Best Hotels & Lodges

Set within the shaggy ramparts of Galle Fort, this hotel has a whole lot of history. Beginning its life as a 16th-century merchant's home, Fort Bazaar has since been updated into a classy hotel on the central Church Street where the antique shops, cafes and plenty of historic buildings are at your fingertips. Combining its modern design with distinct nods to Middle Eastern style, a stay at Fort Bazaar is all about relaxing spa treatments, afternoon tea in the lovely courtyard and strolls to nearby 'postcard' beaches. And whale watching boat trips for the more adventurous!

If you were to dream up the perfect desert camp, it might look something a little like The White Camel. A string of tented suites, perched along an apricot ridge in the Agafay Desert, the snow-capped Atlas Mountains are behind you and the rolling hills of the desert laid out before you. Whether you'd prefer to recline beside the pool all day or ride camel-back across the lunar-scape, you'll have more than a few 'pinch me' moments. Then, after a day with as much or as little activity as you choose, sip cocktails as the sun dips below the horizon and fall asleep in your cloud-like bed to the sound of sweet, sweet silence.

Having survived decades of turmoil and emerged on the other side, Gorongosa National Park is a champion for bringing wild spaces and species back from the brink. Part of this ongoing transformation is the development of a handful of properties, including the feather-light Chicari Camp. Built anew every season near a pan of the same name, Chicari is perfectly positioned to watch animals of every size and shape arrive for a drink at the water. The tents are canvas and classic with a superb view and the whole camp is wonderfully eco-conscious, which only makes you appreciate the hard-won setting even more.

Morukuru River House, one of three exclusive-use lodges in the Morukuru collection, lies apart from its counterparts in a private area within the large Madikwe Game Reserve. It has its own distinctive style (read glamorous, chic and super-comfortable), own safari vehicles, staff and attractions. River House lies on the banks of the Marico River, and the sounds of the water bubbling past are soporific – you'll sleep like a baby. This is Big Five country, and your private ranger knows the bushveld and its occupants like the back of his hand.

With its Arab-Norman cathedrals and raucous street markets, Palermo has an infectious, sun-soaked energy. And right in the middle of it all, on the beautiful Via Roma, stands the Grand Hotel et Des Palmes, a palazzo with a past to rival the city. Built in 1874 as the private residence of the Ingham-Whitaker family — English Marsala merchants who all but ran Sicily — it was transformed into a hotel in 1907 by Art Nouveau architect Ernesto Basile. Wagner stayed to finish Parsifal, Poet Raymond Roussel checked in and never left, and the mirrors, marble and sweeping staircases have seen it all.

Wide, acacia-dotted Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in the heart of northern Kenya is a hauntingly beautiful place. So it's no wonder that this charismatic wilderness is home to Sirikoi, a family-run, award-winning lodge that's dedicated to its environment, the people who live here and those who visit it. Come to Lewa to see abundant wildlife – including endangered species such as black and white rhino and Grevy’s zebra – and stay in true colonial comfort with world-class fine dining, spacious and homely accommodation and congenial staff. The area is malaria free and has a beautiful spring-like climate almost all year.