Arados

Arados is a British-built Sunseeker, and she behaves like one: with a top speed of 20 knots she makes a morning run from Antibes to a Corsican bay feel like a short transfer rather than a day lost at sea. That pace is the main reason to choose her. A week can take in Saint-Tropez, Calvi and the Maddalena islands without anyone getting up at dawn for a long passage, and with a range of around 4,000 miles fuel is never the limit.

The interior is by Pierre-Yves Rochon, better known for grand hotels than for boats, and it shows in the calm palette: pale oak floors, stone textures and windows that run from floor to ceiling. Glass doors slide open across the full height of the sky lounge, and the main saloon has fold-down balconies on both sides, so on a hot afternoon the room opens to the sea instead of hiding behind air conditioning. Counting the sky lounge, there are four of these balconies on board.

The layout is what decides who she suits. On the main deck the owner sleeps in a beam-wide suite with its own fold-out balcony, and both VIP rooms share that level. That puts three couples, or parents and grandparents, close to the saloon and the deck. The two lower cabins convert between double and twin, which works for children or teenagers who want their own corner downstairs.

On the water side, the beach club sits at sea level and a 13-metre chase boat follows her, useful for lunch ashore or a fast run to a beach the yacht cannot reach. She is an RYA training centre for jet skis, so a beginner can learn on board, and there is a pool that keeps jellyfish out. A Spanish charter licence for the Balearics adds Ibiza and Mallorca to the map.

She is less suited to a group that wants to stay put in one anchorage all week, or to anyone looking for a large dedicated spa or cinema: her strengths are movement, light and easy access to the sea.