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Why we love it: An amenity-filled property that sits near all the action

The Highlights:
- Amenities like four pools, a treetop spa, and an open-air yoga studio
- An on-site diving school and expedition boat
- The sunset views from the Bay View rooms

The Review:
Located near St. George’s University, the all-inclusive True Blue Bay Boutique Resort is also right on a marina and just a five-minute drive from the airport, putting it at the center of all the action. Though it doesn’t have its own beach, it does offer shuttles to Grand Anse, which is a mere 10 minutes away, plus there’s plenty else to do on property. There are four small but well-maintained pools; a spa that uses local ingredients like chocolate and nutmeg for its treatments; an open-air yoga studio with treetop views; and a top-notch dive school that offers quick courses as well as multi-day PADI certifications. Guests already certified to dive can take advantage of four dives per day included in their stay, while landlubbers can opt for rum and chocolate tastings, cooking classes, non-motorized watersports, and fun kids’ activities.

When hunger strikes, head to on-site restaurant Dodgy Dock, which regularly hosts theme nights like Street Food, Romantic BBQ, and Cocoa Thursdays. Should you prefer to cook for yourself, accommodations here, which range from rooms to suites to villas, include kitchenettes and outdoor seating with epic views. Villas can even sleep up to six people and feature private plunge pools for added luxury.

Why we love it: A five-star stay that brings serious swank to Valletta

The Highlights:
- Personal butlers who attend to guests’ every need
- A lavish design with lots of marble, velvet, and leather accents
- An acclaimed three-in-one restaurant serving Mediterranean food with a French twist

The Review:
Opened in the spring of 2019, this five-star property comes courtesy of AX Group, which owns six other top hotels in Malta. Beginning at check-in with a friendly greeting (and a glass of prosecco) from your personal butler, everything at Rosselli is top-notch, from the design to the service to the amenities. The on-site restaurant Grain is actually comprised of three different dining areas: Street serves French and Mediterranean small plates, Under offers a more formal menu, and Over, located on the hotel’s rooftop, is perfect for drinks with a view. There’s also a lounge area with a restored fountain, an outdoor pool on the fourth-floor terrace, and the opportunity to book in-room massages after a long day of touring the island.

The hotel occupies a 17th-century palazzo that was once home to husband and wife Pietro Rosselli and Alusietta Massa. The couple’s family story and crest inspired all of the guestrooms, which feature richly colored textiles, marble accents, plush beds, and bespoke Italian furniture. The Don Pietro room even boasts a wellness enclave complete with a private steam room, rain shower, and indoor terrace, while the palatial Sixteen 34 Suite, named after the year Pietro and Alusietta were married, includes a traditional Maltese balcony and working lounge with a boardroom table.

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.

Why we love it: A lakeside resort made for family getaways

The Highlights:
- Spacious rooms with balconies for taking in lake views
- A full-service, on-site marina for boat rentals
- A Japanese-style spa with an infrared sauna

The Review:
Imagine you had a wealthy friend with a fabulous lakeside property, and you’ll understand what it feels like to stay at the Lodge of Four Seasons. At the waterfront resort, guests mingle around the lobby bar—which boasts circular seating, live piano music, and carefully crafted cocktails—much like they would in a fancy living room. When it’s nice outside, they hang together at the lakeside pool bar, or stroll down to the on-site marina and get out on the water. Here, it’s all about starting traditions with families and friends, whether over dinner at one of two restaurants or a round of golf on the championship course.

An Ozarks-chic vibe extends across the 358 spacious rooms and suites, which all feature flat-screen TVs, custom embroidered linens, and private furnished balconies with views of the lake or Japanese gardens. Choose from guest rooms in the Main Lodge and Seasons Bay buildings, or opt for a one- or two-bedroom condo with a kitchen in the Avila complex. Settle in, then head to Spa Shiki, where you’ll find eucalyptus-infused steam rooms, an infrared Himalayan salt stone sauna, a salt-purified whirlpool, and a relaxation room with a fireplace for relaxing post treatment.

Dream about a Caribbean beach bar and chances are you’ll imagine someplace like MooMba, just south of Palm Beach. Here, you’ll find oversize palapas, tiki torches at night, and a crowd looking for fun with their feet in the sand. From its lounge chairs positioned under swaying palms to its extensive list of tropical cocktails, the watering hole is really what an island vacation is all about. To eat, there’s a buffet, with Sunday’s beach barbecue theme being your best bet. Go at happy hour, which is timed to coincide with the sunset, then stay into the evening for live music and DJs.

This tiny hideaway overlooking the sea near Port Antonio originally served as a live-in recording studio for performers such as No Doubt, Alicia Keys, and Amy Winehouse. Although recording sessions still go on, Geejam is now a seven-room hotel, its guests often honeymooning couples acting out fantasies having nothing to do with rock and roll. Geejam’s cabins, especially, are very private, and guests sometimes spend days taking meals on their veranda and splashing in their outdoor Jacuzzi without being seen by anyone but the staff, who appear only when called. Of course, who wants to stay hidden forever when the Bushbar restaurant promises convivial chitchat, an occasional game of pool, and even live music? Not to mention that the hotel beach, in a cove across a road at the bottom of the property, promises four-poster sunbeds and, yes, Wi-Fi.

You might hear Long Street before you see it—this bustling artery is the heart of Cape Town, home to some of the city’s most popular restaurants, bars, and boutiques, all within a few blocks’ radius of the Grand Daddy Hotel. Built in 1895, this landmark building has been transformed into one of the city’s quirkier havens, though it somehow manages to walk the fine line between campy and classy. It’s a spot that’s beloved by tourists and locals alike (don’t be surprised to stumble onto a local fashion shoot in the gilded Daddy Cool bar).

Behind the stately gray exterior lies a whimsical world: snuggle into crisp white sheets in one of the 26 colorful rooms or suites, or settle into a stylishly appointed Airstream in the rooftop trailer park. And speaking of the rooftop: there’s no better place to take in the view of Table Mountain presiding over the city.

Not every celebrity who visits Harbour Island stays at the Pink Sands Hotel. Bill Gates, for instance, has his own home on the island. But Keith Richards has checked in here, as have Martha Stewart and Kate Moss. Since its opening in the 1950s, the 25-room hotel, like the island itself, has been a low-key enclave of the rich and famous, drawn not just by the like-attracts-like vibe (one of the previous owners was Island Records founder and Bob Marley “discoverer” Chris Blackwell), but by its location on Pink Sands Beach, widely considered one of the world’s prettiest. Accommodations are in plush one- and two-room cottages that have king beds and ocean or garden views; some have outdoor showers. Reserve a table at the British-colonial–inspired Malcolm 51 for island-style bouillabaisse and charred octopus salad, but don’t get too carried away with the sundowners. All manner of aquatic activities (snorkeling the nearby coral reef, bonefishing in the shallows, or merely swimming in the heated freshwater pool) await in the morning.

The 29-acre Nizuc Resort & Spa excels in size, service, and amenities. The soothing design scheme blends calming neutrals and natural materials, which recur across multiple interior elements, including lamps, furniture, and tile flooring. Spacious, sun-filled rooms feature terraces and tropical gardens, and the private villas include infinity pools. Staff lead many activities to keep visitors as busy as they want to be; a typical day at the resort might include learning how to roll cigars, participating in a session of paddleboard yoga, or simply trying to choose a favorite between the two pools.

Formerly the 1888 Hotel.
What used to be a wool shed in the middle of a sheep farming area is now a youthful hotel that celebrates the Pyrmont district’s heritage while featuring the full suite of modern amenities. Opened in 2013, the hotel is an extravaganza of wool, which is found in the felted black lampshades attached to old pulleys in the lobby, in the lower wall panels in the hallways, and as carpeting throughout the building. The old Wool Brokers Arms is visible across the street from the heritage rooms on the west side of the hotel. Modern and cheeky touches also abound at this boutique property, known as the world’s first Instagram hotel. There’s an empty “Selfie Frame” hanging amid mismatched furniture in the lobby, and guests with at least 10,000 Instagram followers are offered a free night’s stay. (Mere Instagram mortals have a chance to win, too, by using the hashtag #1888hotel to be entered into a monthly photo contest.) 1888 is also a leader in sustainability; the hotel preserved the building’s original ironbark beams and built desks from recycled floorboards. The minibar is more conscious than usual, too, stocked with Alter Eco chocolates, Charlie’s juices, coconut water, and fresh milk. The best things about 1888 are the little surprises. Even the hotel’s name has a double meaning: 1888 was the year the building was constructed but was also the year that the Kodak camera debuted.

Although The Wigwam is a historic Arizona resort, with an Old Southwest look and feel, the history here has nothing to do with cowboys and Indians, but cotton and car tires. Originating in 1918 as company lodging for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, which owned thousands of acres near Phoenix (where it grew cotton used to make tires), The Wigwam opened to the public in 1929. The property has since grown into a 331-room luxury resort, but its location to the west of Phoenix (instead of around Scottsdale to the east, where much of the area’s tourism development lies) means that it largely flies under the tourist radar. Recently, the resort tried to change that fact, undergoing a major refurbishment in 2011 and launching a marketing campaign about the benefits of staying west of Phoenix. Still, its relatively low rates include amenities frequently associated with the eastern resorts, including 54 holes of championship golf, nine tennis courts, three swimming pools (one with a 25-foot waterslide), and all the expected dining and wellness options. Thanks to its prices, The Wigwam is most popular for conventions and destination weddings—two groups more keenly attuned than most to good value for the money. That, and what bride could resist a venue that boasts 8,000 rosebushes?

For adventures in Old Strathcona, at the heart of Edmonton’s cultural, culinary, and nightlife scenes, book a night or three at the Euro-style Varscona Hotel on Whyte. Historic Old Strathcona is home to the iconic Stracona Railway Station (built in 1908), the Princess Theatre (the city’s oldest, built in 1915), and the Strathcona Hotel (built in 1891). The hotel has wonderfully appointed rooms, an excellent breakfast nook, a 24-hour business center, a fitness center, an “oak and leather” lobby with a chill vibe, and an attentive staff always at the ready with a recommendation for a cafe, coffee shop, or curio store. The hotel is within walking distance of Old Strathcona’s 100+ restaurants, cafes, bookshops, and music shops, and makes for a brilliant base for exploring Alberta‘s capital, especially when Edmonton is hosting one of its many festivals — one for nearly every day of the year, in fact, from the Edmonton International Fringe Festival (August 14-24) to Western Canada Fashion Week (September 18-25). [Flash traveled to Alberta courtesy of Travel Alberta.]

Home of the Venice Film Festival, the Lido is also where you’ll find Venice‘s beaches—Shelley and Byron went horseback riding here back in the day—as well as the Grand Excelsior Hotel, whose bar is often crowded with celebrities during the festival (and other times of the year, as well). If you’re a classic film fan, the hotel might look familiar: Luchino Visconti’s Death in Venice was shot here. The island has a decidedly lively feel compared with Venice itself, less a museum piece and more a buzzing destination, popular with Venetians and visitors looking to spend a day by the sea.

Overlooking the Golden Horn in Eyüp, Pierre Loti Hill offers a spectacular panoramic view of Istanbul’s seven hills. Linger here for a while and partake in keyif—the Turkish art of idle relaxation—at one of the rustic teahouses and restaurants that immerse you in one of Istanbul’s most captivating locations. The hill is named after Pierre Loti, a French novelist and naval officer who wrote his first novel, Aziyadé, after sojourning in the teahouses here in 1876. The novel, originally published anonymously, detailed a semi-autobiographical story about Loti’s forbidden affair with a Circassian harem girl named Aziyadé. The love between the 27-year-old officer and the 18-year-old woman was so enduring that Aziyadé died of a broken heart when Loti left Istanbul. Legend also says Loti always wore a gold ring inscribed with her name. Loti’s subsequent novel, La Turquie Agonisante (Turkey in Agony), went on to win the hearts of the new Turkish Republic, which then named a cafe and avenue on Eyüp hill in honor of the author. The name has stayed, the tales remain, and the view continues to inspire the artist within many. To get there, take a bus or ferry from Eminönü to Eyüp, then take the cable car near Eyüp port to the top, or wander past the Eyüp mosque and up through an old Ottoman cemetery. Avoid going on the weekends when crowds vie for the best seats in the house. Alcohol is forbidden due to the proximity to Eyüp mosque.

Running from the waterfront to Montréal’s City Hall, at the opposite end of a gently sloping hill, Place Jacques-Cartier has been a center of the city’s street life for more than two centuries. It was laid out at the beginning of the 19th century after the Château Vaudreuil, which had stood on the site, burned down in 1803. Originally known as New Market Place, the square stays true to those roots with the many vendors who sell flowers here in the summer. You’ll find them on sunny days alongside the outdoor tables of the cafés that line the square. In December, Place Jacques-Cartier is dressed for the holidays with rows of Christmas trees. Given the name of the square, you might expect the column at its western end to be topped with a statue of the French explorer. Instead, the English admiral Lord Horatio Nelson looks over the city from the perch. Erected in 1809, it is Montréal’s oldest public monument and preceded London‘s column honoring Nelson by three decades. To this day, the choice of hero to honor still causes some resentment in this largely francophone city.