Best Hotels & Lodges

Mahogany Spring lies in a fairytale setting. Set in lovely gardens on the slopes above the tumbling waters of the Munyanga River and facing the aptly named Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, home to half the world’s endangered mountain gorillas, it's one of the nicest places to stay for gorilla treks. There's a real warmth here, and the staff and manager make sure that you have everything you require. Expect privacy, serene surroundings, clean comfort, good food and treks to remember forever.

Tucked into the Arts & Heritage District at Bras Basah, the impeccably-styled Rendezvous breathes fresh life into a restored colonial building. Forget stuffy galleries; Rendezvous transforms hospitality into an ever-changing canvas, with installations that shift from sculptures to interactive digital pieces. Between dips in the Balinese-inspired pool and cocktails at The Library bar, you're perfectly placed to explore nearby museums and Fort Canning Park. The Bencoolen MRT is also right outside, whisking you to Orchard Road's coveted shops in minutes.

Founded in 1815 for British travellers and settled on rue de Rivoli since 1835, this is the oldest of the Paris palace hotels, and it carries the history lightly. Salvador Dalí kept a suite here for some 30 years and was allowed to paint the walls and bring animals in. Philippe Starck reworked the public spaces twice, so Grand Siècle plasterwork and gilding now share the building with Tulip chairs and a surrealist ceiling. In August 1944 the German governor of Paris ran the city from these rooms, then disobeyed the order to destroy it. Still standing and grander than ever, Le Meurice really shows off.

Set on a functioning coffee plantation in Karatu, just 5 km from Tanzania’s renowned Ngorongoro Crater, Ngorongoro Farm House offers rustic farm style living at its best. This gem of a spot is simply appointed with comfortable cottages and rooms, beautifully kept gardens with sprawling lawns, its own vegetable garden, and a large swimming pool. Although a fairly large camp, it is spread out over five hundred acres of farm, offering oodles of space and vast views of the Oldeani Volcano in the distance.

Perched dramatically above the glittering Mediterranean, this 13th-century Capuchin convent has been transformed into something rather special indeed. What was once a place of quiet reflection for monks now offers a different kind of transcendental experience - though we'd argue that gazing out over the azure waters from the infinity pool is its own form of meditation. Just a ten-minute amble from the bustling Piazza del Duomo, former monastic quarters have been reimagined with sophisticated flair, while the original cloister and chapel remain as atmospheric reminders of the building's storied past.

Tucked away on Shinmachi-dori, the very street that hosts the Gion Festival each July, Hotel Vista Premio is a rare blend of contemporary convenience and traditional Japanese hospitality. With 84 rooms designed around warm wooden accents and thoughtful bathroom layouts (yes, your bath, loo and washbasin each get their own space), it's a practical base with a fantastic location - Nijo Castle and Nishiki Market are within strolling distance and for anything further afield, you're a seven-minute walk from the subway. And when you return, the the lobby's beautiful tsuboniwa garden is the perfect spot for some R&R.

Chobe Chilwero is a traditional-style safari lodge at the edge of Chobe National Park, where you'll find the world's largest single concentration of elephant. From the lodge you can enjoy far-reaching views across the floodplains and islands of the Chobe River across to Namibia. Guests are well looked-after in 15 large, solid-walled suites complete with aircon, and at the wonderfully luxuriant spa.

Once Edinburgh's richest patch of real estate, St Andrew Square was where the city's bankers and insurance men counted their fortunes. Buchan House, built in 1775 as five Georgian homes, spent many years as a grand residence, before becoming a warren of offices, and now, the Malmaison. Today, it's all inky walls, low lighting and theatrical glamour and it's definitely dark, grown-up and faintly decadent rather than bright and breezy. The popular Chez Mal brasserie and bar are built into the old bones downstairs, but if you fancy going further afield, the New Town's finest is on the doorstep.

Perched in a wide grassy valley and cradled by the dramatic Nubib, Tsaris and Naukluft Mountains, this eclectic lodge proves that getting to know the world's oldest desert is best done at a gentle trot. What sets this place apart from the usual Sossusvlei suspects is its genuine farm-style hospitality and those famously excellent horse trails that have guests returning year after year. The fact that the profits of both lodges in the Namib Tsaris Nature Reserve, Desert Homestead Lodge and Namib Outpost, are fully set aside for the conservation of this area means every sundowner you sip is also a toast to protecting one of Africa's most extraordinary landscapes.