A grand Highland hunting lodge – The Torridon, Wester Ross
Built in 1887 as a hunting lodge by the first Earl of Lovelace (husband of the computer pioneer Ada), this turreted, redbrick mansion sits beside Loch Torridon in a particularly spectacular corner of northwest Scotland.
Its recently revamped interiors feel “traditional” but unstuffy, said Susan d’Arcy in The Times, with jewel-like colours, “bright” patterns, and lots of wooden panelling. The 18 rooms in the main house have huge beds and marble bathrooms with free-standing baths, and there are a further 12 rooms (“cheerful if less characterful”) in a converted stable block. The two restaurants – casual and formal – draw heavily on produce from the hotel’s own farm and kitchen garden, and there are lots of outdoor activities to enjoy, from guided hiking and kayaking to falconry and clay-pigeon shooting.
Doubles from £258 b&b; thetorridon.com.
Luxury in Rwanda’s gorilla country – Bisate Reserve, Rwanda
The rainforests of east-central Africa are the home of the mountain gorilla, and nowhere is the great ape easier to see than in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. In 2017, Wilderness Safaris opened a beautiful lodge nearby, said Lisa Grainger in Condé Nast Traveller – and now it has added this “ultra-luxurious” sister property.
Its four villas have high wooden ceilings under domed thatched roofs, and are furnished with beautiful pieces by local craftsmen, including “hand-hewn” chairs, stone tables, and woven-basket lampshades. The big, black “egg-shaped” baths and outdoor hot tubs have “spectacular” views of the forested volcanoes all around, and there’s a restaurant serving “African-inspired” food. It is very “spoiling” – but note that gorilla trekking permits alone cost $1,500.
From £2,500pp per night; wildernessdestinations.com.
Glamorous living on the Amalfi Coast – Il San Pietro di Positano, Italy
From Gregory Peck to George Clooney, stars have long flocked to this “legendary” hotel outside Positano, said Nicky Swallow in The Telegraph. Set on tumbling cliffs, it is among the most “spectacular” properties on the Amalfi Coast, with gardens that spill down ten terraces to the sea – and yet it remains, at heart, a family operation, with genuinely warm service.
The 56 rooms and suites have been refurbished in the past few years, and have a “chic, crisp, fresh feel”, with fabrics in “Mediterranean colours”, and private terraces with wonderful sea views. The Michelin-starred restaurant offers Italian cuisine prepared with produce from the hotel’s kitchen garden, and there’s also a spa, a gym, and a lift down to sea level, where there are tennis courts and a private beach club.
Doubles from £720; ilsanpietro.com.
Serenity by the sea – Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Vietnam
Sprawling along the edge of a vast, soft-sand beach, fringed with palm trees, this serene resort in central Vietnam is “nirvana” for adults, and great fun for children too, said Tatler. It lies near the town of Hoi An, a Unesco World Heritage site with a “buzzy” social scene that teenagers might enjoy.
Its 100 villas have ocean views, private outdoor spaces (many with pools), and soothing interiors with a clean-lined, modern Asian aesthetic. The mattresses, in particular, are “exquisite”. Of the four restaurants, Nayuu – a 16-seat omakase counter – is the most dazzling, with “divine” cuts of toro sashimi flown in from Tokyo’s Toyosu Fish Market. There are three pools, an excellent kids’ club, extensive sports facilities, and a wonderful spa.
Doubles from £709; fourseasons.com.
High fashion on the Upper East Side – The Mark Hotel, United States
Set beside Central Park just south of the Met museum, The Mark is popular with a “fashionable, creative crowd”, said Katie Gatens in The Times. It’s here that many A-listers get dressed for the Met Gala, revealing their costumes to the paparazzi as they leave. The hotel was built in 1927, but its walls are so adorned with contemporary art that it “feels like the Guggenheim”. The 153 rooms are spacious and stylish, with their monochrome decor, and the suites – all recently refurbished – are “showstoppers”. There are two restaurants (one helmed by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the other, an outpost of the Parisian mainstay Caviar Kaspia), as well as a playful array of amenities, from a pavement hotdog stand to a yacht for sailing trips on the Hudson. The penthouse suite even has a private rooftop ice rink.
Doubles from £915; themarkhotel.com.
A tranquil oasis beside the Nile – Al Moudira, Egypt
This enchanting hotel is spread across a “mini village” of courtyard houses on Luxor’s leafy fringes, within easy reach of the great ancient sites, but far from the city’s tourist crowds. With its gardens “frothing with bougainvillea” and shaded by date palms, it feels like an oasis, said Chris Schalkx in Condé Nast Traveller, where the peace is broken only by birdsong and the occasional braying of donkeys from the organic farm next door.
Although recently built, the use of traditional construction techniques has given it a timeless air. Rooms, suites, and free-standing villas are enormous, and furnished with a charming hodgepodge of antiques and craftwork “plucked from bazaars”. There are two restaurants (offering “unfussy” Middle Eastern and international cuisine) and a pool, a spa, and a hammam.
Doubles from £285 b&b; moudira.com.
From a rainforest lodge to a fashionable address in Manhattan – here are six hotels that travel journalists recommend for this year
