche blintzes, then stop and smell the roses (more than 85 bushes of them) at the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens before hopping the causeway across Biscayne Bay to Miami’s southernmost island.
Check in Past the bay’s flotilla of boats, the zigzagging road takes you down into the heart of the Key, where the iconic coral-colored towers of The Ritz-Carlton rise like a giant sandcastle. The resort reopened last December after a $100-million renovation that rejuvenated all 421 guest rooms, restaurants, spa, and lobby, where floor-to-ceiling windows frame a panorama of ocean. The private-island vibe—physically close to but spiritually apart from the neon energy of Miami Beach—remains perfectly preserved.
What to Pack
Your trip begins in Miami, so go ahead and get extra while you can.
Soak up the sun Two pools flank the oval lawn: the rectangular adults-only on the left, the freeform family pool on the right; private cabanas line both. Because you reserved one in advance, it’s been awaiting your arrival. An attendant brings a fruit platter and bottle of bubbly, but you should also order the frozen mojito, a refreshing chartreuse frosty made famous by longtime (and impressively mustachioed) bartender Geno Marron. Relax in the sun and cool off in the pool, or the ocean if you prefer; a path leads to a ripple of beach right behind the cabanas.
Dine al fresco The palm-papered alcoves behind the lobby’s swanky Rum Bar showcase a deep collection of the tropics’ signature spirit. Have a pre-dinner drink here—maybe the Puerto Rico, a Havana Club rum and cola kissed with vanilla and guava—then follow the glow of the firepits to a beachfront dinner at Paralía, the new Aegean concept serving spiced Cypriot-style meatballs, kebabs, and refreshing Greek wines.
Beachfront takes on new meaning at Peter Island Resort.
Day 2
What to Pack
Peter Island Resort calls for pops of color, light fabrics, and a little moment of glam.
Catch a flight Phase two starts bright and early. You want to catch American Airlines’s 8 a.m. flight to Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, so that you’ll be checked in and beachside by lunch. Sit on the left side of the plane for the best views during landing, after which Peter Island Resort’s team will whisk you to their dock in Road Town for a 30-minute boat ride to the private island.
An oceanfront two-bedroom villa at Peter Island Resort.
Check in From the manicured sands of the horseshoe-shaped Deadman’s Beach to the rolled and twine-tied branded T-shirts in the gift shop, everything is just so at this 52-key resort. They’ve had seven years to nail the details; Peter Island Resort reopened in 2024, after a resort-wide renovation that’s been going on since Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the switchblade-shaped island in 2017.
The 22,000-square-foot Falcon’s Nest, overlooking White Bay Beach, sleeps 12 and has its own spa room. Courtesy Peter Island Resort.
Unwind in paradise True to the name, your beachfront bungalow has sliding glass doors that lead right out to the sand and a dedicated pair of thick, cushioned loungers arranged between the dangling seagrapes and gossipy coconut palms. Get comfortable, order room service for lunch, and nap off that early flight. When you’re ready for the sea, the watersports pavilion stocks kayaks, snorkels, and other gear, or you can lounge on one of the inflatable floating sofas anchored in the aquamarine shallows facing Dead Chest Island. Legend says the pirate Blackbeard stranded 15 mutinous sailors there. They washed up on Deadman’s Beach, where they remained marooned the rest of their days. Lucky guys.
Have a surprise dinner Guests gather on rattan-framed sofas and by midcentury reading lamps in the lodge, the newly built great house that shelters reception and The Drake Steakhouse under open-beam ceilings. The Drake is the color of driftwood and oyster shells, with parquet on the floors and moody jungle landscapes on the walls, and while the menu makes some tropical nods (mango-accented foie gras, grilled kingfish with lemongrass and coconut), the money here is on the steaks. You probably didn’t expect to be having a perfectly cooked ribeye, loaded baked potato, and luxurious creamed spinach on your Caribbean escape, but Peter Island prides itself on subverting expectations.
The Baths, on the southern tip of Virgin Gorda. Image by The British Virgin Islands Tourism Board.
Day 3
Sail away After breakfast at The Drake, catch a chartered sailboat from the Yacht Club for a day on the water. As the boat rides eastward, the color of the sea shifts like a mood ring between cerulean, turquoise, and cyan. Pause for a snorkel among the parrotfish and turtles at Cooper Island, where you can also tie up and grab a BVI-roasted cold brew from the Coffee Box at Cooper Island Beach Club. Back on board, continue to the southern tip of Virgin Gorda to visit the Baths—a maze of stunning boulders piled between two sandy beaches. It’s a short swim to shore to access this national park, where you’ll crawl, wade, and catwalk through the network of otherworldly, cavern-like formations and clear tidal grottos.
What to Pack
Island hopping, but make it fashion. This is where barefoot luxury was born, and we’ve got just the look for that.
The Rum Room at Rosewood Little Dix Bay; courtesy Rosewood Little Dix Bay.
Play a Rockefeller Dock in Spanish Town, the main harbor for Virgin Gorda, and catch a five-minute taxi to Rosewood Little Dix Bay, a 500-acre former Rockefeller estate with a collar of lush, low-slung hills protecting a wide azure cove. Lunch at Sugar Mill for vivid grouper ceviche, whole-roasted fish, and the greatest sticky toffee pudding in all the Caribbean British territories. After, take a swim in the titular bay, then head back to the boat to continue to Saba Rock, where the BVI Rum Runner zips back and forth between the moored yachts and catamarans, delivering frozen drinks. Order a Bushwacker, a mudslide-esque frosty dusted with nutmeg, for the ride back to Peter Island.
Lobster ceviche from the resort’s Sugar Mill; courtesy Rosewood Little Dix Bay.
Come ashore You’ll return by 5 p.m., just in time for a casual dinner at Peter Island’s Drunken Pelican, adjacent to the Yacht Club. Resort guests and overnight boaters mingle in the open-air tavern, trading seafaring tales and chasing curried beef puffs and jerk chicken with Dark ‘n Stormies. Do not miss the dark-chocolate Drunken Coconut: Inside the hollow shell hides coconut mousse, piña colada cream, and coconut cake. Channel your frustrations that tomorrow is already time to leave, and give it a good whack.
