Understated luxury in tranquil Brazil.

Brazil’s sibling boutique hotels, Picinguaba and Fazenda Catuçaba, introduce travelers to two stunning worlds—one on the pristine coast halfway between Rio and São Paulo, the other about two hours away by car in the region’s lush foothills. Nestled in a leafy green landscape above a still bay in the country’s Serra do Mar national park, Picinguaba consists of a main hotel with 10 rooms. It’s a great place to do nothing but lie on the beach, although guests who feel energetic can go on guided hikes through the rainforest, schooner rides to nearby islands and scuba-diving adventures. Meanwhile, Catuçaba—a central building situated near three guest villas that house 10 rooms and suites—is perched on 1,100 acres of lush hillside and features an organic farm that supplies the kitchens and informs the daily menus at both hotels. Its rivers and lakes provide ample opportunity for swimming, fishing and waterfall trekking.


Contact: Renata Honorato, info@picinguaba.com or info@catucaba.com, 55.12.3836.9105, picinguaba.com or catucaba.com

An isolated mountain lodge with a quiet beauty.

Located near the base of Japan’s renowned Niseko ski resort on the country’s northern island of Hokkaido, where average annual snowfall exceeds 595 inches, the Kimamaya by Odin is an alpine oasis with a distinctly Japanese aesthetic (think clean lines, exposed stone, creatively lit wood grain). The micro-boutique hotel, built in 1985 and fully renovated in a 2009 collaboration with the Australian designer Andrew Bell, has just nine rooms, four of them loftlike suites with double-height ceilings. Kimamaya also houses a spa in which ski-weary guests can prepare for treatments in moku (wood) and ishi (stone) soaking tubs before making their way to the “massage sanctuary,” where the staff specializes in shiatsu, deep-tissue massage and aromatherapy. Kimamaya’s restaurant, the Barn, features French-influenced food prepared with local ingredients, all paired with wines from the owners’ vineyard, the Boyer-Gontard in Burgundy, France.


Contact: reservations@kimamaya.com, 81.136.23.2603, kimamaya.com

A centrally located hotel that still feels remote.

Set aside the jet-set stereotype of St. Barth’s hotels: Given its location at the heart of Gustavia, just a short walk from the protected waters of Shell Beach, the Carl Gustaf is an ideal vacation destination for families. Having just completed a major renovation, the hotel—comprised of spacious one- and two-bedroom suites, many of which have private plunge pools and terraces overlooking the coral-colored rooftops of Gustavia and the cerulean harbor of St. Barth’s—looks better than ever. Guests plan their days from a menu of activities such as snorkeling with the premier guides of Plongée Caraïbes, shopping in town, or swimming and lazing in the sun at Shell and Gouverneur beaches. Champagne sunset cruises depart from docks within easy walking distance, and some guests take spa treatments at the nearby Le Sereno, or sit for a lazy Sunday brunch at the off-the-beaten path Restaurant Le Gaïac. But locals concur: Lunches at Sand Bar (St. Jean Bay) and dinners at favorite local boîtes Bonito and L’Isola are a must.


Contact: Julie Couvreux, reservation@hotelcarlgustaf.com, 866.297.2153, hotelcarlgustaf.com

An old money retreat emphasizing natural beauty.

Situated on 75 acres of rugged peninsula jutting into the Adirondacks’ Upper Saranac Lake, the Point, a beautifully restored legacy of the region’s Gilded Age popularity among the country’s wealthiest families, was dubbed Camp Wonundra by its original owner, William Avery Rockefeller. While many visitors come to the area with the warmer months, those familiar with the Adirondacks in wintertime, blanketed beneath layers of snow, are often loathe to share the secrets of the Point in the quiet season—and for good reason. The Point offers winter visitors a lineup of diversions: cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, ice fishing, snow barbeques beside a roaring fire and curling on Upper Saranac Lake, where cocktails are served up on a bar cut from blocks of ice. Other activities close to the property include downhill skiing, tobogganing, luging, bobsledding, dogsledding and sleigh-riding.


Contact: Cameron Karger, ckarger@thepointresort.com, 518.891.5674, thepointresort.com

A private island offering extreme privacy.

Since Fiji Water-founder David H. Gilmour purchased Wakaya in 1972, the 2,200-acre island has changed very little—which is just how Gilmour likes it. The island refuge and its devoted staff of 138 create a restorative sense of timelessness. A 40-minute flight from Nadi, the resort limits guests to 26 (each couple has a staff of 10 at its disposal). And since the island has 32 isolated beaches, guests can be assured of privacy. Visitors can also expect a dedication to sustainability that includes all aspects of the menus— most everything consumed on Wakaya is either raised or grown on the island. Activities include scuba diving, golfing, sea kayaking and beach picnics (guests are left with ample supplies, including a walkie talkie, and promised that, until summoned, another human will not be any closer than three miles away). Wakaya’s simple but luxurious accommodations range in size from freestanding one-bedroom bures (Fijian cottages, pronounced boo-rays) to the three-bedroom Vale O, a 12,000-square-foot hilltop villa.


Contact: Janette Kaipio, janette@wakaya.com.fj, 679.3448.128, wakaya.com

A ski hotel that doesn’t skimp on luxury.

Under the direction of Baron Benjamin de Rothschild and his wife, Ariane, the three traditional Savoyard-style buildings that make up Le Chalet du Mont d’Arbois provide a welcoming high-altitude home for serious skiers and discerning travelers alike. The hotel’s 41 rooms, including the airy 1,600-square-foot Baroness Noémie Suite, are accented with the Rothschild family’s decorative possessions, a touch that underscores the cozy, familial feeling that permeates the Relais & Châteaux property. After all, it was Baron de Rothschild’s own relatives who, after growing tired of the Swiss resort of St. Moritz, in the early 1920s commissioned the French architect Henri-Jacques Le Même to build the slope-side compound. While at the hotel, visitors can enjoy a large indoor-outdoor swimming pool and a spa with an extensive list of treatments; there are even treatments designated for children, with names such as “Little Elves,” “Tinkerbelle” and “Little Mermaid.”


Contact: montarbois@relaischateaux.fr, 33.4.50.21.25.03, mont-darbois.fr

Luxury entwined with unforgettable nature.

With imposing stone walls, soaring ceilings and expansive terraces opening onto sweeping vistas, the Sasakwa Lodge, located on the Singita Grumeti Reserves in northern Tanzania, stands tall alongside the lodge’s 10 private en-suite guest cottages. Each of those cottages has between one and four bedrooms, its own heated infinity pool, fireplace, dressing and powder rooms, direct-dial telephones and wireless internet. (Not to mention countless refined decorative elements, including chandeliers, freshly ironed linens and even spotting scopes by Swarovski.) All cottages provide unfettered views across the reserve’s 350,000 acres of protected Serengeti Plains, home to myriad exotic animal species (the property, which forms part of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, stands in the midst of the great migratory route). The four-bedroom Sasakwa Lodge Private Villa Retreat is perfect for families with young children; it comes equipped with in-house quarters for a nanny and two twin bedrooms.


Contact: enquiries@singita.com, 27.21.683.3424, singita.com

A family-centric ski hotel with wonderful details.

With ski-in, ski-out access to Beaver Creek—whose 1,832 skiable acres, 149 trails, 25 lifts and 300 days of sunshine make it one of North America’s premier mountain resorts—the Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch offers all of the amenities and services of a large resort without sacrificing the specialized luxury that many travelers expect from smaller top-tier hotels. Bachelor Gulch is particularly suited for an activity-filled vacation with kids. The hotel has 40 club-level rooms and suites—many of which come with a private balcony, unobstructed mountain views, working fireplace and 400-thread-count Frette linens. Guests can outfit themselves with ski and snowboard equipment in-house, and those wanting to maximize their time on the mountain can take advantage of the hotel’s ski concierge and nanny services. Those not interested in hitting the slopes will find enticing alternatives on the property, including a 19-treatment-room spa and five restaurants, and in nearby Beaver Creek and Arrowhead villages.


Contact: 970.748.6200, ritzcarlton.com