• Australia/Margaret River

A relaxing adult retreat set on acres of native bushland, these natural, well built chalets provide for the pleasure of a weekend spent ‘down south’, in Western Australia’s wine country.

• Australia/Rottnest Island

• Bangkok

"Two wings in this hotel service business and leisure travelers respectively. The Chi Spa complex boasts the most spacious treatment rooms in the city."

• Beijing

All the class of a Peninsula Hotel dressed with contemporary Chinese style - within walking distance of the Forbidden City, the Wangfujing shopping strip and Tiananmen Square

• Broome

A great base for exploring one of the more ancient, remote and isolated parts of the world, in great comfort. Savour the scent of the jasmine and frangipani loaded gardens of the resort.

• Broome

Dramatic red cliffs hit white sand in this Indian Ocean outstation. Owned by the Bardi Aboriginal people, Kooljaman offers very comfortable camping on a pristine beach . Be prepared for some sporty driving to get you there

• Buenos Aires

Fashionable, if now slightly run-down, hotel overlooking a popular garden plaza.

• Cambodia/Siem Reap

Large trees front the cottage style room pavilions screen balconies and terraces, cocooning rooms in a lush, hushed privacy

• Cambodia/Siem Reap

Inspired by the Angkor Wat citidel, the hotel masterfully fuses both ancient and modern elements

• Cambodia/Siem Reap

• Cambodia/Siem Reap

Sit in a low-slung rattan chair with a chilled Angkori beer or a fruit cocktail and drink in the views of the river or the sinuous swimming pool while the heat of the afternoon cools into evening

• Cambodia/Siem Reap

The main building, originally the French Ambassador’s residence, is white-shuttered art deco Indochine

• Cambodia/Siem Riep

Pack your Pucci for funky nights lounging in the dining room and days by the trippy-shaped pool

• Cambodia/Siem Riep

The original hotel in temple town with a central role in the development of conservation and tourism at Angkor Wat

• Cape Range

At the end of the Cape Range, beyond the town and the caravan parks, the tented camp at Ningaloo sits on a bay full of turtles, reef fish and corals all within moderate snorkeling conditions. The stars and the accommodation is a moment with peace. These tents make for very comfortable camping.

• Causeway Bay

A Philippe Starck designed mini hotel offering maximum comfort and style on space-starved HK island

• Central

The Shangri-La is big. It’s the tallest hotel in Hong Kong, with the biggest rooms, and boasts a 16 story high silk screened Chinese Painting

• Central

Where does a leading Cantopop star come to die? In the Mandarin of course. Recently the Mandarin Oriental achieved notoriety with the suicide jump of Leslie Cheung, the not so out of the closet heart-throb for millions of Asian women

• China/Shanghai

For women who like fashion – they all do – Shanghai is a Paradise. It has all the attractions of Paris and more. A most marvellous range of merchandise and curios awaits

• East Coast

Escher-esque East Bali hideaway on a steep hill amongst the jungle sloping down to a black volcanic sand beach.

• Edinburgh/ Prestonfiel Hotel

• France/Alps

Ambient chill music, soft lighting and comfortable leather tubs interspersed between the tables with their fabulous ex RAC club London dining chairs

• Germany/Berlin

A treasure trove of gilded kitsch from the turn of the 20th century

• Germany/Berlin

Pulling up in tree-lined Eislebener Strasse outside the Brandenburger Hof is a delight

• Germany/Berlin

The Velvet in its enviable location on Oranienberger Tor is at the centre of a thriving nightlife strip

• Germany/Berlin

The Cigar Lounge exudes masculinity and is one of just 90 in the world licensed to sell Cubans

• Germany/Berlin

This constant hustle downstairs could well be homage to the Bliebtreau’s pedigree

• Germany/Berlin

Perfect for the pragmatic business traveller interested in comfortable functionalism

• Germany/Berlin

This hotel is disguised as a cinema complex, the first of many pleasant surprises

• Germany/Berlin

A crisp, modern business hotel

• Germany/Berlin

Think of the international celebrity jetset lifestyle when you pack your Valextra bags, darlings, because you’ll be rubbing shoulders with them in the private bar at the back of the restaurant

• Germany/Berlin

An independent hotel since 1962, the Honeymoon runs two separate properties not 250 metres away from each other in the Jewish heart of the Mitte

• Germany/Berlin

The West’s most interesting hotel: deeply moody and somewhat clubby

• Hong Kong / Hong Kong Island

Overlooking Hong Kong harbour with an unfamiliar view back to Kowloon, the Four Seasons Hong Kong is a spacious treat in a notoriously space-starved city

• Hutong House

A fashionable Beijing hide-away one lane over from the Red Capital Club restaurant - a favourite with CEO's and party officials.

• India/Jaipur

A place for the privileged. Bask in the modernized, but traditional rooms of the palace. It’s all light sensors, luxurious Indian fabrics, cushions and carved wood

• India/Jaipur

Elegant Haveli, in a quiet corner within the Jaipur city walls. Perfect for exploring the city and monuments and then returning to enjoy the outdoor courtyards and gardens

• India/Jaisalmer

The former residence of the Raj representative (ICS) to Jaisalmer. This is the country of Rajput Kings and the Jain men. Beware of the dunes at sunrise or sunset tour

• India/Jodhpur

Stunningly impressive palace at Jodhpur. Splendid in its homage to the British Raj, this palace is a living museum, with elderly Rajputs doing tourist duty, and one wing chronicling the history of the palace and its family.

• India/Mumbai

One forgets how intense an arrival in India can be for a non-Indian person.

• India/Mumbai

She is a historic hotel of which the Indians are fiercely proud, and as such, the clubs and restaurants of Bombay have developed nestled close to the skirts of this grand dame

• India/Ramthambor Nature Reserve

When tiger-spotting in Rajasthan, enjoy Oberoi luxury on the edge of the Ramthambor Nature Reserve. Chances are high for a heart-start when you look a tiger in the eye from the back of an open-topped jeep

• India/Udaipur

Inside the Fateh Prakash, the rooms are like many others in this category of heritage hotel - time-capsules dedicated to the last Marahajas' taste…

• Indonesia/Bali

In London a week earlier my sanity had been thrown into question. The Foreign Office website with its political railings still carries a severe warning almost two years after the event. ‘No. I’m going.’ I enthused.

• Japan/Kyoto

Each year one of the 18 rooms is selected for refurbishment, making the house a wonderful showcase of the best and most long-lasting design

• Japan/Kyoto

Filled with antique and vintage mirrors, vanities, lacquerware and even quaint old electrical outlets, these rooms are an experience of old-time Japan

• Japan/Kyoto

Hyatt's brilliant take on Contemporary Japanese hospitality. Don't miss the Japanese restaurant or the art installations in the public areas

• Japan/Kyoto

Charming family-style ryokan on the east side of Gion

• Japan/Kyoto

A 100-year-old ryokan offering elegant and traditional service

• Japan/Kyoto

Nestled at the flanks of the Higashiyama Mountains with views over Kyoto

• Japan/Nasu

Stark architectural beauty set on hectares of peaceful forest in rural Japan

• Japan/Shuzenji

A trip to Syuzenji and a stay at the Yagyu-no-sho makes an excellent stopover on the trip between Tokyo and Kyoto for some luxurious relaxation

• Japan/Tokyo

Delightful 14 room Ryokan in downtown Ginza offering traditional Japanese hospitality with a focus on organic food and eco-principles

• Japan/Tokyo

From the Ginza shopping strip, weave through the suspended walkways, backlit escalators and the forest of stainless steel and glass towers, which make up the new-media district of Shiodome

• Japan/Tokyo

Located next door to Mitsukoshi and a short stroll from the Imperial Palace, the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo has carefully considered the needs of the 21st-century sybarite

• Japan/Tokyo

Anchored onto Shinjuku bedrock, a Tokyo hot spot swarming with “Lost in Translation” fans

• Japan/Tokyo

On the banks of the river in the gardens of an old Imperial Residence in North Tokyo

• Japan/Tokyo

A friendly inn evoking images of the Tokyo one sees in manga films

• Japan/Tokyo/Ginza

Old world luxury hotel in the old world Ginzan heart of Toyko

• Japan/Tokyo/Shibuya

A business hotel teeming with international creatives gathering ‘Japan Cool’ inspiration right by Shibuya station

• Jimbaran Bay

Moss covered stone walls and statues along with temple offerings strewn about the property each day on one of Bali’s nicer stretches of beach away from the hustle of the tourist trade make for an enticing full service resort.

• Jimbaran Bay

A Super-sized resort with large grounds, large spa and many facilities. If spa, marriage or entertaining children is your thing, The Ritz Carlton Bali is a one-stop relaxation stop.

• Kowloon

Glass fronted and built on stilts on the Kowloon waterfront, The Intercontinental embraces Chinese custom, architected to invite the water dragon to leave his auspicious mark as he passes to drink and bathe in the harbour

• Kowloon

Clean lines and comfortable working spaces with enlarged bathrooms make the Kowloon ‘Shang’ a top choice for manufacturing business people on the make in Hong Kong

• La Paz

If twee is a word one can apply to a hotel owned and run by Bolivians, with aspirations of being five star french, then I own up

• Mallorca

In matching black trousers and t-shirts, both with thick Bakelite framed glasses from the late sixties, they ate their cold meat breakfasts with startlingly surreal synchronization

• Margaret River

It was so hot that my silk chiffon dress stuck to the backs of my knees almost as soon as we stepped from the air-conditioned car.

• Montevideo/Carasco

Bill Clinton should be a hotel critic. My sources tell me he preferred the garden views over the bikini-clad swimmers basking by the pool.

• Nusa Dua

Far enough from the madness of the tourist strip but close enough to join the chaos, Amanusa is an intimate hideaway for a stylish Bali holiday.

• Phnom Penh

Opened in 1929, Hotel Le Royal has weathered the political instability of Cambodia with admirable fortitude.

• Ping An Village, Guangxi.

His skin changes chameleon-like with the seasons; granny apple green as the rice ripens and is harvested and then a reflective coppery brown when the terraces lie fallow. His scales are the silver, grey and green...

• Pudong

The world’s tallest hotel overlooking the busy Huang Pu River in sleepless Shanghai

• Punta Del Este

This is the South American Rivieria. Flashy, Family, Fun.

• Puxi

The softest sheets and the best house-keeping in Shanghai

• Puxi

Easy to orient yourself at this dead central, new hotel with its distinctive apex. New and contemporary, the JW Marriott feels more like a funky apartment block than a business hotel

• Puxi

Like a matriarch standing proud over her filial children, The Ritz Carlton Shanghai marks the beginning stretch of glitzy Nanjing Lu

• Recolector

Against the cobalt sky of Buenos Aires, the Alvear Palace’s grand form is breathtaking in the afternoon sunlight.

• Rio Tuichi

Bolivian Dreaming: the splooshing sounds of the paddle in your dugout canoe, on your way to a luxury jungle lodge in the Amazon.

• Seminyak

The Villas is ideal for couples holidaying together wanting to be close to the sophisticated nightlife and shopping of Bali.

• Seminyak

The Legian is a stylish boutique hotel for the beautiful people at the lazy end of the beach in the newly hip Seminyak area of Bali.

• Seychelles/Bird Island

Bird Island is about complete immersion, of human guests in a seabird colony

• Seychelles/Bird Island

Over-excited writers often use the P word to describe this stunning island country, but not me. Gorgeous, yes; stunning; absolutely. Awesome; resolutely but paradise? No

• Seychelles/Fregate Island

The island itself is awesome. Dramatic granite boulders rise from powdery white beaches and turquoise seas…

• Seychelles/La Digue

Imagine the worst beach on an island marketed as an elegant and mythical paradise

• Seychelles/North Island

North Island is the pinnacle of style in The Seychelles

• Seychelles/Praslin

The sands are whiter than white, the boulders extruded from the depths of the earth and polished smooth by the Indian Ocean…

• Shanghai

Slightly whimsical and close to the glamorous bars and restaurants on the Bund.

• Singapore/Chinatown

At the top of the lobby’s sweeping staircase a black-and-white swimming pool takes centre stage; it’s a focal point for many of the rooms

• Singapore/River

Fullerton is central and it’s sexy, and it’s crowded with Singaporean Sophisticates

• Singapore/Singapore City

A business class hotel in a heritage building offers rooms in the original shophouses of the shopping street below, lending welcome atmosphere

• Singapore/Singapore City

Unlike many inexpensive hotels no expense has been spared on light switches and fittings, linen or appliances…

• South Yarra

A very comfortable home in one Melbourne’s fashionable villages.

• Taiwan/Taipei

A hotel at the epicenter of Taiwanese business and social circles with nine food and beverage outlets and sweet staff speaking flawless English surrounded by Song Dynasty painting and sculpture.

• Taiwan/Taipei

While away a rainy Taipei afternoon in any of the luxurious lounges listening to jazz and perusing the eclectic collection of coffee table books.

• Thailand/Bangkok

Take a favoured companion and get intimate whilst vamping it up in this doyen of cool style.

• Thailand/Bangkok

On the banks of the Chao Praya River, The Oriental is one of just three hotels here. Don’t underestimate this drawcard for both entertainment and transport - the river supports the happy chaos of life Bangkok.

• Thailand/Bangkok

The Regent Bangkok is a business hotel in the centre of Siam, the business and shopping district in downtown Bangkok. It is every inch a Four Seasons, and comes complete with the quintessential Four Seasons American guest: seeking the comforts of home.

• Thailand/Chiang Mai

The private dream of a wealthy businessman, Dhara Dhevi succeeds in being kitsch, cool, ostentatious and revolting all at the same time. Love it or hate it, monumental effort is being spent creating a living museum to celebrate and preserve the cultural foundations of a dead Kingdom - all dished up with legendary oriental service

• Thailand/Hua Hin

Set 30 kilometres south of Hua Hin, this minimalist mixture of architectural styles is made for entertaining and outdoor living

• Thailand/Hua Hin

Life has to be good when you can afford to build an ocean front health retreat to pamper yourself and your best mates…

• Tsim Tsha Tsui

At the Pen, as she’s affectionately known around town, silver teapots and flatware are shined to perfection and dimpled smooth from their years of service

• Ubud

Folded into a Balinese Village; Kedewatan Amandari is the least private of the three sisters on the island, but providing the most reasons to be out and about. This resort is a great base for immersing yourself in a cultural tour of the Balinese lifestyle.

• Ubud

With sun salutations in the morning, jungle trekking in the afternoon and swimming in between, Bagus Jati is a health and wellness orientated get-away suitable for people who are not already fitness fanatics.

• UK/Cotswolds

Contemporary interiors set in a 17th-century pleasure park

• United Kingdom/Bagshot

Chintzy sporting club hotel a short drive from London.

• United Kingdom/Bath

Quintessentially English country house, with a great value one Michelin Star restaurant

• United Kingdom/Cotswolds

King Henry the VIIIs sixteenth century love nest on the edge of the Cotswolds.

• United Kingdom/Edinburgh

Theatrical suites in an historic auld world city are perfect for a naughty weekend, but book a long way in advance

• United Kingdom/London

Come for weekends away with the girls. Soak in ‘London’s deepest bath-tubs’, lather up with fine Floris smellies and sip champagne on deep sofas stacked with plump cushions and sink your toes into the deep carpets

• United Kingdom/Midlands

Old industrial Birmingham had been given a head start…

• United Kingdom/Portloe

Wild and windy views of the Cornish coast from a 17th century smuggling den. Gourmet food, massage and a great opportunity to clear out a muddled mind in a cozy relaxing hide-away.

• Uraguay/Carmelo

One of the newest Four Seasons resorts, this hotel nestles amongst the eucalyptus trees on the bank of the Rio Del Plato.

• Vietnam/Can Tho

Take the Victoria speedboat between hotels at Can Tho and Chao Doc for an enchanting experience of Mekong River lifestyle

• Vietnam/Dalat

One of Sofitel's most fortunate property management contracts

• Vietnam/Golden Triangle

More than thirty hill tribes inhabit this spectacular and mountainous migration path inside the Golden Triangle.

• Vietnam/Hanoi

A classic white colonial façade, green shutters and wrought iron balconies house Vietnams best hotel and serve as a base for Chef Didier, the current darling of the Asian fusion scene

• Vietnam/Hoi An

Hoi An is a world heritage town known for it’s fusion architecture and laid back lifestyle, a legacy left by 16th century Japanese and Chinese settlers

• Vietnam/Nha Trang

The newest Evason from Six Senses and the most luxurious beach property in Vietnam

• Vietnam/Quy Nhon

A child friendly terraced hotel set on a private beach 16 kilometres south of an undeveloped for tourists town along Vietnams most beautiful central stretch of coast.

• Vietnam/Saigon

Choose a deluxe suite on the executive floor for a spacious stay with city views and wireless internet

• Vietnam/Saigon

In 1975, from the rooftop bar of the Caravelle journalists reported on the liberation of the south as they watched the tanks roll over the front-line, cold beers in hand

• Vietnam/Tam Anh

Opened in late 2003, this barefoot hideaway is the dream of a retired French Adman and his family

• Western Australia

Ancient cultural site in Outback Australia with multiple Bradshaw Rock Art sites. Eat your way through gourmet days and sleeping under the stars. You are guests of the owners in this starkly beautiful & culturally secretive part of the world