Never mind being first on the sun loungers, how about being first at the hotel? These five European beach hotels are all brand new for summer. Bedroom, Nobu IbizaNobu Ibiza on Talamanca Bay, top and above, isn’t about revelling – it’s about relaxing in contemporary beach-club style. To help you do just that there’s a Six Senses spa, sun loungers on the beach and by the pool, and when you feel peckish, there’s a signature Nobu Restaurant serving Japanese haute cuisine and locally inspired dishes. In a cocktail frame of mind? You could go to the bar – or you could just ask a mixologist to swing by your room and make you something from your mini cocktail bar. As we said, it’s all about relaxing. From around £600 per night.Bedroom, Sani DunesSani Dunes is the latest luxury retreat at the stylish Sani Resort in Halkidiki, Greece. Much as we love Sani, it is very popular with very young families, which is why they’ve made Sani Dunes exclusively for adults and children over the age of 12. With an exclusive Anne Semonin spa, private beach, three restaurants, bar and indoor and outdoor heated pools, the Sani Dunes is perfect for families with teens who want to make the most of their holidays in an active, fun way. Oh, and it’s got the largest heated swimming pool in Greece. Half board from €129 per room per night. Private terrace, Anantara Vilamoura Algarve ResortIf you know the Algarve, you might recognise this ‘new’ hotel’: it’s the old Tivoli Victoria, now transformed into the luxurious Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort. It opened in May and along with renovated guest rooms, there’s a new lobby, new restaurants, new children’s facilities and a new spa. What hasn’t changed is the resort’s lovely setting among orange groves and undulating wetlands, overlooking the championship Oceânico Golf Course. B&B from €255 per room per night. Bedroom, Les Roches-Rouges, Saint-RaphaelOpened in May, this is Les Roches-Rouges, perched on the rocks just east of Saint-Raphaël, on the Côte d’Azur. It’s owned by the design-led French brand, Hôtels d’En Haut, and like its other properties (all in the French Alps) the Roches-Rouges has a distinctly Fifties Modernist vibe. There’s a pool cut into the rocks, a restaurant on the beach and another on the terrace, plus three bars serving cocktails, we’re told, that blend glamour, sunshine and refreshment. In other words: the perfect place to channel your inner Bardot. B&B from €355 per room, per night in high season.Bedroom, LUX* Bodrum Resort & Residences, GreeceIt may have only opened this month but the LUX* Bodrum Resort & Residences has already scooped the prestigious Silver A’Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category. Set on a private peninsula on a stretch of the Aegean coast known as the Turkish Saint-Tropez, the contemporary LUX* boasts 91 guest rooms and 19 private residences – though we’ve got our eye on the exclusive beach house with its own private anchorage. B&B from around £307 per night in high season. 

BY MAGGIE O’SULLIVAN