The sleeper hit of the Cyclades, Serifos is the summer retreat of interior designers and architects who prefer to keep the sandy beaches to themselves. (One French home-owner is so protective of her hideaway that she tells all her friends she summers on nearby Sifnos.) Even in August, you’ll find coves where you can skinny dip in blissful solitude. That’s because the best beaches (Kalo Ambeli, Vagia, Skala) are only accessible via bone-rattling dirt roads or donkey tracks. Better still, rent a motor boat from the laidback harbour, Livada.
A property might have a resident bison herd as its welcome committee, a flock of friendly flamingos photobombing on the reg, or even an adolescent elephant thinking it’s cool to drink from the pool. Why not? After all, it’s an animal’s world. We’re just living in it. From Alaska to Africa, these 13 hotels and resorts allow you to binge-watch wildlife to your heart’s content.