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The HOTELS AROUND THE WORLD WE always RECOMMEND The For our editors and contributors, three days in any cit usually means a diferent bed every night. Te running joke in our ofce is that unless a high-end propert is truly special, something called luxury fatigue sets in by the last day. In other words, the miles of mar- ble or omnipresent butler can feel gratuitous if not oppressive. Wat we prize most is the uniqueness List of hotels—stalwarts of authenticit in the age of global homogeneit. Because in the end, it’s the little things—waking to the call to prayer at El Fenn in Marrakech, or the mood lighting that makes everyone feel like a sexier version of themselves at the historic Soho House bar in Istanbul. As hotel obsessives, we know that where you stay can deter- mine the fate of your trip, that a hotel must clear some very high hurdles in order to justif your spending the money and time away from the kids, the spouse, or the ofce. 2017 Wat follows are our impassioned recommen- dations for the hotels we visit time and again— and daydream about long afer checkout. P.68 62 Condé Nast Traveler / 01.17 lettering by LES GRAPHIQUANTS 0117-TR-GLJA01 GOLD LIST An ODE to HOTELS in India If choosing the right hotel can feel akin to climbing a summit, then travelers to India start at a higher base camp than most: Stay at any luxury hotel here and you’re more or less guaranteed good food and attentive service. (Maybe too atten- tive? Te Indian version of service is much more, let’s say, involved than many Westerners are accustomed to.) But the most memorable hotels ofer something else—their own interpretations of Indian history. Tink of the coolly elegant Imperial New Delhi, its hallways hung with Raj-era photographs, or the grand, marble-floored Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, both of which pay homage to the country’s colonial era; or of Jaipur’s ecstatically colorful and patterned Suján Rajmahal Palace, a former royal guest- house that finds its inspiration in the glory and excess of the Mughals. And it’s not only the aesthetics that make Indian hotels singular, it’s how creatively, and boldly, they incorporate the country’s most iconic landscapes and sites. One has only to stay at the Oberoi Amarvilas, in Agra, where every room has a view of the Taj Mahal—accessible via a golf-cart ride provided by the hotel—or Amanbagh, outside Jaipur, drawn along the lines of The a former prince’s hunting grounds, where Colonnade the air is fragrant with wood smoke restaurant NOTHING IN THE WORLD IS MORE from the nearby villages and loud with in the Suján Rajmahal RELAXING THAN WATCHING WATER the chatter of monkeys, to know this. But Palace. BUFFALO GRAZE IN BRILLIANT- what unites them all is a dedication to splendor: You’re on vacation, they remind GREEN, BREEZE-RIPPLED RICE PADDIES us—isn’t this the time to be dazzled? FROM YOUR THAI-STYLE DAYBED. HANYA YANAGIHARA Peter Jon Lindberg on the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai in Tailand BelloRolland Photographby 68 Condé Nast Traveler / 01.17 0117-TR-GLJA02 GOLD LIST THE Monuments Beach at The Cape in Cabo San Beaches Lucas. WE RETURN TO quiet beaches and, because it’s a car-free island, super- relaxed guests biking AGAIN AND AGAIN... all around.” Paulie Dibner Laucala Island, Fiji “Yes, it’s crazy-expensive. THERE’S But you’ll get access to an entire private island— The Cape, A Thompson The Datai Langkawi, added 26 new beach huts NO including Fijian horses to Hotel, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Malaysia just last year.” P.J.L. POINT explore it, acres of tropical “One of the sexiest grown- “So much to love here, like orchards, a staf-to-guest Guana Island, British ups’ weekend spots I’ve the jungle-meets-the-sea set- TO ratio of six-to-one, and rides Virgin Islands ever been to.” Rebecca Misner ting and rain forest walks A on a $1.85 million Super “You don’t go to this private with charming resident natu- Falcon submarine.” P.J.L. island for the activities or Cheval Blanc Randheli, ralist Irshad Mubarak.” P.J.L. PLUNGE Maldives the pampering. A book and POOL Nihiwatu, Sumba Island, “An overwater villa is a Eden Rock–St Barths sunblock are the only acces- Indonesia dream come true, but the “It’s the unicorn of hotels— sories you’ll need.” Y.E. IF “Believe the hype. It has slightly more spacious glamorous without feeling gorgeous eco-savvy design, Hermitage Bay, Antigua YOU snoot, stlish but still superb surfing and deep- on-the-sand option here is “I like how it feels very raw playful, a throwback but not CAN’T sea fishing, a remarkable the ultimate fantasy beach in the landscape, not too at all dated, and just philanthropic arm in the house.” Cynthia Rosenfeld manicured or precious. Te SKINNY- so damn chic. Te people- Sumba Foundation, restaurant places a huge DIP COMO Parrot Cay, watching at that hotel is as and soul to spare.” P.J.L. emphasis on local every- Turks and Caicos epic as the beach.” R.M. IN IT. “Just a quick nonstop thing. Tey don’t have an THAT’S Ocean House, flight from New York, yet it El Nido Resorts Pangulasian extensive menu—just what Watch Hill, Rhode Island feels thousands of miles Island, Philippines is fresh that day from the NOT A “Tis perfectly restored away. Te first time I came “Tis barefoot-luxe resort on farmer or the fisherman.” Y.E. Victorian grande dame a private island faces an PROBLEM right on the sound is here, Keith Richards was Hotel Esencia, Playa del absurdly photogenic beach. the height of an all-croquet- holding court in the tiny bar. Carmen, Mexico HERE. Kayak those clear waters to whites WASP fantasy— Te next morning, Christie “Tis small, 29-room hotel Cynthia Rosenfeld uninhabited nearby islands.” minus the 1987 Volvo Brinkley waved hello as is like that efortlessly on Trisara P.J.L. in Phuket, Tailand wagon and Triscuits.” P.G. she jogged past my chaise stlish beach house your longue. Te 13-year-old Four Seasons Resort Costa secretly fancy freshman One&Only Palmilla, me would have freaked out.” Rica at Peninsula Papagayo roommate invited you San José del Cabo, Mexico P.J.L. “Falling asleep to the to over winter break, and “Every one of the four restau- sound of waves crashing that reset the lifestle rants is truly fantastic, Cuixmala, Jalisco, Mexico and howler monkeys bar from there on out.” Murray & Paola Photographby “It’s a long drive from the and the spa rivals that of saying good night is prett Pilar Guzmán airport—more than three La Mamounia in Marrakech.” pleasant. Book a canopy Maca Huneeus hours—but it’s paradise. Jumby Bay, A Rosewood suite with a private plunge Wile the water can be Resort, Antigua pool.” Lauren DeCarlo dramatic at times, the beau- “Don’t let the fact that it’s tiful pool that overlooks GoldenEye, Jamaica an all-inclusive scare you it will do the trick.” Yolanda “Pure elegance and a stun- away. Tere’s no swim- Edwards ning location. Tey also up bar here, only blissfully 70 Condé Nast Traveler / 01.17 0117-TR-GLJA03 ITALIANS do it BETTER Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo, Taormina, Sicily “It earned its place on the Grand Tour in the late nineteenth century, and achieves a near impossi- ble visual trifecta with views of Mount Etna, the Ionian Sea, and the third-century B.C. Greek theater.” P.G. Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli, Brescia, Lombardy “The decor is divine, the view of Lake Garda is so relaxing your shoulders will drop three inches, and the restaurant has some of the best food we’ve ever had at a hotel, much of it from its gar- den.” Y.E. Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Como, Lombardy “A dead ringer for the Grand Budapest Hotel, only on Lake Como. The service is great, but that’s a given in Italian hotels of this stature. It’s dog-friendly, kid- friendly. And oh boy, that view. What can I say, I love it.” Oddur Thorisson Hotel Il Pellicano, Porto Ercole, Tuscany “It’s all just so good: that curved pool carved out of the rock, the terraced restaurant that hangs over the sea, and the dock reached by a hundred stone steps leading down the cliff.” Ondine Cohane illustrations by ARMANDO VEVE Condé Nast Traveler / 01.17 71 0117-TR-GLJA04 GOLD LIST The Mwiba Lodge Extreme luxury done with SAFARI class—you can feel the INDEX care of the American own- ers here. Rooms catch the Tanzanian dawn, the Our Special Correspondent leopard coming in to drink, Sophy Roberts has been on the weaver bird nests 20 safaris in 13 African that quiver like baubles in the acacia trees. countries. Here, her picks for the ultimate properties that Segera Retreat reflect the pulse of Africa, Kenya’s Segera works for where the wild things roam second-time visitors to Africa, or for a large right outside your door. hit of luxury at the end of a dusty tour. Hole up in the spa, beside the pool, and savor every bite of that seriously thoughtful organic food. Singita Sabora Tented Camp andBeyond Phinda Vlei Lodge Made up of 1920s-style If South Africa is the sure- tents on Tanzania’s Sabora hit destination for the safari Plain, Sabora makes CHOOSE YOUR virgin, then this lodge—in you feel like you’re the a private game reserve eas- mistress in White Mischief, ily overlooked for the more surrounded by campaign touristed Sabi Sands—is the furniture, Persian rugs, one to satisfy the most fin- gramophones, a hundred icky of travelers.