The best beach clubs in the world (for every type of traveller)

Words: Sarah Jappy

Dreaming of your beachier self? The one with salt-tousled hair, sun-kissed skin and a permanent grin? Make the dream come true with these nine seaside hangouts, which occupy pearl-like positions in sun-soaked South Africa, Malta, Bodrum, Sardinia, Athens, Ibiza, Mexico, San Diego and Miami. Curated to suit every type of traveller – from nocturnal party people to fun-loving families – each spot promises Insta-ready settings, plus instant access to the waves. Grab your swimwear, holiday reads and best beach companion/s and prepare to scrunch silky sand between your toes.

Best for city-slicker swimmers: Manta, Malta

Eyeball Valetta’s Unesco-listed charms from waterfront restaurant, lido and beach club Manta, perched on the Tigné seafront. Don’t expect powdery sands but do expect gazebos and sunbeds with prime harbour views, an in-house DJ, a resident percussionist (yes, really), hypnotic dancers and a seafood menu to satisfy Neptune. There’s a tempting pool to notch up lazy laps in, and tables right beside the waves for seafront dining. Savour Med-fusion cuisine: tirokafteri (spicy feta dip) with bread and lashings of olive oil, watermelon salad, gnocchi burrata, grilled crispy-skin salmon, and the like. Top tip: come for Golden Hour, between 4pm and 7pm, for two-for-one cocktails, Champagne, snacky nibbles, and sunset views with DJ beats. Sneak back to a stylish bedroom at the adjoining hotel, Barcelo Fortina, afterwards. 

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Best for immersive lifestyle lovers: COYA Beach, Ibiza, Spain

Ibiza’s south coast welcomes a sun-drenched injection of Latin American spirit with the arrival of COYA Beach. Taking up a prime beachfront position in buzzing Playa d’en Bossa, this isn’t just a place to flop onto a daybed – it’s a fully immersive, day-to-night social hub where refined South American cuisine, curated music and high-end design blur beautifully by the sea. Spend your afternoon grazing on fresh sea bream ceviche or Chilean sea bass (delivered straight to your lounger), then follow the baseline to the vibrant rooftop Pisco Bar as the sun dips below the horizon. The real game-changer? This hotspot also has COYA’s first-ever branded rooms and suites. Book a Selva room for your own private garden and Jacuzzi, meaning you can transition from poolside pisco sours to deep, residential-style comfort in a matter of steps.

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Best for privacy seekers: One&Only Aesthesis, Athens, Greece

Don’t let the Athenian jet set have One&Only Aesthesis all to themselves – there are more than enough sun-loungers, sweeps of sand and cerulean waves to go round. Instead of a garden, the hotel has 21 hectares of protected forest reserve in glittering Glyfada, just a 15-minute drive from the city centre. You’ll feel as if you’re a world away from the capital, though, thanks to moreish Peruvian cuisine, artisan cocktails and laidback glamour at Manko Athens, the hotel’s beach club. Soak up the dazzling beauty of Mystiko beach, nibble light fare from the Sips & Bites food truck and drink in uninterrupted sea views.

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Best for wannabe mermaids and mermen: Nammos Baja Sardinia, Italy

A sizzling-hot addition to the Euro beach-club scene, Nammos Baja Sardinia is catnip for sun-seeking revellers. The sculpted Costa Smeralda setting, a shell’s throw from Porto Cervo, is the stuff of thalassophiles’ dreams. Come for the sunset, stay for the seafood. The menu pays artful tribute to the waves, including tempting bites such as spicy crab tartare and salmon teriyaki. Channelling an eternal-summer spirit, teal sun-loungers and blue-and-white stripes galore add to the cool-kid coastal flair. (Attention, Londoners: a box-fresh Nammos London has just opened in Mayfair. Beachwear: optional.)

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BA flies direct to 18 Italian cities.* 

Best for laidback lovebirds: Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun, Mexico

Some secrets are too good to keep. Such as this adults-only, 500-acre paradise on one of Mexico’s most eye-blinkingly beautiful beaches. Picture honey-hued sands, mirror-clear aqua waters, lush tropical gardens and romantic rooms featuring cool, calm linens and pale Italian marble (if you can leave the beach behind, that is). Order cocktails, snacks and meals from Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun’s multiple drinking and dining options. We recommend refreshing cocktails from the Palapa or Barracuda beach bars, juicy meat and fish from Barefoot Grill and succulent seafood from Oceana. It’s all-inclusive, after all.

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Best for nocturnal types: Nikki Beach, Ibiza, Spain

Ibiza – arguably the beach club’s spiritual home – has more wave-lapped, sand-dusted, DJ-toting hangouts than we have space for here, but it’s sensible to start with an OG: Nikki Beach (right next door to ME Ibiza). Mother Nature gave this bohemian beach club and restaurant a head start with its Santa Eulalia setting on the island’s serene east coast. Savour Balearic cuisine with global twists at the chic outdoor restaurant, make like amorous castaways in a cabana, or lounge beside the pool, enjoying ambient beats and ice-clinking drinks. Lifting a lobster taco to your lips is about as onerous as things get, unless you plan on boogying the night away. When in Ibiza…

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Best for fashion fiends: the Jacquemus Beach Experience, Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum, Turkey

Beloved by models, musicians and it-girls, French fashion label Jacquemus previously broke the internet with its proudly impractical, as-tiny-as-a-hamster The Chiquito handbags. There’s nothing diminutive about the brand’s collaboration with Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum, though. In reimagining the resort’s Blue Beach as a style-junkie’s heaven, Jacquemus took inspiration from the beauty of Mediterranean light. Beach towels, sun umbrellas, paddleboards, beach paddles and even the resort buggies are emblazoned with the brand’s signature monochrome stripes. We’re surprised the staff escaped. Flex your credit cards for the 98sqm boutique, which transports the new Resort 2026 Plage collection to these shores.

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Best for art addicts: Faena Hotel Miami Beach, USA

In the immortal words of Will Smith, “We’re goin’ to Miami” – for Faena Hotel Miami Beach. Art, fantasy, reality and retro vibes blur at this multihyphenate seaside magnet in the heart of Mid Beach. As enticing as Faena Pool is, unfurl your towel at even lovelier Faena Playa, just steps from the Mammoth Garden (wave hello to Damien Hirst’s gilded woolly mammoth skeleton, too). Lounge on a chaise longue or stay cool beneath candy-striped sun umbrellas featuring Faena’s signature strawberries-and-cream colour scheme. Obliging beach butlers will cater to your every whim: tropical cocktail, rainbow-bright salad or creamy gelato, perhaps?

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BA flies direct to Miami 14 times a week.*

Best for fun-loving families: Del Beach, Hotel del Coronado, San Diego, USA

California dreaming takes a distinctly family-friendly turn at this sun-drenched sanctuary, set along the sugar-white sands of Coronado Island. Combining Victorian coastal heritage with luxury seaside living, ‘The Del’ delivers a proper, full-service beach club setup where every generation is catered to. Parents can recline in plush, candy-striped cabanas with a chilled glass of Napa Chardonnay while attentive beach attendants dish out complimentary sand toys, boogie boards and fresh fish tacos right to your daybed. As dusk approaches, gather the clan around a private beachfront fire pit for gourmet s'mores with the Pacific surf crashing just steps away.

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BA flies direct to 27 USA cities, with more direct flights to the USA from London than any other UK airline.*

British Airways has an extensive direct route network, connecting you to destinations across the globe. Discover hidden gems, revisit beloved spots or embark on an adventure somewhere entirely new.

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