voco St. David's Cardiff

Twenty years ago it would have been unthinkable, but Cardiff Bay's waterfront is in the midst of a transformation from rough-and-tumble shipyard district to tony arts and entertainment center. This futuristic glass-and metal wedge could pass for a museum, or, less charitably, a landed spaceship; as it happens, it's the first five-star hotel in Wales, and a relentlessly chic and modern one at that, surprisingly bright and airy (this being Cardiff after all) starting with the seven-story atrium over the lobby.

Views of the bay are in steady supply from the glass-faced guest rooms, and that's before you step out onto your private balcony. Rooms are spacious and spare, vaguely Scandinavian in cherry and beechwood, like pages from a design catalogue, with up-to-the-minute amenities like high-speed internet and personal fax machines.

Easy on the eye, yes, but just as importantly soft to the touch; beds are impossibly inviting, overflowing with duvets and fine linens, and the bathrooms, marble of course, are spacious and well-lit, with thoughtful touches like plush bathrobes and Molton Brown bath products. Nothing compared to the spa, though—the hardest Welsh longshoreman is guaranteed to go soft as putty in the hydrotherapy pools, to say nothing of the seaweed wraps and mud baths.

The David Collins-designed Tides restaurant features a menu of modern European cuisine made from local Welsh seafood, meats and produce, served with a prime view of the bay, against a continuously fluctuating palette of colored light. Expect to mix with well-heeled locals, here to see what the fuss is about, both dining in the restaurant and lounging in the deep sofas of the whiskey bar.