Hilton Shillim Estate Retreat & Spa

It’s not every day you come across a hotel like the Hilton Shillim Estate Retreat & Spa, under the Hilton name or any other. It starts with the site, a mountainside in India’s Western Ghats, with spectacular views of a forested valley and the distant peaks. It benefits from memorable, masterful architecture by the Brooklyn-based Khanna Schultz, whose low-slung modernist stone villas complement the landscape beautifully. And the fundamentals of luxury hospitality are all covered as well, from the physical comforts of the villas themselves to the faultlessly high standard of service.

This is an all-villa resort, and they start out at nearly a hundred square meters, and are furnished with plentiful lounge space, espresso machines, bathtubs, and both indoor and outdoor showers. A handful of restaurants serve Indian and international fare, while the Tea House and the Reserve specialize in tea and wine, respectively. The spa is well known for the depth of its Ayurvedic influence, its Dharana Life Sciences program, and its encyclopedic list of treatments — it’s among the most elaborate wellness programs we’ve ever seen. And the Hilton Shillim is an opportunity for learning as well, with classes offered in everything from Indian cooking to pottery, Marathi and Hindi language lessons, and any number of cultural and ecological issues.