The best beach clubs in the world summer 2025

Address: Gitano Beach, Carretera Ruinas Tulum 33, 77780, Tulum, Q.R., Mexico
Website: gitano.com

La Réserve à la Plage, Pampelonne, St TropezGregoire Gardette

La Réserve à la Plage, Ramatuelle, France

By the close of summer 2020 – when protecting endangered sea daffodils in the sand dunes was a hot political issue – the village of Ramatuelle emerged triumphant: their crackdown on Pampelonne’s private beach clubs had been well worth the sweat. Reconstructed or designed from scratch, the 23 new establishments, which were built with sustainable flat-pack materials for winter storage, were a roaring success. Not to be outdone by his neighbours, Michel Reybier, who heads up the La Réserve hotel group and whose South of France retreat is only a moment’s speedboat whizz away, teamed up with Philippe Starck to create La Réserve à la Plage. A rickety snack shack it is not: amid a joyous jumble of burnt orange-and-white striped cushions, mismatched rattan and canvas chairs, long tables and a thatched hut with fringed straw light fixtures, the mood is decidedly unpretentious. Better yet, chef Eric Canino’s menu warrants sticking around for a feast rather than a dainty bite – think plates of tuna tartare doused in olive oil, hefty portions of caviar spaghetti (€100+, to be clear) and truffled chicken designed to share alongside a spread of sides. After sunbed napping, everyone drifts back to the bar, rosé in hand, where the late-afternoon cranked-up decibels attract both locals and the Club 55 spillover crowd to watch the yachts float by. The sun-seeking regulars, who initially grumbled about the proposed changes, have found their summer playground pepped up and perkier than ever. Lanie Goodman

Address: La Réserve à la Plage, Route de l’Epi-Pampelonne, 83350 Ramatuelle
Website: lareserve-plage.com

Al Mare Restaurant at Le Sereno, St BarthsEmily Lab

Le Sereno Al Mare, St Barth’s

On the windswept and wilder shores of the island is where, after a short drive down a path lined with swaying coconut palms, you’ll find Le Sereno hotel, on Grand Cul de Sac; a civilised and minimal structure of smooth, pale-blonde wood designed by Christian Liaigre. It’s blissfully removed from the more obviously fashionable and raucous spots near the capital Gustavia, and its natural beauty is giddy-making – a cerulean marine reserve packed with turtles, stingrays and coloured coral. On the beach, Al Mare restaurant serves something you won’t find anywhere else in this French outpost – Italian feasts. It’s a place unlike anywhere else: no supermodels in extreme thong bikinis taking selfies or paunchy billionaires expostulating loudly, just locals in elegant, multi-coloured Johanna Ortiz dresses, drinking crisp Tuscan wines (there are cocktails but the execution is Bar Hemingway at the Ritz Paris, rather than Manhattan nightclub). It’s somewhere to idle La Dolce Vita style, against a soundtrack of laconic tunes that will lull you into a sense of wellbeing. The star here is what’s on the plates. Chefs Raffaele Lenzi and Davide Mosca’s offering is very haute, very pretty, but light as a feather and utterly exquisite. And the best bit? The exclusively Italian staff, who converse resolutely in their native language. Vassi Chamberlain