From Nice airport it was a pleasant tootle along the twisty N8 coastal road. I was heading for the tiny town of Théoule-sur-Mer where they say, the water quality around its cliffs is the best in Europe.

I had chosen the Tiara Yaksta boutique hotel for its discreet location and found it was so hidden that I passed it at least three times.

It's not every hotel that can boast a facade designed, it's rumoured, by Michelangelo. But then not every city is packed with the work of Michelango and other Renaissance greats who have attracted visitors to Florence for hundreds of years.

Croatian design? Thought so. This is a country of natural beauty, of warm waters and pristine forests – no one visits Croatia for the man-made delights of contemporary design.

Not so fast.

Sirayane is the brainchild of a former Moroccan merchant banker, who broke away from the traditional style of Marrakech hotels, or riadhs. Located 10 minutes from the airport, it is unusually spacious with giant doors and a huge reception area with a high vaulted ceiling.

I knew there was a preponderance of water in the Lake District but what I did not realise was that there were lakes in the middle of the road.

Ok, maybe not lakes but certainly ponds big enough to make driving into the resort of Bowness on Windermere the sort of journey to be undertaken in an amphibious vehicle rather than a Vauxhall Astra.

It was an unusually inclement time to visit – the

Enrico, the handsome Italian barman, is fixing me a cocktail - the famous "89" dedicated to Ian Fleming.

The four star superior hotel in Ischgl is a family run business that offers a very pleasant idyll just a stone's throw away from the centre of this lively resort.

Its rooms, suites and apartments are equipped with television, free internet access, minibar, safe and the usual array of smellies in the bathroom.

My room was at the very top of the hotel and was spacious with a large balcony offe

There are sound reasons why the Hilton Tel Aviv remains the hotel of choice for many in search of luxury accommodation in Israel's most vibrant beach-side city.

A new sister cocktail to the Singapore and Paris Sling has been created – it's the Praslin Sling, a heady mix of coconut milk, gin with a hint of vanilla and it is the baby of the team at the newly launched all-villa Raffles resort in Praslin, one of the granite islands of the Seychelles.

Supping the sling at the bar with views over the Indian Ocean was enough to set in motion waves of relax

We visited the Scarlett, shortly after it opened, boasting impressive eco-credentials. Two years later, we went back to see how life can be when you go green next to the blue sea.

Taking a dip in a non-heated outdoor pool in September is invigorating. But this isn't any pool - it's more of a super-clean pond with reeds.

The lights are low, the floor is of black marble and the walls are covered in a black velvet-like material. Dotted around are appealing paintings and sculptures with an Asian theme. The air is heavily scented with jasmine.

This is the scene of the reception area at the newly refurbished (to the tune of £25 million) 174-bedroom Radisson Edwardian Bloomsbury Street hotel.

If a five-star property exuding tranquil elegance is your dream of a holiday hideaway, then first impressions of the Hesperia will be hugely encouraging.

Considering it was 142 years old and the oldest hotel in Slovakia by a mile, the flatscreen TV and free high-speed wi-fi in my room were something of a revelation.

So too, come to think of it, were the crisp cotton sheets, the contemporary room furnishings and delicious interior design.

Hotel Bankov was once the pride and joy of Kosice's well-to-do, looking down on to the city from its lofty

When I moved to the East End to be near the City, it became a ritual to escape to Cornwall to be near the sea.    

So it was with just a tinge of irony that the first person I met when I decided to head to this eponymous five-star country estate was one of the most famous EastEnders in the world.

When going to Orlando en famille you could choose to squeeze into a hotel room close to Disney where space is at a premium. Or you could rent a spacious, high specification condo in a manicured village resort that offers peace and tranquillity after a hectic day at a theme park.

Reunion resort is such a place.

This traditional English inn has a rightful claim to using the 'olde worlde' spelling of its name - it is reputedly the oldest coaching inn in Britain, dating back as far as 1135, with a secret tunnel leading to what was the old priory.

Charm? It has in bucketloads – a snug bar, rustic-chic restaurant and 48 simply furnished rooms and suites (although just 11 are in the main house).

Just over two years old, Jerusalem's Mamilla Hotel is probably the coolest and most beautiful hotel in the city.

Known locally as "the castle", the Fairmont Banff Springs was built in 1888 around the resort's hot springs.

The grandest of Canada's railway hotels, it was designed to provide luxury lodgings for rich tourists crossing Canada aboard the Canadian Pacific Railway at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries.