Luxury Hotels

On a tiny island in Lake Huron, where the clip-clop of horse hooves replaces the rumble of engines and fudge shops line cobblestone streets like something from a Dickens novel, sits one of America's most gloriously anachronistic hotels. The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island isn't just a place to rest …

Deep in Rajasthan's dusty heart, where the Aravalli Hills rise like ancient guardians from the desert floor, something rather extraordinary has happened to a 700-year-old fort. What was once home to real royalty now hosts a different sort of aristocracy: the well-heeled traveler with a taste for the theatrical. Six …

What started as a house-hunting expedition in 2002 has morphed into one of Morocco's most photographed properties. Howell James and Vanessa Branson thought they were buying a holiday home in Marrakech's ancient medina. Instead, they accidentally acquired a string of crumbling buildings that would become El Fenn – a maximalist …

Walk through Rome's historic center, past centuries-old churches and crumbling ruins, and you'll eventually find yourself confronted by an unusual sight: a pair of doormen who look more like nightclub bouncers than hotel staff. Welcome to Romeo Roma, where getting through the front door requires more than just wandering in …

On a rocky precipice above the Aegean, where the island of Crete drops dramatically into sapphire waters, sits a hotel that takes its name quite literally. Acro Suites – from the Greek 'akros' meaning 'on the edge' – perches precariously on the clifftops of Mononaftis Bay, and sisters Danae and …

There's something utterly surreal about sipping Turkish coffee while the Great Pyramid looms outside your breakfast window like an ancient stone grandfather, quietly judging your choice of cereal. At the Marriott Mena House Cairo, this beautiful morning ritual is just another Tuesday. Perched at the foot of the Giza pyramids, …

You know something's different about 1 Hotel Central Park the moment you clock its ivy-strangled facade on Sixth Avenue. While neighboring buildings flash their steel and glass credentials, this place is practically photosynthesizing – 36,000 plants cling to its exterior like nature's own Instagram filter. Step inside and you're hit …

There's something deliciously impractical about building a hotel on a cliff. While most sensible hoteliers would plant their flag on a sandy beach or charming piazza, Francesco Mansi had grander ideas back in 1956. Fresh from his adventures in Mexico, he took one look at the Amalfi Coast and thought: …

In the rolling hills beyond Bangkok's concrete sprawl, a whimsical hotel has turned abandoned train cars into a luxurious escape three hours north of Bangkok. As the capital's endless urban landscape finally gives way to undulating hills and thick jungle, something unexpected appears through a curtain of towering trees: the …

On the granite outcrops of Félicité Island in the Seychelles archipelago, Six Senses Zil Pasyon occupies an ecological position as remarkable as its price point. The resort spans just one-third of this private island, with the remaining land preserved as natural habitat for endemic species, including the endangered Seychelles white-eye …

Towering over Riyadh's skyline, Al Faisaliah Tower is Saudi Arabia's first skyscraper. Part of the complex is a seven-story tower that today houses the five-star Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah, Riyadh. The 267-meter-tall (876 feet) tower was built in 2000, in those times when the country limited nonreligious tourism to a …

Set amid the verdant hills of Mae On Valley, Chiang Mai, La Lanna resort is a feast for the eyes with its unique villas, huts, and vintage trailers. Located on the outskirts of Chiang Mai, it is deeply connected to northern Thailand's extraordinary nature and is blissfully removed from the …

Tucked away in the picturesque Passeier Valley, Quellenhof See Lodge is an adult-only playground. It's one of the region's smallest 5-star luxury hotels and has a Maldive-style "lake" that will take your breath away. The spa resort sits on an enormous artificial lake spread across 4,500 m², reflecting the breathtaking …

The former telephone exchange building on Budapest's Horváth Mihály Square awaits guests in its former glory, with five-star opulence and Hungary's second-largest staircase. The inner districts of Budapest hide many architectural treasures waiting to be discovered. One of these is undoubtedly this beautiful red-brick, stucco-decorated historic building, which hides further …

The One&Only One Za'abeel Hotel in Dubai is a marvel of modern architecture designed by renowned Japanese architect firm Nikken Sekkei, responsible for the structural engineering of the Tokyo Tower built in 1958. The hotel's architecture is a futuristic concept of "vertical urbanity," where the traditional horizontal resort layout is …

Schloss Lieser is a majestic hotel that visually resembles Hogwarts rather than a classic hotel with ornate staircases and beautifully preserved rooms. It lies in the heart of Germany's scenic Mosel Valley, right on the banks of the Moselle River. The hotel has stunning views of the rolling hills, vineyards, …

Budapest is a city full of stunning buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Párisi Udvar, built in 1912, is arguably the most beautiful hotel in the city, inside and out. The Párisi Udvar is an amazing building in every sense: it's a journey through time, blending …

Rome's Casa Monti has been created as a contemporary interpretation of how Ancient Roman patricians might have lived today if history had taken a different path. Inside these walls, you can imagine yourself as part of the upper class of Roman society and celebrate life with an abundance of colors, …

Located on the southern slope of Lake Llanquihue, with a direct view of the Osorno Volcano, Hotel AWA is a tribute to the nature of the Patagonian region of Chile. Every mountain lover's bucket list includes Patagonia as one of the must-visit destinations. For most of the world, it means …

The Madama Garden Retreat is on the banks of a major canal in the Cannaregio district of Venice, within the walls of the historic noble residence Palazzo Antelmi. It has a romantic watergate that you can enter in style when you arrive on a boat. The hotel overlooks an intimate …