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With its pristine beaches, emerald lagoons, and wildlife-filled jungles, Manuel Antonio National Park is considered one of the world’s most beautiful natural wonders. There’s no better place from which to explore it than the five-star Arenas del Mar, an 11-acre hotel and reserve that’s set atop rain-forested cliffs overlooking the Pacific and delivers just the right amount of luxury within walking distance of the park. (Just don’t be surprised to cross paths with the occasional monkey, sloth, crab, or iguana.) The rooms on the upper level have ocean views and feature hot tubs on large terraces; beachfront rooms are a particularly good choice for families with children thanks to easy access to the lower pool and the casual Playitas Restaurant. But the resort is also an unexpected culinary beacon, serving sustainable dock-to-dish seafood caught by local fisherman that morning and certified gluten-free options alongside traditional Costa Rican specialties.

On a quiet white-sand beach within the gates of the historic Hacienda Pinilla ranch, just a few miles from the bustling surf town of Tamarindo, the JW Marriott is an ideal choice for families, offering a wide range of on-site activities for every fitness level—think surfing, volleyball, golf, hiking, kayaking, horseback riding, and the list goes on. The kids’ club provides organized daily adventures for children ages four to 12 while parents steal a few relaxing hours at the oceanfront infinity pool or indulging in beachside massages at the spa. Five restaurants and two bars serve everything from casual burgers for picky eaters to sushi, Asian fusion, and contemporary Costa Rican for those with more refined palates. And all of the 310 guest rooms have balconies or terraces with ocean, garden, or pool views, as well as marble bathrooms with oversize tubs for maximum comfort. Spring for a spacious one-bedroom suite, which has a separate living-room area—a great plus if your little ones are early risers.

On a tree-studded peninsula between Monaco and Nice, this whitewashed luxury boutique hotel features 28 rooms and suites with a serenely chic vibe (think crisp white linens and richly patterned textiles, contemporary art and modern streamlined furnishings). A third of the units reside in the hotel’s main building, a mansion that dates back to 1889 but was fully restored and updated in 2003, and three additional rooms designed to resemble ship cabins are built into a wall with direct views onto the sea; the rest of the accommodations are housed in a quiet Italianate structure and a separate edifice at the edge of the property. Cap Estel’s Michelin-starred restaurant highlights seasonal ingredients, many of which are sourced from the on-site gardens. Guests who come to disconnect from the jet-set scene can relax in the hammam or waterside sauna, or with a massage and dip in the saltwater pool, though many guests would just as soon head straight into the azure waves of the Mediterranean, accessed through the hotel’s private beach.

What do amenities mean in the age of the millennial traveler? At the stylish yet understated Alda Hotel, guests receive a complimentary Android phone that’s preloaded with apps to help you explore the city, from the hottest new restaurants to the best shops for Icelandic wool. If your beard needs a trim, a barbershop is connected to the hotel by way of the Barber Bar, so clients can settle into the chair, craft cocktail in-hand. Rooms are sleek and spare, in Nordic hues of gray and white with an occasional splash of color; all bathrooms have contemporary walk-in showers, while upgraded rooms also feature large soaking tubs. Rooms on the third floor enjoy views to the mountains and North Atlantic, while those on the fourth floor have access to a rooftop terrace with city, mountains, and ocean vistas. The Alda is just a few minutes’ walk to downtown (including the pickup spot for most tours) and to the seafront; at the end of the day, the outdoor hot tub is a perfect way to relax and inhale the clean Icelandic air.

Spread out over 45 acres of palm-lined grounds that wind down to Arossim Beach, this luxurious South Goa resort is an ideal base for every kind of traveler. Bon vivants will appreciate the 248 rooms and suites for their high ceilings, marble bathrooms, and views overlooking the pool or adjacent lagoon. Wellness seekers will love the Ayurvedic treatments and yoga and meditation classes. And epicures will delight in on-site cooking lessons that serve as a deep dive into Goan cuisine. For those who’d rather leave their culinary adventures to the experts, the resort offers five restaurants dishing out everything from grilled catch-of-the-day to wood-fired pizzas, plus a few fine-dining takes on classic North Indian and Goan specialties. In late autumn, voyeurs who arrive at the hotel, a popular venue for big fat Indian destination weddings, are rewarded with a parade of hundreds of chic Delhi and Mumbai twentysomethings dressed in their finest attire—definitely something to write home about.

Caesarea, the city and harbor that Herod built, is now preserved as a national park. A walk along its pathways allows visitors to experience the city’s role as part of ancient Rome and its days during the Crusades in the Byzantine era. Check out a concert at the partially restored amphitheater, or dive in Caesarea’s sunken harbor and underwater archaelogical park. Ancient ruins, including the remains of Herod’s palace, sit along the coastline. A state-of-the-art visitor center offers a historical perspective, complete with famous figures presented as hologram tour guides: King Herod, Rabbi Akiva, the Apostle Paul, and Hannah Senesh. Right outside the park’s boundaries, find a modern city with restaurants, cafés, and some eclectic galleries selling wine, cheese, olive oil, and jewelry—plus a lovely stretch of Mediterranean beach.

Short of visiting the iconic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque itself, you won’t find a better view of the whitewashed masterpiece than at this Shangri-La hotel, which shimmers like a jewel opposite Abu Dhabi Island on the mainland of the Arabian Peninsula. The rest of the hotel’s palatial appeal sprouts from a deep appreciation for Middle Eastern tradition, seen in spectacular carved archways, mosaic-tile baths in the rooms, and winding waterways navigated by an abra (local ferry boat). Hop on board to journey to the hotel’s contemporary take on a souk, where you can purchase clothes, jewelry, and other souvenirs before choosing between French, Vietnamese, and Chinese specialties at four on-site restaurants. Four pools ensure you won’t wilt in the desert heat, while a CHI spa provides soothing comfort for those beat from a day spent skyscraper hopping.

In a pastel villa that presides over pine-covered slopes and the deep blue waters of the Ligurian Sea, Belmond Hotel Splendido was a 16th-century monastery before it became a cliff-side luxury hotel at the turn of the 20th century. Today, it is one of Portofino’s most iconic resorts, with 70 sunlit rooms (think herringbone hardwood floors, marble baths, and wrought iron terraces) that have hosted the Duke of Windsor, Ava Gardner, and Catherine Deneuve. You’ll get the VIP treatment while sipping champagne on a sunset cruise aboard the hotel’s Chris-Craft Corsair 36, dining on seabream ceviche at La Terrazza, or indulging in a chamomile footbath at the spa. A shuttle can run you down to intimate sister property Splendido Mare, which overlooks the central Piazzetta and is a dressed-up version of a fishing village pied-à-terre, with 16 whitewashed rooms and its own buzzy restaurant.

A city crammed with ambitious young staffers willing to work long hours in hopes of shaping the country, Washington is a place that works hard and plays hard. One of the newest additions to its burgeoning boutique hotel scene, the Graham—its name a tribute to inventor Alexander Graham Bell—honors that tradition in retro-inflected style. The rooftop bar is a glam scene where the beautiful and powerful come out to play against the backdrop of the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial. The sultry downstairs restaurant–cocktail bar plays on the neighborhood’s historic aesthetic and the Mid-Atlantic region’s cuisine to attract discerning locals and visiting lobbyists. Rooms—mostly suites, of course—are pleasantly trendier than the District is used to, but bold pops of color and midcentury-inspired lines are balanced out by patterned wallpaper and elegant marble bathrooms that add a familiar dose of homey Southern style. Throw in a just-off-M-Street location, and the Graham just might be the quintessential Georgetown hotel.

On a typical day during Mykonos’s high season, you can see why Santa Marina has cemented its status as the ultimate jet-set destination. Megayachts bob in the bright blue waters of Ornos Bay, and a long pier lined with stylish couples curled up in cocoon-shaped sun chairs gives way to a stretch of sandy beach sprinkled with privileged bathers. In fact, the Santa Marina is the only hotel on the island with its own exclusive shoreline. Just steps away, the whitewashed property’s rooms climb a granite hill that looks out over the Aegean; expect a private balcony and marble bathroom in every space. Two restaurants, a bar, three pools, and a first-class spa and gym add to the country-club atmosphere, especially for those who might have their mini-me’s (wearing baby designer duds) in tow: The underage crowd has a dedicated pool, playground, and supervised kids’ club.

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.

For its much-anticipated first outpost outside London, the hip Hoxton boutique hotel brand—named for the trendy hipster neighborhood of its first hotel—chose five 17th- and 18th-century townhouses (including a former mayoral residence) on the canals of the Dutch capital. The brand has a formula that works, but rather than impose its signature style on another city—colonial-style, if you will—the designers have done it the other way around, imposing the buildings’ architectural styles and the city’s aesthetic on the brand. Original parquet floors, beamed ceilings, and wood paneling infuse the midcentury leather furnishings, geometric mirrors, and creatively patterned subway-tiled bathrooms with a Dutch feel, while the turquoise of the canal outside is reflected in the paint. Two rooms have original ceiling frescoes, and five have (non-working) fireplaces. In the ways that count, The Hoxton is true to its brand, such as bespoke toiletries, a scenester restaurant, a trendy bar, and its signature daily breakfast bag with a banana, granola, and orange juice.

A 1920s townhouse in Brussels’ well-heeled Châtelain neighborhood, the intimate, Fellini-inspired Odette en Ville might as well be your fashionable Belgian friends’ pied-à-terre in the European capital. Its older sibling, Chez Odette, a landmark restaurant and inn, is hidden away in the tiny village of Williers, on the French-Belgian border, and when the Brussels iteration opened, it dressed up with all the panache of a newer arrival: a little bit flashier, a little bit sleeker, a little bit more urbane. Its marble bathrooms, dark walls, and chrome accents all feel very grown-up, but roll-top tubs, fireplaces, and vintage decor reveal those homey country roots, as does the fresh, unpretentious cuisine, including the homemade jam at breakfast. With just eight rooms, the hotel feels intimate and private, an atmosphere only enhanced by the private library, a cozy lounge (notably, adjacent to the bar) with overstuffed leather Chesterfields, vintage chess sets, shelves of art books, and a working fireplace.

Modern luxury meets southern hospitality at the Four Seasons Hotel, where the emphasis on service means no detail is too small. Have your loafers born the brunt of marathon city tours? The hotel provides free overnight shoe shines. Want to impress the little ones? Family-friendly touches such as a mini check-in desk, kid-sized robes, and sponge letters arranged around the bathtub to spell out children’s names won’t disappoint. No one would fault you for hunkering down in your plush neutral-hued room, which couples a marble bathroom, complete with deep soaking tub, separate shower, and C.O. Bigelow products, with sweeping views of Midtown, plus one sweet feature: chocolate-chip cookie delivery before bedtime. But there’s plenty of motivation to venture out, including a spa with an interactive aroma bar, a moody gray lounge inspired by beloved Wes Anderson character Margot Tennenbaum, and Park 75, a seasonal restaurant that utilizes ingredients pulled straight from the hotel’s terrace garden.

Inspired by the famous Fox Theatre—the Moorish-style movie palace turned performance venue is just across the street—Hotel Indigo Atlanta Midtown strikes a musical note at every turn. The experience begins at reception, where the desk resembles a drum set and a collage of show tickets from the past 30 years decorates the wall behind it. Guest rooms riff on the theme with accent wall murals that make it look like you’re either attending a concert or starring on stage, but the overall vibe is playful comfort, with pops of green on the quilts, spa-like baths with Aveda products, flat-screen TVs, and free WiFi. If you find yourself hankering for soul food, the chicken and waffles at the on-site restaurant should do the trick, but don’t pass up a drink at the black-and-white bar counter, which looks like the keys of a piano and is backed by a wine display that evokes the inner workings of a jukebox.