Best Hotels & Lodges

La Unua Yacht is a 25-metre iron and teak wood boat built with expertise for cruising and exploring the Komodo National Park. The vessel’s traditional yacht architecture has been formed with luxury and innovation for an exceptional liveaboard experience. She was handcrafted and restored in 2020 by Sulawesi’s most recognised phinisi artisans. With plenty of space for up to 9 guests, the boat features 3 double cabins, all with ensuite and hot water, three lounge areas and an air conditioned indoor dining area. Enjoy a relaxed and unpretentious atmosphere in stylish and spacious surroundings and prepare to feel stresses melt away.

Kisiwa on the Beach is a secluded luxury resort in an idyllic setting. It is surrounded by tall palm trees, endless white sandy beaches and crystal blue waters, offering guests the opportunity to experience barefoot luxury at its very best. The area is well known for its amazing watersports. Guests at Kisiwa on the Beach are greeted with welcoming Swahili smiles, and they can happily relax throughout their holiday in Zanzibar. Kisiwa on the Beach offers its guests well-appointed private villas offering amazing views of the sea. The hotel also has spa and wellness center facilities.

When the grandfather of the present owners of Borana arrived in this spot, 17 miles (27 kilometres) north of the equator and 6,000 feet (1,830 metres) above sea level, he simply fell in love with its isolation and wildness. Now his descendants have built a lodge on the land that he adored. Made of local, sustainable materials, Borana Lodge sits subtly on this malaria-free landscape, with panoramic views across the Samangua Valley and the Lewa Plains to the Ngare Ndare Forest and Mount Kenya beyond. Inside, all is luxurious and plush. A perfect breakaway location in a splendid setting.

The very essence of Argentine charm, Posada Verde Oliva is a 19th-century home-turned-hotel set on a working vineyard and olive farm. From the wrap-around veranda, gaze out upon the ripening grapes and olives, the latter of which are turned into remedies used at the spa. Set in the heart of the Maipu Valley, there is plenty to see and do including vineyard-hopping tours, scenic bicycle rides, and horseback sojourns amongst the vines. Laidback and homely, you'll be welcomed warmly back to the Posada Verde Olivia after every excursion, when you can settle down in the firelit lounge or recline poolside.

The Pig hotel group – a collection of country houses across England, each built around a kitchen garden and a their famous 25-mile menu – found its natural home when it took over this 17th-century manor in the Cotswolds village of Barnsley. The house was formerly owned by Rosemary Verey, one of Britain's most celebrated garden designers, and her legacy is still very much in residence: a laburnum walk, a beautiful knot garden, a Tuscan temple and a kitchen garden that supplies the restaurant year-round. Four miles from the market town of Cirencester, with a village pub directly across the road and a spa tucked among the orchards, it's a very easy place to while away a few days in the quintessential English countryside.

Intrepid and fully immersed in nature, Etendeka Walking Trail takes you into the wild spaces of Damaraland, with the Grootberg Massif as your ever-present guide. The expert team knows every crag, animal and plant in the 500 km2 Etendeka Concession - and they'll passionately share their knowledge with you on this three-day trek. Set off from Palmwag Lodge leaving your main luggage to be delivered to your next stop, a camp overlooking a lively waterhole. Day two is the most strenuous, where you'll walk a distance of 15 - 20 kilometres - but at the end you'll be rewarded with a night atop the beautifully-named Crystal Mountain. Just imagine the stargazing...

Sitting beneath the dangling boughs of a 100-year-old rain tree beside the serene Ping River, Na Nirand Retreat captures the charm and whimsy of Chiang Mai. The entire hotel was constructed with Chiang Mai's heritage in mind and aims to preserve the authentic knowledge of its people, evidence of which you'll see throughout the hotel. Built in a Colonial-Lanna style, the rooms feature beautiful textiles, teak pieces and original art, all the handy work of local artisans. Bicycles are always ready and waiting whenever you feel like exploring more of the city, its historic sites, and ornate temples.

Located on the north side of Tenth Street, on the corner of Sixth Street, a beautiful pedestrian street where hundreds of tourists and residents of the capital walk and enjoy the colonial and historical views that the panorama reflects daily. Hotel de la Ópera is located right next to Teatro Colón, in front of Palacio de San Carlos, diagonal from Colonial Museum, fifty meters from the temple of San Ignacio and one block from the Plaza de Bolívar. The hotel has two gourmet restaurants, beautifully restored, respecting the magnificent historical surroundings, with generous interior spaces, which make it one of the best accommodations in the city.

Sitting proudly on a hill above the New Town of Fez, Hotel Sahrai is the picture of Moroccan refinement. Once the summer palace of Marshal Lyautey, it is a minimalist blend of exposed Taza sandstone, floor-to-ceiling windows, and contemporary Italian furniture. After a morning meander through the 12th century labyrinth of the Fes el Bali medina, return for a dip in the infinity pool (the views of Mount Zalagh are scenic to say the least) and afternoon tea under the Fassi arches. Understated, stylish, and designed for the utmost comfort, the rooms are just where you want to be following a day in the souks of Fez.

Built in the 1950s, and then abandoned for half a century, Chobe Safari Lodge has been renovated to become a welcome and very comfortable retreat in the wilds of Uganda's rich and varied Murchison Falls National Park. The isolation here is complete, despite the lodge being just four hours by road from Kampala, as humans rarely ventured here in the intervening years and the wildlife has been left to thrive. The panoramic views, coupled with the sounds of the Nile's tumbling rapids, set the scene for an experience that will satisfy all your African adventure-loving dreams.

Honey stone and tall glass on a hill above a biodynamic vineyard outside Aix, each suite hidden behind a wall of its own. Step out of yours and the estate starts handing you things: a Tadao Ando chapel, a Frank Gehry music pavilion, Louise Bourgeois's spider crouched over a reflecting pool, Richard Serra's steel leaning into a hillside. Paddy McKillen, the Irish property developer who owns the lot, has spent two decades commissioning permanent work from Pritzker winners and blue-chip artists and setting it loose among the vines. The wine is made here too, and made very well. The art is public; the hotel very much isn't.

St Andrews has obsessed over a small white ball for six centuries, and Seaton House sits right in the thick of it on The Scores, with the Old Course's first tee close enough to wave at. Behind its restored 1864 townhouse facade are 42 rooms in oak panelling and tartan, plus three distinct places to eat and drink. Beyond golf, there's a cathedral ruin, a 600-year-old university and West Sands beach, cinematic and vast, right outside. This isn't a country retreat, but rather a clifftop townhouse with sea air, single malt and one of sport's most storied views built in.

Changa sits in its own private concession with 4kms of frontage onto Lake Kariba, just east of Matusadona National Park. This area is wild and remote, well known for its big game (especially elephants, buffalo and hippos) and is perhaps the best tiger fishing destination in Africa. The lodge opened in 2012 and is amongst the most luxurious in this region - from the top level of service and exceptional food, to the intimacy that an eight-roomed camp affords. Here the staff make a special effort to enhance every moment of your stay.