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The Beaumont’s 1926 exterior isn’t altogether conventional. The curious, cubelike sculpture on the left-hand corner of the facade is the creation of one of Britain’s foremost artists. Antony Gormley is best known for creating works such as the “Angel of the North” in the English town of Gateshead, but on this occasion he agreed to create ROOM—an “inhabitable sculpture” with a luxury suite hidden inside—at the behest of his old friend Jeremy King.

King, for those not familiar with London’s restaurant scene, is one half of Corbin & King. The pair have been working together for 30 years and have accrued a following at spots including the Wolseley, the Delaunay, Brasserie Zédel, and Colbert.

It’s perhaps fitting, then, that the first thing guests encounter upon entering the Beaumont is a pair of double doors pointing the way to the Colony Grill Room and the American Bar. Both spaces are fitted with decadent walnut finishes, Art Deco artwork, and dim, atmospheric lighting. The look and feel recapture the glamour of America during the 1920s and 30s, and that theme pervades the hotel.

This hotel has changed ownership and is now the Ambassador Chicago.

In 2011, hotelier Ian Schrager reopened the iconic but faded Ambassador East Hotel as the Public, instantly infusing Chicago‘s Gold Coast with some flash. Its Pump Room restaurant was the city’s first posh, post-Prohibition, celebrity hangout (everyone from Fred Astaire to John Belushi has come). Keeping its name but little of the old decor, the revitalized Pump Room has a 24-foot bar with a 12-karat white gold–leaf ceiling and a changing menu by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The high-ceilinged, columned lobby feels both grand and intimate, and it’s now divided into a lounge with a computer-equipped workstation and an elegant library/coffee bar with deep couches and original art, including photos by Hendrik Kersten. Residential high-rises along Lake Shore Drive obscure views of Lake Michigan from the hotel, but drop-dead gorgeous rooms elegantly infuse the pre-WWII architecture with white stuffed couches, bronze textiles, and white sheepskin throws for an effect of lush minimalism befitting one of the city’s oldest and toniest neighborhoods.

Opened in time for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Establishment is a pioneering 31-room boutique hotel housed in an 1890s steel plant near the modern-day stock exchange building downtown. Managed by the hospitality group Merivale—which started as a fashion house specializing in fascinator hats and mini skirts—the hotel is popular among brand executives who book the 328-square-foot Loft Penthouse for product launches and photo shoots. Rooms feature wood furnishings, swinging metal doors, animal hides, and suedelike daybeds as well as such amenities as Apple TV, Bose surround sound, and Lululemon yoga mats. Bathrooms are particularly luxurious here, with marble floors, freestanding tubs, Bulgari products, and tall windows that open up to Sydney’s bustling business district. The best part about the Establishment, though, is the internal access it offers to some of the city’s hottest bars and restaurants, which are housed within the same complex as the hotel. And after enjoying live music and a few stiff cocktails at the speakeasy Palmer & Co, guests are welcomed to bed with Sleep Tight tea and a homemade chocolate chip cookie.

The Spanish Meliá hotel chain took over management of this 40-acre, all-inclusive beach resort in Zanzibar from Kempinski in 2011. Airy, two-story blocks have rooms with huge baths and beach or garden views, and villas come with their own pools. Sheltered by a fringing reef on the northeastern coast of Unguja, Zanzibar’s main island, the resort’s calm white-sand beach has a long, shallow drop-off that makes swimming (as opposed to wading) impossible at low tide. However, the long jetty immediately in front of the hotel means swimming and snorkeling are always possible near the rooms: Golf carts departing every 20 minutes transport guests to the best all-day swimming area a kilometer from the hotel outbuildings. Here, the Gabi Beach Club offers Balinese-style loungers and a restaurant grill. Souvenir hawkers sometimes walk along the public-access tide line, but discreet security staff prevent unwanted solicitation.

This landmark inn has been around since 1936, when it was known as the Hotel Martin—and the adobe homes that comprise the property date back even earlier. Originally built in the 1800s, the structures are clustered around a central plaza that, today, serves as the hotel lobby. The largest residence is now the restaurant Doc Martin’s, named after its onetime owner, Dr. Thomas Paul Martin, the county physician as well as an avid supporter of the arts. In fact, the Taos Society of Artists was founded in his dining room in 1912, and he later bought the neighboring houses to rent out to writers and artists. When the only hotel in town burned to the ground, Doc bought the Tartleton House (the last on the square and now home to the Adobe Bar) and he and his wife Helen opened for business. The property has been maintained and upgraded over the years (most recently in 2006), but the look (Spanish colonial antiques and brightly patterned bedspreads) hasn’t changed much since then—and that’s part of the charm.

Set on two extinct volcanic craters 450 feet above sea level in the highlands of Santa Cruz, the extremely high-end (but still carbon neutral) Pikaia Lodge, which opened in mid-2014, is unlike anything the Galapagos has ever seen. With strict building regulations on the highly fragile islands, Pikaia, owned by a live-aboard dive yacht impresario, was the first lodge to be granted a building permit in more than a decade, and the lodge is built entirely of recycled materials. The terrain, a mix of dry savanna and tropical highland forest, was regenerated with 12,000 endemic trees and grazing habitats for giant tortoises, for which Pikaia created its own private reserve. The entire all-inclusive property is powered with portable Eolic wind generators and soundproof electric generators using clean biodiesel. Despite the ecofriendly ethos of the property, there is no shortage of all-out luxury, from the infinity pool that’s softly illuminated at night, to the cushy spa or the lounge with a 3-D HDTV screen for lectures and videos. There’s also a contemporary restaurant and a wellness center on-site, plus two slick yachts used for excursions to neighboring islands and dive trips.

Straddling Cancun’s sandy beach in the heart of the Hotel Zone, the CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort features 450 re-modeled rooms and suites with balconies with ocean views. The AAA Four Diamond-award winner houses a wide selection of restaurants and bars, offering Argentine, Japanese, Southwestern, Italian or Thai cuisine. La Isla-Pool Bar serves poolside snacks and drinks in a family setting, while Bahia dishes up fresh seafood on the beach. Las Ventanas Lobby Bar is the place to meet for drinks and appetizers and enjoy nightly entertainment, while Las Ventanas Gift and Coffee shop offers “grab and go” and late night snacks. A full-service fitness center, pool and onsite tennis and water sports complete the recreational package. The Marriott Kid’s Club offers entertainment for the younger guests. High speed Wi-Fi is available in rooms and public areas throughout the resort.

Tucked into the ancient, magical maze that is Old Acre, the Efendi Hotel looks out onto the city walls and the sea just beyond. Combining two Ottoman palaces, this labor of love from celebrity chef Uri Jeremias—whose nearby restaurant, Uri Buri, is practically a foodie pilgrimage site—took restorers and artisans the better part of a decade to complete under the watch of the Antiquities Authority. The layer cake of history beneath the hotel includes a 12th-century Crusader cellar, where you should head for a wine tasting, and a 400-year-old hammam, where you should book a Turkish bath. Also not to be missed at the Efendi: the 19th-century fresco commemorating the debut of Istanbul’s Orient Express station, the gorgeously preserved ceilings, and the rooftop bar (be sure to go at sunset, when your drinks will be accompanied by a chorus of Muezzin calls). Though you’ll be tempted to linger over the sublime views—and fresh dates—in your room, get out during the day and explore the surrounding alleys, mosques, synagogues, markets, tunnels, fortress, citadel, and port.

Located in the heart of the edgy Logan Circle neighborhood/14th Street Corridor, the Helix features 178 guest rooms with eye-popping patterns, bright colors, and a minimalist feel. Among the rooms are 14 apartment-sized suites, and 12 speciality suites, such as its Bunk Bed Room for kids and the Flex Room for the fitness gurus. Just off of the lobby, the 60s-mod Helix Lounge is a prime happy hour spot known for sparkling cocktails and its large seasonal patio.

An hour’s drive from Tórshavn, in one of the Faroe’s northernmost settlements, sits the family-run Gjáargardur Guesthouse of Gjógv, bordered by steep slopes and a natural harbor. With its wooden exterior and traditional, turf-topped roof, it practically blends into the surrounding nature, putting the focus on its sweeping ocean views. Rooms here are modern and spacious, with large windows that look out across the valley, and service is friendly and accommodating. An on-site restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner during high season, while a gift shop stocks postcards, ice cream, and Faroese woolen jumpers that make for perfect souvenirs. There’s even a small playroom in the basement for children, though most guests are here to hike Slaettaratindur—the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands, which looms over the guesthouse and its namesake village.

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.

This intimate, 110-seat restaurant has been hailed as one of the West Village’s true gems since it opened in 2008, both due to the chef’s fresh take on classic Italian cuisine and the inviting ambiance the cozy, dimly-lit eatery exudes. An open kitchen grants diners front-row seats to a culinary production with a rotating cast of fresh pastas starring tagliatelle, orecchiette, and garganelli. Seafood also features prominently in the form of charred octopus, roasted cod, scallops or Arctic char. Oenophiles will delight in the extensive list of Italian wines by region, including an impressive 2,500-bottle cellar that also plays host to private dinners. Just be sure and save room for dessert; the buttery olive oil cake flies out of the kitchen every dinner. Don’t have time to make it down to L’Artusi for dinner? The weekend brunch menu is equally divine.

As proof that Dallasites aren’t all about the carnivore life, this downtown market has been peddling farm-fresh veggies, dairy, and more since 1941. What started as a small horse-and-wagon wholesale market is now a 26,000-square-foot hall lined with farm stands, artisan food vendors, and specialty purveyors, plus food hall–style stalls and four permanent restaurants. From fresh baked goods to gourmet cheeses, globally sourced spices to locally grown produce, and seafood to spirits, you’ll find everything you need to stock your pantry or picnic basket. After shopping, grab some coffee or lunch to enjoy at the indoor or outdoor seating areas—the latter facing views of the downtown skyline.

A gloriously eccentric venue, Sketch isn’t a restaurant so much as a collision of ideas, design, food, and frivolity in a large Mayfair townhouse. Its Parlour serves all day breakfast and then evening cocktails in an ambience that’s less Alice in Wonderland and more seriously deranged Hatter. The Gallery is designed by artist and comic genius David Shrigley, meaning that your afternoon tea with one-of-a-kind pastries and cakes come with a side order of wit and a pinch of bitter satire. Upstairs, the Lecture Room and Library delivers a Michelin-starred tasting menu, while there’s breakfast, brunch, and cocktails in the Glade. A trip to the bathroom involves sitting in your own individual egg; try not to be put off by the carpet of red wax oozing down the stairs on your way in.

While pensions in French Polynesia are often touted as overpriced accommodations with no amenities, Fare Pea Iti proves this is not always true. In fact, this family home pension is downright luxurious, with an in-ground pool, well-manicured grounds and a mix of beach and garden bungalows featuring sumptuous amenities and whimsical touches. The beach bungalow is particularly opulent. While in the bathroom you’ll find Monoi oil body products and an over-sized walk-in tiled shower, the enclosed porch features beautiful views, self-catering kitchen with barbecue and mini-bar. In the room, the bed is adorned with tropical flowers and canopied with delicate baldaquin. Moreover, the garden bungalows offer comfortable beds, televisions, Monoi oil tiki soaps, a walk-in shower, mini bar and table and chairs in the garden for scenic relaxing. Don’t miss the fantastic homecooked meals in their open-air restaurant and bar. In the morning there’s an artisanal breakfast of hot beverages, fresh juices, fresh tropical fruit, homemade vanilla yogurt, fluffy bread and housemade jams with large chunks of fruit. Moreover, at night guests can enjoy a 3-course candlelit dinner featuring fresh local ingredients.