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Luxury Getaways
Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, Thailand Location Situated on the Gulf of Thailand, this secluded resort is perched on a steeply graded crescent, rising from the sandy beach of Laem Yai Bay. Cuisine Have breakfast up on Lan Tania terrace, overlooking the blue ocean, and dinner on the beach at Pla Pla restaurant. Highlight Swim in your personal pool, cantilevered over the steep terrain. Insider tip Arrive by daylight at the open-air reception, which looks down 100 metres, over thatched-roof villas set in mature terrain with more than 850 coconut palms, to the clear blue sea. Rooms 63 villas, all with 12-metre infinity pools, plus private residences. GM Rainer Stampfer. 66-77-243-000, fourseasons.com/kohsamui
The Mod Resort Location A chic boutique hotel, the Mod Resort is only a five-minute drive from the superb shopping and restaurants on El Paseo. Highlight Wake up in the crisp, dry desert air before deciding which golf course, mall or restaurant to hit that day. Insider tip Take time to chat with the owner, an Argentinian-born fashion designer who left her Malibu boutique to buy the Desert Patch Inn, built in 1954, and give it a makeover. It now comes with white curtains, dark wood floors, flat-screen TVs, 500-count sheets and Frette robes. Thing to do Take a walking tour of Palm Springs’ vintage motels, including the Willows Historic Palm Springs Inn, where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard honeymooned. Rooms 14. GM Laura Slipak. 760-674-1966, modresort.com
InterContinental London Park Lane Location This stately hotel is at the hub of Hyde Park Corner and a few minutes walk from Buckingham Palace. Cuisine The casual Cookbook Cafe hosts frequent book launches, while the Italian restaurant Theo Randall at the InterContinental is headed by the former top chef at the world-famous River Café. Thing to do Go for a pre-breakfast run around Hyde Park’s 45-minute circuit with dozens of regular runners. Room to book Ask for any room overlooking Wellington Arch, which honours Sir Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, who lived at the adjacent Apsley House. Rooms 447. GM Roland Fasel. 44-20-7409-3131, ichotelsgroup.com
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Mary Gostelow is the editor-in-chief of Wow Travel, the online magazine of