The Carlyle, New York

Carlyle, New York



Discreet, elegant, East East Upper Retreat for those like Mick Jagger and David Bowie when they are at home. This is New York modern amenities that you can expect from a modern hotel. There are also two top entertainment venues in the residential districts: Bellman, the famous bar, who is a pianist and because of the best martinis in the area; and Carlyle Cafe, a beautiful club where you can hear, among others, Woody Allen and his traditional jazz band when you do not go around.

Four Seasons, New York

Four Seasons, New York

After entering the marble lobby designed by I M Pei, you know that you are a large hotel. It is a great modern facility because it was only completed in 1991. Since then he has been responsible for the Manhattan hospitality landscape and is one of the places that appear in New York. The concierge travels with encyclopedias, in the centre of the 57th and Central Park there are 364 bright rooms with silk walls and furniture in English. From the rooms on the 40th floor, you can enjoy spectacular views of Central Park. It is worth visiting the workshop of Joel Robuchon.

Four Seasons George V, Paris

Four Seasons George V, Paris

A higher elevation towards the Arc de Triomphe, and much more, and perhaps more than Crillon's prison, with slightly more service, George V competes for the first place in Paris. The art decor is unique to the 18th century heritage, but the palace has the biggest impression. The rooms are - a good and more consistent size than the Crillon style - Louis XV. The Five is an excellent restaurant, which currently hosts two Michelin stars.

Abbaye de la Bussière, Bussière, France

Abbaye de la Bussière, Bussière, France

When the British Cummings family came to this former Cistercian monastery in 2005, she made a luxurious oath and elegance - she fully fulfilled. Located in the hidden Ouche valley (behind "Oosh") and surrounded by 35 acres of land, the old man is pleased with consistency, style and many aspects that focus on the most psychic abbots. The Michelin star restaurant is not smaller. Among the best establishments in Burgundy, soon.

Grootbos, South Africa

Grootbos, South Africa

Found on one of the world’s finest whale-watching coastlines, this five‑star retreat offers unadulterated luxury without the guilt. Every effort has been made to assimilate these fabulous private lodges – complete with all mod cons, state-of-the-art bathrooms, four-poster beds and unsurpassable views – into the environment. And what an environment: a 1,750-hectare reserve that is home to more than 740 different species of plants and the impossibly white sands of Walker Bay.

Blancaneaux Lodge, Belize

Blancaneaux Lodge, Belize

The film director Francis Ford Coppola used this as his secluded mountain bolt hole for several years before throwing open its doors to the public. It now has 20 airy bungalows on stilts dotted around a tree-covered hillside overlooking a babbling stream. There is a lovely restaurant and bar (featuring the original ceiling fan from Apocalypse Now), and charming staff.

Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace, Budapest

Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace, Budapest

A swirling pattern of more than a million mosaic tiles guides you through the dazzling lobby at the heart of this restored temple of Art Nouveau. Here modern chandeliers blend perfectly with original stained glass and velvet furnishings to create stately 21st-century comfort. Perfectly situated at the foot of Budapest’s Chain Bridge, this new grand dame of eastern Europe is crowned with a contemporary rooftop spa complete with sweeping views of the Danube.

Mykonos Grace Hotel Mykonos, Greece

Mykonos Grace Hotel Mykonos, Greece

This chic little hotel is in a great setting, just outside Mykonos town, with sweeping sea views from the lovely pool and bar. Rooms are simple but stylish, decorated in white and pastels; many have balconies overlooking the sea. The quality of the food is well above average and there is a small spa offering excellent treatments. It is sophisticated without being daunting, deeply relaxing, and beautifully run by attentive staff.

La Residence, Franschhoek, South Africa

La Residence, Franschhoek, South Africa

An 11-suite extravagance on the slope of Franschhoek, the Cape village that is probably South Africa’s prettiest. No expense has been spared. Each of the suites has its own decor theme, from Buddhist retreat to French decadent, while the public areas are a riotous collection of Louis XIV furniture, Persian carpets, plus objets, art and fabrics from India, Indo-China, France, Italy and everywhere else. And it works thanks to the impeccable taste of Liz Biden, the proprietor.

Couvent d’Hérépian, Hérépian, France

Couvent d’Hérépian, Hérépian, France

Next time someone urges you to “get thee to a nunnery”, come here. Hidden away in a small town at the foot of the Haut-Languedoc mountains, the former convent has been converted into lovely contemporary suites, without losing the winding, stone-built integrity. Sisters would still find their way around the compact place, but might be surprised by the sober extravagance of the comfort, the terraces, little spa and pool, and, especially perhaps, the vaulted wine bar. Warm informality infuses the place, from the central kitchen – where you meet for table-d’hôte dinner – to the lounge-library, winter terrace and garden beyond.

Corte de Lugas, Lugas, Spain

Corte de Lugas, Lugas, Spain

High above Villaviciosa, the farming hamlet of Lugas is so remote that they have yet to hear what happened to the Spanish Armada. Except at La Corte, a grand stone-and-wood farmstead where the welcome is sharp and frankly Anglophile. Upgraded in baronial style – all beams, open fireplace and four-posters – the family-run spot has warmth, dignity and good food, in equal measure. A cracking base for the Atlantic coast or Picos de Europa mountains.

Parador Zafra, Extremadura, Spain

Parador Zafra, Extremadura, Spain

Zafra huddles tight, white and bright on the scorched Extremaduran tableland. Towering over it like a caballero among peons, the Parador Zafra is a 15th-century fortress without, Renaissance palace within. As a hotel, it has forfeited none of its ducal elegance. Above the arcaded courtyard, rooms retain the period nobility that suited Hernán Cortés. He holed up there, pre-American discovery, on the run from a jealous husband (though there was no swimming pool in his day). You should follow suit.

Dean Street Townhouse, Soho

Dean Street Townhouse, Soho

In the heart of Soho, this hip urban hideaway is part of the Soho House collection and a masterful example of its trademark style of marrying the cool with the comfortable. All 39 rooms come with a king-size bed with Egyptian linen, a drenching rainforest shower, a tastefully cream Roberts Radio – and seven big bottles of Cowshed spa products to play with. If you’re coming to town to party, this is the base.

The Mountain Retreat Inn, Yangshuo, China

The Mountain Retreat Inn, Yangshuo, China

Outstanding hideaway on a bend of the Lu Long River, a few miles outside the tourist town of Yangshuo in Guangxi province and surrounded by distinctive limestone karst peaks. American-owned, it has 29 rooms, all with air conditioning, and 29 staff, who all come from local villages and provide charming service. Ask for a river-view room.

The Inn at Narrow Passage, Woodstock, Virginia

The Inn at Narrow Passage, Woodstock, Virginia
In the heart of rural Virginia, this beautifully restored and homely colonial inn served as Stonewall Jackson’s headquarters during the American Civil War. Bedrooms are charmingly old-fashioned and filled with period antiques and each has a working fireplace. Breakfasts are the thing here; try the blueberry pancakes and French toast.

Palazzo Zichy, Budapest

This elegantly refashioned former Hungarian count’s palace is an impressive fusion of 19th-century Habsburg-era elegance and 21st-century (Italian designer) style. Beautiful, spacious lobby; sleek contemporary rooms; a funky sitting room area; and a great location in a wonderfully atmospheric part of Pest. A bargain to boot.

Mama Shelter, Paris

 Mama Shelter, Paris

Cheap but chic, with quirky decor by Philippe Starck, and a buzzing bar and restaurant attracting cool Parisians. Beds feel luxurious; standard extras include Kiehl’s toiletries, free Wi-Fi and iMac televisions. The bedside fancy-dress masks are possibly not for everyone, but the price is.

Hotel Alpenrose, Wengen, Switzerland

Hotel Alpenrose, Wengen, Switzerland

This is the best sort of traditional, family-run hotel. You won’t find designer furnishings or trappings, but it’s a comfortable, well-run three-star set on a plateau at the edge of a pretty Alpine village, with great views over the valley below (opt for a south-facing balcony room). It has a welcoming lounge with log fire, books, games and Wi‑Fi, friendly owners and staff, and a loyal band of regulars who return year after year to ski or walk in the mountains.

The Lugger, Cornwall

The Lugger, Cornwall

The setting for this 17th-century inn could not be better. Sandwiched between the cliffs in the tiny fishing village of Portloe – the fiercely sloping landscape of which has spared it from development – this whitewashed hotel looks out across the harbour. But it is not just about the location – the 22 rooms are as bright and welcoming as the amiable staff, while the food (given its seafront position, fish features heavily) is superb. If you plan to push the boat out, opt to stay in the miniature cottage for something a bit special.