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Although The Wigwam is a historic Arizona resort, with an Old Southwest look and feel, the history here has nothing to do with cowboys and Indians, but cotton and car tires. Originating in 1918 as company lodging for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, which owned thousands of acres near Phoenix (where it grew cotton used to make tires), The Wigwam opened to the public in 1929. The property has since grown into a 331-room luxury resort, but its location to the west of Phoenix (instead of around Scottsdale to the east, where much of the area’s tourism development lies) means that it largely flies under the tourist radar. Recently, the resort tried to change that fact, undergoing a major refurbishment in 2011 and launching a marketing campaign about the benefits of staying west of Phoenix. Still, its relatively low rates include amenities frequently associated with the eastern resorts, including 54 holes of championship golf, nine tennis courts, three swimming pools (one with a 25-foot waterslide), and all the expected dining and wellness options. Thanks to its prices, The Wigwam is most popular for conventions and destination weddings—two groups more keenly attuned than most to good value for the money. That, and what bride could resist a venue that boasts 8,000 rosebushes?

This Scottsdale megaresort opened in 1988 as an Americanized vision of European style, which explains the white marble in the lobby, the mother-of-pearl tiles lining one of the pools, and the 11 Steinway pianos (including one in each of the four presidential suites). Over the years, though, the Phoenician has melded with its surroundings to become one of the classic Arizona desert hotel experiences. The 27-hole golf course, the 11 tennis courts, the eight pools (one with a 165-foot waterslide), the spa, the hiking, and the alfresco dining all make it the kind of place people contemplate when they find themselves looking at a closet full of winter coats and scarves. The rooms are spacious, with large Italian marble bathrooms, and have a private terrace or balcony. The service is tip-top, and the kids’ club even features a Bunny Hoppy Hour. Recent renovations updated the hotel’s public spaces, including the lobby, restaurants, pool area, and spa.

Gaze at the beautiful floor to ceiling mosaic that pictures the marine life and coral reef in Grand Cayman as you climb the double helix staircase to the top of the 75ft observation tower. Located in Camana Bay, this tower offers 360 degree panoramic views of Seven Mile Beach, George Town, and the North Sound. Not up for the big climb? No worries, there’s a full service elevator available to take you to any floor for observation, including the very top.

Dresden’s architectural and cultural highlight, the Zwinger was commissioned by Augustus the Strong and built between 1710 and 1728 by architect Matthäus Pöppelmann in cooperation with the sculptor Balthasar Permoser. Originally designed as an orangery and setting for court festivities, it’s one of the best examples of late Italian Baroque architecture in Germany. Today, its cultural treasures are immense, ranging from the two-floor Semper Gallery (full of Old Master paintings, including Raphael’s Sistine Madonna) to a royal porcelain collection with Chinese, Japanese, and Meissen examples. Visitors will also find a Museum of Mathematics and Physics (with antique sextants and globes), the Nymphs’ Bath (one of Europe’s most beautiful Baroque fountains), and a gilded gate flanked by long, arched galleries. The venue also hosts musical and theater performances, among other events.

The 40 year old hotel has just undergone a $85 million renovation and is in tip-top shape. But aside from that, what makes this place so unique are the cool people that work there. It’s a place that values humans, and their ideas, including some of the more silly ones... For example, there’s Yappy hour (one of my favorites!), where you’re invited to bring Fido to the golf course for sun–downers. Drinks for the two-legged patrons, and a specially designed menu of snacks for the furry, four-legged ones, courtesy of Executive Chef Daven Wardynski!. Human food all over the resort was out-of-this-world amazing, too. I say that somewhat regrettably, as I put on 5 lbs in 48 hours. Here’s a chef, sort of a renaissance man, that makes some seriously good food, creates the Sprouting Project, and, if that’s not enough, engineers smokers for all sorts of things that never imagined they’d end up in one. Iceberg lettuce? Yep. Oh, and the really cool presentation pieces for deviled eggs? Chef made them, because he couldn’t find the right plate. Omni Amelia Isalnd is a great place to relax, eat, play tennis, play golf, eat, go paddle boarding, kajaking, eat, get a spa treatment, oh yes, and you guessed it: eat! __________________________ A warm thank you: My Amelia Island experience was courtesy of Omni Resorts Amelia Island Plantation #MeetMeAtAmelia

A 10-minute walk from downtown Scottsdale, the Hotel Valley Ho, its name most likely inspired by the long-ago repurposed Westward Ho (once the area’s premier hotel), has the kind of riches-to-rags-to-riches story that makes the crowd hanging around the pool on weekends not just hip but part of history. Opened in 1956, it featured a futuristic design of red-tinted concrete, stone, and glass—and a well-connected owner—that quickly made it a magnet for movie stars like Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood, who held their wedding reception here. But as the Hollywood crowd knows best, fame wanes, and the hotel eventually reached such a low point that it was nearly torn down. It was saved due to its historic significance, and after a massive renovation that preserved many original elements, it re-emerged in 2006 not only with its trendy reputation revived, but also as one of the country’s best examples of mid-century hotel architecture. (The seven-story tower block was part of the original design but not built until the renovation.) Guest rooms are bright with colors that wouldn’t be out of place on South Beach. And the pool is still the place to be.

Thousands of years ago, the entire Yucatán Peninsula was under water, as evidenced by its massive network of rivers that flow beneath the region’s limestone surface. No place better presents the area’s captivating caverns and underground water systems than majestic Río Secreto, a nature park just south of Playa del Carmen that offers adventurous travelers wide-ranging cave tours. Extending for miles, its river system wasn’t discovered until 2006, when a local man accidentally stumbled across an entrance while chasing an iguana through the jungle. When you go, guides lead you through a maze of stalactites and stalagmites that ends with a swim in subterranean waterways that vary based on the path you choose.

It is not unusual to find an Arizona resort that looks like a water park with rooms attached, and this big Scottsdale luxury property certainly fits the description: 10 pools, 20 fountains, 45 waterfalls, and a three-story, high-speed waterslide. But what makes the Hyatt Regency unique is that guests can glide along its desert waterways aboard authentic Italian gondolas while being serenaded by professional gondoliers, who are classically trained singers. Beyond the water’s edge, there are the expected activities, such as the 27 holes of golf at the Gainey Ranch Golf Club, open only to club members and resort guests. And there are the unexpected, such as the Native American Learning Center, created to give guests insight into native Southwest culture through art, food, entertainment, and personal interaction with some of the resort’s staff. For hikers, the 24-hour Canyon Market serves up not only performance foods and gear, but also directions to the best trails.

John Gaw Meem is considered one of New Mexico’s most influential architects—and that fact alone makes this ranch, designed in 1932 by the so-called Father of Santa Fe style, worth a visit. But Meem isn’t the only big name associated with the property: Landscape architect Rose Greeley designed the gardens and artist Peter Hurd painted a mural on the property. The hotel is set on 25 acres of lavender fields, first planted in 1999 and now used for a line of in-house spa products. There are organic gardens, too, which provide the kitchen with Chimayo chilies, casaba melons, big cheese squash, and other seasonal produce. The look here tends toward clean lines, neutral hues, and quiet elegance over fussiness, though the historic rooms tend to have a bit more New Mexico flair—kiva fireplaces, exposed ceiling beams, local art—than the newer farm rooms. The latter are located in 1930s-style dairy buildings, carefully constructed to feel both of the era and of the place.

While many area hotels offer a subtle interpretation of Southwestern design (adobe walls, kiva fireplaces, local art), there’s nothing understated about the Inn at the Five Graces. The inn is a showcase for designers Ira and Sylvia Seret’s far-flung finds: Navajo bedspreads, Uzbek and Pakistani rugs and tapestries, iron and woodwork from Mexico, Peru, and India. It’s the epitome of East-meets-West. First opened in 1996 as Serets’ 1001 Nights, the hotel is located on one of the country’s oldest inhabited streets and is comprised of 17th- and 18th-century adobe buildings connected by a maze of courtyards. In 2002, the inn was renamed to reflect Afghan and Tibetan artifacts in its collection and the eastern idea of the five graces (sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste). In 2009, it became a Relais & Chateau property.

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.

You’d never know that this pueblo-luxe hotel was once the town penitentiary. It’s a credit to Rosewood Hotels & Resorts that the hotel group chose to renovate the existing structure rather than level it and start from scratch. And, if the rooms are on the smaller side, no one seems to mind, especially after the just-completed renovation by Jim Rimelspach, who originally designed the property when it opened nearly 25 years ago. Named after the lost tribe of the Anasazi, ancestors of the Pueblo, the hotel tastefully pays tribute to the Southwest. Adobe walls, kiva-style fireplaces, handwoven carpets, and throw pillows made from Pendleton blankets pair seamlessly with Italian linens by Rivolta Carmignani and toiletries by New York’s C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries. There’s also plenty of Native American art, including Arlo Namingha’s bronze sculpture Hano Mana and Ken Rosenthal’s silver gelatin print Seen and Not Seen, throughout the three-story hotel. The result: A vibe that is modern and sophisticated while still maintaining a sense of place.

Bear Mountain Lodge has had many lives since it was first built in 1928. Back then, it was a school for unruly boys from the East Coast; later it became a country club and hotel for the well-heeled; and before artist-turned-innkeeper Linda Brewer bought the property five years ago and turned it into a 10-room lodge, it was owned by the Nature Conservancy. It’s fitting, then, that nature is the main attraction at the lodge, which sits on 178 acres and has horses, cows, and chickens, plus birds and butterflies and a pond that’s home to the endangered Chiricahua Leopard Frog. The Gila National Forest—at 2.7 million acres, the largest wilderness area in the Southwest—is the lodge’s back yard. If you find yourself missing civilization, Silver City is just over three miles away, but escape is really the point here. And while there is Wi-Fi, there aren’t any televisions.

Combining the service of the Four Seasons, which took over the property in 2012, with a Santa Fe vibe—albeit a contemporary take on Southwestern style—this hotel manages to feel luxurious without sacrificing authenticity. Its location, about 10 miles outside Santa Fe, also gives guests a true taste of the high desert—plus views of the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Rio Grande River valley—while still granting easy access to downtown (via a complimentary shuttle, if you so desire). The Four Seasons invested over $1.1 million in landscaping improvements, the Monte Vista Terrace, and other additional offerings like the Adventure Center and Chef’s Table. Originally a privately owned ranch, the property dates back to the early 1900s. Previous owners include Guestward Ho! authors Barbara and Bill Hooton (then, the estate was known as Rancho del Monte) and, between 1968 and 1992, Betty Egan, who gave the property its current name (a reflection of Santa Fe’s tagline: The Land of Enchantment). John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart are just two of its legendary guests.

Accessible only by boat, and with a daily rhythm determined by the tides, this beach resort co-founded by Scottish fashion and costume designer Ellis Flyte sits on the southwest part of Pemba Island, a 30-minute flight from Unguja, the main, more touristy island of the Zanzibar archipelago. The 18 thatched-roofed, canvas-walled rooms and suites are set directly on the white-sand beach, shaded by the surrounding mangrove forest, or perched on the hillside above, providing panoramic Indian Ocean views. A wooden jetty extends over a long, shallow drop-off, enabling guests to swim in front of the hotel at low tide. But the best beaches and snorkeling are 15 minutes away by speedboat off Misali Island, a conservation zone with more than 300 fish species, giant sponges, sea fans, and fields of old-growth cabbage corals. More sites reachable by boat offer a variety of reefs and drop-offs for experienced divers. Other activities include sunset dhow cruises, kayak trips through the mangroves to the ruins of an Omani fort, windsurfing, water skiing, wake- and knee-boarding, dolphin watching, and deep sea fishing. The resort’s informal vibe encourages guests to go barefoot even at the dinner table, but bring wading shoes to protect your feet against sharp coral and sea urchins.