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Housed in a 19th-century French hospital, the Covent Garden Hotel is the oldest and most historic of Tim and Kit Kemp’s celebrated Firmdale hotels portfolio. Opened in 1996 by the husband-and-wife team, it bears a staid style that reflects its early position in the cannon of hotels, which have since become far more exuberant and quirky. The hotel’s muted, pared-back look will undoubtedly appeal to those who crave discretion. It’s not unusual to spot venerable British actors tucked away in a corner, quietly conducting a meeting. This is, after all, the heart of Theatreland—or London’s West End—where a recognizable clientele comes with the territory. However, the Covent Garden Hotel is by no means the see-and-be-seen spot of its media-magnet sister properties, including Charlotte Street Hotel, The Soho Hotel, and Ham Yard. Instead, go here to sequester yourself with a book in the upstairs drawing room, which, with its crackling stone fireplace and wood-paneled walls, resembles the traditional lounge of an English country house.

Why we love it: A unique, colorful property that brings together Italy, Bali, and Grenada

The Highlights:
- Romantic cottages that are perfect for couples
- Daily yoga classes in a beachfront pavilion
- An Asian-inspired spa with its own organic garden

The Review:
If you’re seeking that “shack on the beach” feeling without the actual shack, look no further than Laluna. At this Design Hotel, 16 romantic cottages overlook the ocean, each with an open-air shower, spacious deck, and four-poster bed surrounded by dreamy netting. A combination of Italian, Balinese, and Caribbean styles, the interiors come courtesy of owner Bernardo Bertucci, who served as a consultant for Prada and Armani in a past life. If you’d prefer something sleeker, the hotel also has several contemporary villas, which offer slightly less character but a lot more luxury, including multiple bedrooms, fully equipped kitchens, and private, full-size pools. Villa guests also have access to personal chefs, butlers, and trainers for an extra fee.

Bertucci’s mix of European, Indonesian, and island elements carries over to Laluna’s thatched-roof restaurant and sunset lounge, which offers authentic Italian cuisine with a Caribbean twist. It’s also evident at the spa, where Balinese massages incorporate Comfort Zone products from Italy and guests can practice yoga in a beachfront pavilion. Flexibility is key here—you can book a cottage on a European plan (accommodation only), combine it with breakfast and dinner, or go all-inclusive. Regardless of which you choose, however, activities like water sports, daily yoga, and mountain biking are always included. For an extra fee, guests can also book Laluna’s luxury catamaran for a sunset cruise and snorkeling adventure.

Why we love it: A centrally located stay near Laguna’s best beaches, parks, and restaurants

The Highlights:
- A dreamy setting right above Main Beach
- Delicious breakfasts and daily wine receptions
- A location within walking distance of Laguna’s best restaurants

The Review:
Galleries, restaurants, and nightlife lie just steps from the Inn at Laguna Beach, while Heisler Park sprawls along the nearby bluffs, offering a place to stroll, see art, or simply lounge in the sun on a grassy lawn. Still, guests don’t even have to leave the hotel to enjoy sand, surf, and epic Pacific sunsets. Here, the 70 guest rooms mix modern comforts (European-style duvets, pillowtop mattresses) with coastal style (louvered shutters, rattan furniture). Some even include private patios or balconies, but all feature extras like newspaper delivery, iHome docking stations, and loaner umbrellas and beach chairs.

Following a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2012, the Inn now boasts a more sustainable design, complete with low-VOC paint, renewable bamboo furniture, low-flow faucets and showers, tile made from recycled stone, and birchwood key cards. Not everything is paired back, however, especially the hotel’s signature breakfast, which includes artisan pastries, bacon brioche sandwiches, and bowls of fresh sliced fruit. Guests can also look forward to a daily wine reception, chilled milk and cookies in the lobby every evening, and cocktails at the Pacific Terrace Bar, which sits high above Main Beach. Best of all, the Inn is dog-friendly, so you can bring along your four-legged friend for a couple of days on the beach.

Designed by Oscar de la Renta, who was also a guiding force in the original vision for Puntacana Resort, Tortuga Bay Hotel has 13 freestanding villas comprising 30 suites, each with Frette linens, a kitchenette, and a balcony or terrace with views of the Caribbean or La Cana Golf Club. Hotel guests landing at Punta Cana International receive fast-track passage through customs, pickup by a private driver, personal concierge check-in, and keys to a golf cart for getting to the resort’s Oscar de la Renta Tennis Club, two golf courses, and Six Senses Spa.

The epitome of fine dining, La Marmotte is as sophisticated as Telluride’s mountains are wild. While dining here, you can expect to enjoy expertly prepared dishes like beef tartare with caper berries and lemon, and roasted mahi-mahi, dusted with bee pollen and served with black garlic and sage sauce. Despite the elegant atmosphere, service is always fantastic, with no hint of snootiness.

Goldeneye, to be clear, is not an easy place to leave. The land—the former home of Ian Fleming, where he wrote each of the 14 James Bond thrillers that would cement his place in literary and cinematic history—sits next to the tiny town of Oracabessa, on the northern coast. A warm, blue-green lagoon curls from the ocean around a small island and then lets out into a bay. You can look one direction and see a jungle, then turn around and see pristine white sand.

Blackwell bought the property in 1976 as a vacation home and a space to entertain family and friends but later he decided to transform it. In 2016, Goldeneye debuted a jumble of new huts, arranged around a small cove, a short walk from Fleming’s house and the resort’s original villas. The huts vary in height, designed to capture cooling breezes and allow guests to forgo air conditioning. And, crucially, they’re much cheaper to book than the Villas. Which is key because, up until this point, if you wanted to plan a visit to Goldeneye, you needed to either know Blackwell personally or have the excess capital to shell out potentially five figures on a vacation. (Part of the resort’s enduring gravitational pull is that many of the celebrity guests check both boxes.) With the beach huts, Blackwell has expanded, once again, the ambition of his famous resort.

A UNESCO World Heritage site in a mountain valley about 40 miles west of Da Nang, My Son is a vestige of the Champa kingdom, a culture that was heavily shaped by Hindu beliefs and practices. Built between the 4th and 14th centuries, the temples pay homage to the god Shiva, though the deity is often referred to here by different names. While some of the shrines are partially restored, and others overgrown with greenery or showing their age (many were destroyed by American bombing during the Vietnam War), the sheer scope of the ruins are proof of the reach of Hinduism and the lofty ambitions of the Cham kings.

Ask someone who’s stayed at Number 31, a downtown Dublin house-hotel, what it’s like and he or she likely won’t get past the breakfast: the pears poached in vanilla syrup, Wexford strawberries, eggs scrambled with smoked salmon from the west coast, and slices of zesty cranberry loaf. Such homey food served in a sunlit dining room is part of what makes Number 31 feel less like a hotel and more like the pied-à-terre you’ve always dreamed of. Comfortable rooms and unobtrusive staff add to the urban townhouse vibe; the hotel owners, Noel and Deirdre Comer, manage to be warm and welcoming while also leaving guests to make themselves at home around the peat fire in the sunken lounge.

A wild garden separates the hotel’s two buildings, a Georgian terrace house and the coach house, and the overall modernist-meets-classic design owes to architect Sam Stephenson, who lived in the house as he renovated it in the 1950s. Number 31 is a favorite of Dublin insiders, from artists to architects to the designer John Rocha.

Nearby reefs and big boulders keep Bermuda’s beaches calm and colorful for snorkelers and swimmers. Both Tobacco Bay & Church Bay offer great snorkeling conditions along beautiful shorelines. With one in the east and the other in the west, you could combine a day of snorkeling and sunrise/sunset viewing. Tobacco Bay is located on the northeastern side of the island near St. George. This small cove of calm water protects a variety of parrot, clown, and other tropical fish. Tobacco Bay has a snack bar and equipment rentals, restrooms, showers, and changing rooms. When you tire of swimming with the fishes, dry off with a short walk to the historic site of Fort St. Catherine. Its eastern location makes Tobacco Bay a prime sunrise spot. Located along the island’s western side in Southampton, Church Bay is a local favorite for snorkeling. Tucked into a small cove within cliffs of coral, the reefs are close to shore and offer lots of small hiding spaces in which to discover tropical sea life. Just watch out for the jellyfish. Youngsters will enjoy exploring the tidal pools formed by the many rocks. Forget to pack your snorkeling gear? No problem. You can rent equipment from Church Bay Beach Rentals during the summer months. Sunset seekers should not miss this beach.

Some visitors to Santa Fe are surprised to find this Gothic revival structure in the middle of all of the adobe buildings in the historic district, like a piece of medieval Paris transplanted to the Wild West. The French connection is real—the 19th-century Loretto Chapel was designed by a French architect who modeled it after La Sainte Chapelle in Paris. According to legend, though, the plans failed to include access from the chapel floor to the choir loft. So, the nuns who ran the girls’ school for which this stone structure was built began praying, and after nine days, a mysterious carpenter arrived. Neither nails nor glue nor any visible external support were used in this doubly-twisting staircase, and no one ever found out the name of the carpenter, who left without seeking payment. It must’ve been St. Joseph himself...so goes the legend of “the miraculous staircase.” The physics of the structure can be explained by architects today, but that doesn’t stop about a quarter-million visitors every year from marveling at the elegant spruce spiral. Open to the public as a privately run museum, the Loretto Chapel hasn’t been a church for decades. It can, however, be rented: a spectacular setting for a private wedding.

Balinese people have taken ritual baths in the waters of Tirta Empul since it was founded in 962. The waters are believed to have healing powers, both physically and spiritually, so people come from all over the island to purify themselves under spouts of cool water in the long stone pools. Worshipers place offerings or say a prayer at each of the spouts from west to east. Nonworshipers can bathe, too, and the experience can be very moving (be aware that the last of the spouts in the first pool are reserved for purification after funerary rites). As at any Balinese temple, you must be respectful of Hindu rules and traditions. Menstruating women should not go inside any temple, and all visitors must wear a sarong and sash while on temple grounds, even while bathing. Men can go shirtless in the pools. There are changing rooms, so don’t forget to bring an extra set of clothes. Tirta Empul, 25 minutes outside of Ubud, is very close to Gunung Kawi, another religious site worth a visit.

Puerto Princesa Underground River is set in a protected area of the St. Paul Mountain Range in Palawan. It’s a five-mile stretch of the Cabayugan River that runs through a huge limestone cave and directly into the West Philippine Sea near Sabang village (the bottom half of the river is tidal). Announced as one of the New7Wonders of Nature in 2012, it’s hard to fully envision unless you experience it for yourself. Reservations are required for the tours, which enter the underground river on a small boat. The boatman manually paddles you in as the light fades, the water becomes pitch-black, and you almost lose sight of the person beside you. The boatman will then start flashing his tiny light on the stalactites, stalagmites, and other rock formations you pass. The tour takes about 45 minutes and covers only a mile or so of the river (the inner portion is closed to the public).

Occupying the top nine floors of the Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, designed by renowned Argentine architect César Pelli, the Mandarin Oriental showcases postcard views of Mount Fuji to the west, Tokyo Skytree and the Sumida River to the east, and Tokyo Bay to the south. The hotel also turns to nature for its design inspiration. The property itself resembles a tree, with its entrance at the bottom of the tower representing the base; on the top floor, fabrics and carpets suggest leaves and branches, creating the feeling of a forest canopy. The 157 rooms and 22 suites were designed with such flourishes as bonsai trees and cherry blossom motifs. At the 37th floor spa, a signature “Totally Tokyo” treatment uses pine, bamboo, plum, green tea, and rice hulls to stimulate the senses and restore a sense of clarity. For dinner, choose between French, Cantonese, and Italian restaurants.

Each time I visit this beach, I am enchanted anew. These beautiful sands, sea, and cliffs are exotic. I sit on the sand watching swimmers, surfers, boaters, and fishermen. I watch the birds happily flying around. I stare at the brilliant blue sky with its puffy clouds gliding by. And I gape at the huge cliffs that tower over all of us.I collect the rare rocks with white stripes running through the stone that are unique to the area. This is Castelejo Beach on the western coast of Portugal where there are many rugged, wild beaches. From Lagos, you go west to Vila do Bispo and follow the signs to this beach. The road is rugged and narrow and ends just above the beach with a parking lot. Get a good map of the area at your hotel. Hungry? The Castelejo Restaurant is at the top of the path to the beach. This restaurant serves octopus dishes and other fresh seafood. If you are there at sunset you will be lucky enough to see this gorgeous beach bathed in glowing light. Try to visit this beach when in the western Algarve.

Why we love it: A top Cabos stay with low-key sophistication and activity-focused fun

Highlights:
- Multi-bedroom villas for easy family vacations
- Activities like water sports, beachfront fitness classes, golf, and more
- One of the best restaurants in Los Cabos, right on property

The Review:
Esperanza has become something of a hospitality legend in Los Cabos, so it makes sense that Auberge Resorts’ sister property, Chileno Bay, has style and substance right out of the gate. Located on one of the area’s only swimmable beaches, the resort makes use of its prime location with a water sports center that offers glass-bottomed kayaks, snorkel gear outfitted with GoPro cameras, and more. If you’d rather stay on dry land, the property also provides access to hiking on UNESCO-protected mountain, camel-back rides through the Baja Outback, and dune buggy excursions on the shoreline.

Of course, no one would fault you for laying low by the triple-tiered pool, which winds down like a river to the beach; relaxing at the holistic spa with a salt inhalation room and reflexology pool; or even simply staying in your room. Here, the 60 earth-and-sea-hued guest rooms provide comfort in the way of spacious bathrooms with soaking tubs and private terraces with outdoor showers; some suites have infinity-edge plunge pools and outdoor hot rubs, while 32 multi-bedroom villas include fully equipped kitchens and expansive rooftop terraces with fireplaces. When it comes time to eat, there’s French Laundry alum Yvan Mucharraz’s modern Mexican restaurant Comal, plus a beachside taco bar and a courtyard coffee shop.