Around two-thirds of the retreats in this directory carry a note about seasons, and a good number describe outright closures: weeks or months when the doors are simply shut. The patterns are not random. They follow hurricanes and rains, snowfall and the length of the Mediterranean summer, and once you know them you can plan a year of travel around them. The dates below come from each property's listing. They shift from year to year, so always confirm before you book.
Summer-only: the Mediterranean and the far north
The directory's Greek island and coastal properties, and many on the Italian and Spanish coasts and islands, run a single season. Openings cluster between late March and May, closures between October and mid-November, and none of the Greek island hotels stays open through the winter.
The window varies. Milos Cove in the Cyclades is open approximately May to early October, one of the shorter seasons in the collection. Le Sirenuse in Positano typically runs from late March to early November, which makes it a realistic choice for Easter or a late-autumn trip when the Amalfi Coast is calmer. For winter sun in southern Europe, the year-round options sit further south and west: the directory has properties in the Canary Islands, Madeira and on the Costa del Sol that stay open in every month.
At higher latitudes the season is simply the summer. Fogo Island Inn off Newfoundland is open from 1 April to 31 October 2026, with a three-night minimum. Closer to home, hotels on the Isles of Scilly and in Sutherland open from around late March or April until October, while several Irish country houses take a break in the depths of winter, somewhere between December and February.
The Alps: two seasons and a gap
Alpine grand hotels often run two distinct seasons with a closure between them. Badrutt's Palace Hotel in St Moritz lists summer from 5 June to 7 September 2026 and winter from 3 December 2026 to 30 March 2027, and shuts entirely in between. Others open for winter alone: Airelles Courchevel, Les Airelles trades only through the ski season, roughly December to April.
The practical upshot is that April to June and mid-September to early December are thin months for alpine luxury. If you want mountain air then, look to the lakeside resorts, several of which in Switzerland are listed as open year-round, rather than to the ski-town palaces.
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The Caribbean: the late-summer pause
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November, with the risk greatest in late summer and early autumn. Many Caribbean hotels respond by closing for several weeks, typically from late August or September until mid- or late October. St Barth is the clearest case: all seven of the island's hotels in the directory close for the low season. Anguilla and Antigua follow a similar rhythm.
COMO Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos is typical: in 2026 it closed on 31 August and reopens on 15 October. Properties that stay open through September and October often offer their lowest rates then, with the weather risk that explains them. By December the islands are moving into their high season.
Safari: the rains decide
In East Africa, the long rains fall roughly from March or April into May, with shorter rains around November. Many Kenyan conservancy camps stay open through them at green-season rates, but a number of Tanzanian properties close outright. Jabali Ridge in Ruaha shuts every year from mid-March to the end of May, and several other Tanzanian listings, on the mainland and off Zanzibar, close for parts of the same period.
Further south the calendar flips, with the rains falling broadly between November and March. Several camps on the Lower Zambezi and at Mana Pools close from around mid-November and reopen in April. Wilderness Shumba Camp on Kafue's Busanga Plains is stricter still, operating only from about 1 June to 31 October, once the water has drained from the plains. Botswana's camps and South Africa's private reserves, by contrast, largely stay open all year, with the dry months from around May to October the peak for game viewing.
Monsoons and park closures
In South Asia the monsoon shapes the parks as much as the hotels. At The Oberoi Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort beside Ranthambore, the listing notes that the tiger reserve's core zones shut during the monsoon, roughly July to September, which puts the main reason for visiting on hold. Sri Lanka has two monsoons, reaching the south-west from about May to September and the north-east from about October to January, and its parks take their own breaks: near Wild Coast Tented Lodge, Yala's western block usually shuts for about a month from early September for maintenance.
In Southeast Asia most resorts stay open through the wet months. The Andaman coast's monsoon runs roughly May to October and the Gulf of Thailand is wettest from October to December, but boat transfers and sea conditions can suffer in both.
A month-by-month planner
- January and February: high season in the Alps and the Caribbean. Several Irish, Italian and French country houses close for a winter break.
- March to May: the Mediterranean reopens and alpine winter seasons end. East Africa's long rains close some Tanzanian camps.
- June to August: peak Mediterranean and alpine summer. Zambia's dry-season camps are open; Ranthambore's core zones close from July.
- September and October: Caribbean closures, Yala's maintenance break and the alpine gap. Mediterranean closures begin; Caribbean hotels reopen from mid-October.
- November and December: by mid-November the Greek island hotels have closed. Zambezi valley camps shut for the rains, while the Alps reopen in December.
Treat all of this as a guide to patterns rather than an operating calendar. Seasons move with the weather, renovation schedules and the calendar itself, and dates listed for 2026 will not necessarily repeat in 2027. Check with the property before committing to flights.
