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Nothing says Santorini like an aqua-blue infinity pool, and Katikies has three of them—all the better to take in westward-facing sunset views. Carved out of the cliff side 300 feet above the Aegean, the hotel’s public spaces are connected by a series of bridges and Escher-esque stairways as they descend from the town of Oia above it. Cube-shaped rooms and suites are minimalist but inviting, nearly every surface painted or clothed in calming white; all have verandas, while a few large suites have outdoor plunge pools or Jacuzzi tubs and alfresco seating areas. Upon check-in, guests are given cell phones to summon 24/7 service from anywhere on the property. They use them to order light snacks at the poolside bar and restaurant or make reservations for some of the best sushi on the island at the champagne bar, but the candlelit rooftop restaurant—serving Greek and Anatolian cuisine—is about as romantic as it gets.

Most London hotels can’t claim to have a bowling alley in the basement. But then Ham Yard isn’t most hotels. The new address, opened in June 2014, also features a 190-seat cinema with Dolby surround sound, a spa with its own Hypoxic Studio for high-altitude training, a roof terrace with a full vegetable garden, and a karaoke bar curated by Lucky Voice. Ham Yard is the eighth opening for Firmdale Hotels, the chain run by husband-and-wife team Tim and Kit Kemp. Tim brings business brains to the partnership, while Kit handles the interior design. It’s this aspect for which the brand is best known, and Ham Yard is the most exuberant of Kit’s colorful creations. Kit has filled the space with her trademark mismatched fabrics and art works sourced from the likes of Shilo Engelbrecht. Curious touches, such as light installations from cult-creator Gods Own Junkyard, lend the hotel an idiosyncratic edge. The unusual name derives from the Soho square in which the hotel stands. Ham Yard’s emergence has not only created London’s hottest new opening, but also a courtyard space where locals come to sit and linger at the hotel’s partner shops, including Brazilian beachwear brand Frescobol Carioca and a Press London juice bar.

This iconic bar sits on stilts above the sea at the Hotel Bakoua in the sultry resort area of Trois-Ilets, just across the Bay of Fort-de-France from the island’s capital city. People don’t come here for the drinks (stronger and better can easily be had elsewhere). They don’t come for the snackfood, or to ogle the topless beauties on the shore either (okay, perhaps a few are attracted by the latter). No, instead they come for the vibrant sunshine, the spectacular views across the Bay, and the soothing sea current that massages those who wade into the waters surrounding the bar.

Three 17th-century gabled homes were connected to create Antwerp’s quirkiest hotel, De Witte Lelie. Owners Ann and Bart Busschop stocked 11 rooms with such personal touches as paintings by the hotel’s night receptionist. Grab a drink at the diminutive Bronze Bar, or sink into a leopard-print couch in the lobby near the chess set. The hotel arranges tours with Tanguy Ottomer, the city’s most prominent personal shopper. From $307. 32/(0) 3-226-1966. This appeared in the October 2013 issue.

The fourth hotel from continually growing LA-based chain Palisociety, this 49-room boutique property celebrates its 1920s-era roots with a design that maintains original Art Deco details. Its location in Culver City also brings attention to a sleepy, untouristed enclave stepped in cinematic history. Rooms mix wood paneling with jewel tones, plaid, and comfy floral chairs, and some have French doors that open onto the hotel’s inner courtyard. Classic and contemporary art is carefully selected and intentionally placed, while retro details like rotary dial phones on the desks complete the Golden Age ambience. Amenities include oversized robes, a mini bar stocked with local snacks, and in-room tablets featuring curated neighborhood guides, room service, and more.

As a former Renoite, I now get to enjoy playing tourist when I return, which includes staying at a hotel-casino. For my money, the Atlantis is one of the best choices in town. It’s located a bit south of downtown, very close to the aiport and far away from the traffic chaos that festival weekends can bring. The decor theme is a surreal fantasy undersea wonderland, as befits the Atlantean name. Toucan Charlie’s is my favorite hotel buffet, setting out a particularly extravagant spread for holiday brunches and dinners. Guests get full access to the tropical-themed indoor atrium pool, hot tub, and outdoor pools. They’ve even made the skyway to the parking lot an attraction, packed with video slots, a sushi bar, and an oyster bar. As shown here, however, the hotel’s rooms are understated and peaceful, far enough from the noisy racket of the main casino floor to get a good night’s sleep.

Tastemakers and A-listers abound at this East Village mainstay, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2017. Travelers feel like insiders the moment they slip through the door, thanks to over-the-top service, celeb sightings, and a lobby design that recalls salon parties of bygone eras. The cool factor only continues upon check-in, when guests receive metal room keys linked to lavish, oversized red tassels. Each of the 135 rooms offers visitors a mix of lived-in comfort and luxurious detail, with everything from mohair-upholstered chairs, Turkish Oushak rugs, and hardwood floors to iPod stereos, hi-def televisions, and marble bathrooms with deep-soaking tubs. When hunger hits, guests can head downstairs for authentic Italian plates at Gemma and a nightcap at the Lobby Bar, a lower Manhattan staple known for its timeless ambiance and clever riffs on cocktail classics.

Amsterdam isn’t known for great service, but this casual restaurant inside the Kimpton De Witt hotel is a welcome exception. In the spacious, modern dining room, the friendly, attentive staff serves up an international menu that particularly excels at wood-fired dishes, including octopus, swordfish, and steaks. An American-style Sunday brunch includes chicken and waffles, avocado toast, and unlimited Bloody Marys and Mimosas.

Situated oceanfront on Collins Avenue in the shadow of The Setai (South Beach’s tallest and most expensive hotel), Townhouse is a humble Art Deco concrete building trimmed in red with two very cool venues hidden inside, a subterranean ramen lounge and a laidback rooftop bar. K. Ramen. Burger. Beer excels in all of its eponymous categories and also serves delightful poke bowls and chicken wings, while The Cape is a surprisingly rare rooftop perch in South Beach with a laidback bungalow atmosphere playing host to live music.

Why we love it: A hip hotel known for its art, après-ski scene, and A-plus rooms

The Highlights:
- Homey yet luxurious guest rooms
- A lively après-ski scene
- An outdoor pool and two hot tubs

The Review:
Stepping into the Limelight’s lobby, you’ll feel as if you’re entering a hip bar and lounge rather than the hotel’s staging zone. During après-ski, local musicians play here, entertaining a relatively young crowd of 20-, 30-, and 40-somethings who gather on sleek banquettes surrounding the central flagstone fireplace. Overhead, an assembly of rustic wood and neon lights turns the ceiling into an art installation. For more art, explore the hotel’s ground floor, where the 23 major artworks were commissioned from such artists as Ed Ruscha and Raymond Pettibon, who riffed on the theme of topography (a fitting subject, given that many of the hotel’s 99 rooms and suites feature views of 9,151-foot Bald Mountain).

A sprawling, Euro-style breakfast buffet (the yogurt bar alone should win awards) is served in The Lounge, which doubles as the hotel’s main venue for après and dinner. Snack on pizza with the option of gluten-free crust, or follow a kale salad with bison meatballs and house-made ricotta gnudi sauced with wild mushrooms. The on-site ski and bike shop, Four Mountain Sports, lets guests get outfitted without schlepping all over town. Just don’t forget to pack a swimsuit—surrounded by pine-covered peaks, the hotel’s pool and two hot tubs are happening spots after skiing and hiking among the surrounding peaks.

The Madinat Jumeirah hotel’s Pierchic restaurant sits at the end of a private pier, facing the famous sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel. Redesigned in 2014 with a stunning Swarovski-crystal chandelier over the bar, Pierchic is one of the city’s most romantic dining rooms. For intimate drinks, get a table in the separate bar “pod” over the water. The menu focuses on seafood and manages to be elegant without being fussy. The setting alone makes it worth the trip (and the price) If you want to have dinner, make sure to book well in advance..

This tiny Venetian bacaro (bar) is so popular that many of its patrons don’t even make it inside. Instead, they cluster around the entrance drinking wine. Sample cicchetti (bar snacks) that the locals come for, especially the meatballs.

Given how popular it is, your best bet at getting in is to go at lunch or just before closing. It’s an excellent option for a full meal or just a few snacks, depending on how hungry you are.

This hotel is on our list of The 11 Best Hotels in Chicago.

Set directly across from the Art Institute of Chicago, this former members-only men’s gymnasium is now the Chicago Athletic Association, which is part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection. Enter at street level off Michigan Avenue and walk toward the back to find a staircase that leads to the old swimming pool, now a venue for parties and pop-up concepts. Take the nearby elevator to the restaurant, Cindy’s, easily the best rooftop scene in the city, with highly Instagrammable terrace views overlooking Millennium Park, the swooping Frank Gehry–designed bandshell, and Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate (aka the Bean).

Park yourself in the second-floor lobby and hang with locals as they tap away on their laptops and sip lattes by the two oversize fireplaces. Walk through that expansive by Roman & Williams–designed room, where light beams in through ornate stained-glass windows, and you enter a warren of table games and darts, all festive and typically open to the public. There’s also the secret six-seat bar, the Milk Room, a relic of Prohibition, and the James Beard Award–winning Cherry Circle Room—a sexy, dark restaurant with a circulating martini cart and a meat-centric menu.

Upstairs in the 1893 landmark, 240 guest rooms reflect the building’s former life, with gym horses as foot beds, working fireplaces in some rooms, plasterwork ceilings, ornate carved wood wainscotting, and a clubby vibe. Some of the rooms are rather small, but the location is hard to beat, and the cozy, wintry ambiance makes it a popular (and fun) place to spend a weekend. And because the CAA keeps an eye on its water conservation, sources its food locally, and adheres to strict recycling standards, eco-conscious travelers can feel good sleeping here.

After a five-year, $30 million renovation, The Adelphi is Saratoga’s grande dame once more. Housed in a stately building from 1877, the hotel takes its design cues from the Victorian era, featuring everything from ornate wall moldings to brass lighting fixtures and tufted-leather headboards. Modern conveniences also abound, including hidden storage cabinetry and marble bathrooms with freestanding tubs and glass showers. Downstairs, carved horseheads at Morrissey’s bar are the only reference to Saratoga’s racing heritage, but the area’s farmers get their due at the Blue Hen, the hotel’s farm-to-table brasserie, and Salt + Char, its rustic-chic steakhouse.

Resting amid verdant gardens overlooking eastern Crete’s Mirabello Bay, the five-star Elounda Mare Hotel is a family-run Relais & Chateau property that feels like a stylish cocoon—no wonder it has entertained everyone from Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio to Kathleen Turner and Lady Gaga. Designed in the manner of Cretan mansions, the 92-unit resort makes generous use of stone and timber, with warm shades of white and red splashed throughout; balconies or terraces and full-length windows look out on the sapphire Aegean, and bungalows and suites include private pools and fireplaces. While the hotel itself has three restaurants and a bar on site, guests have access to five other restaurants and three additional bars spread among two sister properties, which are separated by olive groves but reachable via golf-cart shuttles. Chances are good that you’ll spend your days sunbathing on the private sandy beach or near the salt-water pool, but guests can also arrange to use shared facilities, like the spa and nine-hole golf course.