When it comes to arranging travel experiences, family holidays or retreats and getaways for centi-millionaires, billionaires and other members of the UHNW, the need for ‘quiet luxury’ reigns supreme. It’s a concept at the very heart of contemporary high-end travel, and one typified by a pervasive sense of discretion and a need for all-encompassing personalised services.
Island getaways, by their very nature, have always been well-suited for those in pursuit of quiet luxury. However, not all islands are equal when it comes to privacy and quality of services, or even when it comes to the ability to truly relax in impeccably blissful surroundings.
After all, while being cut off from the mainland – and all that this entails – allows certain islands to level up their exclusivity and luxury credentials, it also often results in more remote locations struggling to provide the infrastructure necessary to serve the needs and demands of wealthier, more discerning travellers.
Falling short of luxury credentials
The islands of Sicily and Crete – while both rich in natural beauty, history and cultural treasures aplenty – are a case in point. Each of these Mediterranean islands has plenty to offer travellers willing to overlook an array of shortcomings for a vacation in the European sunshine, and yet both have a veritable mountain to climb before becoming truly suitable getaways for the UHNW.
Of course, Sicily and Crete are far from being alone in this regard. As international tourism continues to become more accessible for the masses – and as the tourism industry in many countries continues to focus on appealing to budget travellers in search of little more than hedonism on the sand – many of the issues apparent on these islands can be found in numerous other locations. One only has to look at the UHNW’s ongoing abandonment of previously beloved islands such as Mykonos and Santorini, which are being eschewed in favour of other islands less willing to compromise their exclusive offerings.
However, Sicily and Crete encapsulate many of these issues with a particular potency (and in some cases, a glaringly obvious manner) that represents a real need for a more discerning, more well-researched and more cautious approach to arranging trips for an elite clientele seeking seamless luxury experiences. Let’s take a closer look at each island in turn, and consider where and how they fall short of ultra-luxury expectations.
Sicily: An island incapable of meeting UHNW needs
While some islands simply lack interest in delivering vacation possibilities for the UHNW (preferring instead to meet the expectations of budget holidaymakers), there’s a strong argument for Sicily being incapable of doing so. There are a number of reasons for this, but one could easily point to the fact that Sicilian culture itself is both informed and beleaguered by a history of neglect, poverty and an array of seemingly insurmountable internal political and social struggles.
Perhaps top of the list of reasons why Sicily falls so dramatically short of UHNW expectations is its consistent and alarming array of economic disparities. It’s a tragic blight on the face of Italy’s reputation on the world stage as both a modern democracy and a leading country for tourism; despite its location in the shimmering Mediterranean waters and no shortage of stunning natural landscape, Sicily’s poverty levels and economic challenges are impossible to ignore. This, naturally and inevitably, leads to a high petty crime rate and an overall backdrop of issues that impact the quality, consistency and possibility for elevated travel services for the ultra wealthy.
Quiet luxury requires plenty of obvious attributes: beautiful and discreet accommodation options, attentive and well-trained staff, and amenities that anticipate and exceed the needs of a wealthy clientele. However, it also calls for far more subtle requirements – and most important of these is the overall infrastructure of a location. In this regard, Sicily faces deep-rooted historical issues and an apparent disinterest in working towards (or indeed voting in) possibilities for improvement.
These issues manifest themselves in numerous ways. Alongside neglected villages, crumbling roads and collapsing bridges, Sicily’s deeply corrupt waste management services – caused by a legacy of mafia control, which further adds to Sicily’s inability to meet UHNW expectations of safety and comfort – have resulted in overflowing landfills, mountains of rubbish and appalling levels of pollution. All of this, coupled with natural hazards caused by volcanic activity and intense summer temperatures, continue to make Sicily an inadequate destination for the expectations of the ultra-wealthy.
Crete: A victim of success and apathy
Ancient and with a fiercely independent culture and history, Crete is the largest island in the Aegean Sea and boasts an array of sandy beaches and bustling historic towns. However, due to its relentless pursuit to accommodate lower-end package holidays, it has become the quintessential victim of its own popularity in a part of the world which has long struggled with the impact of excessive tourism.
Simply put, Crete’s over-tourism issue is the number one reason why it is not – and again, like Sicily, cannot be – suitable for those seeking getaway locations for an UHNW clientele. Crete has an estimated permanent population of 600,000 locals (made up of native Greeks and a large number of predominantly English and German expats), and yet welcomes a staggering six million tourists per annum, with this number continuing to grow each year.
The backlash against this influx of often poorly-behaved tourists was inevitable; 2025 saw the first large-scale anti-tourism protests in cities like Chania, which featured violent clashes and antisocial activity. Even without the backdrop of social unrest, tourists in Crete are increasingly reporting an uneasy, chaotic atmosphere caused by enormous crowds of holidaymakers, with beaches and other former beauty spots ruined by the sheer mass of people present. This, in turn, has driven an increase in petty crime and physical assaults against travellers to the island, who are often being seen and treated as an unwelcome presence.
The strain on resources caused by overtourism in Crete is both painfully evident and a clear indicator of its unsuitability for high net worth visitors. The provision of adequate water supplies and sanitation services have caused attempts at luxury accommodation to fall short of expectations, and pollution levels, traffic, poor infrastructure, low-quality building regulations and plentiful corruption have stripped the island of much of its original charm.
As for quiet luxury – that oh-so-essential aspect of high-end travel experiences – the outlook in Crete is especially dim. On such an overcrowded island, opportunities for seclusion and privacy are almost entirely non-existent and levels of service remain far below par. What’s more, there seems to be little to no attempt to rectify this in the near or even distant future.
