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Who would’ve thunk I’d ever tell anyone to go to a strip club? The Clermont Lounge, located at the back of The Clermont Hotel, Atlanta’s oldest ‘adult’ club, is a landmark you cannot miss! The drinks are strong, the entertainment interesting, and the general scene happening, especially late nights on weekends. Having been featured on a number of TV shows, including Anthony Bourdain’s layover, it’s no longer a secret. You may bump into a celebrity or two, aside from the fabulous ladies on stage, that is. Past guest sightings have included Bill Murray, Robert De Niro, P!nk, Carey Hart, Kid Rock, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman and many more. Absolutely no photography.

Warm thanks to the fun and fabulous Hotel Clermont for hosting me while I explored Atlanta, a city that keeps getting better with each visit.

Perched on a hill between the busy Zona Sul and hip Santa Teresa neighborhoods, Casa Marques is an all-suites boutique hotel with unparalleled views of Rio. The French-Brazilian couple behind the property blended minimalist modern design with contemporary Brazilian art, creating a space that’s as sleek and subtle as a gallery. Stark white, rooms are decorated with unique local art and artisan-made rugs. Standard suites feature pingo de riga (floor-to-ceiling), wood-framed windows, while master suites include a balcony and expanded bathroom with soaking tub. On the roof of the colonial mansion, there’s an infinity pool and bar overlooking Guanabara Bay, Sugarloaf Mountain, and Christ the Redeemer. Rates include breakfast on the terrace or in the warm, stylish kitchen lounge, complete with traditional tapioca and Brazilian iced tea. Note that Casa Marques’ stellar scenery means it’s challenging to access—plan on taking taxis whenever you can tear yourself away from the hotel vistas.

This beloved boutique hotel in the center of Tel Aviv is named after Norman Lourie, the South African-born renaissance man who became not only a “one-man film industry” in Israel, according to a 1948 issue of Variety, but also the nation’s first luxury hotelier. It comes courtesy of Lourie’s son, who bought two adjacent buildings off King Albert Square—both designed in the 1920s Eclectic style—and had them painstakingly transformed into a modern urban retreat. Guests of the hotel can look forward to a rooftop infinity pool, a Japanese tapas restaurant with gorgeous views, a lengthy menu of unique excursions, and, of course, the Norman Series—a monthly event at the Library Bar, during which you can catch various leaders (think diplomats, economists, artists, and scientists) in conversation. Rooms here are equally singular; no two are alike, though all feature Frette linens, beautiful bouquets, and homemade treats at turndown.

Near the southwestern edge of Snow Canyon State Park is this wellness-oriented resort, a sprawling 55-acre property filled with fragrant mesquite trees, black lava gardens, and 106 rooms and villas. Stays here can be as low-key as a swim under the desert sun in one of two outdoor pools or an exfoliating red clay treatment at the renowned Sagestone Spa & Salon, but most visitors come for the full range of adventure offerings, from hiking and kayaking to sunset rappelling and horseback riding deep in red rock country. While the “consciously-planned entrée portions” at the hotel’s Canyon Breeze restaurant are all 500 calories or less—with most well under—dishes like grilled grass-fed strip loin steak with cheesy potato au gratin will leave you feeling anything but deprived. As of 2017, the resort is easier than ever to get to, thanks to new daily flights by United Express from Los Angeles to St. George.

The Wauwinet makes the most of its coastal setting between the Atlantic Ocean and Nantucket Bay. Next to the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge, the resort has 32 rooms, plus four cottages with separate living rooms and the three-bedroom Anchorage House across from the main inn. In addition to private beach access and bikes to explore the island, guests can take out a kayak, play a game of tennis, or watch a movie in their room with hot buttered popcorn. A spa offers sea-inspired facials, massages, and body treatments. TOPPER’S restaurant is known for its Retsyo oysters, harvested only 300 yards from the restaurant, and offers transfers to and from White Elephant Hotel’s Brant Point Grill on its 21-passenger boat, Lady Wauwinet. The inn also provides regular shuttle services to the ferry and Nantucket town (about 10 miles away), and outside of peak summer season will drive guests to the village of ‘Sconset in its 1947 Woody station wagon.

A departure from the pastel villas that dominate the Amalfi Coast, Parco dei Principi is a modernist edifice enveloped in tropical gardens and set on the outskirts of Sorrento. The work of famed Italian architect and designer Gio Ponti, the boxy white structure bears his signature at every turn, from the furniture and fixtures down to the blue-and-white floor tiles (each of the 96 guest rooms features a different pattern). Beyond the eye-catching geometry, accommodations are minimalist in style, featuring midcentury chairs and crisp white beds. Even the saltwater pool looks like an art piece, its angularity punctuated by a diving board that sits swanlike above the water. Tunnels cut through the cliffside lead to a private beach, where an alfresco restaurant on the waterside deck serves up fresh-caught seafood in the summer. For a bird’s-eye view of the scene, opt instead for the panoramic vistas from the terrace of the hotel’s Gio Ponti restaurant.

Arriving at Viceroy Los Cabos (formerly Mar Adentro) is like getting a glimpse into the future of hospitality. Linked by a seemingly boundless plane of water, a series of minimalist white cubes—housing a rooftop bar, spa, world-class fitness center, movie theater, and more—rises from the desert landscape like a mirage, the work of Mexican architect Miguel Angel Aragonés. The view is memorable at Nido, a ceviche restaurant that sits under a nestlike dome of twigs. Equally striking are the 104 modernist guest rooms. Unlike the region’s traditional stucco and terra-cotta haciendas, they’re serenely spare, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Sea of Cortez and tablets that guests can use to create their own lighting concept.

The doorway of the Portrait Roma is one of a growing number of blink-and-you-miss-it boutique hotel entrances behind which contemporary luxuries await. Tucked behind an unassuming facade on a side street off the busy Via dei Condotti, the Portrait Roma is part of the Lungarno Collection, a small group of boutique hotels owned by the Ferragamo fashion house. Opened in 2006, the property prides itself on customized service, and each of the rooms comes with a Lifestyle Manager, or 24-hour concierge, who provides personalized holiday management throughout the stay based partly on the guest questionnaire completed before arrival.

All 14 rooms are suites, and each is classically decorated and designed to mirror the prestige of the Ferragamo brand. Rooms are accented with linen, leather, and cashmere, as well as artwork that evokes the beauty and spirit of Ferragamo. Weather permitting, the rooftop terrace hosts food and drink service and offers views of the historic center.

The Aubrey sits at the edge of Barrio Bellavista, a few steps from Santiago’s bottle-green 1925 funicular (which takes visitors up to Cerro San Cristóbal) and just below the zoo (sometimes guests can hear the animals when they’re lying by the pool). Open since 2010, this 15-bedroom boutique hotel is housed between two 1920s mansions built by the same architect. The larger of the two houses once belonged to famed Chilean railway magnate Domingo Durán. Today, the hotel is owned by a Brit and an Aussie who spent $3 million and several years transforming it into its current state.

The bedrooms are split between the two mansions, and there’s also an outside block housing a few pool suites. A cobbled terrace runs between the restaurant and piano bar. The interiors are inspired by the early 20th-century art deco movement and feature statement art deco furniture, printed fabrics, and elaborate wallpaper.

Charleston’s French Quarter didn’t earn its title until the 1970s, when a group of preservationists started touting the area’s historic concentration of French Huguenots to protect buildings in danger of demolition. Opened in 2002, the French Quarter Inn took its neighborhood’s name and used it as inspiration for the hotel’s opulent decor and signature services. Guests arrive to an atrium with an elaborate wrought-iron staircase that rises in a spiral from the ground level and is topped with a large skylight. Champagne awaits guests upon check-in, and the rooms are decorated in vibrant shades of red, gold, and black, with toile bedspreads and damask upholstered furniture.

While it may not have the historic character of many Charleston properties, the French Quarter Inn provides all the amenities travelers could require: a continental breakfast each morning, bike rentals for cruising around town, and nightly wine-and-cheese receptions.

While many area hotels offer a subtle interpretation of Southwestern design (adobe walls, kiva fireplaces, local art), there’s nothing understated about the Inn at the Five Graces. The inn is a showcase for designers Ira and Sylvia Seret’s far-flung finds: Navajo bedspreads, Uzbek and Pakistani rugs and tapestries, iron and woodwork from Mexico, Peru, and India. It’s the epitome of East-meets-West. First opened in 1996 as Serets’ 1001 Nights, the hotel is located on one of the country’s oldest inhabited streets and is comprised of 17th- and 18th-century adobe buildings connected by a maze of courtyards. In 2002, the inn was renamed to reflect Afghan and Tibetan artifacts in its collection and the eastern idea of the five graces (sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste). In 2009, it became a Relais & Chateau property.

The award for most prized piece of Sydney real estate must go to the Park Hyatt. The hotel is tucked directly beneath the Harbour Bridge, and many rooms showcase head-on views of the Sydney Opera House, perfectly framed in floor-to-ceiling windows and doors. In 2011, the Park Hyatt was layered with sandstone and marble to reflect the local Rocks neighborhood, which was built from sandstone in the Georgian period. Carvings, sculptures, paintings, and photographs by eight renowned Australian artists—including Robert Billington and Bruce Armstrong—further connect guests with the hotel’s setting. Travelers get what they pay for here; every room, no matter the price, comes with a balcony, butler, and harbor views from the tub. Guests also have access to the coveted rooftop pool deck—where a sunset cocktail is highly recommended. The Park Hyatt is unbeatable for New Year’s Eve, the Vivid Sydney festival, or really any time of the year.

Owned by Terry Kaljo—a former model and founder of the Contemporary Hotels collection of upscale rental homes and villas—the Medusa Boutique Hotel offers 18 unique accommodations in Darlinghurst, an eclectic area and the epicenter of Sydney’s gay community. The 19th-century home is filled with wacky touches, from red Alice in Wonderland–style carpeting that runs up the grand staircase to pastel-pink walls studded with maple leaves in the entryway. The midcentury-modern rooms—with their retro primary colors, geometric patterns, and vintage chaises longues—attract fashion, media, and design professionals looking to get beneath the surface of one of Sydney’s liveliest neighborhoods. But there’s still the opportunity to relax, as guests can settle in next to the fireplace in the lobby to read the newspaper, enjoy a complimentary pastry, or make new friends. Longtime staff members offer the kind of local knowledge and personal attention that keeps guests coming back.

Chef Cristian Angiolin heads up the kitchen at this Venetian lagoon institution, which is open year-round except for January and Tuesdays. The restaurant is no longer a part of the Cipriani franchise, which began in Venice and has since expanded to places like New York and Miami.

What you come here for is the restaurant’s garden, which is open from late spring to early autumn and is one of the best places in the lagoon to visit with a large group of friends and celebrate into the evening. The bartenders make the best negronis and have an extensive wine list that includes pours from most regions on the Italian peninsula. If you don’t want to be marooned on Torcello Island, come for lunch. But it’s another one of those amazing dining spots with rooms, so that if you do come for dinner and miss the last boat back to Venice, you can always check into the hotel.

The terraced organic garden that steps down the hillside in front of the Stanford Inn (above Mendocino Bay) provides some of the vegetables and herbs for the innovative cuisine in the hotel’s Ravens’ Restaurant. A stroll through the farm, with a visit to the donkeys and horses and llamas, helps work up an appetite for the vegetable-based whole-food meals that raise the bar on all-vegan fine dining. Innkeeper Jeff Stanford puts his ethics on the plate: Vegan for both health and philosophical reasons, Stanford collaborates with certified nutrition consultant Sid Hillman and the Ravens’ chefs to create dazzling meals, including one of the most innovative and tempting brunch menus I’ve ever encountered. The Inn, a large boutique hotel with panoramic ocean views, an organic farm, luxury amenities, and a bookstore and wine shop, gains additional points for being dog-friendly--even in a special dining area.