hawaii resort

It's better at the beach; these four tropical beach resorts will make your heart skip a beat - and we don't just mean the fitness opportunities! - Venture Out

Warm weather feels light-years away; you can barely remember the sensation of the sun on your skin. In short, you need a beach break. These four luxury beachfront resorts will deliver you straight into balmy July-like temps in a matter of hours. Imagine doing morning yoga on the beach, or kayaking across a looking-glass sea, followed by a feast of tropical fruits or just-caught seafood. Your day ends as you watch a blazing sunset turn into a canopy of twinkling stars. Then try to remember that it's winter--somewhere.

Turtle Inn, Belize

Resort snapshot When you're the director of Apocalypse Now and The Godfather trilogy, you can have your pick of paradise. In 2000, Turtle Inn became the second of Francis Ford Coppola's Belize beach havens. This small, private resort boasts the best the Central American country has to offer: warm Caribbean waters, year-round summerlike temperatures and nearby rain forests with abundant wildlife.

Beach basics Every room at Turtle Inn is on the beach, some just steps from the white sand and sea. The watch-word here is serenity; because the resort is relatively small in scale and the beach is secluded, you'll have your own slice of tranquility.

Belize is famous for its stretch of barrier reef, the second-largest on earth. So if you want to play mermaid, this is the place to do it: Sign up for a beginning scuba-diving class ($300), during which you'll learn to use the equipment in the resort's pool. Then, you'll be plunked into the ocean for a guided dive; under the waves you can spot neon fish and pink and orange coral reefs. To snorkel, take a guided trip to the local reef. Glover's Reef is a good one for diving and fishing as well ($100-$120 for a half-day excursion, including gear and lunch). There, you'll get a front-row seat for more sea life, including beautiful purple fan coral getting munched by rainbow parrotfish, as well as reef sharks (they're harmless) and ancient-looking sea turtles. These nearby excursions also can take you to some uninhabited islands with truly breathtaking beaches of silky sand.

Kayaks, too, are available to resort guests (no charge). The warm, calm sea is perfect for beginners practicing their paddling. A guided kayak trip through the mangrove estuaries in the lagoon is another option ($40 for two hours).

Memorable feasts Turtle Inn receives a daily shipment of organic fruits and vegetables from its sister resort, Blancaneaux Lodge, in the nearby Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve. The complimentary breakfast buffet includes delicious homemade breads and toasted granola, with sweet homegrown papaya and pineapple to top it off. Dinner is often the catch-of-the-day seared in a wood-burning oven imported from Italy. Or try the lobster grilled over coconut husks and served with coconut rice and cucumber salad.

Cost From $225 *; includes continental breakfast (800-746-3743, blancaneaux.com)--Cris Beam

The Buccaneer,

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Resort snapshot The 18th-century sugar mill standing at the entrance to this family-owned, 340-acre resort recalls The Buccaneer's origins as a plantation. All guest rooms feature a balcony or patio--perfect for delighting in the trade winds that bless St. Croix with balmy weather, and for catching a scent of jasmine in the air. Choose accommodations at the gracefully arched hilltop Great House or closer to the beach in arrays of rooms such as the deluxe oceanfront option, with picture windows and 16-foot-high wood ceilings. Beach basics The Buccaneer has three beaches--Mermaid Beach, Grotto Beach and Whistler's Beach. All are palm-studded, with satiny white sand. Mermaid and Grotto are best for beach fun (Mermaid has volleyball courts), while Whistler's offers more privacy.

Guests can gear up with kayaks, snorkel equipment and water floats, all available at no charge, at the Beach Shack on Mermaid Beach. Beginning snorkelers may opt to get their feet wet in Grotto Beach's tranquil waters (take a complimentary lesson first). Just steps from the shore, Grotto Reef hosts colorful sea urchins, grouper and schools of blue tang. An hour-long yoga class offered three mornings a week on Grotto Beach ($15) rewards early risers.

For a true Caribbean adventure, book a daylong or half-day sail out to Buck Island, a nature preserve a mile off the coast. The highlight of your trip? Snorkeling an underwater trail through coral grottoes (full day, $85-$95; half-day, $65-$75; includes box lunch).

Memorable feasts At the resort's open air Terrace restaurant, you'll savor views of the Caribbean and the picturesque town of Christiansted, along with island-accented fare. For dinner, try the Crusty Baked Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa and Caramelized Banana ($25).

Cost From $295-$375; includes breakfast, use of the fitness center, beach gear and snorkeling instruction (800-255-3881; www.the buccaneer.com)--Amy Allison

Sheraton Maui,

Ka'anapali Beach, Hawaii

Resort snapshot Maui has some of the longest, widest, sandiest beaches in the Hawaiian island chain. In his 2003 ratings, shore connoisseur Dr. Beach (aka Stephen P. Leatherman, Ph.D., of Florida International University in Miami) ranked Maui's three-mile-long Ka'anapali Beach No. 1 in the United States.

Fronting on 880 feet of primo Ka'anapali beachfront, most rooms in the 510-room, 23-acre Sheraton Maui have ocean views across the Pacific toward the smaller neighbor islands of Moloka'i and Lana'i, and all feature spacious private balconies.

Beach basics To say this beach is wide doesn't do it justice: The stretch of sand from the resort's edge to where the waves lap is so generous that you'd be wise to engage the services of the resort's "beach butler," who will cart your gear down to the water's edge and get you set up while you skip unfettered across the warm sand. The beach is a gentle crescent capped by Black Rock (Pu'u Keka'a), a dramatic black-lava promontory from which a cliff diver makes a nightly torch-lit leap. During the day, Black Rock is one of the best snorkeling sites on the island, rich in diverse species of harlequin-colored fish found nowhere but the Hawaiian isles (snorkel gear rentals, $5 per hour or $15 per day). The warm, clear water and mild surf make the near-shore reef area safe for beginners.

For those who want to explore deeper, the resort offers complimentary scuba lessons twice a day as well as organized dives. The beach butlers also can arrange for Boogie boards and surfboards if you'd rather stay atop the waves.

Memorable feasts For the Sheraton's best dining treat, you don't even have to leave the beach: "Breakfast in the Garden" ($45 per person) is a five-course private meal for two served in the secluded beachfront gazebo by your own personal waiter. Combining local treats like macadamia nuts and breadfruit, executive chef Bryan Ashlock creates delicate and elegant dishes such as poha berry crepes and a fruit plate featuring exotics like Maui strawberries and dragon fruit. A similar romantic offering is "Dinner Under the Stars" (from $115 per person), where you select your own location on the property for an intimate dinner chosen from chef Ashlock's superb menus.

Cost From $350; ask about special deals, such as the three-night deluxe oceanfront "Wild About Whales" package ($818 per person) that coincides with the humpback whales' annual visit to the islands. Available through March 15, it includes a two-hour whale-watching cruise (888-488-3535, sheraton.com/maui). --Anne M. Russell

Sonesta Beach Resort Key Biscayne, Miami

Resort snapshot This casual, lively resort is planted on 10 acres along a lengthy stretch of beach just a few minutes from downtown Miami, putting you within easy reach of South Beach's vibrant streets. To get to shops, restaurants and nightclubs, you need only hop on the resort's free shuttle.

Beach basics With its thousand-foot-long beach of powdery white sand, the 300-room Sonesta was made for fun in the sun--and in the water, whether you want to swim, windsurf, paddleboat, kayak or snorkel. Rent a kayak or paddleboat ($30 an hour) to skim across the crystal water, or snorkel gear to spy on the fish ($15 per day). Other options: Chilling out in an hour-long water tai chi class ($20) or at a 90-minute sunrise or sunset yoga session at Synergy, in South Beach ($5 minimum donation; 305-538-7073). Easiest of all is whiling away the hours in the shade of one of the many tropical trees lining this top-rated beach.

Memorable feasts Take the hotel shuttle to Berries in Coconut Grove for the best teriyaki tofu wraps, gnocchi, and roasted portobello and spinach salad ($7-$9) in town (2884 SW 27th Ave.; 305-448-2111).

Cost From $179 (305-361-2021, sonesta.com/keybiscayne)--Maryann Hammers

* All rates are per night, double occupancy, unless otherwise noted.

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