Gakondo

17/08/2022

This is a Four Seasons, so you can expect seamless service and a lot of greige carpeting. However, this particular outpost is somewhat unique in that so many big names were tapped for its creation: floral designer Jeff Leatham, composer Brian Eno, architect Norman Foster, and chefs Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Greg Vernick. Their contributions along with expansive skyline views from every vantage point on the property and passionate, genuine service could make this the beginning of a transformation of Philadelphia's hotel scene.

17/08/2022

The staff at this hotel in Belgravia near Hyde Park “go out of their way to do anything and everything to make your stay terrific”—all while wearing uniforms designed by Giorgio Armani. The weathered brick and Portland stone building has interiors colored to evoke the five elements. Rooms, reached via a corridor of black corrugated wood paneling, are mostly in shades of white with accents of brown and purple, and have Sapele hardwood veneers and Egyptian cotton linens. Nahm offers contemporary Thai cuisine like quail salad with sour-plum leaves.

17/08/2022

Life isn’t perfect. That’s why we have places like Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, where the world’s most glamorous people descend every summer to live on what feels like an impeccably styled film set. The last day of my most recent stay here—the one I had reserved to spend entirely by its swimming pool, cut into rocks overlooking a glittering blue Mediterranean Sea—turned out to be gray and overcast. By this time, I had already experienced the other attractions: the rose garden, the tennis courts, the private cabanas where I enjoyed a massage, the restaurants that manage to feel casually chic in the day and all dressed up at night, and the Manolo Valdés exhibition on its perfectly manicured lawns, where pine trees are being carefully planted to eventually replace the imposing ones standing now. This is a place where nostalgia is kept alive, where corridors are filled with photographs of its most famous guests from the past 150 years, where golden sunshine infuses everyone and everything with an air of romance, so that your time here feels lengthened and expanded, and etched in memory no matter how short your visit actually is. You will leave so well taken care of, so well fed, so intoxicated by the heady, fragrant summer breeze that even a cold final day on the French Riviera will not taint your mood. Instead, it will seem like just a little twist in the plot, enough to make you believe that the rest of your life is pretty perfect after all. Doubles from $740. —Divia Thani

11/08/2022

After a three-year renovation, the former Austrian Hungarian Monarchy Bank headquarters located in Vienna’s Goldenes Quartier was transformed into the first Hyatt hotel in Austria. The 143 rooms are some of the largest in Vienna, and the location—within walking distance of St. Stephen’s Cathedral and surrounded by some of Vienna’s best shopping—makes this a luxury hotel that guests can certainly bank on.

11/08/2022

Between historic quarter The Rocks and the ferry-flocked Circular Quay, towering five-star Four Seasons Hotel Sydney has grand public areas and commands some of the best views in town. (Gazing over Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge never gets dull!) Decor in the 531 contemporary rooms and suites radiates quality, with generous windows that let the Instagram-friendly views do the talking. Sydney’s largest heated outdoor hotel pool and on-site Endota Spa will leave you feeling refreshed, with Australian-inspired, all-natural treatments, a sauna, steam room, whirlpool bath, and gym.

11/08/2022

What if you could actually visit the Garden of Eden? And what if it was surrounded by vineyards, historic Cape Dutch farm buildings, and a formal French-style potager garden, where you could pick your own strawberries and fragrant herbs? At Babylonstoren, in the Drakenstein Valley, 33 miles northeast of Cape Town, the mythical garden comes to life. Founded in 1690, the 590-acre compound is modeled on the farms that supplied the ships making their way around the Cape of Good Hope en route to India. The cottages and suites are minimalist but stylish. You won’t find a grand lobby or an obsequious concierge here, but the staff, most of whom are wearing T-shirts, aprons, or khakis, combine a genuine eagerness to help with a high level of knowledge about the farm and its long history. Stay long enough and eventually—after a visit to the on-site bakery, the winery, the cheesemaker, the butcher, and the farm-tank-style swimming pool—you may forget that you’re staying at a hotel.

06/08/2022

To book a stay at this impeccably designed escape, guests must send an inquiry through the website—a sign of just how exclusive the hotel is. The reward is an extremely private getaway with a relaxing natural, neutral design. A 1950s-era beach motel was transformed into this serene escape, which opened in April 2017. The hotel is a study in high-design restraint—which is clear after setting one foot inside its almost hidden entrance. Guests enter into a courtyard that looks out onto the ocean, which leads to a beautiful garden. Follow the path to a deck made from ipe wood that overlooks Carbon Beach and Malibu Pier.

06/08/2022

The pretty Georgian manor house, all honeyed Bath stone, sits at the end of an avenue of sky-high beech and lime trees, surrounded by gardens like a Jane Austen film set. On the grounds there’s a personable cottage for weekending families, a world-class equestrian center, and a serious cooking school. But you don’t have to whip up your own supper. Chef Hywel Jones plates up exquisite food in his eponymous restaurant. That in itself is a reason to stay. So are the roaring fires, the paneled libraries, the canopied four-poster beds, and the moody oil paintings. A purposeful drive in recent years to make the place feel less formal has resulted in a cheery bounce in the staff's step, a raising of chatter levels to almost a hum in the evenings, and a relaxed atmosphere where you can wear your robe down to the ESPA spa and back again without feeling like a terrible slob. Eagle-eyed guests will spot the curious Greek elements dotted around—the urns in the bathroom, the Acropolis paintings in the dining room, the Hellenic motif on the plates. This country retreat feels resonant and rooted, delightfully British to the core.

06/08/2022

06/08/2022