Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort
Monaco

Imagine a spacious world-class resort on a reclaimed peninsula in Europe’s most compact country. Stay in the Royal Suite of this 330-room property, and you’ll look out over the cliff-top gardens, including a 100-metre sand-bottomed lagoon, to the blue Mediterranean far below. As GM Sergio Mangini points out, you can also swim in the 25-metre-diameter indoor circular pool and then relax in the Blue Bay restaurant, which has a glass-walled wine storage room.

www.montecarloresort.com

Grand Hyatt Beijing
Beijing, China

Foodies stay at this 825-room urban oasis just for Made in China, a unique restaurant where everything, including the bottles of oil, is produced nationally. Food specialists include a veteran whose particular skill is opening the necks of ducks before they are turned into Peking edibles. GM Christopher Koehler also runs one of the world’s sexiest indoor pools, the basement Club Oasis. I would choose one of the rooms on the 17th floor to be near the Grand Club lounge.

www.beijing.grand.hyatt.com

Four Seasons Resort Great Exuma at Emerald Bay
Bahamas, West Indies

Pirates of the Caribbean 2, starring Johnny Depp, was shot here. Ice cream-coloured buildings, highlighted in white, are set in gardens right by the ocean. Villa 9301, with its pale blue exterior, opens directly onto the sand dunes. As well as beach sports, there are lots of dining opportunities and an oceanside golf course designed by Greg Norman. Canadian Antoine Chahwan runs this 183-room resort, a favourite with the families who have discovered it.

www.fourseasons.com

The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach
Miami, Florida

Lie around the gorgeous pool of this 376-room hotel, a transformation of the famous DeLido Hotel, which opened in 1953. GM John Rolfs runs one of the hippest places in town. Suite 496, with a balcony, has superb views across 50 metres of sand to the Atlantic Ocean and is near the Mobil four-star spa, headed by Ryan Crabbe. Those in the know book an Ashiatsu massage, where therapists literally hang from the ceiling to work the body with their feet.

www.ritzcarlton.com

Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi,
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Isuzu dealer Suchet Suwanmongkol has built a seemingly traditional Thai village – complete with 5,000 mature trees – that houses a unique 150-villa resort, run by art historian Patrick-Denis Finet. Villa 91, with its own eight-metre pool overlooking working rice terraces and water buffalo, is handy to the spa, a copy of a medieval Mandalay palace. Cycle round the village or take in the resort’s cultural offerings, including the library’s collection of rare books.

www.mandarinoriental.com

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Mary Gostelow is president and editor-in-chief of the online magazine Kiwi Collection. You can reach her by writing to mgostelow@enroutemag.net.

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