1. The Menjangan - Bali, Indonesia
There are a few ways to do Bali. The most common involves the southern settlements, the villages and towns along the more populous south coast, and a close second is Ubud, the inland artists’ colony. But it’s hard not to see the appeal of the alternative version offered by Menjangan Resort, on a very isolated stretch of beach in the West Bali National Park, on the far northwestern corner of the island. The holy grail, for beach resorts, is the desert-island experience, and Menjangan comes awfully close.
2. The Capitol Hotel Tokyu - Tokyo, Japan
It’s a rare Tokyo hotel where you’re in touch with nature, aside from a distant view of Mount Fuji — but the Capitol Hotel Tokyu is anything but typical. Here, surrounded by greenery on the edge of the Imperial Palace, guests can use the local flora as their calendar: camellias mean winter, cherry blossoms spring, and the red-orange-yellow leaves of the maple tree are a sure sign of fall.
3. Ascott Marunouchi Tokyo - Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo doesn’t really have a single central downtown district, but if you’re in the business of banking and finance, you’ll find you’re spending an awful lot of time in Marunouchi. (And with easy access to the Imperial Palace and to Ginza, it’s not a bad spot for sightseers or shoppers, either.) Some of the world’s most impressive high-end hotels are located here — and they’re joined by Ascott Marunouchi Tokyo, whose serviced apartments give the luxury chains a run for their money.
4. Plataran Komodo Resort & Spa - Labuan Bajo, Indonesia
At the risk of stating the obvious, there’s a lot more to Indonesia than just Bali. But a little farther eastward in the Lesser Sundas is the island of Flores, on whose western edge, just across the strait from the islands that comprise the rest of Komodo National Park — yes, that Komodo, of dragon fame — is Plataran Komodo Resort & Spa.
5. The Oberoi Lombok - Lombok, Indonesia
For reasons we’re at a bit of a loss to explain, Bali is Indonesia’s unofficial holiday hotspot, home to any number of hotels of varying quality, attracting crowds of tourists year in and year out — while Lombok, the island just to the east, is undiscovered, unspoiled, and unpopular.
6. The Amala - Seminyak, Indonesia
Seminyak isn’t exactly synonymous with seclusion, given its reputation as Bali’s mecca of upmarket tourism. The Amala undercuts that stereotype; these twelve private villas are serviced by butlers, which, it hardly needs to be said, is not exactly the norm around here. This level of service extends to the chefs, nutritionists and wellness experts that compose the rest of the resort’s staff. With all this one-on-one contact it’s easy to forget the bustling scene elsewhere around Seminyak.
7. Nirjhara - Tabanan, Indonesia
Certain parts of Bali may be overbuilt, but you don’t have to go far off the beaten path to reclaim some of that far-flung seclusion. An hour’s drive from the airport, half an hour up the southwest coast from Seminyak, and just a mile inland from Kedungu Beach, Nirjhara is surrounded by forest, and a stream, complete with a picturesque waterfall, winds across its acreage.
8. Vakkaru Maldives - Baa Atoll, Maldives
When we say Maldives, you say: overwater bungalows. This tiny island nation’s most salient cultural export is that most extravagant of hospitality forms, where the shallow, crystalline waters of the Indian Ocean lap gently at the deck of your luxury villa. Actually, to focus too much on the overwater villas is to sell Vakkaru Maldives short; the beach villas are scarcely less extraordinary, and are ideal for guests who prefer to stride across a stretch of soft sand on their way from the bedroom to the water.
9. Taj Coral Reef Resort & Spa - North Male Atoll, Maldives
Vivanta by Taj Coral Reef Maldives, in spite of (or perhaps by virtue of) its unwieldy name, is the sort of place that needs very little by way of explaining. It’s an overwater villa resort on a pocket-sized Maldivian island, and as is so often the case when it comes to this sort of hotel, in this part of the world, a significant portion of our readership will be already packing its bags. But for those who require some elaboration — or for those who need a capsule explanation of the genre — we’ll indulge in a little description.
10. The Standard Huruvalhi Maldives - Huruvalhi Island, Maldives
Not so very long ago the Maldives were where you went to spend an unthinkable sum on an extravagantly luxurious overwater bungalow, while the Standard hotels were who you called if you wanted a stylish night out in one of a few major American cities. In other words, the opening of a Standard Maldives is big news, heralding a change not just for the Standard brand but for the Maldivian hotel scene as well.
11. KK Beach - Galle, Sri Lanka
Kahanda Kanda came first, a delightful little boutique hotel occupying a tea plantation by the side of Kogalla Lake, not far from the southern city of Galle. And KK Beach, while it’s certainly capable of standing on its own, is perhaps best thought of as a part of a pair — just fifteen minutes’ drive from Kahanda Kanda, KK Beach sits on the Indian Ocean seaside, overlooking a spectacular stretch of beach less than a half-hour from Galle Fort.
12. Wattura Resort and Spa - Wennappuwa, Sri Lanka
Though it’s barely an hour’s drive up Sri Lanka’s west coast from Colombo, and mere minutes from the city of Negombo, Wattura Resort and Spa feels quite convincingly secluded. The immediate setting, with a sunset-facing beach on one side of the property and the peaceful Gin Oya river on the other, certainly contributes to the idyllic atmosphere. And if you’re familiar with Sri Lanka’s tropical modernist architectural tradition, you know there’s something uniquely calming about the clean geometries of the forms and interiors, as well as the juxtaposition of polished concrete and stone with richly figured wood and traditional craftsmanship.
13. Keemala - Kamala, Thailand
Hotel categories aren’t as rigid as they sometimes seem. Where, after all, is the line between a boutique hotel and a luxury resort? Better to follow Keemala’s lead, and call them what they call themselves: an “all pool villa wonderland.” It certainly gets the point across; the point being that every villa here, on the edge of Phuket’s coastal rainforest — perched just above the coastal town of Kamala — comes with its own pool.
14. Aleenta Resort & Spa, Hua-Hin
Perhaps the key to Thailand’s popularity as a destination is its endless variety: from the urban excess of Bangkok to the solitary eco-escapes or package-holiday crowds of the famous beaches, it’s got more faces than many nations twice its size. Time to get used to another: the upscale destinations along the gulf coast, surrounding the resort town of Hua Hin.
15. Maduzi Hotel, Bangkok, Hua-Hin
Bangkok’s boutique Maduzi calls itself a "conceptual hotel," but that doesn’t mean it's difficult. The concept is something like "luxury isolation," which is familiar enough. And the policy that guarantees absolute privacy is this: no walk-ins, and no visitors who don’t know the password. This is no joke, as the gate is closed twenty-four hours a day. Guests, of course, are allowed to come and go as they please — but after experiencing the meticulous Thai hospitality and dedicated personal service, they may choose splendid solitude over the busy hustle of the Sukhumvit district just outside the gates.
16. Chapung Sebali, Ubud, Indonesia
If your Danish design sense is tingling as you scan the photos of Chapung Sebali, you’re not mistaken. For this boutique hotel, though it’s located on the outskirts of Ubud, in inland Bali, is in fact operated by Guldsmeden, the group responsible for a few of our favorite hotels in Copenhagen. And it’s fair to say the combination of Balinese villas and Scandinavian modernism is a winning one.
17. Purity at Lake Vembanad, Alleppey, India
“Backwater” is typically meant as a metaphor, and not a particularly kind one. But the Kerala backwaters are among the world’s minor natural wonders — this network of inland waterways along the southwest Indian coast makes for, if nothing else, a marvelous place to get lost. It’s here, on the shores of the eponymous lake, that the Malabar House group, the South Indian boutique concern with a predilection for small hotels named for abstract concepts, has opened Purity at Lake Vembanad.
18. The Malabar House - Fort Cochin, India
Malabar House is an example of a hotel concept that’s vanishingly rare in South India, even as it thrives in Sri Lanka — the colonial-house luxury boutique hotel. This one is a Dutch-era mansion, located in the historic Fort Cochin district of the Keralan city of Kochi, and it’s been running as a hotel for over ten years now under the watchful eye of a European couple and a dedicated staff of locals.
Hero image : The Standard Huruvalhi Maldives
