50 Affordable
Beach Resorts For more information or to make reservations at these interesting, affordable beach resorts, please contact our Beach Resort Specialists! ON THIS PAGE: CALIFORNIA At EL CAPITAN CANYON, 15 miles north of downtown Santa Barbara, you can camp without pitching a tent. It has 26 canvas-walled rooms on wooden decks with handcrafted twig furniture. The 96 tin-roofed cedar cabins have a bathroom, a kitchenette, Jacuzzi tub, sleeping loft and fire pit. After you explore the tidal pools on the stony Pacific shore, you may want to unwind during an in-room Barefoot Deep Massage. $139 This 12-acre CAVALIER OCEANFRONT RESORT is a Best Western, a Big Sur Property carved out of a 1960's motel set above the roaring Pacific. Most of the accommodations are done in "Mission-meets-lodge style", with wood-burning fireplaces and sturdy furniture. The year-round temperature here averages 60 degrees, so the beach and tide pools are mostly for walks, whale and elephant seal-watching and sunset bonfires. FLORIDA The RONEY PALACE, unlike some of its posher (and pricier) South Beach neighbors, has no buzzing nightlife scene. But what this waterfront property does have is very appealing, nonetheless: large rooms (most with kitchenettes), sleek decor and an infinity pool that blends right into the Atlantic. Guests can also keep satiated with fresh pineapple served poolside or down on the beach. HAWAII The ASTON WAIKIKI BEACH HOTEL, after an extensive $30 million renovation last year, as traded its concrete-cool image for a tropically chic look inside. Hawaiiana touches that are intriguing the young travel set: a "color scheme Don Ho would love" and beaded curtains in lieu of closet doors. Downstairs, Tiki's Bar & Grill draws a crowd for pu pu and fruit-filled cocktails. You can hit the beach for moonlight cinema, where free alfresco movies are shown every Saturday and Sunday night. MARYLAND The 20-room TILGHMAN ISLAND INN, far down Maryland's Eastern Shore, commands a marshy spit off Chesapeake Bay on a remote isle favored by gruff oystermen. Two fashion-forward innkeepers cater to Beltway gentry with leopard-print throws and wildly eclectic watercolors. Upstairs, the white-on-white room No. 12 has fabulous east and north water views. You can poke around Knapp's Narrows in an outboard runabout; at night, take a bite of the chef's Pernod-laced oysters wrapped in puff pastry. NEW YORK At SUNSET BEACH, known for its incredible sunsets, hotelier Andre Balazs has transformed an old motel into a sophisticated, retro jewel overlooking Shelter Island Sound and Crescent Beach. The 20 rooms have funky paper lamps and lounge chair-bedecked terraces. The atmosphere is not too "Hamptons", although at times it feels dangerously close - particularly when mainlanders boat in to visit the open air restaurant. For the best values, come midweek. OREGON The INN AT MANZANITA, located just 200 feet from the Pacific and two hours west of Portland, could be the perfect spot for a romantic weekend. The 13 rooms at the pine-and-cedar inn each have a Jacuzzi, fireplace, down comforter and private deck. And you can expect an attentive staff that will schedule massages, plan hikes and even supply board games and magazines on a rainy day. SOUTH CAROLINA At the SEA VIEW INN, just a dune away from the surf on a laid-back barrier island 20 miles north of Charleston, carefree southern comfort means flip-flops and fried chicken. The 20 pine-paneled rooms are beach-rental basic with hand-stitched quilts, ceiling fans and half baths. (Rinse sea salt off in a shower down the hall.) Guests can dangle a fishing pole from the tidal-marsh dock. WISCONSIN The BLACKSMITH INN, on the sheltered Door Peninsula, stands sentry over 400 feet of untamed, shrubby Lake Michigan beachfront. The 15 rooms, in a half-timbered 1912 blacksmith's house and a new neighboring building that's nearly identical, capture the simplicity of early America with wide-plank maple floors, patchwork quilts and cherrywood four-poster beds. The inn's homemade granola is probably best enjoyed by sitting on Adirondack chairs while watching blue herons wade by. $176 DALVAY-BY-THE-SEA, a Queen Anne Revival "cottage"on Prince Edward Island, was built in 1895 as a summer house for Standard Oil's first president and later converted into a 16-room hotel. The guest rooms are furnished with period summer cottage antiques - however, many of the original family pieces were sold off. Eight three-bedroom units with pine interiors and Vermont casting stoves were added in 1994, which are great for large families. $134 The MARKLAND COASTAL RESORT, above Cape Breton Highlands National Park, where a confluence of currents gives Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island the warmest water north of the Carolinas, is designed for people who value location over thread count. A main Lodge overlooks the beach, as do 25 cedar-and-pine cabins. The resort's arts center holds weekly ceilidhs - Gaelic for "big parties. You should book now; the season begins in May. BARBADOS SEA-U GUEST HOUSE was a travel writer's dream. After falling in love with Barbados while on assignment, Uschi Wetzels left her native Germany and applied everything she had learned over the years about the hospitality industry to create it. The white-washed wooden building on the rugged east coast is modeled after the island's traditional architecture and has five dressed-down rooms cooled by ceiling fans and ocean breezes. CURACAO At the FLORIS SUITE HOTEL, the innately modern Dutch design aesthetic and the carefree nature of the Caribbean mix. The 71 mini-apartments have clean interiors with tile floors and splashes of color. One step outside and it's tropical all the way, with a thatched-roof restaurant, a bar with tables practically in the tide, nightly bands and a pier lit up like a runway. GRENADA LA SAGESSE NATURE CENTRE, at one end of a crescent surrounded by an estuary and a salt pond, is in a 1960's manor house once owned by a British lord. The waterfront restaurant is known locally for its balisier bread (sourdough baked in banana leaves). The resort isn't all sun and sand: hiking trails lead through mangrove swamps up into the rain forest, and Boney, an in-the-know taxi driver, will takes explorers on offbeat island tours. JAMAICA The ROCKHOUSE HOTEL, while it's not technically on a beach, is, however on an aptly named Pristine Cove, west of Negril, cliffside. Stone-and-thatch cabanas with mosquito netting-draped beds are perched above the water. At the restaurant, which serves New Jamaican cuisine, reggae is always on the sound system. PUERTO RICO NUMERO UNO GUEST HOUSE, a renovated 1940s beach retreat, presides over a wide stretch of sand between San Juan's resorts and casinos. The 14 rooms are decorated in light woods and muted colors. Room No. 12 has the best ocean view; all have cable TV and high-speed Internet access. But don't stay inside and miss the sunsets from the library's terrace! SINT MAARTEN The gingerbread trimmed MARY'S BOON BEACH PLANTATION, on the island's Dutch side, has 28 rooms painted in bright Caribbean colors with cathedral ceilings and carved Balinese beds. Ask for a garden studio, which opens onto coconut laden palm trees and flowering hibiscus. However, the hotel is close to the airport - so it's suggested that instead of letting this bother you, consider joining the fuss - you can grab a pina colada, climb the plane-viewing platform and participate in cheering as the jets touch down! VIEQUES The BRAVO, opened in January by a pair of ex-Manhattanites, brings a welcome small-scale, big-city vibe to Vieques. With a mere nine rooms and a two-bedroom villa, an oceanfront locale with floor-to-ceiling windows opening straight onto the Caribbean and edgy furnishings with egg lamps and Italian linens, it is the island's first true beachside designer hotel. You can pack your laptop - this high-tech hotel has one of Vieques' only Wi-Fi "hot spots" for wireless Internet access. VIRGIN GORDA At GUAVABERRY SPRING BAY, the tree-house villas are on a curved bijou of a beach with a couple of picnic tables available for lunching on items bought in the honor-system commissary (Guavaberry has no restaurant or room service). Rooms are spacious and adequate, though style-seekers might prefer to look elsewhere. The real luxury of this property is the proximity to Virgin Gorda's main attraction, the Baths, a natural park of grottoes. BRAZIL Three hours by boat from Salvador Morro de Sao Paulo is an island escape with four beaches. There's hang gliding by day on First Beach, beach parties by night on Second Beach, snorkeling on Third Beach and Fourth Beach is crowd-free, thickly forested and home to the 16-room HOTEL PORTO DO ZIMBO. Spaced out like a mini-resort, the hotel has a pool and gardens. Each room is comfortable, but hardly luxe, and has a TV, fridge, air-conditioning, and a terrace with a hammock. $165 The so-called St.-Tropez of South America, Buzios, two hours north of Rio de Janeiro, lacks chic places to stay, with the exception of the Mediterranean-inspired POUSADA CASAS BRANCAS. The pool and alfresco restaurant share the same bay views as the 32 rooms, each of which has its own unique combination of weathered tiles, wood moldings and whisper-thin curtains. The boutique-and-restaurant-filled "downtown" is only a five-minute walk away, but many guests never set foot outside. CHILE North of Santiago, the exclusive coastal enclave of Aapallar is lined with cliffs, boulders, and stately mansions. In the crags above town is HOTEL IL PARADORDE ZAPALLAR with its crags and linear design by Mathias Klotz, an esteemed Chilean architect. Most of the 15 rooms have floor-to-ceiling Pacific views and an innovative industrial decorating scheme with panels of pressed-wood chips covering the floors and childlike paintings hanging on the walls. Empanadas infused with squid ink are served in the ocean-facing restaurant. (For guests not on a budget, there's a rooftop helipad.) COSTA RICA SUENO DEL MAR, a family-run hacienda, is a tribute to the country's meditative lifestyle. Each of the six rooms is lavishly rustic with wooden beds draped in Guatemalan textiles, stucco walls - the indulgent Balinese-style outdoor showers allow you to commune with nature. Locally made hammocks line the shaded veranda, where breakfast includes just-picked bananas. The Pacific laps up against thee foot of the property at high tide. (In season, be sure to check out the leatherback turtles laying their eggs.) HONDURAS Three hotels stand cheek-by-jowl on Roatan Island's busy West Bay Beach, but the peaceful section occupied by LUNA BEACH RESORT's 17 stucco-and teak bungalows is farther down the shoreline. Lounge chairs are sprinkled along the ribbon of sugar sand beach out front and one of the world's finest coral reefs is only a few strokes beyond the surf. There's also easy access to the jungle for hiking. Once the sun descends, you can join the crowds that congregate out on the wood deck for the weekly party until dawn! MEXICO The roads are made of sand on the tiny 12-square-mile spit of Isla Holbox, off the Yucatan Peninsula, home to the remote XALOC RESORT. Two Spanish expats have built 18 palapa-topped casitas, which provide luxurious comforts and are kept cool with stone and ceramic tiles and concrete walls. There's not much to do besides swim in the turquoise waters or lounge by the two pools with a rum-spiked fresh mango juice. (From May to October, the horizon is painted in bubble-gum pink when 40,000 flamingos migrate to the island.)
VILLA AMOR is made up of 32 villas scattered over a jungle hillside in the fishing village of Sayulita, just north of Puerto Vallarta. Consider your sensitivity to mosquitoes when booking (you can request an open or a closed villa), but definitely opt for the older units which are more authentic than the condo-style models. Some also have private terraces, plunge pools and full kitchens. (There's an Italian restaurant for those who view cooking as a chore.) BACK TO 'CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA' SOUTH AFRICA Cape Town's Indian Ocean beachfront used to be all the rage, until fickle holidaymakers shifted their attention the Atlantic coast. Now that the area is back in vogue, the Glencairn Hotel has been completely renovated and renamed the SOUTHERN RIGHT HOTEL in honor of the whales that frolic off its shore. The Victorian building has generous colonial dimensions, cretestone walls and Moroccan-style chandeliers; half of the 10 rooms overlook the sea. TANZANIA Ten years ago, two vacationing Swedish sisters stopped on Zanzibar's northeastern coast. Captivated by its beauty, they abandoned their around-the-world trip and opened MATEMWE BUNGALOWS. If isolation is what you desire, this is the place. The 14 thatch huts have no telephones or televisions - or electricity, for that matter - nighttime illumination comes courtesy of flickering kerosene lamps and candles. Meals are included, save room for the cakes of fisherman-turned-pastry chef Othman. He showed such flair in the kitchen that he was persuaded to trade in his pole for an apron. AUSTRALIA "Eat, Play, Stay" is the motto at the uber-hip RAVESI'S HOTEL on Bondi Beach in Sydney. Plush sofas and quirky accents - wave-shaped moldings, seashell decorations - dominate the 16 earth-toned rooms; high rollers opt for one of five split-level suites with private terraces. The lobby has a chrome-and-glass lounge where Aussie celebrities come for cocktails and sweeping views of the surf. INDIA A pink Indo-Portuguese-style palace, the LEELA GOA has everything a large beach resort should: lagoons, waterfalls, moats, 75 acres of exotic palm trees, and spice and herb gardens. Drink a feni (Goa's specialty spirit, distilled from cashew fruit under a coconut grove on the beach. Detox with an ayurvedic massage in the spa and health center. Or just chill on the terrace of one of the 151 clean, marble-clad-rooms, magnificently framed by the river Sal and the Arabian Sea. INDONESIA On the southern coast, far from Bali's backpacking scene; is the PURI SANTRIAN. Ask for a traditional bungalow, with elaborately carved wood doors, locally made extras and wood furniture and an open-air stone bathroom.For a bit more per night (yet still reasonable), stay in one of the larger Club rooms, which offer four-poster beds, marble bathrooms, a breakfast of exotic fruit juices and nasi goreng (morning rice) and access to the resort's waterfall-fed pools. The beach is public, although never really crowded - except for the occasional hawker selling manicures. SRI LANKA The road to Galle can be long and hectic, but pulling in the APA VILLA THALPE owned by the founder of Insight Guides, Hans Hoefer, makes it worth the trip. It's located in three villas that look out onto the Indian Ocean. The six Colonial-style suites have polished-concrete floors, canopy beds and pillow-covered banquettes. The view is interrupted only by swaying palm trees and a dramatic silver-blue pool. NEW ZEALAND The revamped 350 room PORTAGE RESORT HOTEL is inn a remote, seaside fern-tree forest, 35 minutes by car and water taxi from Blenheim on the South Island. Behind the ordinary motel exterior, you'll find sizzling primary-colored and silver walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. It's a hangout for hedonists who enjoy wine tasting and walks along pebble beaches, as well as for activity hounds who can sea kayak, mountain bike, fish and take mild day hikes on the Queen Charlotte circuit. $135 ONE ORANGE mixes space-age style (slanted roofs, exposed wood beams, pseudo-Scandinavian interiors) with sublime surroundings. Tthe bungalow sits on a two-mile swath of the North Island's "undiscovered" east coast where the main activities are horseback riding, fishing, snorkeling and having sunrise champagne breakfasts. Savor the peace and quiet; the hotel accepts no more than four guests at a time. THAILAND The stark, futuristic COSTA LANTA, created using lumber from Colonial era houses, hidden amid shrubs, on the tiny island of Lanta Yai is where Bangkok's elite spend weekends in solitude. The 22 bungalows have indoor-outdoor showers and sliding wooden walls that open to the elements. Rooms 201 through 204 front the pool and are Costa's choicest. There's no need to worry about noise; all the action takes place down by the beach, where a groovy bar and restaurant is encircled by towering timber. VIETNAM The ANA MANDARA is located on Vietnam's premier seaside spot, Nha Trang, which isn't overrun as other Asian beach towns. It's also affordable, safe and only 45 minutes by air form Saigon. It is secluded at the southern edge of a four-mile-long beach with sixteen thatch villas housing 74 Zen-minimalist rooms. You won't be tempted by the roving masseuses on the beach; the new Six Senses spa, set in a coconut grove, has pavilions outfitted with stone-and-bamboo Vichy showers and Japanese tubs where massage therapists from India and Sweden showcase native treatments from their homelands. $173 Set in a traffic-free conservation area of mangroves, wetlands and coastal dunes, the 350-room COURAN COVE ISLAND RESORT prides itself on its approach to environmentalism; but this is a far cry from roughing it. The spa has Vichy jet showers and Thalgo body treatments. A sports facility includes squash courts, rock-climbing walls and a Carl Lewis-endorsed running track. For a classic Aussie "beach and bush" experience, you can stay in one of the 95 self-catering, solar-powered nature cabins hidden among banksia trees, just yards from the island's 14-mile white-sand Pacific beach. ENGLAND
Cornwall's three-room BROOM PARC, in an Edwardian house decorated in "Miss Marple" mahogany on the Roseland Peninsula, is as cozy as the cup of tea you'll undoubtedly sip as you watch the waves beat against the stony shore. You can walk for miles in either direction on the Coastal Footpath which circumnavigates England, or head 30 minutes east for a tour of the Eden Project's two biomes which house plants from all over the world. $136 The cheery, wooden beach huts that dot Britain's coastline are as English as fish-and-chips. But the best value to be found is at the Art Deco-inspired HOTEL CONTINENTAL in the time-locked oyster-fishing town of Whitstable. Beachcombers can overnight in one of the hotel's eight smartly converted, 150-year-old fisherman's huts. A short walk down the beach is the more-modern main hotel where English breakfasts are included; fresh seafood at the amazing Whitstable Oyster Fishery Co. is not.) FRANCE LA BELLE AURORE is in the middle of the French Riviera between St. Tropez and Cannes. All of the 17 Provencal-style rooms have buttery walls, whitewashed beams, blue or red fabrics and terraces or balconies that face the sea. Mediterranean dishes are served in a candlelit dining room. The English-speaking staff has a refreshing "Anything we can do?" attitude. GERMANY A century ago, Insel Rugen was the Baltic getaway for Berlin's elite (including Einstein). As part of an effort to revamp the resort area, HOTEL VILLA NEANDER, a 14-room 1905 inn just a few blocks from the seaside boardwalk, has been renovated with California-bright sage-and-white rooms and a restaurant serving hearty German specialties. The hotel exterior mixes Rugen's signature Baderakitektur (whitewashed wood and balconies) with Jugendstil, the country's answer to Art Nouveau. GREECE HOTEL ISTRON BAY is a sparkling all-white Aegean resort on Crete sitting between a bay and a mountain slope. Rooms and bungalows have tile floors, deep balconies and American-style bathrooms. The four restaurants promote the healthful Cretan diet of grilled fish, grains, and fruit; so no need to feel guilty for just zoning out under a palm tree. If you do anyway, activities are endless - scuba diving, folk dancing, cooking and weekly barbecues on the private beach. ITALY A 17th-century tuna fishery on Sicily overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea has been converted into TONNARA DI BONAGIA. Don't worry if you miss out on the mattanza, or ritual tuna hunt, held every May and June - you can learn about it in a museum dedicated to the ancient tradition, located on the property. Of the 100 elegant rooms, about half have kitchens and air-conditioning. The private beach is small and gravelly; instead, you could hit the adjacent Olympic-sized swimming pool, chaise longs and snack bar. PORTUGAL The village may be centuries old, but one look at the PONTA DO SOL in Madeira, and the years vanish. The 54 bright, minimalist rooms all have a Philippe Starck-like style, but it's the glass-sided restaurant sitting at the edge of the land that is the real draw. For adventurers, the hotel can arrange jeep safaris, mountain bike rentals, surfing lessons - you name it. SCOTLAND Here's one way to stay at a stately country house in remote northwestern Scotland without going broke - the Bramble room at the 300-year-old POOL HOUSE. Considerably smaller than the hotel's other suites - and less than half the cost - the room still has the same feel, thanks to a 400-year-old mahogany bed, a Victorian bathroom with a shoe-shaped "slipper bath" and a private sitting room. Best of all, you have access to the hotel's library, snooker room and fine restaurant. Swim into the loch from the small pebble beach, but be warned: the water can be bone-chillingly cold, even in summer. Certainly, you'll need to fortify yourself with a full Scottish breakfast of smoked kippers, haggis and creamy porridge! SPAIN One of the first hotels on the fashionable Costa de Luz (Coast of Light), the HOTEL DOS MARES still draws in-the-know Europeans, kite surfers and families. The main lodge is surrounded by 35 simply decorated casitas - crisp linens, Mexican tile floors and wicker tables hidden in a thicket of blooming gardens, palm trees and cacti. Keeping current, the hotel is adding habitaciones, including an airy Morrocan-style suite complete with canopy bed and 14 windows that open directly over the sea. SWEDEN Reached via a 15-minute ferry ride from central Stockholm, the aim of the HOTEL J is to emulate a Newport, Rhode Island, summerhouse. Inspired by classic American yachts, the 45 rooms are kitted out in crisp blue-and-while fabrics and oak furniture while public areas use canvas sails as matting. Guests who own boats can moor near the glass-walled restaurant which is known for its seafood dishes, naturally. (A tip: Swedish business travel drops off in the summer, as do room prices!) Thanks
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