Lisokmol

There’s a very particular effect exerted by La Mamounia, which seems to take hold the moment you head up the green tiled steps to this most bohemian of grandes dames. Upon seeing La Mamounia’s faded pink walls, Churchill was wont to ditch the suit and pick up his watercolor brushes; Paul McCartney wrote “Mamunia” (meaning “safe haven” in Arabic) during a 1973 stay; and Hitchcock, who filmed The Man Who Knew Too Much here, got his inspiration for The Birds from some overzealous finches on a jardin-facing balcony. La Mamounia was always a curious mash-up of Art Deco, Berber, and opulent Moorish, and the old place has had numerous facelifts over almost 100 years—from Jacques Majorelle’s bright stylings in 1946 to a theatrical noughties revamp by Jacques Garcia (Hotel Costes) and most recently a series of sly additions by Parisian futurists Jouin Manku, including a new cinema and teahouse. There are all the columns, foliage-filled courtyards, and mosaics of the most photogenic medina riad—except that there’s also the smoky Churchill speakeasy, an Asian-focused Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant with its sultry blacks and reds, and that legendary, vast square pool, around which I find the people-watching irresistible (bring dark sunglasses). There’s a reason that the actors and rock stars have kept coming; the fashionistas with kaftans and ci******es. For all that it is woven into Marrakech like the knots in a Berber rug, La Mamounia has never, ever been boring. Doubles from $600. —David Moralejo

Spread across two buildings—20 suites in the beautifully restored 1911 Shanghai Club, 252 rooms and suites in the newly built tower—this hotel is a magnificent homage to Shanghai’s swank European past. In addition to opulent colonial-style suites (poster beds, walk-in closets, claw-foot tubs), the old building, now called the Waldorf Astoria Club, has a jaw-dropping 110-foot-long bar with Bund views. Rooms are neoclassical—pale-green linen wallpaper, matching silk bedcovers, and carpets with swirling flower motifs—but have all the mod cons, as well as a bathroom where a TV is embedded in the mirror and the Japanese-style toilet has water jets.

Though it’s a sleek, modern hotel with impeccable high-tech hardware in its 185 rooms, Raffles’ address in Istanbul still channels the city’s Byzantine charm and mystery. Chalk it up to the gorgeous views from almost every room and lush Turkish textiles, handicrafts (like pierced metal-and-glass similar to those found in the Blue Mosque), and dramatic, oversized framed photos of its most famous sites. Set in the central Besiktas neighborhood on the European side, the Raffles puts guests right on top of an array of shopping and dining options, and you can see the Bosphorus from many of the rooms.

Forget a tired valet pull-through: At this boutique hotel in Denver’s thriving Cultural District, your first impression is a Leo Villareal–designed light installation. Keep walking and the art continues, including pieces by stars like Ed Ruscha and Kiki Smith. Artwork isn’t just a design flourish here—it’s the main objective of the hotel itself. If that's not enough, you're also steps away from the Denver Art Museum and the Clyfford Still Museum. You'll find serious culture connoisseurs and business travelers looking for something different staying in its 165 rooms, which sport a minimalist design and—surprise!—even more artwork.

At this stately Vancouver Island hotel only three miles from downtown Victoria, it’s not uncommon to look out from your balcony or from the waterfront mineral pools and see pods of orcas swimming close to the shore. The 100-room hotel is inspired by an English manor house, complete with Tudor-influenced architectural touches and a charming pub serving halibut tempura and seafood chowder. While the property and the surrounding seaside village may evoke the old world, the Boathouse Spa is firmly rooted in the Pacific Northwest thanks to treatments that incorporate seaweed and marine clay.

Perhaps the most celeb-beloved hotel in London, the building lives up to the hype: it’s a flouncy, fiery red-brick former fire station between trendy Marylebone High Street and Baker Street. The 26 rooms go all-out with retro British glamor, super-luxe beds with custom-made sheets, working fireplaces, and heated bathroom floors, and all but two rooms have working gas fireplaces. The restaurant—usually booked up months in advance—holds back tables for hotel guests (order the crab-stuffed donuts with wasabi and chopped egg).

Towering over the Central Business District and the snaking ribbon of the Waller Creek Greenbelt Trail, this 37-story hotel is a mammoth new addition to the Austin skyline, ranking as the capital’s third-tallest building. With 1,048 rooms and suites and five restaurants and bars, the hotel can give the appearance of a Vegas-style mega-hotel, nowhere more so than at the palm-studded, cabana-lined rooftop pool deck. But look closer and you’ll find plenty of reminders that you’re in the Lone Star State, including a spa that incorporates mesquite wood and Hill Country–grown herbs into treatments, and grill house Garrison, where proteins are grilled and smoked with post oak from nearby Bastrop.