Under the Spell

Casa Cavada! It sounds like a spell from the world of Harry Potter. But there is a magic to this 8,300-square-foot, four-bedroom villa, and it has nothing to do with wands. It has everything, as I found during a stay this past winter, to do with discreet hospitality in a jungle-luxe setting where daily discoveries range from a new añejo rum to a new lizard species. Opened last year, Casa Cavada ($20,000 to $50,000 a night, depending on the season) is the new centerpiece of Islas Secas, the 32-guest-max private-island resort in Panama's Gulf of Chiriquí.

Conjured from local volcanic stone and eucalyptus trunks and outfitted with indoor-outdoor showers and linen-canopied four-poster beds, the villa conspired to keep me in situ as I rummaged through its vintage National Geographics and surveyed the resort's many Indigenous artifacts. I repeatedly summoned the on-call bartender and explored every inch of the 83-foot infinity pool that reflected the cotton-candy sunsets like a mirror.

But I couldn't isolate forever. Islas Secas' aquarians and naturalists came prepared with a summer camp's worth of archipelago activities. I Seabob-ed across a coral reef, hiked through petrified termite nests and strangling figs, snorkeled with parrotfish and jellies the size of Skittles, spotted magnificent frigatebirds and blue-footed boobies, and marooned myself on a literal desert island, where the resort's staff had set up a posh little beach club, grilled lobsters, and served ceviche in hollowed coconuts. I wished, unsuccessfully, for no one to rescue me.

The Details

The only way to reach Islas Secas is aboard the resort's own propeller plane, departing from the private terminal at Panama's Tocumen International Airport — a flight across the country, over the canal, before landing at the resort's own airstrip an hour later. Your ITKE advisor can secure exclusive perks for the stay.