From the latest luxury resort out of the Louis Vuitton hotel group to the late Marlon Brando’s eco-friendly Polynesian legacy to the world, this year’s crop of hot new beach hotels is swoon-worthy.

If you’re shopping for a winter escape, take a tour of some of the hottest new beach and seaside hotels that opened in 2014.

Cheval Blanc Saint-Barth Isle de France, St. Bartholomew

The third and newest addition to LVMH’s luxury hotel portfolio Cheval Blanc is located on Flamands Bay in the French Indies, amidst lush, tropical garden in a paradisiacal setting.

Flamands Villa living room 

Composed of 40 suites, bungalows and villas, it features rooms offering panoramic views of the ocean and luxury services that include Guerlain spa treatments, access to a 21-meter-long yacht, and lobster lunches on the beach.

La Case de l’Isle restaurant

Room rates start at €590 a night.

Maalfushi by Como, Maldives

With infinity pools that provide the illusion of merging into the ocean, and suites and villas built on wooden walkways above shallow lagoons, guests at the Maalifushi by Como are forever reminded that they’re a long way from home.

Garden Suite at the Maalfushi by Como in the Maldives

Decor is deliberately kept to an elegant minimum to reinforce the “barefoot chic” of a private island resort. Services include an open-air yoga pavilion and a variety of spa treatment rooms. Rates start at $650 a night.

Santa Marina Resort & Villas, the Luxury Collection

After an extensive, three-year renovation, the Santa Marina Resort & Villas opened its doors this spring under the banner of Starwood’s The Luxury Collection brand.

Located five minutes from the town of Mykonos, the property counts as its star feature a private beach that spans the length of 150 meters.

The resort counts 100 guest rooms and suites, some of which include a private pool, a balcony and panoramic views of the sea. The more exclusive villas are built among the hills and come with butler service.

Accommodations are modern and feature natural materials like teak wood, linen fabrics, rattan and stone. Room rates for 2015 start at €410 ($525).

The Brando resort at Tetiaroa in French Polynesia

A decade after his death, Marlon Brando’s family helped fulfil one of his lifelong dreams this summer by opening The Brando, a luxury, eco-friendly resort set on the private atoll of Tetiaroa, a series of a dozen islets 30 miles (48 km) north of Tahiti. As part of its goal to go carbon neutral, half the resort is powered by solar energy, while the balance of power is produced by a biofuel thermal power station fueled by coconut oil.

Guests keep cool via seawater air conditioning, which harnesses the cold of ocean depths, pipes it to land and converts the energy into air conditioning, and they tuck into dishes from French chef Guy Martin made with organic fruits and vegetables plucked from the island’s gardens.

Each of the 35 deluxe villas comes with its own private beach and plunge pool and is designed to reflect Polynesian culture while also offering the modern conveniences of wifi, flat screen TVs, and king-size beds.

Rates for one-bedroom villas start at €3,000 ($4,100 USD) a night.

Playa Cativo, Costa Rica

Those looking for a little more adventure and nature-watching may want to consider this eco-friendly lodge in southern Costa Rica, accessible only by boat. Set across 1,000 acres of lush rainforest, the boutique hotel operates on a working farm that supplies the restaurant El Gavilan.

Guest rooms are built from reclaimed wood and tiles crafted by local artisans and offer ocean views and rain showers.

Activities include standup paddling, kayaking, bird watching, hand-line pier fishing and nature hikes.

Other facilities include a freshwater, chemical-free outdoor swimming pool and gardens that count butterflies, exotic birds and animals as permanent residents. Room rates start at $240 a night.