PAVILION PARADISE

AMANYARA OFFERS A LUXURY GETAWAY ON TURKS AND CAICOS.

- NATALIE GALE

The fragrant steam from my banana leaf fish wafted off the plate in front of me as I basked in the sultry humidity of the warm evening. I looked up at the stars, and I could hear the waves lapping the shore just out of sight. Had I really woken up earlier that day on a cold, cloudy autumn morning in Boston?

I had arrived at Amanyara that afternoon, ready for a few days in the Caribbean sun at this luxury resort on the Providenciales island of Turks and Caicos. The welcome team, greeting me at the front entrance with a juicy pink grapefruit concoction, whisked me around the corner and through the resort's central lobby area, where the line between inside and outside begins to blur. The teak buildings practically float on the water of the reflecting pond, among trees and other greenery, and the onyx swimming pool seems to flow straight into the clear water of the Atlantic just beyond. Thirty seconds in and my breath was already gone.

While the ride from the airport to the hotel is only twenty-five minutes, Amanyara feels as secluded as if it were the only resort on the island. And when you're inside your room, you might as well be the only ones at the resort. Accommodations, all recently refurbished, consist of 38 standalone pavilions that typically sleep two, and 18 villas with three to five bedrooms each, perfect for families.

Each pavilion features a soothingly minimal layout-a bed in the middle of the room, a spacious bathroom area with a soaking tub and rain shower, and glass walls on three sides. Open up a wall or two for a breezy indoor-outdoor accommodation, or shut them all to keep in the AC. The king platform canopy bed makes it hard to get up each morning, but the views of the pond or ocean right outside your pavilion ease the pain.