The Gallivant, East Sussex
Built in the 1960s as the Blue Dolphin Motel, but radically revamped in recent years, this wonderful hotel sits just opposite Camber Sands, near Rye, said Fiona Duncan in The Telegraph. Surrounded by a “wild and natural” coastal garden, it has a “stylish, fun and feel-good vibe”, and thoroughly deserves its new Michelin Key (the “hotel equivalent” to a star). Go for one of the Luxury Garden rooms, which have free-standing baths and “flowery” private patios, and stay for dinner at the hotel’s “restaurant-cum-lounge”, Harry’s, where chef Matthew Harris (formerly of Bibendum) cooks simple and tasty food.
Doubles from £307 b&b; thegallivant.co.uk.
The Ship, Brancaster, Norfolk
Having opened the excellent Sculthorpe Mill in north Norfolk in 2021, sisters Siobhan and Caitriona Peyton have now refurbished this charming old pub in the nearby seaside village of Brancaster, said Chris Haslam in The Times. Each of the nine rooms and suites has its own character (one resembles a “tutor’s study”), but all are pleasant and comfortable. Downstairs, there’s a bar with a menu of pub classics, and an excellent restaurant, where the food is “simple” but “expertly prepared” (I loved the “wickedly rich” lobster rice with samphire). Brancaster’s beautiful beach is a four-minute drive away.
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Doubles from £145 b&b; theshipbrancaster.uk.
W Prague, Czech Republic
The W Hotels group is known for its youthful, party-loving style. Lately, however, it has taken on some "grown-up" properties, such as Budapest's Drechsler Palace, and now this art nouveau landmark on Prague's glorious Wenceslas Square. Formerly known as the Grand Hotel Europa, it has been beautifully restored, said Rick Jordan in Condé Nast Traveller, with lots of marble and stained glass. The Grand Café is "aglow with chandeliers again", and there's a new wing with some stylish guest rooms. Don't miss the splendid meeting space where Franz Kafka gave his only known reading in 1912.
Doubles from £265; w-hotels.marriott.com
Palazzo Durazzo Suites, Genoa, Italy
The port city of Genoa was once the richest in Europe. Today it's an underrated destination, with plenty of architectural and artistic treasures hidden away amid its winding streets. This hotel occupying a baroque palace that was once the "official guest house" of the city state, is Genoa's best, said Brendan Shanahan in Condé Nast Traveller. It has 12 suites where sleek modern furnishings and "museum quality" antiques are set off against 18th-century frescoes; one even has its own chapel. And its location is excellent – right next to the medieval harbour, over which the breakfast room commands "lovely" views.
Doubles from £370; palazzodurazzo.com.
Osip, Somerset
"Field-to-plate" restaurant Osip was one of the main attractions in trendy Bruton until last August, when it moved to the quieter village of South Brewham nearby, Its new home is within a 17th-century coaching inn that has been revamped in a "beguiling" minimalist style, said Susan d'Arcy in The Times. Chef Merlin Labron-Johnson's 10-course tasting menus are "heavenly" – love letters "to the local landscape" for which he thoroughly deserves his Michelin star. And the four bedrooms are "airy and light-filled". Only one gripe: with boiled eggs as the only cooked option, breakfast is a bit too minimalist.
Doubles from £240 B&B; osiprestaurant.com.
Capella Taipei, Taiwan
Set in a "leafy" residential area of Taipei, this recent opening from the Singapore-based Capella brand is the city's first new five-star hotel in over a decade, said Patrick Hamilton Courtney in The Telegraph. The celebrated designer André Fu has used a restrained palette and acres of wood and marble in the airy, elegant public spaces and the 86 rooms, all of which command sweeping city views from their floor-to-ceiling windows. There is a lovely spa, four outstanding restaurants (including a fabulous Cantonese joint), and a concierge team who can arrange many activities, from traditional picnics to guided temple tours.
Le Dune Piscinas, Sardinia
Recently reopened following a three-year makeover, this "characterful" beach hotel is the perfect base for exploring Sardinia's wild southwest coast, said Rick Jordan in Condé Nast Traveller. It occupies an old warehouse set amid vast sand dunes – a "primordial" landscape scattered with the "surreal" detritus of long-abandoned mines and backed by hills cloaked in fragrant maquis. The 29 rooms and suites have simple furnishings enlivened by a good collection of contemporary art, and there's an outdoor pool and a "small but lovely" spa. The hotel's restaurant serves good modern Italian cuisine.
Dunas de Formentera, Spain
Back in the day, this "barebones beach motel" on the little island of Formentera was the kind of place "in-the-know creatives" from nearby Ibiza escaped to in midsummer. Lately, tourist numbers have increased and it has smartened up its act, said Maya Boyd in Condé Nast Traveller – and yet it retains its "pared-back vibes", with "capacious" bedrooms decorated in pale colours, terraces edged with lavender and banana palms, and a crescent-shaped "slip" of a swimming pool. Best of all, however, is the setting – the "scrubby" sand dunes, the starry skies, the "crash of waves" close by – all quite unchanged by time.
Voaara, Madagascar
Set on a small island off the east coast of Madagascar, this new 100-acre resort is a picture-perfect tropical escape, said Lisa Grainger in Condé Nast Traveller. Its forests are alive with birdsong, its palm-fringed beach is white, and its seas are the "palest" aquamarine. There are seven thatched beach cottages and a three-bedroom pool villa, all with "super-comfy" beds. In the restaurant, the "starry" Spanish chef Aleixandre Sarrion draws on "fresh island ingredients" for his "Med-meets Asia" menus; and there are two massage rooms, a boat for fishing or diving trips, and bikes for exploring the island and its wooden villages.
Brach Madrid, Spain
Part of the French-owned Evok collection, the Brach is the latest in a recent wave of new luxury hotels to open in Madrid, said Lydia Bell in Condé Nast Traveller. Housed in an "elegant" 1920s building, it has interiors designed by "the man who invented the boutique hotel", Philippe Starck. The 53 rooms and four suites have warm, earthy tones, dark wood joinery, and appealing curios; and the "low-lit" restaurant is similarly stylish, with 1920s brasserie mirrors and lots of leather. The pan-Mediterranean cuisine is wonderful, and there's a 20m pool and a spa with an impressive suite of "biohacking gadgets".
Doubles from £480; brachmadrid.com.
The Manor House Inn, Ditcheat, Somerset
The Chickpea Group runs "some of the Southwest's best country boozers", and has recently revamped this 17th-century inn near Bruton. The makeover is "stylish", said Susan d'Arcy in The Times, but the place is as friendly and "convivial" as ever. Mellow stone floors, "moody" paints and flickering candles make for a "cosy ambience", and though the nine guest rooms are "compact", they have big, comfy beds and spacious showers. Food is "delicious", and there's much to see nearby, including racehorse trainer Paul Nicholls' stables next door, and the "trendy" Hauser & Wirth gallery.
Doubles from £130 B&B; manorhouseinnditcheat.co.uk.
Blackberry Farm, Tennessee, United States
Set beside Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Blackberry Farm is a "Southern sanctuary" of "storybook perfection", said Jesse Ashlock in Condé Nast Traveler. It has 68 rooms, including cottages, which balance "rustic country style" with "functional modernity". Inventive but comforting dishes are served in a 200-year-old timber-framed barn that was moved here from Pennsylvania Dutch Country. There's a spa and pool, activities for children (including petting the Italian truffle-hunting dogs bred on site), and "adventure guides" are on hand to take you fishing, hiking and riding.
Doubles from about £900; blackberryfarm.com.
andBeyond Mnemba Island, Tanzania
A tiny "blob" of sand in the Zanzibar archipelago, Mnemba is Tanzania's most "glam" private island resort, said Lisa Grainger in Condé Nast Traveler.
Opened in 1996 but rebuilt last year, it's "the antithesis of bling", with just 12 "Crusoe-esque" villas – "curvaceous" structures made from wood and palm, into which "sea air (and an occasional bird, crab, or bat) can waft". The bar and restaurant are shaded by casuarina trees and sit beside a blindingly white beach. Trips to Zanzibar's main island are easy, and there's a spa with a "breezy" yoga deck, and a watersports centre manned by friendly local instructors.
Doubles from £620; andbeyond.com
Rockhouse Hotel, Jamaica
With its "stone-and-thatch" villas and "bright-red" ladders dropping into the sea, the Rockhouse represents a certain brand of old-school "Jamaican cool", said Lale Arikoglu in Condé Nast Traveler. Staff regale guests with stories of Bob Marley and The Rolling Stones jumping off its cliffs in the 1970s, and little has changed in the hotel's design since then – its stone-floored studios and villas retain their "bohemian" air. There's a spa and two restaurants – one serving Jamaican classics, the other more "American-leaning". All in all, a "soulful" alternative to Negril's "slicker" resorts and all-inclusives.
Doubles from £137; rockhouse.com.
The Brando, French Polynesia
Marlon Brando bought the Polynesian atoll of Tetiaroa while filming "Mutiny on the Bounty" in 1960, and it became his "beloved hideaway". The resort he built later fell into disuse, but it was relaunched 10 years ago, and is still as heavenly as ever, said Megan Spurrell in Condé Nast Traveler. There are two restaurants, a spa and 35 beachfront villas, each with its own plunge pool. Guests can cycle to open-air temples, snorkel on the reef, and kayak past bird-nesting sites, before returning for mai tais at Bob's Bar, which also serves some of Brando's favourite treats, including coconut ice cream with chocolate sauce.
Doubles from £2,679 all-inclusive; thebrando.com.
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