Pucón, Chile is an 80-minute flight (and then a 90-minute drive) from Santiago, a city that already feels far away from pretty much everything. Perched on the water’s edge, and at the foot of a snow-capped volcano, in Chile’s pristine lake district, Pucón is the gateway to an almost unspeakably gorgeous landscape. It’s long been a playground for outdoor adventurers, and now it has its first luxury hotel — Vira Vira Hacienda. It’s a place for first-rate relaxation, and some serious wining and dining, before and after skiing or snowboarding, kayaking or rafting, climbing or horseback riding. There are 21 guest rooms, six in the main lodge, twelve “senior suites” in a riverfront building, and another three in the house the owner built for his own family. Suites come with private fireplaces and terraces with outdoor hot tubs. eating and drinking are a major focus at Vira Vira. The hotel sits on a farm and cheese dairy, but the products aren’t sold anywhere — they’re for the hotel chef’s exclusive use.

In the mines of Sala, Sweden, one can find the world’s deepest hotel, which lies more than 150 meters below ground. Looking more like something from the Mines of Moria than a hotel, the Sala Silvermine Hostel offers guests bare, minimalist quarters, along with guided tours of the underground mines in which the rooms are built.

Cotton candy pinks, modern design elements and a touch of futuristic class all describe the nhow Berlin, one of the world’s coolest hotels. Designed by Sergei Tchoban, the hotel was created as a haven for musicians, though any guest will appreciate the structure’s beautiful colors and modern design elements.

The nhow Berlin features a number of complimentary musical goodies, including the ability to have a Gibson guitar or Casio keyboard delivered directly to your room. A musically inclined guest will love having access to the hotel’s 100 radio stations, two mixing rooms, in-house gallery and anything-but-subtle décor.

The Mirrorcube is arguably the Treehotel’s most impressive room. A square box covered by mirrors, the structure reflects the beautiful wooded environment where it is located. A cross-section of the cube reveals a spacious interior that includes a bed, sitting chairs and windows with breathtaking views. The Treehotel’s other rooms are called the UFO, the Blue Cone, the Dragonfly and the Cabin. Most rooms are accessible only by stairs and rope ladders.

If you were to ask a visitor to describe the Barin Ski Resort in one word, the answer would likely be “white”. Located near Shemshak, Iran, the Barin Ski Resort was designed in 2008 by RYRA Studio to create a unique dialogue between architecture and nature. The studio designed the resort with snow-covered landscapes in mind, and for this reason Barin Ski Resort features pockets of natural lighting, smooth white walls and streamlined furniture.

At Zoku Amsterdam, located in the Eastern Canal District, a kitchen table is the central feature. Zoku is one of a wave of new hotels that don’t just accept that reality, but embrace it, offering up smartly designed lofts that merge work and living space. The draw here is Zoku’s series of cool and colorful modern lofts. Screens and sliding doors cleverly separate the elevated sleeping area from the kitchen and work area. And everything’s functional; the kitchen is stocked with everything from olive oil to a garlic press to a Tupperware set, while the workspace features scissors, staplers, and extra pencils. The hotel contains a range of light-filled, open-plan “social spaces” that encourage communal work and play, including a living room, an airy kitchen, a bar, and work spaces.

A spectacular setting for this beachfront resort in Byron Bay, a coastal town in New South Wales. There is a spa, of course, and a range of dining venues, the massive infinity pool, the indoor-outdoor cocktail bar. But the architecture is sleek and contemporary, low-impact and single-story, the curving lines inspired by organic forms — the striking central pavilion is modeled after the look of a windswept sand dune. The guest villas are divided into four categories: Dunal, Rainforest, Eucalypt and Wetlands. Needless to say, their design was inspired by nature, and while amenities vary, they’re all drenched with natural light and smartly outfitted with timber floors, stone fixtures, and leather detailing. Standard features include private terraces, king-sized beds, some face the beach, others a lake. But they all feel delightfully private, tucked away into the forest.

The hotel is located on Avenue de l’Opéra in the 1st arrondissement, near the Comédie Française and the Palais Royal garden, not far from Tuileries Garden. Merging classic Parisian sophistication with a modern edge: picture a minimalist lobby lined with Carrara marble, floor-to-ceiling windows framed by heavy drapery, dark wood paneling, the rooms’ original moulding set off by walls painted a cool shade of slate gray. Public spaces and guest rooms alike are filled with interesting sculptures, mirrors, and paintings, unusual light fixtures, lively patterns, small floral bouquets, the occasional retro lamp or vintage radio, and splashes of color from emerald green and turquoise to burgundy and burnt orange. For a hotel with such a grand atmosphere, the Nolinski is relatively small, with 45 soundproofed guest rooms and suites. Downstairs, the Grand Salon, with its silver leaf ceilings and bronze fireplace, is a memorable venue to cozy up in with an aperitif in an old-fashioned swivel armchair. Nolinski’s brasserie, Réjane, with its brass bar and winter garden, is another lovely spot for drinks or dinner. In such a prime location in Paris, you might not plan to hang around the hotel, but the Nolinksi’s opulent spa, La Colline, with Louis XIV armchairs and sofas set up around a stone-walled swimming pool, is a glorious place to recover.

This fortified, luxe-rustic, 16th-century farmhouse offers the views, the cuisine, and the architecture, all perfectly adapted to that picturesque backdrop. Terra-cotta roof tiles, burnished floor tiles, ravenous swaths of ivy — all given a breath of fresh of air by contemporary elements like sleek lighting, walk-in showers, and breathable, minimalist layouts. Each room in this former silk farm comes uniquely decorated with hand-sourced antiques and whimsically repurposed furnishings; exposed beams, old-time radiators, earthenware, and wrought iron. A charming, stone-walled dining patio mingles Indian and island flavors with hyperlocal Provençal staples for a parade of intensely flavorful, visually stimulating plates. The public spaces offer a variety of settings for whichever relaxation mode suits best: cocktails and champagne by the pool.

This is a stylish 9 room bed and breakfast in the Oltrarno district, south of the river, overlooking the splendid Torrigiani Garden. In this less dense corner of Florence there’s space not just for massive gardens but for the hotel as well — a freestanding residence originally meant for aristocratic weekenders, comprising just nine rooms. modernist Italian design classics from the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies, as well as classic Florentine craftsmanship and a taste for eye-catching contemporary art.

The famed chef and restaurateur Antonello Colonna opened this twelve-room hotel, the Antonello Colonna Resort & Spa, adjacent to his famous restaurant in Labico. The resort is cool and contemporary, housed in a sleek concrete and glass structure that lies low to the ground amid field and forest. Guest rooms are all clean lines with modern design, bathed in sunlight and lined up in a long row, a series of petite and pristine sanctuaries that open directly onto the park. A few of the higher-end options have Eames chairs and super-king-sized beds with bathtubs. All rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s all about slowing down and enjoying classic pleasures; walking in the fields, reading a book by the outdoor pool, or checking into the excellent spa with its Turkish bath and indoor thermal pool. You could muster up the energy to visit one of the region’s wineries. But you’ll want to save your appetite for dinner at Colonna’s legendary restaurant.

A mountain hotel in Japan located in a land of precipitous heights and ragged coastline, it’s the polar opposite of Tokyo. This petite mountaintop hotel with views of the Seto Inland Sea offers minimalist luxury extending to the hotels seven suites with sea views from the terrace, some with jetted tubs. The Cave is their unique heated pool that can be used year-round. The hotel also includes hot springs jacuzzi’s and a sauna with views onto the garden.

The hotel is located On 58th Street, between Billionaires’ Row and Central Park and is a statement of intent from 1 Hotel Central Park, the flagship of the 1 Hotels group, headed by Barry Sternlicht, founder of Starwood and the W hotels. A huge proportion of the interior surfaces are made from salvaged materials, from the salvage lumber and brick in the guest rooms to the fitness center’s floor, which once belonged to the University of Wisconsin’s basketball team. The 229 rooms are visually stylish quite apart from their construction, and the textured, organic look of the hotel’s public spaces stamps an immediate identity on the place. Combine it with a restaurant, Jams, that serves impeccably sourced farm-to-table cuisine, and you’ve got a recipe for success.

Located near the Parque Natural Serras de Aire e Candeeiros, this hotels sleek concrete and glass exterior and its dozen individually decorated guest rooms, is an ideal place to hang your hat during a side adventure into this otherworldly stretch of limestone hills, shadowy grottoes and colossal underground caves. The design of each of those rooms was inspired by one of twelve emotions. The Magic room has a children’s book aesthetic, with candy colors, checkered floors, and fairytale-inspired murals; the Passion room, lined with mirrors, has the look of a Parisian cabaret. Emotions run the range from Adventure to Happiness to Romance. It’s not just the cooking you’ll eat, it’s the cooking you can do under the guidance of a modern Portuguese chef. During a cooking lesson, you’ll sample local cheese and olive oil before wading through the garden, wine glass in hand, to source ingredients for your dinner menu.

A buzzed-about boutique hotel that’s located in Arraiolos, which is near the city of Évora, which is the capital of the province of Alentejo. While the sculptural white villa might seem, at first, at odds with the natural landscape, there’s nothing over-the-top about this hotel. With just five guest rooms and a sleek, down-to-earth aesthetic, Villa Extramuros is a minimalist getaway surrounded by olive groves and oak forests that invite a late-afternoon wander. There’s nothing much to do here except sleep in, feast on a leisurely breakfast, catch a few rays beside the infinity pool, and maybe catch up on that book you’ve been trying to read for ages. Thanks to its intimate size and a variety of art-filled public spaces — two terraces, a patio, the pool and surrounding deck, a living room stocked with books and warmed by a fireplace in colder weather — it’s almost like being in a private house, but with all the perks of staying in a hotel. All five rooms are cool and airy, with private patios.

The resort isn’t a private island, but one of several resorts on Siargao, an island sometimes referred to as the surfing capital of the Philippines. Ringed by coral reef and clear waters, and covered with powdery white beaches and mangrove forest, the setting is as gorgeous as you’d expect. Dedon Island, on Siargao’s southern coast, is the sort of low-key, sustainably built resort where you can kick off your flip-flops and go barefoot. The villas, it should be said, are really something to write home about. Each is generously sized — freestanding, set a good distance from the neighbors, with its own private porch and tropical gardens planted with orchids and spider lilies — and features various cushion-lined spaces that invite you to take a load off. And in true modern style, the bathroom might be the most impressive space. Large and opulent, with a luxurious high-pressure shower suspended over a sumptuous stone floor, it’s the bathroom of your dreams. 

Within 18 stories, Hotel Cappuccino artfully balances right on the line between hostel and condo. Many of the 141 rooms are single-occupancy and there’s a pleasing futuristic quality to the geometric, brushed-steel, perforated-metal visual themes, with touches of urban chic in the exposed pipes, loft windows, and grayscale palette. You’ll want the view from the upper stories if at all possible. The hotel attracts a youthful audience, and rest assured there are spots to mingle. Hot Eatsue mixes Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai influences with Korean comfort food on the 17th floor. Downstairs, a café does the hotel’s name justice with hearty blends by Anthracite and all-important microbrews by Magpie. It’s extremely dog-friendly with a portion of the menu devoted to feeding canine companions.