MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES TO STAY IN THE WHOLE WORLD

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A HEALING RETREAT IN BALI

It took three years to realize this passion project: a spa retreat built mainly of bamboo. Book a riverfront suite, or the hotel can arrange a stay in a rural family’s home.

MAYAN HEALTH RITUALS AT THE ROSEWOOD MAYAKOBA

On Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, the Rosewood Mayakoba features 128 suites as well as an overwater spa that specializes in Mayan health rituals. The spa’s Temazcal Ritual draws on ancient customs for producing heat and steam. Mayan history weaves through archaeologist- led tours of Yucatán temples.

DISCOVERING TAIPU DE FORA BEACH

From Bahia (Salvador), you have to take a local ferry, a local bus, and then a speedboat to get to the village of Barra Grande. Allow 1 day for travel. Barra is in the south coast of Bahia. Once you get to this quiet, small village, a local truck will take you into the village to the other side.

LUXURY VILLAS IN BALI

At Bali’s newest Alila hotel, villas are sandwiched between emerald rice terraces and a black-sand beach. The spa, a temple of lava rock and marble, offers traditional Balinese massage.

A ZEN RETREAT IN THE BIG SUR MOUNTAINS

At first you might regret your decision to drive to the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, tucked deep into the Santa Lucia Mountains east of Big Sur.  But the minute you walk and set foot on the property, your drive-induced anxiety trickles away like the creek beneath our feet.

PRIVATE TASTINGS IN THE PIEDMONT COUNTRYSIDE

Winemaker Renato Ratti recently opened to the public his family’s 18th-century, 13-room villa in the Piedmont countryside. An old cellar stores decades’ worth of Ratti wines. Guided tastings can be arranged upon request, and bottles can be shipped home for guests. 

TROGLODYTE LODGINGS: THE CAVES IN NEGRIL, JAMAICA

The cottages at this secluded resort sit atop steep cave-strewn cliffs, where you can dine in a private grotto or take in the scene at the candlelit Cave Rum and Cigar Bar.

OSA PENINSULA, COSTA RICA

Located on Costa Rica’s southern Pacific Coast, the Osa Peninsula is covered by one of the largest lowland tropical rain forests in the Americas. The new Kurà Design Villas are ideal for exploring the region. The vision of an architect and a biologist, the six villas are near several parks and reserves. 

POST RANCH INN, BIG SUR

The ocean view cottages and cliff-edge infinity pools here are the stuff of dream honeymoons. At the Sierra Mar restaurant, Chef John Cox recently debuted a Taste of Big Sur menu that celebrates the coast with dishes such as red abalone marinated in kelp.