Since its opening in 2017, The Middle House has attracted an aesthetically-minded crowd, from the art world to the fashion industry, with its elegantly minimalist design—think floor-to-ceiling windows and a mix of traditional Chinese and contemporary Italian furnishings.

The stage is set by the lobby, a towering, theatrical space in jade green, dominated by an ornate chandelier, while the rooms dial down the drama in favor of a tranquil, almost meditative calm.

All of The Middle House rooms are full of stunning art, such as Chui Pui Chee's ethereal print The Eight Victory Horses.

The Middle House offers an in-the-thick-of-it location near Nanjing Road West, a clutch of top-notch restaurants, a splendid spa and 111 spacious, smoky-hued rooms and suites.

Its impossibly ornate lobby still bears its columns and arches and its mosaic floor; by the time you’re in the rooms, though, you’re treated to an eclectic contemporary-luxe look that admits influences from just about every decade since the hotel’s founding.

A fantastical-looking 19th-century landmark hotel (formerly called the Principal London) in Bloomsbury, which has been given an £85 million makeover, with a destination bar and restaurant.

The exterior of the listed building features four statues of British Queens flanking the entrance, and window frames decorated with the coats of arms of the countries of the world as they existed when the property first opened in 1898.

Hotel Russell opened in 1898, it fast became the talk of town for its grand terracotta façade. In recent years, the Grade II-listed property has been in a sad state of decline, but happily, it has just emerged from a lavish overhaul of its interiors.

Widely recognized as Dubai’s swishest stay since opening in December 2017 on the manmade, seahorse-shaped Jumeirah Bay island, Bulgari managed to up the ante in this already ridiculously ritzy emirate.

For those of a philosophical disposition: an exquisite inquiry into the possibilities of traditional Middle Eastern architecture in the most hi-tech and post-modern city on earth.

Bulgari Hotels & Resorts could not have picked a better spot for its newly opened Dubai iteration.

Bringing elegant Italian style to the Middle East, this private island retreat just off the Dubai coast is the antidote to the city's ubiquitous skyscraper hotels with a low-rise, Mediterranean-style design, a swanky spa and the world's first Bulgari Marina and Yacht Club.

Mondrian Doha marches to the beat of its own drum with the level of opulence that it showcases in the suites of the eight fine-dining and nightlife venues housed within the property. From the decadent superior suites to the luxurious “secret garden” ESPA, guests can feel pampered like an Arabian prince or princess in this oasis of a hotel.

The combination of Doha, the Mondrian brand, and the Dutch designer Marcel Wanders means you’re in for something big and bold; in this case it means a spectacular modern tower whose interiors combine Wanders’ signature modern surrealism with an ornate Arabian influence and luxuries that verge on excess.

The Mondrian Doha, opening this Fall, brings the vibe of its famed Hollywood Mondrian to the West Bay Lagoon area of Doha, in Qatar.

Its most spectacular moments include a spiral lace-work staircase that touches down in the atrium like a Chinese dragon, a bold black-and-white indoor pool that appears to shelter under a titanic Tiffany lampshade and a mini-forest of soaring cloud trees in the almost all-white lounge.

The hotel's sculptural façade gives way to expansive common spaces and 270 rooms and suites, all brought to life by Dutch interior designer Marcel Wanders (who is fresh off a furniture collaboration with Louis Vuitton) and South West Architecture.

Though firmly situated in New York at the Freehand hotel, Bar Calico is a snug shrine to both Mexico and the American Southwest. Sotol and mezcal are centerpieces, both in the bottles that line the back bar (neat pours are served with dried apricots, chopped walnuts, and pickled nopales) and in cocktail form.

Occupying the historic George Washington Hotel in the city's Flatiron neighbourhood, originally built in 1928, Freehand New York exudes the same vibrant textures and warmth that have made it a favourite in Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago.

The large space has an aquatic, cozy feel with brass fixtures, teal tile detailing, and mint green marble floors. The mix of tables and configurations welcome groups of any size

Paramount House Hotel is still a centre of gravity for Sydney locals, with its exposed-brick walls, clean lines and cool chevron metalwork.

You’ll want to move into this hotel and this neighborhood of Sydney, after a day of being here.

A newly added rooftop copper-clad extension to the warehouse creates visual drama from the outside, while inside, it functions as a privacy screen casting strips of sunlight into indoor-outdoor terraces.

A new hotel situated in the former HQ for Paramount Pictures Studios injects some local flavour into Sydney's hospitality scene.

And thanks to the house’s history as a palace, it’s also full of fine public and semi-public spaces, including a fine-dining restaurant called SUBA Gastro Bar, a more casual rooftop bar with a 360-degree view, and a winter garden (where breakfast is served) that opens onto the most unexpected space of them all: a delightful little rooftop swimming pool.

The two royal suites are the hotel's trump cards, though, with over-the-top wood-carved or stucco ceilings, 18th-century bathroom tiles, and custom-made, silk de Gournay wallpaper.

This elegant 18th-century palace, painstakingly restored, houses 18 luxurious rooms including two sumptuous suites, lavishly adorned with original stucco work. The hotel's rooftop, swimming pool and Suba Restaurant offer unrivalled 360-degree views of Lisbon's skyline and the River Tagus beyond.

This intimate hotel – one of the smallest in the city – has transformed a row of historic shophouses, maintaining heritage features: swathes of black and gold, opium beds and ample lacquer furnishings. Facilities are limited in such a tight space, but onsite restaurant Chinese Yellow Pot plates up excellent Cantonese food.

The hotel is nestled in a row of heritage shophouses and its ornate facade immediately gives it character and Asian flavor.

Having opened in September 2017, the foliage-filled Fitzrovia hotspot has already earned a reputation as one of the most magical, hedonistic hideaways in the city.

In a stark contrast to the fantastical public spaces, many of the guest rooms are low-key, featuring a mix of white and dark tones offset by colourful avant-garde prints and gorgeous gray marble bathrooms. Others take the surrealist steampunk ambience a step further, with dark-velvet draperies, jewel-tone interiors, and claw-foot bathtubs.

In this age of ironic-minimal hipster home-away-from-home comfort hotels, Rami Fustok’s Mandrake takes hospitality in the opposite direction.

The Mandrake's public spaces have the intricacy of a souk, of courtyards and half-glimpsed spaces. Off the main bar is a tucked-away snug behind a chainmail of metallic links, and a small library, then a private dining room coated in red lacquer like a Chinese jewellery box.

Never mind hygge—this hotel takes Danish comfort and contentment to new heights.

Just like in a breathtaking pas de deux, former ballet dancer Alexander Kølpin lets elegance and drama set the mood at Sanders, his third hotel in Denmark.

This graceful boutique hotel is refined yet relaxed, with luxurious rooms, a great little cocktail bar and a convenient location at the heart of the city.

Arguably the city’s very first luxury boutique hotel, at the 54-room Sanders, guests take centre stage.

From the moment you walk into Hotel Sanders, you feel like you've entered a beautiful home rather than a hotel.

Danish comfort and contentment to new heights. The formula is simple: smiling staff who seemingly can’t do enough to help, beautiful design, and terrific food and drink.