Best Hotels & Lodges

Heritage is a Newari-style boutique hotel influenced by the rich art and architecture of the ancient city of Bhaktapur. The hotel is a tasteful reproduction of Nepali architecture, a mélange of architectural heritage of Malla and Rana Era which captures the emotions and sentiments of the rich Newari heritage of Bhaktapur.

The most basic option in the park, with simple thatched-hut bungalows with hot water. The lodge offers camping and tree climbing in the canopy to see red-ruffed lemurs. In the Tampolo region of the park, south of Ambanizana.

Perched on a forested hilltop overlooking the Sea of Okhotsk, this is a refreshingly relaxed base for exploring one of Japan's most extraordinary corners. The Shiretoko Peninsula – whose Ainu name means 'the end of the earth' – earned UNESCO status for good reason: brown bears patrol the coastline, orcas cruise the waters, and drift ice transforms the sea each winter. Back at the resort, the approach is decidedly Scandinavian-inspired, embracing 'hygge' – that cosy, unhurried contentment the Danes do so well. With all-inclusive drinks, a recently renovated onsen, excellent buffet dining and genuinely warm service, it's a comfortable cocoon from which to venture into the wild.

Lùme is located in the heart of Ortigia, the historic district of Syracuse. Like an invitation to travel and contemplation, its rooftop offers breathtaking views of the Mediterranean, the city's rooftops, and the majestic Mount Etna. If you love the sun, the sea, and fine food, this is the perfect place for you!

This Art Deco hotel is built directly on the shore in Juan-les-Pins, at the foot of Cap d'Antibes, and bills itself as the first on the Riviera with its feet in the water. Nice airport is 20–30 minutes away by car and the restaurants of Juan-les-Pins a ten-minute walk, so it suits a two-night stopover as well as a week by the sea. Inside, the 1930s glamour has been restored rather than replaced, with chrome chandeliers, period murals and a mosaic floor. F. Scott Fitzgerald started Tender Is the Night here when it was still a private villa. Come for the setting, and save your evenings for the bar.

Villa Bordoni is a ‘Patrician Villa’ – the former country residence of the Bordonis, a family of wealthy merchants from the city of Florence. The villa was acquired by David and Catherine Gardner in 2002, and lovingly restored over a period of more than 3 years to create a beautiful country hotel and restaurant in this historic villa, overlooking the valley of Greve and commanding exceptional views of the Chianti landscape.

Between Cannes and St Tropez, the corniche twists along the Esterel mountain range, where red volcanic rock drops straight into crystal clear water and the Île d'Or sits offshore. There's also an exceedingly lovely fishing village, Saint-Raphaël, and an even lovelier hotel: Les Roches Rouges. Taking its name from the red stone, it's a low modernist building of whitewash and polished concrete, marigold and ochre. Two swimming pools look onto the bay, one of them seawater and hewn out of the rocks at the water's edge. Kayaks and paddleboards are free to borrow, and a barefoot dinner for two on the pontoon can be arranged. This is where the Côte d'Azur drops its gloss and it's rather wonderful.

Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse nestles in the beautiful Kamberg region of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, set on 202 hectares of rolling hills at the foot of the Drakensberg mountains. It is owned and run by Richard and Mouse Poynton, whose many years of experience, passion for cooking and flair for ingenuity have created a rare experience in this serene mountain setting. You'll be welcomed warmly, stay in idyllic accommodation, walk in the mountains, wallow in the silence far from traffic and meetings, enjoy seven-course dinners and be pampered in the spa. Just gaze at the view and feel the tension dissolve.

On the Umbria–Tuscany border, the Bolza family spent three decades on a project most hoteliers wouldn't touch: restoring an 11th-century castle and its 3,700 acres of wilderness, one step at a time. Count Antonio bought the estate in 1994 and since then, his son Benedikt (handily also an architect), has designed nearly every object, fabric and fixture on the property. The result feels like you're stepping into someone's astonishingly beautiful home — and one that comes with a candlelit subterranean Bathhouse carved from the old wine cellars and a stable of Spanish purebreds, too! It opened in 2021, and (impressively) already holds Three Michelin Keys, the guide's highest honour.

Elba may be only an hour's ferry from mainland Tuscany, but the island has its own character: less polished than the Amalfi Coast, wilder than Sardinia, and laced with beaches the Italians have long kept quiet about. Biodola Bay on the north coast is one of the best, a pale sandy stretch bookended by low cliffs and backed by scented Mediterranean maquis. The Hotel Hermitage has occupied it since the 1960s, when the De Ferrari family built a scattering of cottages through a 50-acre park running down to the sea. Still family-run today, it's built for the long, slow Italian summer with three seawater pools, four restaurants and a private beach.