New Horizons: Under-the-Radar Destinations for Those In the Know

January 6, 2025 by Hidden Doorways

The allure of the undiscovered has always captivated travelers, but in 2025, the search for seclusion takes on new meaning. As overtourism reshapes familiar destinations, savvy travelers are seeking the road less taken.

This year’s most compelling destinations trade crowds for character – think frontier lodges, Mediterranean hideaways, and rural estates, places where adventure still feels like a secret shared among friends.

From Greek islands where donkeys outnumber cars to American ranches where the wilderness still rules, these extraordinary retreats offer something increasingly rare: the thrill of feeling like you’re among the first to find them.

Secluded Sanctuaries

In a year where many travelers are prioritizing authenticity over familiarity, these extraordinary hideaways prove that remarkable experiences await discovery. Each property offers its own vision of escape, where genuine character creates lasting memories.

Gundari

The Greek Islands have a secret up their sleeve. Set on the monkey-nut shaped crag of an island that goes by the name of Folegandros, Gundari was one of last year’s coolest newcomers to the luxe hotel scene. Loved for its raw appeal and carved-into-the-cliff-face series of subterranean suites, its discreet setting is just as worthy of celebration. The island has a population of less than 1,000; it boasts waters as clear as glass; the landscape is studded with fields of sporadically planted lemon and orange trees; and travelers will likely see more of its dwellers riding side-saddle on donkeys than in cars and trucks. Think no Instagram and no emails — phone reception is limited here — and wouldn’t it be time better spent swimming on the pebbled Livadaki Beach with its secret caves and diving ledges or snorkeling in the warm, crystal waters of Katergo Beach? Be sure to send clients to the quaint town of Chora, littered with blue-shuttered Cycladic houses that is like stepping into a photograph. Gundari? It’s the very vision of an authentic Greek Island dream.

Andronis Minois

Next on Greece’s Cyclades is the unspoiled gem of Paros – an island slowly but surely emerging as one of the must-visit destinations for the discerning traveler. So, make 2025 the time to go before it becomes very much on the map. When jet-setting to Paros, the hotel to know is the intimate retreat of Andronis Minois. With 44 meticulously renovated suites, its iconic whitewashed facades are juxtaposed with vibrant explosions of color. It’s tranquil but energized, balanced and very beautiful. Captivating as each suite is, delve into the island’s riches to really eat, live and breathe Paros life. Cobblestone village streets, golden Aegean sunsets and hidden beaches cry out softly to be lapped up in what is undoubtedly one of the most authentic and understatedly luxurious finds across the whole of Greece.

Son Vell

Eastern Spain’s Balearic Islands have Ibiza and Majorca as their leading figures, but what shouldn’t be forgotten is the allure of their softly spoken sibling, Menorca. One of the island’s most cherished cities is Ciutadella – rich in galleries and boutiques for wandering slowly between. Stay at the privileged private estate Son Vell and let them lead guests by the hand through the city on its bespoke art tour before returning to its 18th-century honey-stoned manor house to sink into bliss — and bliss takes many forms here. Plunge into the sapphire waters at Cala Son Vell, its rocky cove just a short walk or bike ride away, book a heaven-sent spa treatment, charter a boat to pretty, undiscovered bays, salute the sun with morning Hatha yoga, or perhaps take to Menorca’s legendary bridlepath Camí de Cavalls on horseback that wraps around the island and is truly one of the most memorable ways to take it all in.

Playa Grande Beach Club

For those seeking their own slice of seclusion closer to home, the Dominican Republic’s North Coast offers a different kind of escape. Here, along 2,000 acres of unspoiled coastline, Playa Grande Beach Club, designed by New York tastemaker Celerie Kemble, brings a preppy-meets-tropical sensibility to this serene stretch of powdery white sand beach. With just 16 rooms spread across colonial-style bungalows, each featuring distinctive latticework, large porches, and pastel-painted doors, the property feels more like a stylish friend’s beach house than a resort. The Beach Club’s Great Room serves as the heart of this intimate retreat, where locally-sourced Caribbean cuisine and craft cocktails complement lazy afternoons by the lap pool. Here, surrounded by swaying palms and the rhythm of gentle waves, guests can fill their days with surf lessons and beach walks, or simply swing in a hammock on their private terrace with a rum cocktail in hand. It’s the kind of place that reminds us such hideaways still exist – where luxury feels personal and the Caribbean remains delightfully undiscovered.

Frontier Dreams

While the American West has long captured imaginations, a new wave of sophisticated properties is redefining frontier luxury. Here, the romance of rural life meets refined comfort, creating experiences that feel both timeless and thoroughly modern.

Brush Creek Ranch

2024 made Cowboy Core a firm trend in the travel market thanks to Yellowstone on screens far and wide as well as Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album. Skyscanner even added horse riding as a filter to its search with searches for campfires and sleeping under the stars spiking big time. Lean into the trend by getting on a plane to the Great American West and checking into high-end Wyoming ranch, Brush Creek. Unbridled – pun intended — adventure is what a stay here is giving. The untamed Wyoming wilderness offers up every sort of vacation want and need from relaxing wellness to get-outdoors glamping and family-friendly itineraries that its concierge team will help to curate for every traveler. Make it an epicurean retreat by booking experiences at its distillery, its creamery, its bakery, within its greenhouse and experience authentic American Wagyu reared from its very own herd.

Hotel Yellowstone

Championing the Yellowstone trend like no other is the aptly named Hotel Yellowstone, perched atop the East Gros Ventre Butte with breathtaking views of the majestic Teton Mountain Range. An adults-only destination, this luxurious mountain resort serves up adventures on tap regardless of the season. In winter, guests will go dogsledding through the Bridger-Teton National Forest and Continental Divide with an army of Alaskan Huskies and come summer, trail rides and eight miles of whitewater rafting through the Snake River Canyon will unleash the adventurer in anybody.

Southall

While Wyoming captures the rugged spirit of the West, East Coast travelers are finding their own version of frontier living at Southall Inn and Farm in Tennessee. Just a short flight from major Atlantic cities, this 325-acre working farm offers a gentler take on the year’s adventure trend, where heritage crops and rolling hills replace sagebrush and mountains. A working farm, the sort of guest experiences available here go far beyond the regular with bee cruises, falconry field tours and tastings, and all-year events that rejoice in the riches of the land such as its Food Fables series where its farm and culinary teams come together to share the origins of Southall’s food and agricultural systems with many a delectable recipe to share along the way.

Detour Destinations

Even the world’s great cities harbor secrets just beyond their borders, where unexpected treasures await those willing to venture a little further. These sophisticated escapes, all within easy reach of major cities, prove that you don’t need to venture far to find something extraordinary. They’re the perfect complement to classic itineraries – unexpected detours that often become trip highlights.

Mas d’en Bruno

If Barcelona is on the cards for 2025, add the intimate Mas d’en Bruno to the stop-off list and consider the trip seriously elevated. Travel experts Expedia reported that 63% of consumers are likely to add a detour destination to their vacation, and so if this sounds true to your clients, be sure to suggest the 24 suites to be found here, amidst mountains, vineyards and hilltop villages in the world-renowned wine destination, Priorat – just over a two-hour drive from the hum of the city. Sure, the hotel will spoil all who stays there but the mystic nature of Priorat will tempt them beyond the pool and spa to take in Romanesque-style temples, old Arab castles and the first monastery in the Iberian Peninsula not to mention the Sierra de Montsant Natural Park for hikers and bikers alike.

Herdade da Malhadinha Nova

Just two hours away from Lisbon is what can only be described as a landscape of inestimable beauty. Welcome to Alentejo – a Portuguese region with one of the lowest population densities in the whole of Europe. It’s full of immaculate landscapes that produce remarkable wines and the finest produce all according to ancient traditions and customs with the utmost respect for sustainability. Sounds pretty perfect, right? Perfecting things further is Herdade da Malhadinha Nova – a boutique hotel and collection of high-end villas located in Albernoa, Beja, in the heart of the Baixo Alentejo region. Highly recommended are any of its wellness, gastronomic or cultural experiences that typically extend over 2-3 nights for those travelers happy to make their detour a deeper affair – horse-riding, nature-centric and slow food breaks are all on the cards here.

Heckfield Place

And finally, escape the city of London and dash to the finery of Georgian family estate, woodland and pleasure gardens that is Heckfield Place in affluent Hampshire – only 90 mins from the capital’s center. The list of what fortunate guests will uncover at Heckfield is close to endless. Its organic Home Farm feeds its Michelin-awarded menus – the prestigious Marle and open-flamed Hearth, each directed by the culinary imagination of Skye Gyngell – with tours and talks on biodynamic farming principles for those especially interested in the nature and nurture side of it all. Nearby, cultural landmarks from Stonehenge to Windsor Castle are but a drive away as well as Clay Pigeon shooting and Aston Martin driving experiences, but otherwise, we suggest staying closer to home seeing as Heckfield has so much in store. Booking in at its deeply rejuvenating Bothy Spa for a nature-themed treatment, followed by its daily serving of tea and homemade cake or afternoon tea in the glasshouse, rounded off nicely with a long and leisurely supper that won’t be easily forgotten washed down with a handcrafted cocktail in its Moon before returning to London is a dream-worthy detour. Or just check in for a sleepover and return to the city fresh as a daisy the following day. We know which ending we’d rather choose.