Hot hotels: cliff-edge hangouts

Acro Suites is a relatively new addition to Crete – Greece’s most populous island – but it’s already making big moves in the luxury wellbeing world, and for obvious reasons. Its 49 secluded boho-cum-minimalist villas and suites come with private pools that tuck neatly into the cliffside of Mononaftis Bay. Panoramic views across the Aegean Sea are splendid, as you’ll see from your bed or when perfecting your downward dog in the stunning yoga studio. Wellbeing is at the heart of everything Acro does, from its healthy Greek cuisine and rejuvenating Byzantine hammam to its bamboo-roofed fitness house and intimate meditation sessions. As health-focused hotels go, this is as good as it gets.

HIGH LIFE SAYS
Book a meditation class or sunset yoga session in the stunning bamboo yoga shala (Sanskrit for ‘home’) to find your optimum Zen.

Located high on Turkey’s spectacular Datça peninsula, this all-singing, all-dancing five-star hotel is burrowed into a cliff. Around 40 minutes from Marmaris, it’s comfortably secluded down a long winding track. Watch otherworldly sunsets while swigging posh plonk on the sloped Champagne lawn or glide down to a private beach (there are five) on the hotel’s funicular. Each white-sand shore offers something different, from family-friendly spots with crystal clear waters perfect for snorkelling and sea sports to lively beach bars with cargo nets and DJs. Not a beach lover? Don’t fret. The premium spa, fitness classes, boutique shops, infinity pools and restaurants will more than keep you busy. 

HIGH LIFE SAYS
With sweeping views across the sea, Japanese restaurant Zuma serves dishes ranging from tempura and blackened cod to sushi and sashimi. 

Set among pretty wildflowers and tall redwood trees in California’s iconic mountainous region of Big Sur, The Post Ranch Inn is a truly magical place. It sits on a ridge 1,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean and offers uninterrupted views across mountains and sea. All 40 rooms and private homes are architecturally stunning: picture grass-roofed cabins with hot tubs hovering over cliffs, triangular wooden treehouses with crackling fires and stunning butterfly-shaped structures plonked in forests. Spend your days here doing complimentary yoga on terraces, practising mind-freeing meditations and going on leisurely hikes. Although you could just as well sit on your private deck watching nature really show off or dip in the bathing pools looking out to endless blue. 

HIGH LIFE SAYS
The hotel’s Sierra Mar restaurant offers exceptional views, award-winning wines and dishes made from locally foraged ingredients. 

Set back slightly from an arrangement of orange sandstone cliffs (which look like a miniature Grand Canyon when squinting after a couple of G&Ts), Pine Cliffs Resort is a sprawling five-star that’s welcomed holidaymakers to this side of Portugal’s Algarve for three decades. Aside from an impressive nine-hole golf course that runs along the cliff edge with views of the sparkling Atlantic, the hotel’s main draw is its abundance of facilities. There are eight pools (six outdoor), a play area with pirate ships for the kids, tennis courts (and an academy), mini-golf, 11 restaurants, bars, yoga classes, sumptuous therapies at the Serenity Spa and more, allowing families to spend less time in the hire car and more time in the sunshine. 

HIGH LIFE SAYS 
Take the lift to the Golden Flag Praia de Falesia beach and its winding, step-laden wooden promenade for a mini family adventure. 

Standing breathtakingly close to a cliff lashed by thick white ocean foam, overlooking the heavyweight whale-watching paradise of Walker Bay, Birkenhead House is a tiny, intimate hotel that punches well above its weight. All 11 rooms have a contemporary yet stately feel: think four-poster beds, gold headboards, freestanding baths and French antiques. Guests of this plush five-star resort, located in Hermanus on the southern coast of South Africa’s Western Cape, can do a bit of everything, including shark-cage diving, horse riding on the beach, surfing and wine tasting. Although they may prefer to pad about the pool, treat themselves to a rub-down in the spa or sit on the rugged cliffs with a cold beer, watching gulls swirl above and surfers crash through the swell below. Oh, and all meals and drinks are included.

HIGH LIFE SAYS 
Go foraging for mussels (under supervision) along the coast and take your spoils to the kitchen, where chefs will incorporate them into a five-course tasting menu. 

Bedding down in a Caribbean cave sounds like a childhood fantasy; luckily, thanks to The Caves, it doesn’t have to be. Tucked away in Negril on Jamaica’s western coast, this five-star resort hosts a smattering of 12 brightly coloured cabins that sit on a limestone cliff entangled with palm and fruit trees. Each cottage, uniquely designed in typically Caribbean style by the original owners, is full of vibrant colours, local artwork and hand-carved furniture and shutters – and some have thatched roofs. To do things properly, book a private dining experience in the belly of the caves, which flicker amber in candlelight as the ocean laps up against the rocks below (the Blackwell Rum Bar offers a similar experience for less dosh). After a nightcap there, you’ll be lulled to sleep by ocean sounds and woken by birdsong.

HIGH LIFE SAYS
Cliff jumping is an option for daring guests, but make sure you speak to lifeguards beforehand to make sure it’s safe. Or try snorkelling and kayaking in Montego Bay.