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Just 90 minutes south of Guadalajara, the colonial town of Tapalpa is an alpine refuge nestled in the Sierra Madre Mountains. A designated pueblo mágico (magic town), it’s home to a picturesque plaza, where artists often congregate to sell handmade wool and pine needle crafts. Spend the day discovering the restaurants, churches, and historic buildings around the plaza, or explore the lakes, streams, and forests in the surrounding countryside.

Few call this restaurant by its actual long and somewhat odd name, preferring simply Happy Valley Dim Sum or Dim Sum in Happy Valley. Look for the green retro sign with the words Dim Sum running vertically in gold under big red Chinese characters. This cozy 1950s-style Shanghai café—with snug wooden booths under old movie posters—serves some of the best dim sum in Hong Kong. Order from a menu that includes lots of vegetarian options as well as panfried shrimp and chive dumplings, lobster and shrimp dumplings, and fried rice rolls with soy sauce.

Holy Steak House is run by Thierry and Bénédicte Sauvage, who also own the popular Restaurant Le Coco in Punaauia on Tahiti. Located in Haapiti, this Moorea restaurant boasts unique, contemporary decor indoors—we love the mix of floor-to-ceiling windows and wood-beamed ceiling with modern chandeliers. The varied menu changes monthly, though you can, of course, expect excellent steaks. An elegant outdoor wine bar, with comfortable chairs and water views, has a strong wine (and cocktail) list, with vintages from around the world. Free shuttle service runs to and from a number of resorts, including the Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa and the Hôtel Hibiscus. Reservations suggested.

The Heron’s Cove is a special little spot on a small inlet in Goleen on the coast in West Cork, with harbor views and an outdoor terrace for pre- or post-dinner drinks. The harborside location also gives it access to freshly caught seafood—though steaks, duck, and lamb also feature on the menu. The restaurant is open from May to August and by prebooking for April or September. The restaurant is also a B&B, making it the ideal peaceful base for exploring the area.

Set on a hill some 2,000 feet above Papeete, with impossible views of the sea and Moorea beyond, O Belvédère is the place locals take visitors for thrilling sunsets and good food. The restaurant and bar have the air of a tree house—the outdoor terrace is even built around the trunk of a tree. An inviting swimming pool on the hill below and occasional live music add to the already strong appeal. Arrange for a 5 p.m. pickup from your hotel to reach the restaurant in time for a celebratory sundown cocktail. The fondue is highly recommended.

Irene, a bright and colorful restaurant at the Hotel Savoy, is great for lunch on the sunny bistro terrace outside or for a nightcap sipped on a velvet banquette at the bar inside. The kitchen turns out traditional Tuscan cuisine with surprising modern touches: The classic tomato-and-bread pappa al pomodoro comes stuffed inside ravioli, and the vitello tonnato (veal with tuna-caper sauce) is topped with ribbons of shaved fennel and served with the sauce on the side. On Sundays, the popular “Lunch at Nonna’s” menu is a loving nod to the restaurant’s namesake. Pre- or post-dinner, grab a seat on the terrace, overlooking Piazza della Repubblica, to enjoy wines served in retro-style carafes and bubbly poured into 1950s coupe glasses.

A short drive north of the South Island town of Oamaru, Riverstone Kitchen is often lauded as one of New Zealand’s best regional restaurants. The stylish dining room is anchored by a robust fireplace crafted from local river stones, and much of the seasonal menu is crafted from the restaurant’s own organic orchards and gardens. A more relaxed café ambience for daily breakfast and lunches segues to a more formal mood at dinner from Thursdays to Saturdays, and the savvy drink list includes wines from the nearby Waitaki Valley as well as small-batch beers from around New Zealand. Ask if any of the excellent Belgian-style farmhouse ales from Oamaru’s Craftwork Brewery are available.

One of the most romantic hideouts on Bonaire, La Balandra is designed to make you feel like you’re dining on an old Spanish ship when, in fact, you’re ensconced in the Harbour Village Beach Club. Cruise passengers have two options here: Pay an approximately $50 resort fee that includes a credit toward the restaurant, but also gives you access to the private beach, lounge chairs, dive shop and other facilities—or go for the restaurant only. Either way, call ahead to reserve (599-717-7500).

This refined 28-acre resort set in the rolling hills between downtown Sonoma and downtown Napa makes guests feel relaxed the moment they check in. The vistas are unobstructed from the resort’s pool areas, and many of the property’s 94 stand-alone cottages with private balconies and six private homes offer views of the open space, too. By day, lawn games are usually underway on the grassy expanse called the Town Square, while in the evenings, a pavilion provides an unparalleled backdrop for stargazing. This is a hotel that values fresh air, as evidenced by the walls in the common areas, which retract to bring the outdoors in. There are other reasons to fall in love with Carneros—namely, the on-site restaurants. The casual Boon Fly Café is famous for breakfasts, with spicy bacon Bloody Mary drinks and tiny made-to-order doughnuts. FARM, on the other hand, is more formal, with menu items such as braised oxtail terrine and smoked Sonoma duck breast. While the hotel offers in-room massages, it will also reopen its spa after a full-scale renovation later in 2018.

The Harvest Table opened Harvest Inn in 2015, and it quickly became one of the go-to spots in St. Helena. One of the main reasons: unpretentious food at reasonable prices. The 110-seat restaurant has a large horseshoe-shaped bar that serves upscale pub food, California style. Burgers are thick and juicy, and the fish and chips are crispy and light. The rest of the dinner menu is filled with hearty fare such as braised short ribs and grilled pork chops. Since its debut, the restaurant has launched its own beer program and now bottles microbrews, too. If you go, be sure to scan the crowd around you. Harvest Table has become the backdrop for many a business deal, and you never know which winery owner might be sitting nearby.

Hand-poured coffee is a fairly new trend in Mexico City, and it’s only recently that coffee shops featuring amazing local roasters are starting to pop up. I live right down the street from this tiny café with a few outdoor tables, and the guys who opened it—a group of architects who work in the studio behind the shop—are now my friends. Their taste is impeccable; everything from the design of the to-go cups, to the architect’s journals on sale, to the line up for their weekly event series is done with care and attention to detail. Make sure to try one of Carlos’ incredible pastries (more like something you’d expect to find in a high-end restaurant than a coffee bar) with your hand pour.

With its own shuttle flight service from St. Lucia and Barbados and an unbeatable location on one of the Caribbean’s most picturesque stretches of sand, Bequia Beach Hotel is an island unto itself. The 10-acre property, easily Bequia’s most luxurious, also includes a spa, two swimming pools, two restaurants, and a canvas-tented bar on nearby Princess Margaret Beach, plus 56 individually appointed rooms and suites furnished in an eclectic, island-chic style (think red four-poster beds, wicker armchairs, and palm-accented throw pillows). Adventurous types can take advantage of the hotel’s free sports equipment (including kayaks, paddleboards, and bikes), while those who prefer more subdued activities can opt for complimentary yoga classes.

With 394 rooms, there’s nothing understated about St. Kitts Marriott Resort. What it lacks in intimacy, however, the hotel makes up for in fun amenities, like umbrella-shaded chaises perched on the golden sands of North Frigate Beach, and a meandering pool that resembles a lazy river. On the grounds you’ll also find an 18-hole championship golf course, volleyball nets on the beach, and a 15,000-square-foot spa that uses local botanicals like jasmine and frangipani in its treatments. When you need to get out of the sun, there are eight restaurants serving local specialties and global favorites, as well as a lively casino.

A classic Plaka hotel close to Syntagma Square, the Electra Palace checks all the boxes for convenient location, rooftop restaurant overlooking the Acropolis, comfortable rooms, plus niceties like a gym, spa, and pool. Spacious suites feature views of the Parthenon, marble bathrooms with Jacuzzi tubs, and handwoven carpets. A Greek breakfast buffet is served in the downstairs garden, and drinks and food are served all day on the fifth-floor rooftop. Hydrating facials, body wraps, and Cretan olive oil massages are given at the spa, which also has a heated indoor pool and jacuzzi. For spring and summer visitors, an afternoon at the outdoor pool overlooking the city’s monuments and neoclassical archicture is practically a requirement.

On the west side of Arenal Volcano, this 900-acre tropical reserve was a labor of love for owner and architect Jaime Mikowski, who spent years planting acres of native plants and coaxing the land’s natural mineral springs into a river that now flows throughout the property, spilling over into dozens of waterfalls and pools that range from 72 to 105 degrees. Spacious rooms have marble floors and streamlined furnishings; splurge on a suite, which features a private terrace and a Jacuzzi tub—a little superfluous considering all the other options for soaking in warm water here, but who’s complaining? There are also five swimming pools, one with a swim-up bar and waterslide, and a spa comprising 12 bungalows with treatments that all include, you guessed it, a dip in a thermal spring-fed tub. While the property is also open to day trippers, guests of the resort have exclusive access to Shangri-La Gardens, an adults-only lounge area with pools, cabanas, and a folliage-filled bar.