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With its own shuttle flight service from St. Lucia and Barbados and an unbeatable location on one of the Caribbean’s most picturesque stretches of sand, Bequia Beach Hotel is an island unto itself. The 10-acre property, easily Bequia’s most luxurious, also includes a spa, two swimming pools, two restaurants, and a canvas-tented bar on nearby Princess Margaret Beach, plus 56 individually appointed rooms and suites furnished in an eclectic, island-chic style (think red four-poster beds, wicker armchairs, and palm-accented throw pillows). Adventurous types can take advantage of the hotel’s free sports equipment (including kayaks, paddleboards, and bikes), while those who prefer more subdued activities can opt for complimentary yoga classes.

Opened in 1932 in the historic Royal Khmer compound, this landmark hotel was the first luxury lodging in the area, catering to well-heeled adventurers intent on visiting the storied ruins of the temples at Angkor. Everyone from Charlie Chaplin and Charles de Gaulle to Jackie O and, more recently, Angelina Jolie have slept within its dramatic, art deco walls. Just a short walk or tuk-tuk ride to central Siem Reap, the hotel, now part of the Raffles collection, features 15 acres of manicured gardens with more than 20,540 species of tropical plants, making it a relaxing oasis after a day spent exploring the temples. Following a major restoration by David Grace Designs in 2019, the 119 rooms, suites, and villas—some set in the original main building, others overlooking the garden or pool—are now a vision of French windows, hardwood floors, and marble bathrooms with Italian tiling and oversized rain showers. Some have added perks like furnished terraces, high ceilings, or four-poster beds. Elsewhere in the hotel, features like the 1929 metal-and-timber elevator, art deco black-and-white tiles, and classic conservatory have been refurbished but maintained.

The large central swimming pool is ringed by loungers, while the tucked-away spa has a sauna, Jacuzzi, and six treatment rooms for excellent, regionally inspired therapies. Both in-house and outside guests frequent the six drinking and dining options, which include the legendary Elephant Bar, the elegant Restaurant Le Grand (serving both Western and Royal Khmer cuisine), and the completely renovated Apsara Terrace, which offers a dinner-cum-cultural dance show three or five nights a week, depending on the season. The on-site gallery and boutique showcase high-quality local goods.

Over the past two centuries, the covered market at Borough, not far from London Bridge, has become one of the country’s most famous foodie spots. From Wednesday to Saturday each week hundreds of traders gather to sell homemade breads, hand-reared pork, artisan chocolate and all manner of ingredients—plus excellent coffee, fresh juices and organic wine. Plentiful samples add to the convivial vibe, and restaurants around the market’s edge provide additional sustenance for longer stops.

Coco’s Cafe in Jasper is a shrine to everything that’s wonderful about the first meal of the day. Java snobs will love the Phil & Sebastian Coffee, and health-conscious guests are always impressed with its locally sourced, organic ingredients. The all-day breakfast menu features a wonder wheel of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, but omnivores need not worry: There are delicious Montreal smoked meats available here, too. The restaurant is probably best known for Coco’s Breakfast Wrap, a curry-infused treat with plenty of fuel for a big day spent hiking in the mountains. If you plan to enjoy a lazy morning repast, arrive early or be prepared to wait in line with the locals.

Light and color are two words that best describe Casa de Las Bugambilias, or House of the Bougainvillea, a bed-and-breakfast inn in Oaxaca’s Centro neighborhood. Every bit of the house, inside and out, is vibrant, thanks to vividly-hued textiles, locally-made artwork and crafts, and, of course, bougainvillea. Guests are treated to a two-course breakfast each morning, with most fruits and vegetables coming from local producers who farm organically and value the fair-trade model. Service is exceptional, as is the location, convenient to some of Oaxaca’s most iconic sights, including the Santo Domingo Church.

Della’s, the breakfast-and-lunch-only restaurant at the Delano Las Vegas, prides itself on sourcing ingredients from local farmers and growers—yes, they really exist in the middle of the Nevada desert. The menu has options that can satisfy diners with all sorts of dietary restrictions: vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian, and more. For breakfast, you can taste the difference that comes with farm-fresh produce, especially in the egg dishes. At lunchtime, the off-menu ramen bowl features a savory mushroom broth with a pork shank, house-fermented cabbage, and a slow-poached egg. Della’s is also one of the only places on the Strip where you can get cold-pressed juice made to order. The overarching commitment to sustainability extends beyond the menu: Glasses here are created from recycled liquor bottles from Vegas clubs.

The three-towered, blue-and-green glass property is remarkable for its connecting, undulating tiered design inspired by terraced Balinese rice paddies and the elevated gardens that seem to hang from above. Designed by Singapore starchitects WOHA, the Parkroyal on Pickering is almost an extension of the green space in front of it—Hong Lim Park—with 160,000 square feet of gardens, reflecting pools, waterfalls, planter terraces, and vertical landscaping. Eco-mindfulness is evident elsewhere: photo sensors monitor light usage, showers are low-flow, sheets are changed on alternate days (less frequently if requested), and rooms have refillable glass water bottles. The property’s most striking space is the fifth-floor wellness area, where cabanas are shaped like giant bird cages, and the infinity pool looks out above the park with a view of the shophouses across the way. The generally compact rooms espouse the Scandinavian-sleek look.

When temperatures soar, the best thing you can do for yourself, and anyone you are with, is to buy a pass to one of the hotel pools. The Riad Alkantara is situated at the heart of the medina and offers a long, deep, aquamarine-colored pool surrounded by a small but lush garden busy with butterflies and warbling songbirds. It’s usually very tranquil, but it’s worth arriving around 11 a.m. to be sure of a sun bed in high summer. Note also that service is painfully slow, so if you want to order a simple lunch (sandwiches, salads) be sure to order at least an hour and a half before you actually want to eat.

In the Ville Nouvelle, the Marriott is another good option and a better bet if you have kids in tow, as it has a shallow pool for children as well as a large pool for adults. Plentiful sun beds, not to mention a decent Italian restaurant that serves cold beers and chilled Moroccan wines as well as child-friendly pizza and pasta, add to the perfection. The Hôtel Les Mérinides is situated high on a ridge above the medina and it has a medium-size pool surrounded by a dining terrace with expansive views. It’s more exposed than the other two, but rounding off the day up here with a gin and tonic as the sun goes down over the ancient city is arguably one of the most magical summertime experiences you can have.

Finally, if time and budget allow, it’s worth booking transport to ferry you out to Dar El Mandar, less than an hour’s drive away from the city center, near the Middle Atlas town of Imouzzer (pass price includes lunch). Perched on a hillside overlooking the Saiss Plains, you can spend a delightful day lolling poolside amid terraced gardens dotted with cushion-strewn Berber tents for those all-important afternoon siestas.

Located on a half-mile stretch of white-sand Ha My Beach, a short drive from the UNESCO World Heritage town of Hoi An (a hotel shuttle can ferry you back and forth), the Nam Hai sits on the grounds of a former fishing village (a temple from that time is preserved on-site), and it still feels like a community. Guests bike between public spaces designed to evoke the high-ceilinged Tu Doc royal tombs found in the region, as well as 86 acres of tropical gardens and 100 villas, each outfitted with indoor/outdoor lounging spaces, king beds, lacquered bathtubs, and alfresco showers. The dining options range from a casual beachside spot to a fine-dining restaurant, and serve everything from Vietnamese and Western fare to Indian tandoori specialties; learn how to make some of your favorite dishes in a chef-led cooking class, or join the kiddos at the Junior Cooking Academy, part of the kids’ club. When you’re ready to take a break, don’t miss the central trilevel infinity pool and the exceptional spa, where the eight individual treatment pavilions appear to float on a koi-filled lagoon.

La Casa de Don Juan knows how to do breakfast. An instant hit when it opened, the restaurant initially focused entirely on the most important meal of the day with dishes like pancakes, huevos divorciados (two fried eggs, separated on the plate by refried beans), chilaquiles (eggs, scrambled or fried with crisp strips of tortilla and topped with salsa), and several other Mexican favorites. Its café de olla—a traditional cinnamon-sugar coffee—might be the best in all Los Cabos. Everything tastes like the most incredible home cooking, and the space itself more resembles a two-story residence than a traditional restaurant. The menu and hours have now extended to include lunch. Opt for the prix fixe menu or à la carte on taquitos (rolled tacos), cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork), or chile relleno (a poblano chile stuffed with cheese and then batter fried).

Located just two miles north of Port Elizabeth, on an 18th-century sugar plantation and working sea salt farm that overlooks Spring Bay, Firefly Bequia has all the sophistication of its sister accommodations on tony Mustique. Scattered along the hillside to maximize ocean views, the four suites and one two-bedroom cottage are outfitted with king-size four-poster beds, indoor-outdoor showers, and rattan ceiling fans that recall the island’s colonial past. Though it’s a five-minute walk to the beach, you’ll spot the remnants of the plantation’s original sugar mill, a croquet lawn and swimming pool, and the hotel’s resident goats along the way. Upon your return, a cocktail in the stone bar, where green bananas hang like chandeliers, is just the thing to ease you into a star-filled night.

House in a restored colonial building, Spencer Cameron Gallery, which is helmed by expat painter Rosey Cameron Smith, sells a mix of art work (sculpture, paintings, blown glass), plus reproductions of island charts and maps. For a unique souvenir, take home some of the gorgeous pottery by local artist Carla Astaphan.

The building is also home to a secluded courtyard café that sells coffee, bread, and cookies, as well as a women’s clothing store called NOMAD. The top floor, which dates back to the 1750s, even hosts yoga classes on Saturday mornings if you’re looking for a good stretch before breakfast.

Why we love it: A business hotel offering upscale comfort and unconventional charm

The Highlights:
- Elegant guest rooms with dashes of whimsy
- A pet-friendly policy
- An on-site art gallery with original paintings and historic images

The Review:
A 10-minute drive from Buffalo Niagara International Airport, this swanky property is named for Frank and Dolly Reikart, a vaudevillian couple who became the nearby town of Amherst’s “first family of hospitality” in the 1900s. A Tribute Portfolio Hotel, it won “Hotel of the Year” from its parent company, JW Marriott, in 2018. The 92 guest rooms and 12 suites blend classic decor with distinctive style. While no two are alike, each one features some mix of wood and leather furnishings; a neutral palette of white, beige, and brown accented by bold blue; and 50-inch flat-screen TVs wired for streaming content. Guests can also expect complimentary bicycles and a warm welcome for pets, though a surcharge does apply if you want to bring your furry friend.

When not in your room, explore the lush, campus-style grounds; work up a sweat in the club-style fitness center; or browse the on-site gallery, which features original paintings by local artist Peter Fowler. There’s also the Main Lobby restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the Fireside Lounge for drinks. Should you be traveling for work, know that Reikart House especially excels as a conference host, thanks to its fully equipped executive boardroom and new Jazzboline Restaurant and event space, which includes a lounge, restaurant, and ballroom—and draws its name from the guitar-like instrument invented by the hotel’s namesake, Frank Reikart.

Among the most lauded hotel openings in recent years, Dunton Hot Springs is a glitterati mainstay, with its batch of former mining community cabins that look straight out of a Ralph Lauren catalogue. You don’t have to book a pricey stay at this Relais & Chateaux property to be part of the experience, however—the spa is open to the public. Make an appointment for the indulgent, only-in-Colorado Dolores hot-stone massage, which uses heated stones culled from the Dolores River to work out your kinks. Then, take a soak in the on-site sulfuric hot springs, which were once a restorative playground for the Ute Indians.

When Philadelphia‘s battered asphalt and noise begin to tire, head for an afternoon at Longwood Gardens, a verdant hamlet 35 miles West of the city in the Brandywine Valley. 1,077 acres of horticultural magnificence occupy one of Pierre S. du Pont’s many estates, including an impressive conservatory that stretches about 1/2mile. Ornamental gardens and topiaries, which rotate regularly, can be appreciated all year round in addition to seasonal illuminations (the Christmas light display is so well-received, guests must reserve tickets in advance). It’s not only the sheer size of the property that draws in visitors from around the world but the robust display that easily rivals the impeccably manicured gardens of Europe. The indoor children’s garden, treehouses, model trains (seasonal) and concert series make Longwood a great option for traveling families.