Hôtel Ritz Paris
César Ritz opened it in 1898 behind an early-1700s façade on the Place Vendôme, and the word “ritzy” was born. Coco Chanel lived here for decades, Hemingway has a bar named after him, and the hotel still sets the standard every grand palace is measured against.
- Opened
- 1898
- Address
- 15 Place Vendôme
- Don't miss
- Bar Hemingway
The Plaza
A French Renaissance château dropped onto the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South in 1907. It's a National Historic Landmark, a film set a hundred times over, and — if you ask any child who read Eloise — the only hotel in New York that really matters.
- Opened
- 1907
- Address
- 768 Fifth Ave
- Don't miss
- The Palm Court
Copacabana Palace
When it opened in 1923, Copacabana was a quiet stretch of sand. The Palace turned it into the most famous beach on earth. Its white façade has hosted royalty, rock stars and film legends, and its poolside is still the best seat in Rio.
- Opened
- 1923
- Faces
- Copacabana Beach
- Don't miss
- The pool
Mena House
A royal hunting lodge turned hotel in the 1880s, set in gardens at the foot of the Great Pyramid. Churchill and Roosevelt met here for the 1943 Cairo Conference. Breakfast with a 4,500-year-old wonder outside the window is still unbeaten.
- Hotel since
- 1880s
- View
- Great Pyramid
- Built as
- Royal lodge
The Taj Mahal Palace
Opened in 1903 on Mumbai's waterfront, decades before the Gateway of India rose in front of it. Its red domes are a city landmark, and its grand staircase and sea-facing rooms make it the flagship of Indian hospitality.
- Opened
- 1903
- Faces
- Gateway of India
- Don't miss
- Grand staircase
Burj Al Arab
A 321-metre sail on its own man-made island, opened in 1999 and instantly the symbol of a city. Every room is a duplex suite, the atrium is one of the tallest in the world, and arriving over the causeway still feels like science fiction.
- Opened
- 1999
- Height
- 321 m
- Rooms
- All suites
Four Seasons Bora Bora
Overwater villas strung across a lagoon so blue it looks retouched, with Mount Otemanu on the horizon. Opened in 2008, it's the postcard most people picture when they hear the words “overwater bungalow”.
- Opened
- 2008
- Stay in
- Overwater villas
- View
- Mt Otemanu