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The Company’s Garden, in the heart of the city, dates back to the 17th century, when the Dutch used springwater running down from the mountain to establish a garden to grow fruit and vegetables for ships en route to the East. On Government Avenue, which runs through the garden for about a half mile, squirrels scamper around among the old oak trees. Along the way, you’ll pass the South African National Gallery, the Planetarium, the Holocaust Centre, the De Tuynhuis presidential offices, the South African National Library, St. George’s Cathedral (where Nobel laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu used to preach), and the Slave Lodge museum. Grab a bite at the recently opened Company’s Garden Restaurant, which has been getting great reviews for its breakfasts and lunches under the garden’s leafy trees.

For people who lament that they weren’t born into Downton Abbey–style gentility, Ballyfin, which opened in 2010 after nearly a decade-long restoration, is a fast track to 1820s-era refinement from the moment guests pull up to the front drive. A team of butlers and maids line up on the stone estate’s front steps to unload bags and whisk visitors into the lobby, and from there the Ballyfin experience is a dreamy blur: drinking tea out of antique china while wrapped in an Irish-wool blanket by the fire; being lulled to sleep during a massage in the basement spa; soaking in a clawfoot tub and surveying the meticulously sourced antiques in one of 15 rooms.

Guests are basically lords or ladies for a night or two at this neoclassical home an hour west of Dublin in the county of Laois (pronounced “Leash”). For those who bore of pure leisure, there’s a stone tower to climb, horses to ride, 600 acres to explore, and a lake to walk laps around or row through. The pricey room rates can (almost) be rationalized by the inclusive evening champagne receptions, fancy three-course dinners, snacks, picnic lunches, and Irish breakfasts.

If a hotel has a swank spa that administers treatments using ultra-expensive (and effective) Sisley products, it’s probably something special. And if those treatments come in a Victorian manse overlooking the placid waters of Kenmare Bay in Southwestern Ireland’s Ring of Kerry, it’s yet more likely to engage even the jaded traveler’s predilections for plush resorts. Kenmare Manor, a turn-of-the-19th-century stone building backed by patchwork hills and forests, looks like something out of a storybook. But it’s more than attractive: At SÁMAS spa, the treatments, which are indeed high-caliber, come with views of the misty woods (from the pool) and the bay and mountains (from the relaxation room). Staff are attentive to even tiny details, like buttery Irish shortbread at turndown. Breakfasts of smoked salmon and eggs and flaky scones are served by smartly dressed waiters rather than set out at a buffet. The hotel’s restaurant is known as one of the best in the country for wild-mushroom risotto and Kerry lamb loin with eucalyptus-flavored peas.

Occupying a modern tower next to Hong Kong Park and attached to the Pacific Place shopping center, Island Shangri-La is an earthly paradise on the edge of Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls in the lobby face a 140-year-old banyan tree; the outdoor swimming pool is set amid grass and trees as well as skyscrapers; and the Roof Garden on the 56th floor is enveloped in the misty greenery of Victoria Peak.

The hotel’s interiors are equally inspiring, with more than 900 works of art on display, including a 16-story silk landscape painting called Great Motherland of China cascading down the atrium. Accommodations combine Asian silks, floral wall paintings, and Chinese tea sets with European antiques and crystal chandeliers. In 2009, the Horizon Club Lounge became the highest executive lounge on Hong Kong Island, offering sweeping views of Victoria Harbour. Dark wood, black marble, jewel-tone leather, Austrian chandeliers, and qi pao-inspired staff uniforms create an elegant setting for complimentary breakfast, evening cocktails and canapés, or an afternoon work session.

The salmon-colored stucco buildings comprising the Elliott House Inn have a long history that runs parallel with the city’s. Built in the aftermath of a citywide fire, the property’s main structure was then shaken in an 1886 earthquake (the characteristic Charleston earthquake bolts are visible on the building’s facade) and battered by 1989’s Hurricane Hugo. The bed-and-breakfast reopened in 2011 after two years of renovation and redecoration, reinventing itself yet again. The main building is a classic Charleston single house, built with its narrow end on the street and a long piazza running along its length.

The rooms, with their botanical prints, hardwood floors, and Oriental rugs, are traditional in a way that’s elegant and charming rather than fussy. Rooms are available both in the main house and the single-story building across. The quiet courtyard provides an oasis from the city streets with its wisteria-dotted pergola and light-draped palmetto trees.

This remote, family owned property of cabins is an experience you’ll savor if you’re in the Moosehead Lake area of Maine and hoping to get away from it all. Closed from October to mid January, the camp reopens for the winter season where you’re treated by breakfast and dinner by Eric and his family and given a bag lunch if you need one. During the other summer and early fall months, your stay and your schedule will revolve around three home cooked meals in the main dining lodge. You’ll be hungry, there’s fishing, canoeing, swimming and hiking in the summer months. There is no cell reception out here and you can be certain to not have any sort of wifi connection. Cherish that. Chill the beverages you purchase at the local general store in the camp’s cold, natural spring at the water’s edge and soak up the visits by the local moose in the morning and early evening. This is a great location for a private family reunion or a celebration in the heart of Maine.

An hour’s drive from Tórshavn, in one of the Faroe’s northernmost settlements, sits the family-run Gjáargardur Guesthouse of Gjógv, bordered by steep slopes and a natural harbor. With its wooden exterior and traditional, turf-topped roof, it practically blends into the surrounding nature, putting the focus on its sweeping ocean views. Rooms here are modern and spacious, with large windows that look out across the valley, and service is friendly and accommodating. An on-site restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner during high season, while a gift shop stocks postcards, ice cream, and Faroese woolen jumpers that make for perfect souvenirs. There’s even a small playroom in the basement for children, though most guests are here to hike Slaettaratindur—the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands, which looms over the guesthouse and its namesake village.

While pensions in French Polynesia are often touted as overpriced accommodations with no amenities, Fare Pea Iti proves this is not always true. In fact, this family home pension is downright luxurious, with an in-ground pool, well-manicured grounds and a mix of beach and garden bungalows featuring sumptuous amenities and whimsical touches. The beach bungalow is particularly opulent. While in the bathroom you’ll find Monoi oil body products and an over-sized walk-in tiled shower, the enclosed porch features beautiful views, self-catering kitchen with barbecue and mini-bar. In the room, the bed is adorned with tropical flowers and canopied with delicate baldaquin. Moreover, the garden bungalows offer comfortable beds, televisions, Monoi oil tiki soaps, a walk-in shower, mini bar and table and chairs in the garden for scenic relaxing. Don’t miss the fantastic homecooked meals in their open-air restaurant and bar. In the morning there’s an artisanal breakfast of hot beverages, fresh juices, fresh tropical fruit, homemade vanilla yogurt, fluffy bread and housemade jams with large chunks of fruit. Moreover, at night guests can enjoy a 3-course candlelit dinner featuring fresh local ingredients.

This 7,000 square-foot, $13,000 a night suite is the ultimate in luxurious Hong Kong living. Perched on top of the amazingly well situated InterContinental Hong Kong, the Presidential Suite has everything you could possibly want including private terrace, pool, jacuzzi, gym, office and a master bath that has both a sauna and a steam room. There’s no better place to stay in Hong Kong if it’s luxury you’re after.

Why we love it: A plush beachfront resort, nestled on a stretch of scenic bluffs just north of central Santa Barbara

The Highlights:
- Two pools with unobstructed ocean views and the sweetest of casita-style cabanas
- Angel Oak, an upscale steakhouse that it is a destination unto itself, complete with killer cocktails and a 12,000-bottle wine cellar
- A new Jean Michel-Cousteau-curated educational program offering naturalist-guided hikes, animal-themed activities, and even the chance to learn video production à la Cousteau

The Review:
Set along two miles of pristine Pacific coastline, this Spanish Colonial–style resort has a distinctly regal feel, which is only amplified by its perch high up on the coastal cliffs of northern Santa Barbara. The 358-room property—which includes 23 sprawling suites—joined the Ritz-Carlton portfolio of hotels in 2017, and the recent updates and enhancements can be felt throughout, including in the freshly remodeled main lobby, bar, and ocean-view terrace.

While there is plenty to do in Santa Barbara proper, guests may be inclined to stay put at the oasis that is the Bacara. With everything from a new, 42,000-square-foot spa and perfectly situated salt-water pools with ocean views, to five on-site restaurants and a robust schedule of daily activities for guests of all ages, you could easily spend an entire weekend lounging at this luxurious resort. It’s hard enough just leaving the rooms, all of which feature an outdoor patio or balcony, an ocean or garden view, addictively comfortable beds, deep-soaking tubs, and decor that feels both rustic and contemporary.

A beach-view breakfast at The Bistro is a must, as is a decadent dinner and cocktails at the property’s sleek steakhouse, Angel Oak. Enhance your stay with Club Lounge access and you really won’t have any reason to leave. The newly opened lounge includes light breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and evening hors d’oeuvres service, along with wine, beer, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverages.

For iconic hotels in Athens, there are multiple addresses to call into, including sister property King George next door, but the Grande Bretagne is the city’s grande dame. The King and dame share an unbeatable location on Syntagma Square, requisite views of the Acropolis, a long and storied guest list, and all the upscale comforts associated with a five-star hotel. The Grande Bretagne has a bit more old-world grandeur than boutique sophistication, with more gilded frames, heavy-luxe drapery, and antique furnishings. It also has a few added amenities: a health and beauty spa, the Winter Garden lounge for high tea with live piano music, and the pièce de résistance: a rooftop pool facing Lycabettus Hill. The rooftop restaurant is also top-notch, serving a new mediterranean menu of scallops and kimchi and grilled salmon with parsley root cream. Guests staying on the sixth and seventh floors may enjoy 24-hour butler service, and all guests can request a chef-prepared picnic to take along for a day of Athens sightseeing.

Built between 1840 and 1845 by Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, an extremely influential royal family in Europe, the Palais Coburg is a bright and spacious bit of luxury. Opened in 2003 after extensive restoration, the palais has suites (and only suites) that are clean and classy, sometimes even grandiose with antique furniture and vibrantly lit chandeliers. Many suites are named in honor of important members of the family such as Queen Victoria and Albert of England, and King Leopold I of Belgium, so guests will get a lesson in the history of Europe’s intermarried royal families.

Outside is a quiet garden with a water basin, shade trees, and magnolias. The outdoor café provides sanctuary from the city and is a great place to enjoy breakfast. In addition to two marvelous restaurants, Palais Coburg has an excuisite wine cellar with some 60,000 from four different centuries.

The Tin Shed is probably nowhere near wherever you might be in Portland but that matters not. Get a cab and go over there because the biscuits are so good they’ll make you wanna slap yo mama! You serve yourself coffee while you wait under the covered patio seating, they welcome dogs and their bloody mary is spectacular. This place rocks. Go check it out.

La Dolce Vita is a charming, Italian cafe & restaurant in the trendy Park Road, known for great restaurants and high-end boutiques. It’s sometimes known as “that cafe with the eiffel tower” because despite being now an Italian place, it is still built around a replica of the eiffel tower and one of the roofs is a replica of the glass pyramid of The Louvre. It was formerly, as you may have guessed, a French cafe called Savoir Faire. I always get a savoury breakfast when I’m out but today I had an unusual pancake craving - these are some of the best pancakes I have ever had! Delicious vanilla bean gelato topped thick fluffy pancakes, surrounded by a variety of berries. Super yum! Unfortunately I was halfway through before I thought to take a photo! ‘Dolce’, as its known to locals, is a popular spot for the friendly owner who likes to chat with customers and dish out life advice and the relaxed atmosphere - unlike many restaurants, you’ll never feel pressured to leave once you’ve finished your meal. A little slice of Europe in the heart of Brisbane! Note: It also goes off on soccer nights, especially during the soccer world cup - all of Park Road has a street party!

Why we love it: A peaceful eco-lodge on Dominica’s “wild” southeast coast

Highlights:
- A “barefoot luxury” vibe
- Proximity to the beach
- Villas surrounded by a working fruit plantation

The Review:
An agritourism pioneer, Citrus Creek blends hospitality with a tropical fruit plantation on Dominica’s rugged east coast. In building the resort, owner Hervé “RV” Nizard repurposed parts of his 20-acre farm in Taberi, adding a dozen self-catering cottages and villas. Ranging from one to three bedrooms, the accommodations include a safari tent and a stone tree house. Focused on nature, Citrus Creek trades TVs for rainforest hikes and a swimming pool for plunges in a pristine river. The property also lacks air-conditioning, but shade trees and prevailing winds keep it comfortable year-round and help maintain a “barefoot luxury” vibe.

Each room has a kitchen, stocked with breakfast goodies like tea, coffee, bread, butter, jam, and honey. For those who would rather dine out, a cafe offers half-board plans and operates every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (or later with reservations). Take your dinner on the veranda overlooking the river, choosing among French-Caribbean delicacies like onion pie, caramel pork, grilled lionfish, and smoked marlin quiche. Other on-site perks include a tour desk, car rentals, and, soon, a pier set within the jungle that will be equipped to welcome sailboats.