Resorts are a place to escape. These highly curated, meticulously designed experiences should lift the everyday burdens of life off your shoulders and allow you to be free—free of work obligations, free of the everyday slog, and free to enjoy all this luxurious bubble has to offer, including the food. While everyone can appreciate soft, sandy beaches or get a thrill from a tour-guided mountain bike ride through the forest, not all can partake in typical resort food. When you’re vegan and your choices are limited to fresh fruit, grilled vegetables, and black coffee, reality intervenes in your otherwise picturesque getaway. These vegan-friendly resorts offer plenty of five-star plant-based options so you can fully immerse yourself in living the high life, if only for a few days.
Lesli Durso
1 The Four Seasons, Punta Mita
Chef Leslie Durso is responsible for the 250-plus vegan options available at this luxury resort. For the past five years, she’s crafted delectable vegan menus for each of the property’s restaurants from the oceanfront Dos Catrinas to the swanky Armara. In between sipping your fresh-pressed green juice and your dark chocolate torte ordered a la room service, take a dip in the crystal blue ocean, unwind with a hot stone massage, revive your tennis skills, sign up for a tequila class, or assuage that work guilt by answering a few easy emails in the breezy lobby. It’ll take a while to try all 250 vegan items, so book your stay for as long as you can. Note: The Four Seasons is one of the more progressive resorts in regards to plant-based cuisine. No matter where you stay in the world, The Four Seasons can likely accommodate your dietary needs beyond grilled vegetables and sad salad.
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The Peninsula Beverly Hills
2 The Peninsula Beverly Hills
Looking for a five-star experience without a passport? This metropolitan hotel offers resort-style luxury accommodations in the heart of Los Angeles. The wellness offerings—from meditations to a best-in-class spa—are accompanied by a stellar vegan culinary program that includes a five-course prix-fixe menu and a plant-based tea service upon request. Bask in the glorious California sun at the rooftop pool, see the sights of Beverly Hills and beyond, then retire to the Belvedere for a sublime dinner inspired by the produce of the season.
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Laguna Lodge
3 Laguna Lodge
This lakeside Guatemalan eco-resort only serves vegan and vegetarian options, so you can relax about what’s for dinner and instead take in the “is this real?” atmosphere. You’ll enter the property—which sits on a nature preserve—via canoe and immediately be struck by the gorgeously blue water and towering volcanoes. The business is astutely dedicated to nature conversation and holistic wellness, which is why you’ll never see meat on the menu. Options rotate seasonally but focus heavily on vegetables and local produce along with craft cocktails, wine, and house-roasted coffee. In between meals, hike the San Pedro volcano, explore the lake via kayak, visit the nearby village of Santa Cruz, zipline off a mountaintop, or smooth out those sore muscles at the spa.
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Disney
4 Walt Disney World Resort
Once upon a time, a Disney experience was a little less magical for vegan guests. Since Disney World—and soon after Disneyland—revamped its menus in 2018, it has become a vegan destination for kids and kids at heart (we firmly believe you are never too old for Disney). Vegan renditions of park favorite dishes can be found at nearly every eatery on the expansive property. Click the button below to read our Complete Vegan Guide to Walt Disney World.
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The Standford Inn
5 The Stanford Inn
While this Mendocino, CA calls itself an inn, it’s truly more of a rustic resort. Nestled in the trees just off The Big River and the Pacific Ocean, the sprawling property houses plenty of things to do within a serene coastal forest. The resort is pet-friendly and completely vegan—from the lotions used in the massage rooms to the esteemed plant-based restaurant, The Raven. In between a savory breakfast crêpe, tea time, and wild mushroom polenta at dinner, hop on mountain bikes or canoes, take a yoga class, reserve a nature tour, say hello to the resident donkey, or book a cooking class. Whether you’re looking to relax or get in touch with your outdoorsy self, the Stanford Inn can support that with vegan meals at the ready.
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Palmia the House of Aia
6 Palmia the House of Aia
This Playa del Carmen, Mexico resort is meant to make you truly relax. Every service revolves around sustainability, healing, and naturopathic wellness. Beyond the prime beach real estate, amenities include a five-star spa, wellness retreats, multiple yoga modalities, ceremonial sound baths and guided meditations, and other guided tutorials centered around holistic healing. Food-wise, the resort makes plant-based the default. Those who prefer an animal option just have to ask. Menus generally follow a plant-based alkaline diet while still delivering impeccable dishes that could double as edible art. A few highlights include Smoked Carrot Toast, Watermelon Poke Bowl, a kitchen-crafted vegan cheeseburger with housemade sauerkraut, and a divine chocolate brownie with mint ice cream. Here, it’s easy to find your bliss.
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The Sanctuary Thailand
7 The Sanctuary Thailand
Accessible only by boat, this wellness retreat in Koh Phangan, Thailand is for those who truly want to escape. The vibe is focused on relaxation and detoxification, right down to its mostly vegan dining options. Guests can entertain themselves with plenty of yoga classes, a traditional tea ceremony, beachfront activities, and massages. Menu options include traditional Thai dishes (made plant-based), raw items, salads, and more. Note: most accommodations are open air, meaning air conditioning isn’t available and a few forest animals may stroll by your lodging. If you prefer a cushier option, book a Garden Suite.
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The Golden Door
8 The Golden Door
While legendary among the elite, few know about this tucked-away oasis in San Marcos, CA. If you’re not a celebrity or fabulously wealthy, The Golden Door is something you save up for—a one-week, all-inclusive stay will set you back $10,500. Granted, you get what you pay for. Each hour is scheduled to maximize your stay, from eight-mile morning hikes to in-room massages. If you have a moment to spare, exploring the scenic 600 acres of the property is enough to entertain you for hours—and work up an appetite. Each guest’s dietary preferences are tailored to. Guests are provided nourishing yet satisfying meals including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks. The resort also offers cooking classes to help you take a little Golden Door wellness back home.
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Volcano Eco Retreat
9 Volcano Eco Retreat
Need an adults-only vacation? You’ll find it nestled on four acres of Hawaiian forest on the Big Island. This place is remote, but if you have a car, it’s a stellar, all-vegan option to wake up and come “home” to after a day of exploring. Alternatively, this sustainably minded boutique hotel is an exceptional option for entrepreneurs and other working professionals to go heads-down and crank out some major productivity surrounded by beauty. Work in the morning, take a dip in the pool for lunch, have a productive afternoon, then sit down and relax to a nourishing vegan dinner. We love a working vacation.
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Mother Earth Vegan Hotel
10 Mother Earth Vegan Hotel
When traveling to Costa Rica, a stay at this sustainable, outwardly vegan resort is a must. The company offers five-star accommodations with a host of activities and tantalizing plant-based dining. Explore the jungle via ATV, take a surf lesson, or discovery a new modality of yoga in the Healing Studio. After working up an appetite, satisfy your cravings with Mushroom Ceviche, Canneollini Primavera, or a messy oyster mushroom Philly cheesesteak. Unwind in your room with a hefty slice of carrot cake or coconut crème brûlée.
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Rosewood Miramar
11 Rosewood Miramar Beach
Laid-back, coastal cool meets refined resort at this Santa Barbra, CA resort. The beachfront property offers everything you could want from a vacation perspective: posh accommodations, beach access, gorgeous pools, lawn games (on perfectly manicured grounds), a luxury spa, and vegan options on every menu. For a completely curated dining experience, make your reservations at Caruso’s. The Southern Italian-inspired restaurant provides a four-course vegan prix-fixe menu, and yes, that includes a decadent dessert (spoiler alert: it’s peanut butter chocolate mousse). While a great getaway for California residents, it’s also an option to consider for all looking at vegan-friendly wedding venues.
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Melissa Hom
12 W Maldives
Primarily a seafood spot, this luxury resort is changing its tune. While fish will still be on offer, the brand has invited vegan chef Priyanka Naik to create a comprehensive plant-based experience for guests through October 2023. Her sustainability-focused spread is now available at the resort’s respected FISH restaurant. The vegan options are extensive—guests certainly aren’t limited by a terse selection—but Naik gave us her recommendation for those visiting the restaurant for the first time. Start with the Charred Sweet Potato with Chili Sesame Dressing, savor the Local Kale Pesto Pappardelle with Almond Parmigiana for your entrêe, and polish off your meal with the Coconut Rose Gulab Jamuns with Passion Fruit Syrup, all while leisurely sipping her ingenious ‘Scrap’ Infused Vodka Melon Spritzer. Not even the most “sustainable seafood” can top that meal!
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Tanya Flink is a Digital Editor at VegNews as well as a writer and runner living in Orange County, CA.
