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With more than 400 shipwrecks and its fair share of coral reefs, St. Kitts is a favorite of the scuba set. To try your hand at the hobby, consider staying at Bird Rock Beach Hotel, which houses one of the island’s most popular dive operators. Here, guests can charter a boat to nearby Devil’s Cave and swim among barracuda, lobsters, and nurse sharks, then retire to one of 46 tropical-hued rooms overlooking the sea. Less adventurous travelers can visit the on-site dolphin park, sunbathe on the private beach, or simply sip rum punches from the pool’s swim-up bar. Hotel staff is also happy to arrange off-site activities like catamaran cruises, rainforest treks, and volcano crater tours.

Just down the road from the main entrance to Zion National Park and its vivid red, pink, and cream-hued sandstone cliffs is this family-owned property, whose reclaimed Douglas fir and redwood beams merge seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. The 73 rooms and suites, with their sleek kitchenettes, floor-to-ceiling windows, and pale-green-and-cream furnishings, are bright, modern, and spacious—upstairs accommodations feel even roomier thanks to high, cathedral-style ceilings. There’s an outdoor heated pool and a hot tub near a soothing rock waterfall for unwinding after an exhilarating hike or bike excursion, as well as private balconies or terraces in every room, equipped with wooden Adirondack chairs for soaking in the majestic views of the red rock cliffs and Virgin River.

With its striking white facades and terra-cotta rooftops, you might mistake Cap Maison for a Mediterranean villa on the Costa Brava. However, this all-inclusive resort set on a former sugar plantation on St. Lucia’s north coast offers more than meets the eye. The pastel-hued interiors are matched by the sunny dispositions of the superb staff, who cater to every request, whether it’s finding a shady spot by the terraced pool area, booking a paddleboarding excursion off the private beach on Smuggler’s Cove, or arranging for the house yacht to take you to the neighboring island of Martinique for the day. Don’t miss the sunset views at the Cliff at Cap restaurant, where locally sourced dishes like reef conch ceviche and passion fruit soufflé are topped off with some of the resort’s house-made rum.

With soaring 10-foot ceilings and sprawling 700- to 1,200-square-foot configurations, the one- and two-bedroom accommodations at Twelve Midtown are more like modern apartments than hotel rooms. Each features a contemporary neutral-hued color scheme and comes with a full kitchen outfitted with stainless-steel appliances, plus separate dining and living rooms to encourage living like a local. But a few hotel perks made the cut, including a Starbucks in the lobby, a seasonal rooftop pool, and a full-service, 24-hour concierge desk to help you make the most of your visit—this is vacation, after all. There’s also an all-day restaurant serving classic Italian fare, including pizzas, pastas, and vegetable-forward antipasto.

Vietnamese love the cool climes of this town 5,000 feet above sea level in the highlands of southern Vietnam. Da Lat was “discovered” as a site for a potential town in 1893 by French bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin; before long, it was established as a refuge where French Indochina’s colonial administrators living in Saigon could cool off during their downtime. French villas—many still standing today—and summer palaces of Vietnam’s last emperor, Bao Dai, soon followed. Today many visitors still come to escape the tropical heat typical of most of the country, wander round the man-made lake in the heart of town, and enjoy the locally grown fruits and vegetables sold at the morning market—strawberries, peaches, avocados, artichokes, and more. The Hang Nga guesthouse here is a small hotel with an unusual surrealist design. Da Lat is also a great destination for adventure travel, with outfitters offering mountain-biking, kayaking, white-water-rafting, and canyoning excursions; Phat Tire Ventures is the best operation in town.

When Fairmont Century Plaza first opened in 1966, this luxury hotel on a former backlot of 20th Century Fox Studios became the first hotel in the U.S. to have color televisions. The hotel was also of the site of President Nixon’s Dinner of the Century honoring the return of the Apollo 11 astronauts, and it hosted the 10th Grammy Awards when the Beatles won Album of the Year for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Today, it sits in the epicenter of Hollywood biggest talent agency offices and a chic shopping destination.

The building itself is a midcentury work from Minoru Yamaski (designer of the original World Trade Center). A $2.5 billion dollar reimagination in 2021 by studio Yabu Pushelberg brought an updated elegance that redued the number of guest rooms from 720 to 400 larger accommodations. The cool-toned rooms and 85 terrace-studded suites are adorned with digital paintings and landscape photographs and outfitted with Le Labo amenities. The outdoor pool is an oasis between office towers. The expansive 14,000 square foot spa, one of LA’s largest, offers a range of futuristic treatments including biohacking (which involves infrared technology, neuroscience, and meditation) and an “anti-gravity chair.” Celebrity trainers work with the hotel and Techno gym bags with weights and equipment can be delivered to rooms.

Lumière is the hotel’s modern brasserie serving a California spin on French cuisine that leans on seasonal ingredients. And in keeping with the hotel’s star-spangled entertainment legacy, in the soaring, sandy-hued lobby, The Bar doubles as a drinking den for meticulously crafted cocktails and live music venue. Elton John and Mariah Carey have played here, and now a next-gen lineup of artists play neo soul, jazz and other styles five evenings a week.

In this workshop designed to resemble a rural village, you can get an up-close look at the detailed work that goes into hand-embroidered Vietnamese silk. The needlework is exquisite, and whether or not you purchase an item, you’ll come away with a better understanding of the meticulous craftsmanship behind the beautiful pieces.

In the Hawai‘ian language, lauhala means “leaf.” A fourth generation family business, the Kimura Lauahala Shop is more than just a roadside store, it is a landmark of sorts, and a steadfast member of the Holualoa community. The custom made hats, baskets, handbags, placemats, and slippers made for the shop are woven by hand by artisans like they have been for years. The beautifully woven pieces that shoppers take home are great value for the quality of workmanship. Beyond the woven goods, Kimura’s sells local greeting cards, koa wood products like bowls and utensils, and kona coffee.

This remote highland base is eerily peaceful today, but it witnessed one of the bloodiest battles of the American War when around 500 Americans, 10,000 North Vietnamese troops and uncounted civilian bystanders were killed during the 75-day siege. Today the site is occupied by a museum, which contains some interesting photographs of the war years, plus reconstructed bunkers and captured American aircraft.

Despite its sobering focus, this museum that looks at the devastating effects of the Vietnam War—known locally as the American War—is very popular. Displays of military equipment and defused ordnance outside the main building are reminders of the huge number of weapons employed during the conflict; they also prime visitors for the powerful exhibits inside. The most disturbing of these are the many graphic photos displayed in galleries that highlight seminal moments of those years (including the infamous My Lai Massacre) and the catastrophic effects of the chemical weapons that were used against the Vietnamese.

Contemporary touches meet Moroccan influences at this hilltop escape overlooking the medina. Homemade pastries greet you on arrival in the neutral-hued guest rooms, which balance floor-to-ceiling windows, sleek furnishings, and glass-walled marble baths with brightly patterned rugs, decorative vases, and Moorish lamps. The minimalist hammam is the highlight at the hotel’s Givenchy spa, while the Atlas mountain backdrop serves as eye candy beyond the chaise-lined infinity pool. Should you seek more spirited diversions, a stylish rooftop bar pulses with live music and DJ sets on the weekends. Sip champagne as the sun sets over Fes, then sample local delicacies like quail and almond tagine or roasted cockerel stuffed with raisins and semolina by candlelight at Amaraz restaurant.

Closed until 2024 for renovations.

Set on three-and-a-half acres of garden grounds atop Mönchsberg Mountain, the castle-inspired Hotel Schloss Mönchstein is like something out of a fairytale. Be sure to arrive hungry: In addition to a restaurant that serves Austrian and international fare and an indoor/outdoor orangery with light bites and drinks, the hotel has several private dining rooms, including one nestled in the castle’s tower and dubbed the Smallest Restaurant in the World, as well as a neo-Gothic chamber filled with black-hued antiques. The 24 guest rooms have regal touches like damask-patterned velvets and marble bathrooms with soaking tubs and walk-in rain showers, and a vast menu of treatments at the on-site spa, including Dermalogica facials and body wraps, are fit for royalty. After a day of pampering, an infinity pool and hot tub offer panoramic views over the city below.

Secreted away on Giudecca Island is the glamorous, lagoon-facing Belmond Hotel Cipriani, originally opened in 1958 by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of the infamous Harry’s Bar and the creator of that ubiquitous brunch cocktail, the Bellini. The peach-hued 15^th-century palazzo is styled with Murano glass chandeliers and Fortuny and Rubelli fabrics and has a Michelin-starred chef in house and several knockout restaurants all set on manicured grounds. The hotel is kept safe from the prying eyes of paparazzi behind a castlelike wall. No wonder it’s the luxury hideout of choice for celebrities (Mick Jagger is a fan) and the jet set.

If guests do feel like venturing out, the hotel offers one-of-a-kind outings with expert local guides such as a nighttime photography stroll, a visit to area wineries and farms via boat, and a kayak paddle on the lagoon.

Bến Thành market has been around Saigon in one form or another for over 300 years. At some points it neighbored bodies of water including a small lake. It is a monster, overwhelming at first. If you come to Saigon and you love to shop, this is the one-stop shop you are looking for. Personally nothing is more thrilling at Bến Thành than the art of “The Barter.” It’s a strategic game of wits of where you pit product desire against pocketbook ability and the house always wins. It’s not always easy, in fact it’s never easy. Hot, stagnant air ripe with the smell of fish and squid always seems to hang in the air right over that gift you can’t live without. You’re constantly walking that fine line between feeling like you got ripped off or feeling you’re further oppressing the local population. Bến Thành is the stadium packed with hundreds of thousands of pieces of clothing, jewelry, and art- and they’re all yours to play for.

Huahine is home to the most extensive collection of pre European marae (traditional temples) in all of French Polynesia. These are found at Maeva, which is about 7 kilometers from the island’s only town, the sleepy port of Fare. Prior to European arrival, Maeva served as the seat of royal power on Huahine and you’ll find the 30 excavated marae (many of which have been restored) scattered among the village’s modern buildings along its shoreline and up the side of Matairea (Pleasant Wind) Hill. There is a designated walk around the site, which starts at the water’s edge and then leads up the slopes of Matairea Hill, where the most marae are located. It takes about two hours to complete. Make sure to bring plenty of water. You can pick up a brochure outlining the walk and what marae you’ll see along the way from the small archeological museum at the water’s edge. The museum also tells the story of the excavations which began in the 1920s.