This boutique hotel on the Cte d'Azur is ideal for art lovers filled with the wonderful private collection of the owner. Each of the rooms are spacious giving La Maison du Frne the intimate feel of home away from home. It's location in the heart of Vence means the treasures and delights of the Riviera lie right on your doorstep.
La Rsidence d'Angkor is a place of hidden charms. Arranged around a discreet courtyard with an inky swimming pool as its centerpiece this stylish sanctuary encourages you to slow right down. The rooms are open and inviting blending traditional materials with subtly modern design and you can't help but love the oversize bathtubs. And the spa; oh the spa. In a word? Special.
If another architect had had their way with the former water-purifying factory of La Purificadora the end result might be a slap in the face for the baroque buildings of Puebla but Ricardo Legorreta's sensitive reinvention is more a pat on the back. Combining the weathered woods peeling paintwork and other original elements of industry with vast black-granite staircases glass panels and rich purple couches arranged around open coal fires this boutique hotel in Mexico is an inspiring shrine to industrial chic.
A beguiling blend of East meets West La Rsidence Phou Vao is an intimate tropical resort with one of the most magical views in well pretty much anywhere. A reflective pond extends from the lobby into the horizon the infinity pool plunges into the jungle and the beautifully proportioned rooms finished in rosewood put the luxe into Laos.
You may be astonished by the sheer peacefulness that greets you in the sleepy residential quartier that houses La Maison Bord'eaux. Right on the edge of the city centre it is located on a cobbled backstreet rarely disturbed by much more than the meowing of a cat perched on a Citron bonnet. In the stylish rooms contemporary dcor is in marked contrast to the fine 18th-century buildings; the dark sheen of the wood floors and honey-coloured stonework offsets the vibrant colour of the walls.
La Maison sur la Sorgue's owners Frederic and Marie-Claude have trotted the globe and brought their favourite bits home. This boutique hotel on L'Isle sur la Sorgue is scattered with magpie-picked pieces from all over the place that sit amid the restored architecture of this old private mansion. Behind the huge wooden doors in a side-street sanctuary off the busy square an airy expanse that awaits.
It's the outdoor environment of this retreat near Sller that is the star of the show; the path around Ca's Xorc leads you through the dining area - buzzing at lunchtime candlelit for dinner. When the terrace ends follow the 100-year-old olive trees down to the swimming pool: not just any swimming pool but an infinity pool that gives the illusion you're swimming off the cliff edge and into the valley below.
Originally a French farmhouse this stunning boutique hotel near Uzs has been transformed from a crumbling mas to a luxury guesthouse. Outside Clos du Lth an infinity pool and lavender gardens dance to the background of the rolling vineyards and apricot orchards of Provence. Inside original stone walls blend with heavy wooden doors and vaulted ceilings while private terraces accentuate an abundance of space and light.
If Robinson Crusoe had hung out with Kevin McCloud and Giorgio Armani instead of Man Friday his desert-island dwelling would probably have looked a lot like Cocoa Island: beautifully designed this resort in the Maldives is the embodiment of understated elegance. Resembling a collection of Keralan boathouses the individual over-water villas have soothing white-on-white interiors and teak flooring to create an ambience of laid-back romance. The scuba diving here is terrific and after an afternoon of reef watching you can soothe away any aches and pains in the world-class Como Shambhala spa...
Clift is the epitome of San Francisco decadence - the monumental scale of the lobby the drama of the double-storey Redwood Room bar the theatrical elegance of the restaurant means that this place has the glam factor in spades. But escape upstairs and the rooms are fresh simple and stylish - a tranquil haven for when you slip off your Louboutins. It's all about serious luxe here... and then some.
Ever since John Profumo first laid eyes on Christine Keeler as she basked in Cliveden's pool it's been clear that this Berkshire boutique hotel was destined to be a Mr & Mrs Smith retreat of choice. As well as being a celebrated haunt for politicos and literati this majestic neoclassical manor with its air of faded grandeur is the proud birthplace of the £100 club sandwich - worth every penny we're relieved to add.
Perched on the border of the Dordogne region on the edge of the peaceful working village of Marthon Chteau de la Couronne blends its 16th-century heritage with its owners' contemporary-interiors know-how. In addition to whispers of 60s and 70s design savvy in its five suites the witty and urbane boutique hotel features a private cinema five acres of polished parkland and three kick-back-and-relax salons.