By character
Coastal Villa
Hotel Le Toiny
The island's most private hotel: villa suites with private pools above rugged Anse de Toiny.
Hotel Nantipa
A small beachfront hotel on the Nicoya Peninsula, with direct access to Santa Teresa's sand.
Il San Pietro di Positano
A Relais & Châteaux landmark cut into the Positano cliffs, with a private beach below.
InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort
A dramatic Bensley-designed resort stacked across four levels of the Son Tra Peninsula.
Itz'ana Resort & Residences
Contemporary Belizean-colonial villas straddling beach and lagoon on the Placencia peninsula.
Jumeirah Muscat Bay
Beachfront resort with hillside villas and pools, fifteen minutes from central Muscat.
Knockinaam Lodge
Ten-room Victorian hunting lodge in its own Galloway cove, with a seven-course set dinner.
Kumarakom Lake Resort
Heritage villa resort on Lake Vembanad in the Kerala backwaters, with a meandering pool.
Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort
Whitewashed suites with private terraces on the Tourist Corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose.
Le Sirenuse
Family-run Positano landmark with a starred restaurant and a famous Champagne bar.
Marbella Club Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa
Bungalows and villas in mature gardens on the Golden Mile, the original Marbella address.
Milos Cove
An all-suite retreat above a private Milos inlet, with a pool and sea view in every room.
NIHI Sumba
Twenty-seven thatched pool villas on a remote surf coast on the island of Sumba, east of Bali.
Nonsuch Bay Resort
Apartment-style resort above a reef-sheltered east-coast bay with a serious sailing school.
Penally Abbey
Small Gothic country house over Tenby's south beach, with ruined chapel and sea views.
Post Ranch Inn
Adults-only cliffside retreat in Big Sur where every room faces either ocean or redwood forest.
Raes on Wategos
Small whitewashed boutique hotel directly on Wategos Beach, Byron Bay's most sheltered cove.
Rayavadee
Boat-access resort of round thatched pavilions between three beaches on Krabi's Railay peninsula.
Regent Phu Quoc
A contemporary all-suite resort on Long Beach with pool villas and a well-regarded spa.
Reid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel, Madeira
Madeira's grand old clifftop hotel above Funchal, open since 1891 and still the island's best.
Rosewood Baha Mar
The luxury component of Cable Beach's Baha Mar development, with British colonial styling.
Rosewood Kauri Cliffs
Clifftop Northland lodge on a 6,000-acre ranch, with a celebrated golf course and three beaches.
Rosewood Le Guanahani St Barth
Colourful cottage-style resort on its own peninsula, with a lagoon on one side and surf on the other.
Rosewood Mayakoba
Waterway-linked suites with private plunge pools inside the Mayakoba reserve, north of Playa del Carmen.