The Last Resort: A Chronicle of Paradise, Profit, and Peril at the Beach

A captivating exploration of beach resort culture—from its roots in fashionable society to its undervalued role in today’s world economy—as the travel industry approaches a climate reckoning

With its promise of escape from the strains of everyday life, the beach has a hold on the popular imagination as the ultimate paradise. In The Last Resort, Sarah Stodola dives into the psyche of the beachgoer and gets to the heart of what drives humans to seek out the sand. At the same time, she grapples with the darker environmental impact and realities of resort culture: strangleholds on local economies, reckless construction, erosion of beaches, weighty carbon footprints, and the inevitable overdevelopment and decline that comes with a soaring demand for popular shorelines.

The Last Resort weaves Stodola’s firsthand travel notes with her exacting journalism in an enthralling work of investigative journalism on the past, present, and future of coastal travel. She takes us from Monte Carlo, where the pursuit of pleasure first became part of the beach resort experience, to a village in Fiji that was changed irrevocably by the opening of a single resort; from the overdevelopment that stripped Acapulco of its reputation for exclusivity to Miami Beach, where extreme measures are underway to prevent the barrier island from vanishing into the ocean.

In the twenty-first century, beach travel has become central to our globalized world—its culture, economy, and interconnectedness. But with sea levels likely to rise at least 1.5 to 3 feet by the end of this century, beaches will become increasingly difficult to preserve, and many will disappear altogether. What will our last resort be when water begins to fill the lobbies?

• A Rich Cultural History: Trace the beach resort from its origins in the fashionable society of Monte Carlo to a complex global phenomenon.
• On-the-Ground Reporting: Journey with the author to see firsthand how a single resort changed a Fijian village and what extreme measures are underway to save Miami Beach.
• Urgent Environmental Warnings: Confront the industry’s darker side, from the erosion of popular shorelines to the weighty carbon footprints of modern tourism.
• Sharp Economic Analysis: Examine the financial realities of resort towns, including local economic strangleholds and the cycle of overdevelopment and decline in places like Acapulco.