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Perched on stilts above its own patch of sand, Sound View Greenport is a peaceful retreat, offering a variety of rooms and apartments with up to two bedrooms. Bright and airy, accommodations come with either shared or private sea-facing decks, which provide direct access to the hotel beach. Other amenities include a pool deck with plenty of loungers for guests to sun themselves, plus a bocce court, putting green, and multi-purpose sports court. For meals, Sound View’s gorgeous seafront restaurant, The Halyard, features gourmet dishes inspired by sea and land. There’s also a charming piano bar, decorated with wood-paneled walls and nautical oil paintings. Adding substance to style, the hotel hosts a smattering of cultural events, including musical performances and educational talks.

The journey is part of the experience at Hoshinoya Kyoto, where a charming wooden boat ferries guests to the hotel’s scenic perch on the banks of the Oi River. Here, tucked away in a grove of old cypress, maple, and cherry trees, the Hoshinoya offers a respite from urban life. Rooms feature traditional ryokan elements, like onsen-style cedar baths and picture windows overlooking the misty forest outside, and the restaurant serves nine-course, kaiseki-style dinners. A few free activities, including morning stretching sessions and tea ceremonies, contribute to the hotel’s Zen-like atmosphere. Guests can also take ikebana lessons, rent kimonos, and book meditation trips to the nearby temple.

At the foot of the Rialto Bridge with fantastic views of the Grand Canal, Osteria Bancogiro sits under the archway of the Bancogiro (a bank founded in 1600) from which the tavern gets its name. Here, you’ll find a ground-floor wine bar serving carefully curated varietals by the glass and bottle, as well as stellar crostini cicheti choices like salumi and cheese, warm octopus and eggplant, and shrimp curry risotto. There are also blockbuster canal views from tables on the stone terrace in front. Upstairs, surrounded by brick walls and vaulted ceilings, the stylish dining room offers a full menu of intriguing, modern Venetian dishes, including cocoa fusilli with boar ragù and a flavorful sea bream fillet.

One of Maui’s best hikes, this trail climbs 800 feet through the lush Kipahulu area of Haleakala National Park. Half a mile from the visitor center, an overlook provides sweeping views of the gorge and the almost-200-foot-long “horsetail” of Makahiku Falls. Continue on past a sprawling banyan, stopping to marvel at the sunlight trickling through the dense bamboo forest. Here, you’ll also find the even more dramatic cascade of Waimoku Falls, which plunges 400 feet down a sheer-walled lava amphitheater. If you’re wary of tackling the four-mile round-trip hike by yourself, know that park rangers offer guided tours every Sunday at 10 a.m. Reservations are available at 9 a.m. a week ahead of time.

Situated in three high-rise towers on the Golden Mile along Eagle Beach, the Blue Aruba complex is home to luxury condominiums as well as a full-service resort. Expect enormous windows with stunning ocean views and modern furnishings in apartment-style configurations that top out at more than 2,000 square feet; most come with fully equipped kitchens, and ground-floor residences have private patios and Jacuzzis. All the resort touches are here, including private beach facilities, two infinity pools, a spa and fitness center, and even a high-end restaurant that offers eight-course dinners. But golf lovers have an excellent reason to venture off-resort: The nearby Tierra del Sol Resort combines tee times on an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones II with sublime seaside panoramas.

With its striking white facades and terra-cotta rooftops, you might mistake Cap Maison for a Mediterranean villa on the Costa Brava. However, this all-inclusive resort set on a former sugar plantation on St. Lucia’s north coast offers more than meets the eye. The pastel-hued interiors are matched by the sunny dispositions of the superb staff, who cater to every request, whether it’s finding a shady spot by the terraced pool area, booking a paddleboarding excursion off the private beach on Smuggler’s Cove, or arranging for the house yacht to take you to the neighboring island of Martinique for the day. Don’t miss the sunset views at the Cliff at Cap restaurant, where locally sourced dishes like reef conch ceviche and passion fruit soufflé are topped off with some of the resort’s house-made rum.

Day or night, the Lawn is a favorite Canggu hangout. With the grassy expanse and mats to lounge on, a small pool facing the beach, a dining area, and a covered bar, this sunset spot has enough room for everyone. No need to jostle for space. Groups of friends and families enjoy long, lazy brunches, lunches, and dinners, the meals sometimes merging into a fantastically relaxed day. If you’re feeling adventurous, try the Balinese-style babi guling pizzetta, or order a bit of everything from the grazing menu, which offers smaller dishes like crispy lemon squid and fresh rice paper rolls to share. The food is a bit expensive for those traveling on a budget, but the variety of dishes and the fresh ingredients make it splurge-worthy.

Le Chat has an awesome view, it’s just perfect to finish the day or to have a long lunch. You can enjoy the view over the 25th April Bridge and the Tagus River to the other shore and maybe you will see a cruise ship leaving Lisbon and heading towards the ocean. This glass cube of a joint—near the National Museum of Ancient Art—offers seats inside and outside on a terrace. Even in winter the terrace is appealing, with heat lamps and blankets provided. Rather than ordering a full meal, share some appetizers like sweet potato chips, sautéed shrimp, and a traditional Portuguese dish, Peixinhos da Horta (batter-fried green beans), while enjoying the fresh air and expansive views.

According to the Book of Deuteronomy, it was from Mount Nebo that Moses first saw the Promised Land. Today, the Moses Memorial Church sits next to a viewpoint offering a dramatic—and windy—opportunity to see for yourself what Moses saw. Information boards point you in the direction of Jericho, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, and also remind you that you’re standing in the center of the Holy Land. After taking in the vistas, explore the church, which, though modern in style, was built over a 6th-century basilica and features some of the most charming and well-preserved mosaics in the country (the animals in the hunting and herding scenes are particularly delightful). Below the church, a small museum excellently describes the history of the surrounding site.

Barba offers a fresh take on fast food, serving tasty items like octopus and shrimp burgers, anchovy sandwiches, and fried calamari, all made with today’s catch. Located on a small side street off Stradun, the shop is tiny and friendly—the perfect pit stop during a day of Dubrovnik sightseeing. Snag the prime table by the front window and watch the rivers of people entering town through the Buža Gate as you eat. Then, be sure to contribute to the restaurant’s growing collection of wooden forks, on which customers from all over the world write messages commemorating their travels.

This 248-room hotel in one of the city’s tallest skyscrapers—Roppongi’s glass-sheeted Tokyo Midtown—offers some of the best views in the city, but the interiors are just as eye-catching. The property starts on the 45^th floor and espouses classic European decor, with four colorful abstract works by California painter Sam Francis, each 12 feet high, dominating the lobby. Rooms and public spaces look onto Mount Fuji, the Imperial Palace, and Tokyo Bay; inside delicate woodwork, hand-tufted carpets, patterned chiyogami wall coverings, a lobby waterfall, and Murano chandeliers set the scene. The hotel proudly touts the most expensive guest room in Japan, the Ritz-Carlton Suite, yours for the princely sum of $16,200 per night.

This family-run micro-village in Valais offers 36 rooms across six separate chalets. Huddled together on a hill above the popular ski resort of Zermatt, the buildings reference the area’s traditional architecture, from the timber frames to the hunting-themed decor.

Have dinner on the hotel’s terrace in the summer, when clear skies afford a picture-perfect view of the Matterhorn. The modern menu pulls inspiration from traditional Swiss cuisine.

All the rooms have balconies or terraces to make the most of the superlative views. Rent a whole chalet to accommodate up to 10 people. These come with separate living and dining rooms, and wellness areas (sauna, massage room) as well as open fireplaces.

The Ritz-Carlton conjured true Viennese grandeur by occupying not one, but four former 19th-century palaces along the Ringstraße for its first Austrian location. Upon entering, guests will be suitably impressed by the beautifully ornate ceiling of the Melounge Lobby Lounge, where they can enjoy a light meal, tea, cocktails, and sweets. Rooms face either a courtyard or out to the city, and all offer plush beds and marble baths. All suites have a terrace or balcony from which to look out on this magical city. The extravagance reaches new heights with the incredible views from the Atmosphere Rooftop Bar, where stylish locals and visitors mingle. During the holiday season, it turns into the city’s most elevated and most exclusive Christmas market.

A Swiss sojourn wouldn’t be complete with gorging on a plate, or five, of Raclette. For the best, head to the fairytale-esque Château de Villa, which sits on the mountainside in Sierre. Here, the house special consists of five cheeses from surrounding towns, each offering a subtly different flavor. Order it and you’ll get a map showing where each cheese is made, which you can study while your mustachioed waiter heats huge wheels of cheese until they bubble, then scrapes gooey portions onto your plate. Be sure to also order some wine, like the locally made La Petite Arvine, a gentle white that pairs perfectly with Raclette. Afterward, duck into the stunning wine cellar, where a local expert can guide you through Switzerland’s best bottles.

What was once a pop-up bar, The Broken Shaker is now a permanent fixture at the Freehand Miami. The James Beard Award-nominated bar is located in the high-end hostel on South Beach serving up a selection of handcrafted cocktails. The bar itself is a tiny room by the pool with a 1950s Havana look. You can grab your cocktail—made with elixirs, syrups and infusions using herbs and spices from the onsite garden—and drink it in the bar, or head outside to the pool and nestle into one of the lounge chairs. Away from the hustle and bustle of South Beach, The Broken Shaker offers a more intimate setting than the lavish pools at high-end hotels in the area.