Best Hotels & Lodges

Located in the northwest coast of Bali overlooking the mountain and sea, Taman Sari Resort and Spa provides beachfront accommodation with an outdoor pool. As a community and eco-tourism program, the resort is supporting a reef conservation project using Biorock technology and guests can participate in the conservation effort. Each villa at Taman Sari Bali Resort and Spa boasts a private pool, while other units come with a private terrace. Every room has air conditioning.

Dating back to 1936, when this remote part of the central Drakensberg was almost inaccessible, Cathedral Peak Hotel is now a beloved family-friendly hotel renowned as a maker of great holidays. Within its beautiful setting beneath the mountains' blue-grey jagged peaks, the hotel is at the heart of all sorts of outdoor adventures, including some of the country's best hiking and mountaineering. The four-star hotel offers accommodation for everyone, good buffet-style food and warm service.

Here in Umbria, overlooking a romantic view of the Duomo of Orvieto, along the route of the ancient Via Francigena, where pilgrims refreshed themselves before journeying on to Rome, you will find elegant suites restored in the authentic style of the 14th century. At the Locanda Palazzone, surrounded by vineyards, guests can discover the flavours of Umbria in the Enoteca, dine on the terrace on summer evenings, and swim in the pool

With centuries of Portuguese, Dutch and Chinese influence, Nagasaki is a fascinating blend of cobbled lanes, varied food and architecture. Perched above JR Nagasaki Station with views stretching across the harbour to Mount Inasa, the sleek Nagasaki Marriott makes an excellent base for exploring. The Shinkansen platform is quite literally downstairs, there's a shopping mall next door, and the city's trams rattle past below. It's definitely on the larger side (there are 207 rooms in total), but the genuinely warm staff and thoughtful nods to Nagasaki's seafaring past give it more personality than you'd expect from a big-brand property.

Embrace local treasures, enrichment, and quiet elegance at The Sira, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Lombok. A destination for explorers and collectors, The Sira reveals Indonesia’s raw pearl, where nature, heritage, and the unhurried passage of time exist in quiet harmony, just moments from the three Gili Islands. Framed by over 500 meters of pristine white sand beach and sweeping vistas of Mount Rinjani and distant Mount Agung, the resort unfolds along Lombok’s untouched northern coast, shaped by the rhythm of the sea and the enduring warmth of Sasak traditions. Beyond the shoreline, the island invites discovery, from hidden waterfalls and traditional villages to turtle release encounters and serene snorkeling in luminous turquoise waters. Days are balanced between exploration and indulgence, whether swimming in the 70-meter outdoor pool, restoring the senses at the spa, gathering by the sea, or exchanging vows beneath an Indonesian sunset

If walls could talk, the frescoed ceilings of this 1870 grande dame would have stories that'd make your head spin. Picture this: Christian Dior taking his final breath in one of the suites, Grace Kelly swanning through the lobby, and a young Puccini composing at the piano whilst Marie Curie debated radioactivity over aperitivos. This isn't just any old Tuscan pile - it's where Italian Art Nouveau maestro Galileo Chini went properly wild with his paintbrush in 1901, creating celestial ceilings populated by floating cherubs and ethereal figures that still stop guests mid-stride today.Set bang in the centre of Montecatini Terme (yes, that's thermal springs central), the hotel sprawls across 20,000 square metres of century-old parkland. The 120 rooms maintain their period swagger with antique Liberty furniture and marble bathrooms that wouldn't look out of place in a Visconti film. But don't mistake all this historical pomp for dusty museum vibes - there's a thoroughly modern 800-square-metre spa lurking beneath all that Belle Époque beauty, complete with Rasul baths and enough treatment rooms to keep a small army of stressed executives purring.

Oita Prefecture pumps out more hot spring water than anywhere else in Japan — and handily, the Hokke Club is right in the centre of it. An eight-minute stroll from Oita Station and slap-bang in the Miyakomachi entertainment district, it's a practical springboard for soaking your way through Beppu's famous onsen (twenty minutes by train) and the gentler ryokan town of Yufuin. The rooms won't win design awards, but the Simmons beds are genuinely comfortable, and the top-floor bathhouse has views across the city. And then there's the breakfast buffet, laden with Oita's regional specialities and a treat every morning!

La Roqqa is a destination within a destination, a project of land regeneration, a luxury boutique hotel where "new simplicity" is the stylistic signature. The warm, welcoming hospitality and the extraordinary views invite you to immerse yourself in the beauty of the place, savouring every moment.

Located on the west side of the island, the sunset views are spectacular. Vyaana Gili Air provides guests with a quiet, romantic escape at a luxury beachfront boutique resort in Gili Air in which to enjoy the beauty and solitude of Gili Air. The beach is kept in a natural state to provide a peaceful, eco-friendly setting and sustain the environment. Gili Air is one of three Gili Island’s located off the Northwest coast of Lombok Indonesia.

Casa di Langa is not just a place, but a philosophy: the belief that the truest luxury is born from a respect for the land and an authentic connection with its traditions. Immersed in the quiet of the Piedmont hills, among the vineyards of Barolo, Barbaresco, and Alta Langa, you will find a sanctuary where every detail is a tribute to the beauty of this region

Okayama is one of those cities that rewards anyone who takes the time to stop. Known as Japan's 'Land of Sunshine' for its immaculate, clear skies, there's plenty to keep you busy: Korakuen, one of Japan's three great landscape gardens; a famously black feudal castle; easy access to the Seto Inland Sea's art islands; and a local cuisine built around sweet white peaches, Muscat grapes and some seriously good scattered sushi. In the middle of it all is the ANA Crowne Plaza, located directly beside JR Okayama Station and linked by an overhead bridge. The 20th-floor dining and lounge give it a useful edge.

Okinawa's southern tip, where sugarcane fields give way to cliffs and open ocean, is mythological territory. This is where the Ryukyu creation god is said to have first set foot on Kudaka Island, visible from the point Hyakuna Garan occupies. The entire hotel is angled towards a 220-degree view that catches sunrise and sunset without you changing position. Ryukyu limestone walls and a coral-red roof recall the temples that inspired the design, while a seven-metre stone Buddha, carved from a single boulder, watches over the corridors. Breakfast and dinner are a delight – and definitely bring an appetite for tofuyo and awamori.

Kume Island lies around 100km west of Okinawa's Main Island, reached by a 35-minute flight or a slower, scenic ferry from Naha. Locals call it Kuminoshima, "the most beautiful island in the Ryukyus". It's easy to see why once you're footsteps from Eef Beach, which is exactly where this sprawling, three-building resort sits. Expect a lawn-fringed pool, tennis courts, a games room and the unhurried comings and goings of marathon runners and returning divers rather than any design flourishes. This is a solid, functional base for the island's real draw: boat trips to the seven-kilometre Hatenohama sandbar, hands-on silk-weaving workshops and diving among manta rays.