Tewinbury Farm Hotel, Hertfordshire
Doubles from £175 b&b; tewinbury.co.uk.
Hyll, Charingworth, Gloucestershire
T.S. Eliot wrote the first of the poems in his “Four Quartets” at Charingworth Manor in 1934, after visiting another nearby manor, Burnt Norton. It later became a hotel, and this year it has been revamped as Hyll, said Fiona Duncan in The Telegraph. The name might grate, but it’s a calmer, more relaxing place than many of its “trendy” Cotswolds rivals, with 26 “cocoon”-like rooms, with heavenly beds and wonderful books (though the decor is slightly dull). There’s a garden with “spectacular” views, and good food, including pleasing breakfast dishes such as Scotch woodcock (scrambled eggs and anchovies).
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Doubles from £350 b&b; hyllhotel.com.
The Netty, Oxford
Built in 1895, the gentlemen’s lavatories in the middle of St Giles – a central Oxford thoroughfare – closed in 2008, only to reopen recently as two self-contained, subterranean boutique hotel rooms, said Kathryn Bromwich in The Observer. They are spacious and have “impeccable” decor, with “luxuriant” fabrics and rich colours that lend a faintly Victorian air, with nods to the nearby Ashmolean Museum and Oxford Playhouse, including plaster casts and “theatrical” curtains. Glass blocks in the roof diffuse light into the rooms, and there are beautifully tiled en suites, “comfortable” beds, a keypad for access and a helpline for queries.
Rooms from £170; thenetty.co.uk.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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