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Towering palms and a true Scottsdale vibe greet guests of the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, located in northern Scottsdale. Families will love features like the Adventure Water Park, which has a lazy river perfect for floating on a sunny day, a water slide, and even a spot to do some desert-style surfing on the FlowRider. A kid-friendly light show takes place seasonally at night, and the projection onto the hotel makes the building look like it has come to life. For the grown-ups, the property is an even better place to play. By day, go for a round of golf on the award-winning links, lounge at the adults-only pool, or enjoy a massage at Agave, the Arizona Spa (the namesake plant, native to the area, is used in many of the treatments). By night, choose from four on-site dining options—not including cozy in-room bites. Be sure to make a reservation at Deseo, where Chef de Cuisine Derek Biazo serves up delicious contemporary Latin American small plates (try the hamachi ceviche with truffle ponzu sauce, and definitely don’t skip dessert or the exceptional wine list). Tipplers will also appreciate the open-nightly Scotch Library, which boasts more than 300 labels and kilt-clad Scotch Ambassadors who can guide you through a tasting. The Scotch Library is one of the hotel’s many tributes to the area’s history and culture. Scottish immigrants played a role in establishing the early economy of Arizona, and homage to that heritage is evident not only in the Scotch Library but also in the sunset bagpipe shows and the offering for golfers to play Scottish-themed golf. Other nods to local culture include the rehabilitated desert reptiles in the lobby (don’t worry, they’re enclosed) and room decor highlighting important personalities and moments from Arizona’s history like female pilot Ruth Reinhold, who taught pilots in World War II and eventually became Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater’s personal pilot.

A fairy-tale town deserves a magical funfair. Tivoli Gardens is one of the country’s most popular attractions, drawing more than four million visitors a year (in a country with a population of around 5.5 million). Youngsters will enjoy the rides, while their parents will appreciate the nostalgic charm and the wide range of dining options, from hot dogs and churros to “New Nordic” gastronomy.

With its historic pueblo-inspired architecture and Spanish Revival style, this landmark Santa Fe hotel looks like it dates back much earlier than 1922, when it was designed by two of the area’s top architects: Mary Elizabeth Jane Coulter and John Gaw Meem. And, in fact, despite the imposing building’s relative youth, the legacy of La Fonda dates back to the 1600s. An inn or hotel has stood on this site since the city’s founding at the end of the Santa Fe Trail.

Now, as one of the city’s most iconic luxury hotels, it presides over the historic Plaza and boasts some of the best views of the city and surrounding mountains and desert. Thanks to a complete (and completely faithful) renovation in 2013, rooms are now bright and airy, outfitted with handcrafted furnishings, local artwork and textiles, energy-efficient casement windows, and all the luxuries expected of a modern grande dame. The fine-dining courtyard restaurant is one of the most romantic dining destinations in town—trumped only by the rooftop Bell Tower Bar, whose sunset views and margarita menu draw locals and in-the-know visitors alike. Throw in a heated outdoor pool (open year-round, a rarity in Santa Fe) and a decadent spa, and it’s no wonder that La Fonda has maintained its reputation for superlative hospitality for so long.

A staple among Upper East Side hotels since it opened in 1963, the sophisticated Loews Regency boasts a Park Avenue address and location convenient to Central Park and Manhattan’s best museums. Following an extensive renovation, it reopened as a fresh and chic retreat in early 2014. The bones of the hotel remain classic, but the approach is modern, with touches that today’s traveler will appreciate, such as free Wi-Fi. Its elegant lobby—with a striking art installation from Brooklyn artist Nina Helm—impresses with its 24-foot ceilings and the on-site salon and spa, from acclaimed hair stylist Julien Farel, is a neighborhood destination for visitors and locals alike. No classic New York hotel would be complete without a standout watering hole; you’ll want to order a cocktail at the low-lit Regency Bar.

Negril, or the “Capital of Casual” as it’s known in Jamaica, is everyone’s favorite getaway, from locals to the visitors who return year after year. The buzz of activity on Seven Mile Beach’s powdery white sands is tempered by the breathtaking, serene views of the West End’s cliffs towering over the Caribbean. Lots of bars, hotels, and restaurants line Seven Mile Beach, and local eateries and smaller boutique resorts are perched up on the cliffs. While there’s more hustle and bustle and throngs of tourists on this end of Jamaica, the region still offers many secluded spots and unique experiences.

Step inside the Eye Film Institute to discover an homage to international cinema replete with interactive displays and perched like an ivory spaceship ready for launch on the northern bank of the IJ River. The striking facility, accessible via a free ferry from the main train station, houses four movie-screening rooms, a museum shop, and an exhibit space showcasing the works of masters like Fellini and Kubrick. Topping the contemporary structure is the eye-popping Eye Bar-Restaurant, where you can wash down a plate of bitterballen with beer on tap while musing about cinematography. On sunny days, a spacious terrace beckons.

Situated closer to Cambodia than Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand, Phu Quoc has arguably the best beaches in the country. An international airport opened in 2012, raising the island’s profile and bringing in droves of visitors. Despite this, the island retains a laid-back, underdeveloped charm, and its coast is still dotted with small fishing villages with brightly painted boats. The interior of the island includes plenty of forest, while some of the land is earmarked for growing black pepper—pepper from here is famous throughout Vietnam. The best beach lies to the west of the town of Phu Quoc; it’s a 13-mile long straight stretch with golden sands, coconut palms, and clear turquoise waters. The An Thoi Islands, south of Phu Quoc but still part of its marine park, offer excellent snorkeling and diving during the dry season from December through May.

The Common becomes extraordinary on winter evenings when the Christmas tree is up and soft lights seem to hold back the twilight chill, but the truth is there’s no bad time to visit the nation’s oldest public park. The former cow pasture has been a focal point for Boston’s history and culture since its inception in 1636—a site for riots and rallies from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War era as well as weddings, hangings, and burials. Summer splashing and winter skating at the Frog Pond are local traditions, and you can spend hours wandering from landmark to landmark (like Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s famous bas-relief Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment, or the Soldiers and Sailors monument atop Flag Staff Hill). Or you can just laze in the sun on the park’s west-side lawn.

Located in the small river town of Hannibal, the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum is actually a cluster of eight buildings that pay homage to one of America’s most celebrated authors. Visitors can tour Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home & Garden—a designated National Historic Landmark—to see where Samuel Langhorne Clemens grew up and the real adventures of Tom Sawyer took place, then pop into the Interpretive Center to view a timeline of his life and several interactive exhibits. Also worth checking out are the Huckleberry Finn House (where Tom Blankenship grew up), the Becky Thatcher House (featuring a museum dedicated to Laura Hawkins and childhood in the mid-1800s), the J.M. Clemens Justice of the Peace Office (where Twain’s father held court), and the Museum Gallery (home to 15 Norman Rockwell paintings and treasured Clemens family artifacts). Before heading out, be sure to pose for a family photo in front of the Tom & Huck Statue, which sits at the foot of Cardiff Hill.

With headquarters in Portland, Oregon, the Ace Hotel brings a dose of Pacific Northwest cool to the Flatiron District of Manhattan. Located in a turn-of-the-century building, the Ace has become a hub for stylish visitors and freelancing New Yorkers—locals often set up shop in the hip lobby to work and sip Stumptown coffee. The aesthetic is laid-back yet creative, with fun local art, free Wi-Fi, and quirky touches like tabletops made from discarded Hubble telescope lenses. The Ace is unpretentious and inviting, with a social and interactive lobby and two destination restaurants. Rooms range from small bunk rooms to spacious loft suites—offering a match for a variety of price points.

Sacsayhuaman is an impressive Inca fortress on a steep hill that overlooks all of Cusco. The ruins are humongous, but archeologists believe that the original site was as much as four times larger. What remains today are the impressive outer walls constructed in a zigzag formation across three levels. As with many Inca sites, the walls are made from massive, irregularly-shaped boulders that stick together like a jigsaw puzzle without any additional support. The stones are laid together so tightly that a sheet of paper will not fit into many of the cracks. As the night comes down, this is a perfect location to appreciate the stars.

You’ll never sleep anywhere closer to Machu Picchu than Belmond Sanctuary Lodge—it’s adjacent to the site entrance, and the only hotel on the mountain. In fact, the lodge is built on the former staging area for American explorer Hiram Bingham, who rediscovered the “Lost City of the Incas” in 1911. You’ll pay a pretty penny but consider the price a once-in-a-lifetime splurge. If you arrive the day before your visit to Macchu Picchu on the bus up from Aguas Calientes, you can be at the gates right when they open at 5 a.m. and get a head start on most of the crowds—and the sunrise. And if you’re coming off a days-long hike on the Inca Trail, the spacious showers and plush robes will be the best you’ve ever experienced.

There are only 31 rooms here, some with terraces and mountain views but all with exquisitely comfortable beds and marble bathrooms. The light-filled restaurant—only open to guests—serves both international and Peruvian dishes, and the bar is a great place to enjoy a pisco sour after a day of exploring the ruins. If you really want to stay in style, consider arriving by the elegantly restored Belmond Hiram Bingham train from Cuzco—the hotel offers packages.

The most luxurious way to experience Dubai’s desert may smash an entire holiday budget, but a stay in the Bedouin-inspired tented suites at Al Maha might well be worth it. It’s one of the best places to see desert conservation in action: Al Maha is in the heart of the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, home to the UAE’s largest free-roaming herd of Arabian oryx, a species brought back from extinction in the wild through rehabilitation initiatives. Guests should keep their eyes peeled for gazelles, too—300 Arabian and 100 sand gazelles inhabit the dunes, and the more inquisitive ones often come right up to the 42 tented accommodations. Water recycling, biodiesel, and solar panels all contribute to Al Maha’s efforts to tread lightly on the fragile desert ecosystem.

Mollusk is a neighborhood surf shop that sells clothing and great boards. They carry my surfboards and handplanes [for body surfing]. They occasionally host art shows and live music. The shop is sort of like the cornerstone of the Sunset. 4500 Irving St., (415) 564-6300, mollusksurfshop.com. This story appeared in the January/February 2012 issue.

There are over 100 excellent guest ranches in the Western U.S., offering a range of family vacations. Brush Creek Ranch, in southern Wyoming, is one of the more exclusive properties, offering an enormous range of activities on 15,000 acres of stunning high-mountain ranchland. This is the main lodge building, looking out over the horse pastures.