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OPRAH LOVES IT HERE: Sunset Key’s offshore seclusion makes it a relaxing respite. It is just five minutes away from the density of Key West.

Oprah Winfrey once rented all the cottages on Sunset Key to celebrate her 44th birthday with a few dozen of her celebrity BFFs.

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I visited recently for lunch and a massage and still felt quite Oprah-esque.

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That’s because Sunset Key feels like your personal Fantasy Island – a luxurious, classy and oh-so-private 27-acre palm-fringed heaven, even if you’re only there for an afternoon.

Five minutes after leaving the dock near Mallory Square on a crisp and clear winter day, I was miles away in attitude from Key West’s honky-tonk circus, in a car-free vacation village of white wooden cottages with metal roofs and picket fences.

Sandy paths lead to the encircling beach. Coconut palms swayed over the saltwater pool.

Is that Mr. Roarke in the distance?

I show up for my massage and spa manager, Tracy McClellan says, “Today, I saw two pods of dolphins on my way to work.”

In paradise, even the commutes are magic.

Some may quibble that Sunset Key’s manicured cuteness is ersatz Key West, with the allure but not the authenticity. But the offshore seclusion makes a relaxing respite from the density of Key West, where hotels, houses, bars and restaurants are jammed so close together. Besides, Old Town’s restaurants, culture and history are just a brief ferry ride away.

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But once you set foot on Sunset Key, you may find it hard to leave.

The development opened in 1996 on what locals called Tank Island, a former fuel tank depot for the Navy. What isn’t resort property is occupied by multimillion dollar private beach houses.

Unless you own one, there are only three ways to get on the island. You can book one of the cottages, with one to four bedrooms, whose high season rates range from $595 to $2,225 a night, which was stratospherically out of my budget. Or, you can book a table at Latitudes restaurant or a spa service, or in my case, both. If you make a dinner reservation, come early to watch the sunset, far from the cacophonous Mallory Square crowds.

On days cottage occupancy is low, the resort also sells a few day beach passes.

If one lunch is any indication, the kitchen at Latitudes restaurant knows how to handle the Keys’ freshest seafood. Stone crab claws, a lobster roll and shrimp bisque all hit the mark beautifully, as did a sweet-tart Key lime martini rimmed with Graham cracker crumbs.

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So ridiculously romantic is the restaurant’s waterfront terrace that “we have one to five marriage proposals here every week,” said marketing manager Shannon Kennedy.

The resort recently opened new three- and four-bedroom cottages, decorated in nautical blue, white and yellow color schemes, with huge granite kitchens.

“We get a lot of girls’ weekends and family reunions at those,” said Kennedy.

The spa’s rooms have private courtyards and private showers. Services such as my tension-relieving massage start at $130.

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After 40 years of visiting Key West, it was a surprise to find a blissful new way to wile away an afternoon.

I don’t know if it’s one of Oprah’s “favorite things ever,” but it’s on my list.