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Opened as the Grand Hotel Royal in 1896, the luxurious Corinthia Hotel has a long and storied past. It was here that the first film was ever screened in Budapest, and the building weathered fires and war before relaunching in its most recent incarnation in 2004. Travelers who really want to learn about the hotel’s history can take one of two weekly tours with manager Tibor Meskál, who has worked on and off here since 1961. Though the original interiors were demolished long ago, the property nevertheless retains a regal atmosphere. Italian limestone, Spanish marble, and gilded molding lend a sense of grandeur in the Grand Ballroom, a marble lobby is accented with swirling golden filigrees in the flooring, and guest rooms feature warm wood furnishings and creamy palettes. Even the leisure facilities skew toward the opulent: the courtyard-style indoor swimming pool is topped with a stunning stained-glass ceiling.

Why we love it: A Travelodge-turned-hip-hotel with an exciting bar and restaurant

The Highlights:
- Mid-century modern design that’s simple but stylish
- A bar serving some of the best cocktails in Boise
- Food courtesy of James Beard semifinalist Nate Whitley

The Review:
What started as a humble motel is now one of Boise’s hottest places to stay. At the Modern Hotel & Bar, mid-century furnishings and a rowdy atmosphere make the property a must for anyone who values good design and even better entertainment. Here, 39 courtyard-facing rooms surround a fire pit that serves as a hangout on summer evenings. Inside, bartenders mix classic cocktails with a twist, like the El Mundano with tequila, lemon juice, Cynar, smoked pineapple, and habanero.

The food is exciting, too. A semifinalist for a James Beard Award, chef Nate Whitley experiments with local ingredients to create novel—and delicious—dishes. Delicata squash comes drizzled with chili sauce and cashew cream, while sockeye salmon arrives swimming in bacon-ginger dashi.

Colombian fashion designer Silvia Tcherassi took the design world by storm when she transformed a 250-year-old mansion in the center of Old Town Cartagena into a contemporary refuge that honors both past and present. Mansion Tcherassi’s seven rooms blend fashion-forward decor (think sparkly gold throw blankets) and original features such as restored stone walls and private balconies, but the vibe is much more understated, with ethereal fabrics, soft colors, and natural wood, in the 42 neutral-hued rooms at sister property Tcherassi Hotel & Spa. You can order fresh-caught seafood and icy raspaos (traditional drinks made with fruit and condensed milk) at the restaurant, while carpaccios, pizzas, and ceviches are on the menu on the rooftop lounge; the Italian restaurant at the mansion extends to a cozy patio facing a plunge pool and vertical garden made with thousands of local plants. After a day spent exploring Old Town’s historic buildings, relax with a Chinese medicine–inspired treatment in the spa, or take a dip in one of the property’s four pools.

In the center of Seoul, the natural haven of Mt. Namsan and its namesake tower rising over Korea’s capital is the focal point of the city. Nestled amid the trees yet overlooking the sprawling urban landscape is the exclusive Banyan Tree Club & Spa. The resort, which covers 70,000 square meters, offers a relaxing respite from Seoul’s frenzied pace. The Banyan Tree is housed in what was once the Tower Hotel building, crafted in 1967 by Kim Swoo Geun—the same architect who designed the Olympic stadium in Seoul—as his commemoration of the Korean War. The Banyan Tree brand’s in-house design firm Architrave has since remodeled the hotel using inspiration from the five oriental elements of water, fire, metal, wood, and earth. The results are a luxury hotel that is equal parts tranquil, modern, and sophisticated—an alluring combination that draws a plethora of Korean celebrities to luxuriate in the exclusive surroundings.

Design junkies will find plenty to love at The Cape on Monuments Beach. Designed by Mexican architect Javier Sánchez, the hotel eschews resort staples like wicker and rattan for a sleeker look that marries mid-century standards with locally sourced furnishings and art. In the 161 spacious guest rooms, leather headboards and copper-leafed tubs complement private tiled balconies with ocean views. The style extends to the public spaces, which include Manta (acclaimed Mexican chef Enrique Olvera’s globally inspired seafood restaurant), a saltwater pool, and a spa that’s cleverly tucked into a natural rock formation.

Think of the Pantone Hotel as a chance to reconsider your color scheme. A sleek concept hotel with the classic white backdrop and clean-lined, retro-inspired furnishings common among European design hotels, this venture from the iconic color company and two of Belgium’s top designers and architects lives up to its name. Bold splashes of the brightest Pantone colors exist throughout. Each room is themed according to its own color (don’t worry, each is identified, so you can stock up on mugs and other Pantone swag in the hotel’s shop) and decorated with original art photography of Brussels in which the specific Pantone hue has been found. Larger rooms combine complementary shades from the Pantone spectrum. The lobby lounge is a vibrant, airy space where geometric furniture and pops of color create an updated version of a 1970s aesthetic that incorporates the building’s original architecture into the modern conceit. Most entertaining of all, the colors don’t even stop at the food: sugar packets are filled with Pantone-tinted sugar for your coffee. Talk about obsessive.

Canada’s first aboriginal arts hotel opened in 2014. Part luxury hotel and part social enterprise, Skwachays Lodge ticks all the right boxes. On the luxe side: plush linens, Hypnos beds (the same as the British royal family sleep on), spacious rooms, and abundant on-theme extras including Spirit Bear coffee (the company works with the Tsimshian Nation) and aboriginal-owned Mother Earth toiletries. The social enterprise part: all profits from the hotel and its gallery, which doubles as the check-in and lobby, go into subsidizing 24 live-work art studios on the lower floors of the lodge. Each room is unique, decorated with custom-made reclaimed wood furniture and designed as a partnership between local Vancouver artists and First Nations artists, including Corrine Hunt (a member of the Raven Gwa’wina clan from Ts’akis, who codesigned the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and Paralympics medals). BC First Nations themes of eagles, ravens, bears, whales, and the sun and the moon all feature strongly in the design.

Open seasonally from June 1 through October 1, Moraine Lake Lodge is, as its name suggests, set right on the stunning turquoise waters of the glacier-fed Moraine Lake in Banff National Park. The lake is one of the most photographed locations in Canada, and the view once appeared on the back of Canadian $20 bills. The original lodge sprang from a teahouse that offered overnight camping at the turn of the 20th century, with the first lodge house dating back to the 1920s. A full redevelopment began in the late ‘80s, with new buildings designed by acclaimed Canadian architect Arthur Erickson. The cabins and rooms all feature custom-built log furniture, and many rooms have wood-burning river-rock fireplaces. The rooms’ design reflects the soaring Rocky Mountains outside, with warm earth tones alongside cozy blankets and deep soaker tubs. All rooms are free of TVs and telephones, allowing guests to unplug from modern-day distractions, although there is Wi-Fi. It’s likely that cell phones will not work here either.

Nicer than your average hostel, cooler than the typical chain hotel—this buzzy hybrid offers hostel-style dorms and more traditional accommodations in a 1930s Art Deco building on Reykjavik’s main drag. Designed by hotelier-owner Klaus Ortlieb (of New York’s Gotham Hotel and London’s Claridge’s), the hostel rooms are simple but smart, featuring metal-frame bunk beds, designer armchairs and sofas, and wood tables. The 18 hotel rooms are much more impressive, with elegant coffee-and-cream color schemes, king-size beds draped in Lissadell linens, and en suite bathrooms with C.O. Bigelow products. Most also come with private balconies that look out over colorful rooftops and mountain landscapes. The old-fashioned lobby and bar area—which is strewn with antique furnishings, exotic wall hangings, and leather sofas and armchairs—is a popular hangout for the city’s bright young things, but if you’re looking for something more low-key there’s an on-site movie theater with a carefully chosen selection of Icelandic films.

A longtime favorite among royalty, rock stars, actors, and visiting dignitaries, the Langham hotel completed a $30 million renovation in December 2014. London-based GA Designs was charged with retaining the hotel’s stately character—check out the original fireplace transplanted from the Sydney’s beloved Elizabeth Bay House—while creating a sun-drenched new look dressed in white, amber, and silver. The new design also maximizes the property’s Darling Harbour views, most notably in the opulent lobby, whose Calcutta marble floor and gold-leaf paneling are reminiscent of a high-end spa. What hasn’t changed is the Langham’s superlative customer service. Guests can request a chartered yacht or helicopter to get to their show or meeting, and arrange a private picnic, tennis match, sunset Harbour Bridge climb, or tour of the hotel’s display of Sidney Nolan paintings (Australia’s largest private collection of his work). There’s even a discreet entrance and in-room check-in for guests who want maximum privacy, as well as an unpacking service for travelers eager to feel at home right away.

The seven-room Tcherassi Hotel and Spa is an ode to modernism set in a renovated 250-year-old mansion. Colombian-born fashion designer Silvia Tcherassi named each room after a fancy fabric (the trilevel penthouse is called the Gazar). After a chocolate-particle scrub at the spa, head to the rooftop Aquabar for a champagne-and-cognac Silvia Royale cocktail beneath the stars. —Milena Damjanov From $432. Calle del Sargento Mayor N 6-21, 57/5-664-4445, tcherassihotels.com. This appeared in the March/April 2011 issue.

Equally summery and sexy, 4th & Ocean has the clothes you want to wear for a Florida weekend...from bikinis, to backpacks, to sunnies. Stocked with brands like Roxy and Billabong as well as up-and-coming designers, this store will fulfill all of your surf-style needs.

On a mountainside surrounded by the national park, this nine–zip-line course stands apart from many of its competitors in the Southeast. Owned and designed by professionals who build courses all over the world (they own a second in-house location in Oahu), the course sends you soaring over streams and ravines in a 2.5-hour tour. It begins with an ATV ride up the mountain and includes three suspended “sky bridges.” Night and sunset tours are available during summer. Equally exciting and even more challenging is Climb Works’ two-mile El Regis mountain-bike trail. Although it’s beginner-friendly, the combination of ascent and descent ensures that intermediate riders will feel the burn, and optional routes that include wood features, berms, and rollers attract even seasoned experts. Climb Works avoids the touristy feel of some zip-line companies, thanks to a company culture based around sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Santa Monica is officially on the map with this spectacular property, the second hotel for the Proper brand after its debut in San Francisco in 2017. Like at the first location, celebrity interior designer Kelly Wearstler heads up interiors and has produced an absolute stunner, drawing inspiration from her own Malibu home as well as the hotel’s circa-1928 Spanish Colonial Revival building. (The property actually straddles two buildings; the other half is a sleek new construction, connected by a courtyard and sky bridge to the historic part.) The 271 pet-friendly rooms feature original Kelly Wearstler wallpaper, vintage lamps and tables, and custom-made sunburst headboards that remind you you’re near the beach. Guests can also look forward to roomy bathrooms, complete with travertine marble, full-size Aesop bath products, and super-soft Parachute for Kelly Wearstler robes.

What kind of hotel might attract such diverse guests as Pablo Picasso and Elizabeth Taylor, Mata Hari and FDR, Queen Victoria and Jay-Z, Tchaikovsky and the Olsen Twins? The answer is Le Meurice. Opened in 1815 as one of the world’s first five-star hotels, this icon near the Tuileries Garden has long appealed to both the posh and creative sets; its ties to the art world are particularly strong, having hosted Picasso’s wedding dinner and served as Salvador Dalí’s Parisian pied-á-terre for over 30 years.

For recent renovations of the public spaces, interiors guru Philippe Starck and his designer daughter, Ara Starck, took inspiration from Dalí for some of the more playful touches (like the quirky portraits of 18th-century personalities painted on the backs of leather seats). In the 118 rooms and 42 suites, designer Charles Jouffre maintained a French classical style, with traditional and antique furnishings, rich fabrics, Garnier Thiebaut linens, deep-soaking tubs, and—in higher-category rooms like the Pompadour Suite—oak floors and fireplaces.