Best Hotels of 2013

Artists’ studios share the same property as this hyper-modern inn, on Canada’s remote Fogo Island. Everyone on the island owns a share, so profits go right back to the community. Chef Murray McDonald focuses on what he calls “new Newfoundland cuisine,” using wild things from the North Atlantic, foraged plants and berries, and seasonal produce and fish. Doubles from $875 fogoislandinn.ca

The gorgeously renovated El Encanto hotel—the former stomping ground of Hollywood stars like Clark Gable and Carole Lombard—has stunning views of Santa Barbara, a stellar spa and a lobby that evokes the glamour of the ’20s. Doubles from $525 elencanto.com

French hotelier Jocelyne Sibuet’s newest property is in Provence at the dreamy Domaine de la Baume, the former home of Expressionist painter Bernard Buffet. The restaurant sources much of its produce on-site from the orange and olive groves, beehives and vegetable garden. There are cooking classes and a well-stocked wine cellar that includes wines from Sibuet’s vineyards. Doubles from $570 domaine-delabaume.com

This historic mansion and inn in Bridgehampton, New York, underwent a massive renovation, which included tapping Tom Colicchio to open its new restaurant. The menu is focused on using seasonal Long Island ingredients—especially vegetables and herbs from the property’s one-acre farm—and serving local wines. Doubles from $525 toppingrosehouse.com

In 2007 music executive John Voigtmann launched La Bandita, an eight-room guesthouse, with his travel writer wife, Ondine Cohane. Their second property is La Bandita Townhouse, a 12-room boutique hotel in the village of Pienza, in Siena, Italy. The Townhouse is a modern, American take on the small Tuscan hideaway, with an emphasis on high design and excellent service. Scottish chef David Mangan, previously at the Gleneagles resort, will oversee the food. "His best friend is a local butcher, he forages truffles with old guys from the village and a Mafia turncoat in hiding makes burrata for him," says Voigtmann. Doubles from $265 labanditatownhouse.com

The Zero George is the most stylish small hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, with a staff that organizes bespoke tours of the city for guests. Two-hour cooking lessons take place on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings around a Lacanche French enamel range in a gorgeous carriage house kitchen. From $300 zerogeorge.com

David Chipperfield renovated this legendary London hotel, which had been closed for four years. Chef Andrew Turner, formerly of Wiltons, is in charge of all of the hotel’s dining venues, including the Grill Room (an old Oscar Wilde haunt) and the bar, which has gorgeous vintage absinthe fountains and drinks inspired by the 1937 hotel cocktail book. Doubles from $465 hotelcaferoyal.com

The wealthy family who owns this unreal-opulent Venice palazzo still lives on the top floor. There’s no sign on the hotel, so it still looks like a private residence. The hotel arranges tours by local writers, cooks and art historians, as well as private after-hours access to the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s clock tower. Doubles from $1,368 amanresorts.com/amancanalgrandevenice

Nicaragua’s newest, nicest hotel has an unbelievable spa—each of the treatment rooms are luxury suites, with private steam and tropical showers, relaxation spaces and outdoor pools. Spa services include Ayurvedic treatments, Vichy showers and Indonesian barefoot massage. Owner Don Carlos Pellas also runs Flor de Caña rum distillery, and the all-inclusive rate covers all the rum you can drink. Doubles from $550 mukulresort.com

The 15-acre LEED-certified resort, designed by the fabulous Rockwell Group, has two bars and two restaurants, including Morimoto Maui. The 24-hour Mokapu Market is stocked with local Hawaiian food and house-made gelato. Doubles from $369 maui.andaz.hyatt.com

Recently opened in a residential neighborhood of Cancun, this sprawling property has six gorgeously designed restaurants and four bars, including a cigar lounge. The signature restaurant, Ramona, has a chef’s table in the glassed-in kitchen and a private dining room in the wine cellar. The rooms are lovely, and most have an ocean view or a plunge pool. Doubles from $380 nizuc.com

This hotel now takes up the first 13 floors of the former IBM Building by Mies van der Rohe. There’s a Chinese-inspired spa, a swimming pool and a David Rockwell-designed restaurant and lounge called Travelle, which pays homage to Mies’s modernism with classic furniture like Eames and Barcelona chairs. Doubles from $395 chicago.langhamhotels.com