America's 10 Best Winter Beach Retreats

White sand and warm waters are closer than you think. When winter's chill sets in, escape to one of these laid-back, sun-drenched spots—no passport needed.

In Kauai, Hawaii, winter temperatures remain in the high 70s. The horseshoe-shaped, secluded Hanalei Bay is the best beach for swimming and lounging on the golden sand. This stretch is located near casual Hanalei Inn, with rooms from $139.

Kauai has managed to stay a little more under the radar than other Hawaiian islands, and that's what makes it so appealing. At the northernmost point of the island sits Kilauea Lighthouse, built in 1913.

In the midst of winter, nothing seems cheerier than the idea of Puerto Rico, where temperatures rarely dip below the 83-degree mark. On the west coast, Rincón's beaches are the surfing community's best-kept secret.

Casa Isleña Inn, in Rincón, Puerto Rico, is a Spanish-style house with nine guest rooms and a terrace overlooking the water—perfect for spotting humpback whales in the winter.

Ocean Beach, in San Diego, where temperatures stay in the 60s all through the winter and the crashing waves of the Pacific create a quintessential-American-beach-town vibe.

With its modern, glass-box look and hip indoor/outdoor restaurant and bar, Tower23 Hotel on Pacific Beach is a welcome departure from the outdated beach shacks that dot San Diego.

In Laguna Beach, Calif., La Casa del Camino has a range of accommodations, from a Craftsman-style cottage to the impossibly cool rooms designed for the 2010 Casa Surf Project, including the Billabong Suite shown here.

Done the right way, Laguna Beach (made famous by a reality show of the same name) can be incredibly down-to-earth. Beaches fill up during the summer, but in the winter months they're blissfully crowd-free

Pier 61 in Galveston, Tex., where winter temperatures hover in the low 60s and savvy travelers head to secluded West Beach to troll for shells or soak up some sun.

The historic tall ship Elissa in Galveston, Tex. Nearby is the revitalized Strand district, where buildings from the 1800s have been restored and now house restaurants, antiques stores, and many galleries full of fine art and photography.

Nine-mile Orange Beach, Ala., has everything you need—lots of room to spread out your beach blanket, warm waters as blue as any you'll find in Florida, and snow-white sand that's 95 percent quartz.

The beachside, 346-room Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Ala., is like a community unto itself, with four restaurants, an indoor/outdoor pool, hot tubs and tennis courts.

One of four islands that make up Georgia's Golden Isles (a collection of barrier islands just off the southeastern coast), St. Simons Island is known for its historical landmarks, white-sand beaches, and 99 holes of golf.

The oak trees on St. Simons Island, Ga., are so treasured that the charming Village Inn & Pub was built around them—not one tree had to be cut down during construction.

Clearwater Beach, near St. Petersburg, Fla. The warm Gulf waters are a popular hangout for dolphins—spot one from a three-person WaveRunner, a Hobie sailboat, or a kayak.

The year-old Postcard Inn on the Beach has been the talk of St. Petersburg, Fla., lately. In the courtyard, a fire pit surrounded by Adirondack chairs is the perfect place to wind down after a day at the beach.

In the winter, the population of Grand Isle, a barrier island off Louisiana's Gulf Coast, shrinks back down to 1,600 permanent residents from its summer high of 14,000. But temperatures remain warm enough to sunbathe, and you can do so without the crowds.

Anglers adore Grand Isle, La., thanks to the more than 280 species of fish in the surrounding waters, and many flock to Grand Isle State Park to fish in its calm waters.

Smack in the middle of the Florida Keys, you'll find tiny Long Key, just over two miles long from end to end. The isolated island is made up almost entirely of Long Key State Park, where the one-mile beach is perfect for tent camping.

14 Most Famous Celebrities Owned Resorts

Movie stars and musicians have branched out from their primary careers to become owners of hotels, inns and resorts around the world. Here are 10 places to stay where you’re sure to feel like a celebrity.

Bedford Post Inn

Actor Richard Gere and his wife, Carey Lowell, restored an 18th-century house and barn into a small luxury hotel called the Bedford Post Inn, which opened in July 2009. Located in the tony enclave of Westchester, N.Y., just 45 minutes from Manhattan, the inn has eight guest rooms, an on-site gourmet restaurant and yoga and meditation studios frequented by Gere.

Palazzo Versace

Donatella Versace’s glittering Palazzo Versace in Queensland, Australia, is as stylish and chic as you’d expect from a fashion designer. White, stately Italian columns and palm trees under the Gold Coast sun lure sun-seekers from around the world.A popular surfing beach nearby is a bonus, but there’s also a warm-water lagoon pool and beach at the hotel itself. Want a more private water experience? Book one of the condos with a plunge pool.

Ulusaba Safari Lodge

Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson has developed a luxurious private game reserve, Ulusaba, near the border of Kruger National Park in South Africa. When you’re not traveling by Jeep looking for lions,  buffaloes, leopards, elephants and rhinoceroses, you can kick back in style in the reserve’s two lodges, built high on hills with amazing views.For extra fun, walk on swinging bridges between the treehouse-style rooms of the Safari Lodge. Tennis, swimming and a spa are also available, as is a daily bush walk for those who really want to get up close to wildlife.

Vermejo Park Ranch

This wilderness area near the New Mexico-Colorado border has been a recreational retreat since 1902 and over the years has been host to President Herbert Hoover, director Cecil B. DeMille and actor Douglas Fairbanks, to name just a few. CNN founder Ted Turner purchased the 920 square miles around Vermejo Park Ranch in 1996 and began multiple conservation programs designed to reintroduce endangered species and restore forest and prairie ecosystems.Today, visitors can see herds of elk, bison, antelope and deer — as well as their predators, bears and mountain lions — in their natural habitat. The ranch caters to nature-lovers, fishermen and hunters out to bag an elk, deer or bison.

Eleven Cadogan Gardens Hotel

Located near the River Thames and Hyde Park in the Knightsbridge district of London, Eleven Cadogan Gardens Hotel (or No. 11 to those in the know), is a chic, 60-room, private club and hotel owned by actress Elizabeth Hurley. Luxury features include claw-foot tubs, Victorian-era furnishings, private dining and a chauffeur service through which you can ride in style in a Rolls-Royce or Bentley.

Twin Palms

Singer Frank Sinatra originally requested that his architects build his Palm Springs, Calif., house with lots of opulent columns, but they talked him into this more casual “desert-appropriate” home. He lived in the home from 1947 to 1957, years that saw many ups and downs in his personal life, including a divorce from his first wife, Nancy, and his marriage to and divorce from Eva Gardner. Through it all, it was a refuge for Sinatra and the Hollywood elite.True to Sinatra’s style, Twin Palms remains a fabulous house for entertaining. Visitors can now stay overnight at the estate, sleep in the master bedroom — secluded from the rest of the house for privacy — swim in the pool and soak up the sun and desert mountain views.

The Greenwich Hotel

When a vacant lot opened next to his office in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood, actor Robert De Niro seized the opportunity and created The Greenwich Hotel, which opened in 2008. De Niro, who co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival and the film studio Tribeca Productions, among other ventures in the lower Manhattan neighborhood, wanted to build a property that represented the historic architecture of the area. The result is an eight-story building housing 88 rooms and suites. Reclaimed wood was used for the floors and doors, and the spa features a 250-year-old pine-and-bamboo house transported from Kyoto, Japan, which was reconstructed in the building

Terrace Beach Resort

The Terrace Beach Resort in Ucluelet, British Columbia, Canada, is a collection of waterfront cabins surrounded by evergreen forest. Actor Jason Priestley and his family opened this haven on the rugged southwestern coast of Vancouver Island, on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Popular with surfers, hikers, whale watchers and storm watchers, the cabins and rooms, starting at $99, offer in-room spa treatments and modern amenities such as kitchens and hot tubs.

The Clarence

Rock stars don’t have a great reputation as hotel guests, but evidently they make fine hotel owners. As young band mates in the 1970s, U2’s Bono and The Edge, among other artists, musicians and writers, frequented the Temple Bar district of Dublin. By 1992, The Clarence hotel, on the banks of the River Liffey, had fallen into ill repair, so the pair bought and restored its 50 rooms.

Jardin Escondido

Director Francis Ford Coppola not only has a thriving winery in Geyserville, Calif., he has a handful of hotels around the world, including Turtle Inn in Belize and La Lancha in Guatemala. Perhaps his most intimate hotel is Jardin Escondido in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a garden retreat with just seven bedrooms. It also features a solar-heated pool, an outdoor kitchen and multiple levels of gardens.Even though the bustling and fashionable neighborhood of Palermo Soho is just outside the front door, the hotel is so secluded that Coppola himself occasionally comes here to write.

Mission Ranch

The Mission Ranch, on California’s Monterey Peninsula, was bought and restored by Academy Award-winning actor and director Clint Eastwood in 1986. The barn dates back to the 1850s, and the 22-acre ranch was the site of one of California’s first creameries. It is adorned with gardens, cypress and eucalyptus trees and has sweeping views of the surrounding meadows and coastline.

Sundance

In 1969, actor Robert Redford bought a Utah ski resort with a vision of creating a community for environmental conservation and artistic experimentation. Today, this year-round resort, Sundance, is popular for skiing, hiking, fly-fishing and horseback riding. Redford has become practically synonymous with Sundance, which is also the name of the independent film festival he founded in nearby Park City, as well as the character he played in the 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

Cardozo Hotel

The Art Deco Cardozo Hotel in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood is owned by singer Gloria Estefan and her husband, Emilio Estefan Jr., who helped refurbish the iconic, 1930s beachfront building.

Gaia Retreat and Spa

Musician Olivia Newton-John is co-owner of the Gaia Retreat and Spa on Australia’s New South Wales coast. Set in the lush, rolling hills around Byron Bay, this relaxing retreat opened in 2005 and offers classes on fitness and well-being in addition to a full-service spa.