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Hidden away in the lush jungle south of Siem Reap, the sleepy village of Treak is home to one of Cambodia’s best-kept secrets. In such a tourist-flooded destination, it’s easy to get swept away in the sightseeing infrastructure—both luxury and backpacker—and miss out on local Cambodian culture. But this palm tree–filled oasis of just 10 villa-style rooms has the answer. The hotel is staffed almost entirely by villagers, the sleek modern decor comes from local artisans, water is heated through solar energy, and the restaurant sources its fresh ingredients from nearby farms. Sojourn even has its own NGO, Husk, which works with local families on everything from health to education, providing opportunities for guests to educate themselves and engage with the community in a positive way.

Best of all, Sojourn encourages this responsible tourism without sacrificing a modicum of luxury, from its glassy saltwater pool with a swim-up bar to its custom-made destination dining experiences. The secluded, romantic suites have private gardens, and the decadent spa is the perfect way to bliss out after a day of exploring the dusty ruins.

Lenbachhaus is Munich‘s premier art gallery. It reopened in May 2013 after a four-year renovation of the original building (a late-19th-century Florentine-style villa for painter Franz von Lenbach), plus the addition of a modern wing designed by Norman Foster. The exterior of the new wing features striking, golden tubes. For Norman Foster fans, the museum’s new exterior is iconic—a beautiful play on color, pattern, and geometry. Try to see it at sunset, when the tubes are seemingly more golden, rich, and alluring. The Lenbachhaus redesign marries the old with the new, especially in the triple-height, sky-lit lobby atrium. Immediately upon stepping into the museum, your attention is drawn to what appears to be an enormous hanging icicle, which is in fact a specially commissioned work by Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson called Wirbelwerk. The new wing serves as a “jewel box” for the museum’s best-known works, the “Blue Rider” collection of 20th-century Expressionist art. There is also a new garden and a restaurant with an outdoor terrace. With the addition of new galleries and a bold redesign, Lenbachhaus further cements its reputation as one of Bavaria’s leading cultural centers.

Casa da Música, designed by Rem Koolhaas, is the first building built in Portugal which is dedicated entirely to music in various aspects; presentation of music (concerts), education of music and creation of music. The building was intended to be finished on 2001, to mark the year in which Porto became a Cultural Capital of Europe but eventually Casa da Música opened its doors to the public on April 15th , 2005. I first heard about Casa da Música when I read my travel guide about Lisbon and Casa da Música was a suggestion for a weekend getaway. The VIP Room grabbed my attention right away and I knew it was something I had to shoot. It is a multifuncional space, mainly used for sessions for small groups, installations or ceremonial occasions. The room pays an homage to Portuguese tiles and each of its panels is a reproduction of an original panel to be found in different museums in Portugal and the Netherlands. When you plan your visit in Casa da Música, plan it wisely time-wise. And treat yourself to a concert. It is worth it. Address: Avenida Boavista 604

A multipurpose contemporary art center that opened in November 2011 in the Ottoman Bank building, Salt has a library with thousands of shelves of art publications—the most important, impressive collection in the city.—Sylvia Kouvali

For those of us used to seeing chicken cut into parts, wrapped in plastic, and cooling in supermarket refrigerators, a trip to a local Peruvian market is fascinating and a bit daunting. At the biggest market, San Pedro, just up the street from the Plaza de Armas, you’ll find fruits, vegetables, alpaca charqui (the Quechua source of our word jerky), pig’s heads, herbs, fruit juices, weavings, and much, much more. You’ll see a fair number of foreigners wandering here as well, so for an experience that feels more authentic, try San Blas Market or Rosaspata, both off the tourist track.

Why we love it: A converted farmhouse in the Xlendi Valley offering traditional charm and sweeping views

The Highlights:
- Superior rooms with private balconies and outdoor Jacuzzis
- Original details like stone walls and Maltese tiles in the suites
- A rooftop pool with panoramic views of the valley

The Review:
Nestled in the Xlendi Valley on the island of Gozo, Cesca Boutique Hotel was once surrounded by a working farm. While the original owners were focused on growing cotton, their great-grandsons, who now own and operate the property, turned the 350-year-old farmhouse into a luxurious boutique hotel, complete with 15 guestrooms done up in lace-print wallpaper and elegant furnishings. All rooms feature marble bathrooms with walk-in rain showers and balconies with epic valley views, while superior options also boast outdoor Jacuzzis. Three additional suites even include original stone walls, columns, and Maltese tiles, plus extras like a separate seating area, free-standing bathtub, and decorative fireplace.

Elsewhere in the hotel, guests will find a rooftop pool with scenic vistas and an indoor-outdoor restaurant and bar, which serves a large breakfast spread each morning, lunch a few days a week, and dinner nightly. Should you wish to get out and explore, Cesca is within walking distance of the towns of Victoria and Xlendi, making for easy sightseeing.

Why we love it: A wellness-centric resort with a luxury spa for the adults and multiple pools for the kids

The Highlights:
- An authentic Ayurveda Center for balancing spa treatments
- Three outdoor pools, two indoor pools, and a Jacuzzi
- Six on-site dining and drinking destinations to please the whole family

The Review:
Surrounded by more than seven acres of greenery on the small island of Gozo, this wellness-focused resort offers the ultimate escape from larger, busier Malta. The five-star hotel has 140 rooms and suites, multiple indoor and outdoor pools, and six restaurants and bars, though the highlight is most definitely the spa, which comprises one of the largest Ayurvedic centers in the Mediterranean. Here, guests can indulge in a variety of Eastern and Western treatments, take complimentary yoga classes multiple times a week, or simply make use of the facilities, which include two indoor heated pools, a Jacuzzi, relaxation areas, and a steam chamber.

Standard and deluxe rooms offer ample space to spread out with seating areas, balconies, and marble bathrooms, while suites take things to the next level with sweeping views of the hillside or pools. If you’re traveling with a group, spring for the two-bedroom family suite, which even includes a kitchenette and dining area. Across all the guestrooms, design is traditional with modern accents, making for a stylish stay.

Why we love it: A foodie hideaway from a three-Michelin starred chef

The Highlights:
- A Michelin-starred chef overseeing operations
- Gourmet—yet affordable—fare at the on-site restaurant
- A lovely setting in the Rhine Valley

The Review:
The Rhine Valley village of Fürstenau may officially be the world’s smallest city, but it does boast the famous Schauenstein Schloss restaurant and castle hotel—and, since 2018, this more casual and contemporary option set in the castle’s former stables. Designed by Spanish-born interiors guru Patricia Urquiola, Casa Caminada is, like its parent restaurant and hotel, overseen by Swiss chef Andreas Caminada, who can often be spotted bustling around the property.

Given the hotel’s foodie cred, most guests come for the eats—whether they choose the fine-dining option at the castle or the restaurant at the Casa, which offers similarly elegant Swiss fare at more wallet-friendly prices. Breakfast is included in the room rate and features epic breads from the on-site, traditional-style bakery. After all the great meals—and some bracing hikes along nearby trails—relax in the guesthouse’s garden with a glass of wine, then retire to one of the 10 rooms. While they’re all different sizes and shapes, each is awash in warm woods, simple furnishings, and crisp Italian linens, and equipped with a private balcony that lets the views take center stage.

For those who can’t decide between staying in a historic, riad-style inn in Marrakech’s old town or a larger resort in modern Ville Nouvelle, this boutique charmer provides the perfect compromise. Located in the leafy, upscale Hivernage neighborhood (a short taxi ride from both the medina and the French quarter), Dar Rhizlane occupies an Art Deco-era villa, where 20 rooms share space with intimate lounges, a fireplace-equipped library bar, and a verandah with views of the gardens and fountains. Named after exotic scents, guestrooms feature handpicked furnishings, traditional tilework, ornate bathrooms, and flattering mood lighting as well as a fireplace and some type of outdoor space. Also on-site is a pool ringed with loungers (open year-round and heated in the winter) and a small spa with a hammam (located in the main villa).

In addition to overnight guests, the hotel draws a regular crowd for its cuisine. Le Minzeh serves light fare on a raised platform overlooking the pool; Le Jardin offers seasonal, Mediterranean-inspired dishes along with garden views; and the gourmet Le Mimouna—considered one of the best restaurants in town—features a Moroccan-French menu and glam setting. Also available are cooking classes, which start with a stroll through a local market, as well as services like in-room dining, on-site parking, and a 24-hour reception, which bring some of those “big hotel” touches to what otherwise feels like a wealthy friend’s estate.

A warren of rooms make up this cozy restaurant that some claim is the oldest on the island. The building itself was originally a private waterside home constructed in 1652—some 40 years after the first English settlers arrived to Bermuda—and it has operated as restaurant for more than a century. The name comes from the married Irish poet who lived here and spent his days on Bermuda composing love poems to local women. However, don’t let the tavern in the name fool you: The cuisine and vibe here is haute, and the menu showcases French influences on island favorites, as well as traditional Bermuda fish chowder and grilled meats; if they’re listed on the day’s menu, the soufflés are a must-try. There’s no longer exactly a dress code (the emphasis is on “elegant casual”), but like everything in Bermuda, it is best to err on the side of formal.

Four thousand modern art pieces throughout public areas and guest rooms liven up this Pudong waterfront hotel, which opened in April 2013. The highlight is the lobby’s Glass Murals, made from almost 72,000 mosaic tiles and inspired by local artist Miao Tong’s painting Sound of the Wind. Elsewhere in the lobby, guests will encounter Chinese screens, sculpted furnishings, and bronze tones that mimic the glow of sunset on the river. Rooms have taupe furnishings, with flashes of indigo and lotus-green, and abstract ink paintings of traditional Chinese garden landscapes. Some have hypnotic Huangpu River views. As with many hotels in Pudong, the property is set within a larger complex, in this case the 61-acre mixed-use Harbour City development.

Opened in April 2015, this is one of the newest additions to New Orleans’ hotel scene. It’s also one of the most unique. Set in an 1854 warehouse near the Port of New Orleans, the property pays homage to its past as well as to its Arts District location. The look is contemporary industrial, with plenty of original architectural details (hardwood floors, exposed piping and brick, wall-to-wall windows) paired with Tivoli radios, flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi, and other modern conveniences. The hotel lobby is part art gallery, with a rotating collection curated by the New Orleans Center of Creative Arts, part commissary, with locally crafted products displayed in chandlery cases, and part coffee shop, with pastries from the neighboring restaurant—which is one of the hottest openings this year.

Compere Lapin (French for “brother rabbit” and also a fictional character in Caribbean and Creole folk tales) serves food that draws on chef Nina Compton’s island roots, classic French training, and traditional Creole fare. The result is wonderfully colorful dishes like conch croquettes with pickled pineapple tartare sauce, roasted jerk corn with aioli and lime, and curried goat with plantain gnocchi and cashews.

The Vintage House Douro is located in Pinhão, in the middle of the Douro Region, classified as World Heritage and the first demarcated wine region of the world. Adapted from an old winery, the The Vintage House Douro is a five star, with a sophisticated but comfortable decoration, typical of the traditional farms of the Douro.


With 36 rooms, 5 suites and 2 luxury suites, all with balcony overlooking the river and the terraced vineyards, The Vintage House Douro has a unique location, between the river and the train station of Pinhão – mandatory stop of famous Douro railway line. In addition to car or train, guests can arrive by boat and dock at the pier right in front of the hotel .

There comes a time for everyone on a Cambodia trip when, no matter how much you’re enjoying sampling the local food, you’ll get a craving you need to satisfy. Fortunately, Siem Reap has an abundance of restaurants serving cuisines from around the globe, and many of them are very good. Filling pastas are fantastic if you’ve been cycling or scrambling the temples all day and a plain Margarita pizza is a terrific choice if you’ve been a tad sick in the tummy. Of Siem Reap’s handful of Italian restaurants, I love Il Forno, on a narrow alley off Pub Street, just down the lane from Asana and around the corner from Miss Wong.

The pizzas come piping hot from the traditional Neapolitan wood-fired oven and many of the handmade pastas are made fresh daily on the premises. While some of the products, such as the Parma ham, are imported from Italy (as you’d hope!), others are local and seasonal, like the beautiful fragrant basil. They also offer decent Italian wines by the glass and carafe. Check the blackboard for daily specials. If you can’t get a table, I also like Little Italy on the parallel lane on the other side of Pub Street. The specialty there is their excellent carpaccio and house-made charcuterie.

Purpose-built as the first Ritz-Carlton in the Southern Cone, this Santiago hotel opened its doors in June 2003. When guests enter the impressive red-brick building, they are enveloped in a sense of occasion—paneled woodwork, ornately framed paintings, and staff dressed in suits and tuxes. All the trimmings delivered so well by the Ritz brand.

Tradition is the name of the game, both in service and style. The rooms are classic, with touches of Latin America in the artwork. The bathrooms are a high point—large, decked out in marble, and stocked with indulgent Asprey amenities. One of the most striking design features is the domed glass roof that tops the hotel. The view of the Andes is fantastic from the rooftop, and the best part is a swimming pool, so you can swim surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Service is a strong point (not always a given in Chile). You know you’re in good hands at the Ritz-Carlton.