Four Seasons Resort Langkawi

It feels a long way indeed from the massive urban center of Kuala Lumpur. Yet this is the same Malaysia: Langkawi is an archipelago of some 99 islands on the Andaman Sea side of the Malay peninsula, as close to the southern edge of Thailand as it is to the Malaysian mainland. Which should give you some idea of the kind of natural environment we’re talking about here — as picture-perfect island idylls go, it’s hard to beat the Andaman. And it’s hard to do five-star barefoot luxury better than the Four Seasons Langkawi; one of the world’s biggest names in high-end hospitality meets one of the world’s most stunning beaches, with predictably fine results.

The ninety villas and pavilions are to varying extents open to the mild sea air, and the better ones face right onto the beach. Not all of them have outdoor double-sized soaking tubs and al fresco showers, but aside from that, they’re all just about equally luxe, the textures and materials suitably Malaysian but the underlying lines clean and contemporary. The public facilities are similarly lavish: the pool is about the size of a hockey rink and the massive spa pays homage to Malaysia’s Arabian heritage in its architecture. And the unique mix of influences that mark Malaysian culture are nowhere more vividly on display than in the restaurant, where cuisines from Indian to Italian to Japanese meet under one roof — under the open air, actually.