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Leading the charge for independent bookstores since it opened in 1970, Book People is legendary for creativity and a strong calendar of events. The store holds frequent author signings—and we’re talking big authors—and book club meetings for all manner of book genres. Those who can’t get to Austin can sign up for a subscription service called Trust Fall in which a new book, handpicked by the staff, arrives in the mail a few times a year. Kids are a special focus here: The store publishes a blog written by its own “teen press corps” and collaborates with librarians around the state to hold the annual Texas Teen Book Festival. Book lovers should not miss visiting this stalwart home of literature, and handily, it’s open a lot: 9 a.m.–11 p.m. every day but Thanksgiving.

We had an unforgettable experience staying at Buena Vista Surf Club, while visiting San Juan del Sur. The eco-lodge is set into a hill overlooking the jungle and Playa Maderas with a giant sundeck where guests could enjoy the view. It was a great place to catch some rays and watch the dragonflies dance during the day. Guests can schedule sunset yoga classes on the deck for the ultimate zen experience.

Goat Island Café (which locals simply call “Sadie’s) is the place to go in American Samoa for tasty fish and chips or a breakfast of Spam and eggs. Goat Island Café, located inside the hotel, Sadie’s by the Sea, offers generous portions. The café also pours cold Vailima—a beer brewed in Samoa. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, guests can choose to sit inside the restaurant or dine alfresco in a perfect poolside setting where you can also enjoy views of the ocean and nearby Rainmaker Mountain.

The royal family has made this intimate hotel their home-away-from-home since Otto Goring first opened its doors in 1910—which is why it’s the only hotel to hold an official Royal Warrant for hospitality services, bestowed in 2013 by Queen Elizabeth II, who has been enjoying lunches and teas here since she was a child. Set on a quiet Belgravia side street, just a few blocks from Buckingham Palace, the elegant hotel also hosted nobility, both foreign and domestic, during the coronations of King George VI and the current queen, and—as the first hotel in the U.K. with en suite bathrooms—often served as a convenient place for dignitaries to freshen up prior to an audience at the Palace.

Today, the 69-room spot—which is still owned by the same family—caters to a devoted (and primarily American) clientele, who love the intimate feel, central location, and excellent service, not to mention the rare perks like a back garden. Rooms are cushy and comfortable, with traditionally English décor (silk wallpaper, vintage-inspired headboards, Italian linens, and oversized armchairs) and playful details (pops of color, giant stuffed sheep mascots peeking around corners, and an in-room lighting switch with choices like “Bright,” “Cozy,” and “Oooh”). Upgrade to a suite to enjoy more room and dedicated service from one of the legendary footmen, identifiable by their gold-embroidered scarlet coats. (For even more perks, check in to the gorgeous, two-bedroom Royal Suite, which boasts four-poster beds, a grand piano, a six-seat dining room, antique glassware, and a life-sized portrait of Queen Victoria in the shower.) A steady stream of locals of all ages join hotel guests for lunch on the garden terrace, drinks around the gleaming wood bar or in the fireplace lounge, and the famous Afternoon Tea—just book early for the latter, as there can be a months-long wait list.

Visiting the InterContinental Bora Bora Thalasso Resort on assignment, I feel like the only single person from here to Guam. Every year, Bora is voted among the world’s top honeymoon destinations, and right away you realize everything is designed to propagate the human species. The grounds are thick with palm trees and fat ferns leading up to some of the most beautiful water on the planet resembling a translucent creamy liquid light. Every day at 2 p.m., a school of stingrays shows up in knee deep water to be fed by guests. This is highly popular for the dozens of young honeymooners because their Facebook photos come out amazing in the clear water. The star attractions are the 80 overwater villas stretching into the lagoon along four curved wooden piers. Prepare to be blown away. The villas are over 1,000 sf with cathedral beam ceilings, handsome wood furnishings and a huge living room opening out to a large wooden deck. A ladder extends to a second deck perched a couple feet above the water, where you’ll spend a lot of time while other guests kayak by and wave hello. In the center of the villa, my bed faces a floor-to-ceiling window framing the volcano. These particular units were voted “World’s Best View from the Bedroom” on TripAdvisor a few years ago. The hotel can also set you up with a catered romantic dinner for two on the lower deck. Candles, pillows, frangipani flowers, French champagne and lobster soup—who can resist the romance?

CoLAB, one of Rio’s coolest venues, may serve breakfast all day but it is much more than a breakfast joint. The tight space starts the day as a coffee house, then morphs into a cafe in the afternoon, and as the night falls, it becomes a bar. In addition to sundry coffee, granola, and artisanal baked goods, there are brunch items on the menu, as well as several curries, “street food” prepared with care (the falafel is especially recommended). The drink menu includes a range of nonalcoholic choices like kombucha and lemonade, as well as beer, and both classic and creative cocktails. A recent expansion introduced an additional small space for live music, a chill second floor, and a terrace. A performance schedule can be found online.

Why we love it: An exclusive oasis, sheltered from the crowds that have descended on Iceland

The Highlights:
- Access to a new, private area of the Blue Lagoon reserved just for hotel and spa guests
- Rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and lagoon views
- Custom toiletries made with geothermal seawater

The Review:
As Iceland’s popularity exploded over the last decade, the Blue Lagoon gained a bad rap for being a crowded tourist trap. However, the spring 2018 opening of The Retreat at the Blue Lagoon transformed a corner of the UNESCO-recognized Reykjanes Peninsula from a tourist attraction into an intimate hideaway, perfect for those who want to experience the mineral-rich waters in a cell phone–free private lagoon away from the selfie stick–wielding crowds next door.

It’s easy to spend the entire day here floating in the three newly created geothermal pools located within 800-year-old lava rock (don’t miss the unusual—yet deeply relaxing—underwater massage), but when you eventually have to go indoors, floor-to-ceiling windows allow the bright blue waters and the surrounding volcanic landscape to take center stage. Minimalistic-yet-cozy communal spaces, designed by Basalt Architects and Milan-based Design Group Italia (DGI), are equally pleasing to the eye, especially the living room–like lobby, which is decorated with oversized leather chairs and a 1,600-piece collection of ceramics from the Icelandic Museum of Design & Applied Art. Sixty-two guest rooms—all with deep stand-alone tubs and rain showers—look onto the lagoon or the surrounding lava fields (though don’t try swimming in this part, as it’s been intentionally left unheated so that you can enjoy the view with complete privacy). Before you check out, follow our lead and swipe the toiletries made with geothermal seawater sourced from the on-site volcanic aquifers.

When hunger strikes, guests can enjoy casual, healthy meals at the spa restaurant, or head upstairs to Moss for a seven-course meal at the chef’s table, hewn from lava rock quarried on site. It’ll likely still be light outside when dinner is over, so change into your swimsuit for a dip in the lagoon, which stays open until midnight for hotel guests (in winter, you might even catch the northern lights). After a breakfast of Icelandic skyr and house-made gravlax, venture farther afield to the nearby town of Grindavik to ride an ATV through the volcanic landscape. Retreat hosts can also take guests on guided hikes up the dormant volcano behind the property.

Secluded and service-oriented are the adjectives that best describe Rosewood Mayakoba, a resort in Playa del Carmen that opened in 2008. At 1,600 acres, the resort is expansive, offering plenty of room for guests to feel that they have their own space. Rooms, too, are spacious and have either tile or wooden floors, comfortable beds and chairs, and a layout and design that draws guests to outside spaces such as patios and balconies. The sense of privacy is reinforced by special en suite features, including private plunge pools, garden showers, and sundecks. Service, which includes butler, concierge, and valet support, is first-class. Staff can facilitate or organize a wide range of experiences, both on the hotel property and in the surrounding area. These range from horseback riding on the beach and ocean kayaking to private dining and aerial tours of the Mayan site Chichén Itzá.

The Riviera was a refuge for many artists during the war, and when the owners of La Colombe d’Or in St-Paul-de-Vence exchanged meals for works of art, they eventually found themselves with a world-class collection. Today, pieces by Fernand Léger, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miró adorn the cozy dining room where guests savor regional specialties.

Why we love it: A food-focused retreat in the scenic Willowemoc Valley

The Highlights:

• 600 acres of private land for hiking, fishing, and more
• A nine-course dinner included with each stay
• Cozy common spaces for soaking up the peace and quiet

The Review:
Set on a ledge overlooking the Willowemoc Valley and its namesake river, The DeBruce brings a touch of sophistication to an otherwise quiet corner of the Catskills. Here, in a restored inn from the 1880s, guests find 14 modest rooms spread over three floors. Designed to create a sense of calm, all feature down duvets, Sferra linens, and tile-and-marble bathrooms stocked with Malin & Goetz toiletries, while some also include clawfoot tubs and expansive views of the surrounding scenery. Guests spend little time in their rooms, however, as The DeBruce is home to several cozy common spaces, including the Great Room (filled with antique couches and wingback chairs), the Conservatory (with an original fieldstone fireplace and comfy reading chair), and a serene pool (surrounded by lounge chairs, a firepit, and manicured gardens). The property also sits on nearly 600 acres of private land, which spans two mountains, a river, and several ponds. Simply walk over the private bridge for access to trails for hiking, birding, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing, as well as a half-mile of river for fly fishing.

At the center of all of this is the restaurant—a glass-walled dining room overlooking the valley, where guests enjoy the a la carte breakfasts and multiple-course dinners included in their stay (one night is always a nine-course tasting menu). Chef Aksel Theilkuhl, formerly of BLT Steak Group in New York City, draws from a bounty of local, seasonal products for every meal, impressing with dishes like smoked trout and mushroom three ways. Should guests prefer something more casual, there’s also the Club Room in the basement, where Theilkuhl serves bar classics and small plates in an intimate setting. For more insight into The DeBruce’s culinary program, sign up for sessions with Theilkuhl and help with kitchen prep, sample new dishes, or forage the hotel grounds for ramps and more. Other activities like Pilates and yoga classes, exploratory nature walks, and fly-fishing lessons are also on offer, giving guests plenty of ways to while away their days in the Catskills.

Overall:
Housed in a restored 19th-century inn, the 14-room DeBruce is a warren of cozy common spaces that invite travelers to linger in wingback chairs next to stone fireplaces or chat on porch swings hung from the verandah. Guests may take a dip in the outdoor pool or join a fly-fishing or foraging excursion, but the main event is dinner. Chef Aksel Theilkuhl, formerly of BLT Steak Group in New York City, serves a nightly tasting menu in a 32-seat dining room facing the lodge’s ponds and rolling hills.

This English-inspired hotel has been the place to stay in New Orleans for basically forever—well, since it opened in 1984, at least. It’s plush without being pompous, stately without being too serious, though it should be said that this is the kind of place where gents might wear a pocket square and watch fob and feel right at home. The $8 million art collection, which includes original works by Reynolds, Gainsborough, and Huysman, is museum-worthy (you can even take an audio tour), and the 4,500-square-foot spa, part of the 2012 $22 million renovation, is one of the city’s most luxurious. Other notable upgrades include the lobby cocktail bar—a more feminine alternative to the leather-clad Polo Club Lounge, and an outdoor pool.

So where are we now? Could this be Vienna in central Europe in the early 20th century? Or maybe Paris in the same era? No, this is a small Gothenburg hotel, restaurant, and bar that fulfills the dreams of owner Thomas Peterson. Coming from a well-renowned family in the restaurant business, Peterson wanted to create his personal vision of an extraordinary restaurant and hotel that paid homage to childhood memories of his grandfather hosting celebrities and artists at home and in his restaurant. Try the afternoon tea, or have a drink on the roof terrace. No matter what you eat or drink, the ambiance is a large part of the experience.

Bar Raval looks ordinary from the outside, but inside, the sinuous lines of the floor-to-ceiling mahogany woodwork—bar, walls, window frames—instantly bring Gaudí to mind. Created to mimic the spirit of Barcelona’s pintxos bars (in addition to the Catalonian influence of the decor, platters of food are laid out on the bar, as is the Basque pintxos tradition), the space is often packed. In the mornings, patrons sip lattes and enjoy doughnuts finished with a lick of chocolate and spiced hazelnut.

Nestled in the maze of back alleys near Beijing’s iconic Drum and Bell towers, the Orchid Gulou is a small boutique hotel that caters to adventurous travelers looking for the coziness of a boutique hotel in the middle of the capital. The hotel is a converted siheyuan (courtyard) that, although thoroughly modernized, retains much of the lived-in character of an ancient Chinese home. One of the location’s standout features is a top-level deck that allows you to peek through the tops of old-growth trees for views of the Drum tower and the surrounding hutongs. Room amenities include heated floors, complimentary fruit baskets, and air purifiers.

Perfect for exploring the trendy 10^th arrondissement, Le Citizen Hotel overlooks the Canal Saint-Martin, footsteps from where Amélie skipped stones in the French movie of the same name. The location is convenient for walking or using public transportation to get to famous sites, but why leave this gentrifying neighborhood? The restaurants and shops have become a boho magnet, and the monuments, such as Henry IV’s early 17th-century Hospital St Louis (built to treat victims of the plague), offer much beauty and history without the tourists.

Narrow guestrooms have multiple windows and are laid out to take advantage of canal views. The design sensibility is Nordic, with bright colors, pale woods, and modular furniture. If you didn’t bring an iPad, the hotel offers loaners.