Zamani Zanzibar KempinskiZanzibar was already impressive enough, with its miles of sandy beaches, endless Indian Ocean views, and its long, strange history as an outpost of the (...)
Villa De L'oSure, it’s a bit farther out than Marrakech, but for anyone who’s at all attached to the seaside, there’s no contest: Essaouira has got the medina (...)
The Twelve Apostles HotelThink of a luxury hotel in South Africa and your thoughts may run to isolated safari estates, old-world colonial compounds, or opulent waterfront (...)
The Residence TunisThink of it as the other North African destination. Most well-heeled Europeans opt for Marrakech and its infinity of intimate riad hotels; for big-bucks (...)
The Residence MauritiusThough a modern hotel, this Mauritius resort is something of a throwback, a reconstruction of the plantation houses at the turn of the last century, and (...)
The PlettenbergSet perched in the rocky headlands above its namesake bay, The Plettenberg’s whitewashed walls house 37 stately rooms and suites that could each play (...)
The Oberoi MauritiusIf the Oberoi name conjures visions of very conventional luxury hotels, then you’re about to have your mind changed. What’s true enough in India is (...)
The Marine HermanusMore than a few seaside resorts offer whale watching excursions. But at the Marine Hermanus, guests need not leave their rooms to watch the spectacle — (...)
Terre Resort And SpaThe classic Marrakech hotel concept is the riad, typically a mansion in the old medina quarter, a small-scale and intimate sort of hotel, however (...)
Talaa 12Most of the riad hotels in Marrakech trade heavily on history, antiques, traditional décor. Talaa 12, on the other hand, leaves old Marrakech outside the (...)
Sofitel Old Cataract AswanNote: From May 2008, Sofitel Old Cataract Aswan will be closed for 24 months for renovations.
These days Northern Egyptian cities like Cairo and (...)
Sofitel Marrakech Lounge & SpaThe compromise position between the densely packed medina and the wide-open, suburban Palmeraïe is the Hivernage district; it’s less crowded than the (...)
Sofitel Essaouira Medina & SpaFrom the way the travel press tells the story you’d think Marrakech was Morocco in its entirety. But those who have the time for a bit of rambling often (...)
SaxonImpossible to imagine, but the Saxon, on the fringes of Johannesburg, was once a private residence — not bad, considering it now sleeps about fifty. And (...)
Ryad DyorBrighter, sunnier, somehow friendlier than the average riad hotel — maybe it’s the owners, a couple of designers, one Dutch and the other Spanish, but (...)
Royal MalewaneSome modern luxury safari lodges differentiate themselves by pushing against the boundaries of tradition. Others set themselves apart by pursuing the (...)
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