The World's Best Small Luxury Hotels - According To The Experts

Scattered across expansive, landscaped grounds that run along the Thailand-Myanmar border with views into Laos, the Four Seasons Tented Camp has just 15 spacious suites that are all ultra-private with outdoor decks and rain showers. The resort seamlessly blends indulgence and authenticity, offering a true safari experience with elephant interactions. –Melissa Bradley, Founder, Indagare

If you live in New York, appreciate nicely-designed things, really good coffee and delicious fresh food, and, like me, you feel stir crazy after being in the city for too long, the Catskills was made for you. With its charming towns and modern inn's, lush forests, crystal clear swimming holes and straight-out-of-Brooklyn restaurants, the Hudson Valley area is buzzing with fresh creative energy. If being in nature isn't always your thing but you value a good view, try a suite at Scribner's Catskill Lodge, which overlooks Hunter Mountain and eat at its phenomenal on-site restaurant, Prospect. (When you're there, don't pass on the sourdough bread.) –Olivia Fleming, Senior Features Editor, BAZAAR.com

Set in South Africa’s verdant winelands, the grand La Residence feels exquisitely personal and cozy. Designed as a private home, the retreat houses 11 whimsical rooms set around a Provençal-style courtyard and swimming pool fringed with wildflowers. The property puts an emphasis on extraordinary cuisine accompanied by fine wines and offers wine tastings and vineyard tours both on site as well as throughout the region. –Melissa Bradley, Founder, Indagare

La Reserve Paris is dedicated to ensuring you always feel right at home—and what a home it is. The boutique hotel boasts 40 apartment-style rooms, all decorated in quintessential 19th century modern chic furnishings. The main floor provides several salons and dining rooms which are accessible to outside visitors, as well as guest-only spaces like the library and smoking room. The privacy and attentive staff is enough to make you spend a little more time inside, when you would normally be out sightseeing or shopping. –Chrissy Rutherford, BAZAAR.com Senior Fashion Editor

A Moroccan and Mediterranean style oasis in the heart of Palm Springs? Believe me, it’s real. Korakia Pensione, more akin to some magical, whimsical home than a hotel, is a charming menagerie of bougainvillea-clad walls and white-washed archways, a Moroccan-Style courtyard, vintage furniture, hanging lights, outdoor fire pits and stone-clad baths. With a delightful nod to the past (the pensione was built back in 1924 by a Scottish painter with a penchant for North Africa), Korakia makes for the most perfect technology-free escape. Here you will instead be tempted by the vintage book selection, the hand-crank Victrola, and the reel-to-reel film projector serving up classic films each night. What you won’t find her are the crazy, sun-drenched pool party vibes more commonly found in Palm Springs. This is a true desert getaway, and one that is laden with character, charm and a heavenly sense of calm. It’s beautiful here. –Gigi Hopkins, Founder, It's Beautiful Here and BAZAAR.com Contributor

Owned by pioneering adventure travel company Eleven Experience, this pampering, 13-room resort in northern Iceland is one-of-a-kind thanks to its five-star service, ultra-posh lodgings and access to some of the best heli-skiing and fly-fishing in the world. And while this is without a doubt the most pampering hotel in Iceland, Deplar is, at its core, about exploring the majestic outdoors. –Melissa Bradley, Founder, Indagare

Ett Hem is easily one of the coolest properties I have ever stayed at. As a modern B&B, it oozes warmth and hospitality, truly living up to its name, which translates to 'at home.' I was there in August, which is a bit chilly in Stockholm, so the bathtub and fireplace in my room felt perfectly in-season—though I spent most of my days there in the common room on a comfy couch not far from the kitchen, where chefs would cook up anything on request. –Kerry Pieri, Fashion/Features Director, BAZAAR.com

Perched on a cliffside between the harbor and Capri Town, JK Place boasts sweeping sea views and just 22 beautifully appointed rooms. The breezy island interiors are truly comfortable and stylishly detailed with nautical flair and spacious terraces. The hotel, which often books up months (if not a year) in advance, also features a large swimming pool surrounded by a manicured garden and a lovely spa with Sisley products. –Melissa Bradley, Founder, Indagare

Brazil’s Bahian coastline is one of the world's best all-time beach destinations and the intimate boutique hotel Casa Uxua captures everything there is to love about this region, from its wild, untamed beaches, the infectious lively spirit of the locals, and colorful culture. Set in the sleepy fishing village of Trancoso in Bahia, Casa Uxua is a beachside paradise that exudes style thanks to its interiors and decoration headed up by Dutch designer, and former Diesel creative, Wilbert Das. Each of the 10 luxury fisherman style bungalows have been individually designed and feature colorful local crafts and vintage pieces that make for a laid-back feel. Casa Uxua is all about relaxation and wellness. Make sure to enjoy a treatment or two in one of outdoor spa pavilions, or head to the Capoeira deck for a lesson overlooking the rolling Atlantic waves. Visit the unique garden pool, which is lined with aventurine, a green stone famous for its healing properties. As night sets in, guests can head down to the hip beach bar, which to the sounds of laid-back bossa nova you can enjoy a freshly muddled passion fruit caipirinha as you awe at the brilliant sunsets. –Tom Marchant, Co-Founder, Black Tomato.

This exquisite, 12-room restored Kasbah in the remote desert oasis of Skoura, a five-hour drive from Marrakech, delivers impeccable luxury amidst an ethereal landscape. Guests can trek through the Valley of the Roses and experience traditional village life with Berber guides, or simply relax by the pool and visit the spa before savoring a gourmet dinner in a fairytale setting. –Melissa Bradley, Founder, Indagare

Tucked away in the northeast corner of New Zealand’s North island you will find the recently-opened Helena Bay Lodge, which promises to be the world's best new luxury hotel with its four private beaches on 800 acres of land, all explorable by buggy, kayak, or even paddle board. There are only five rooms on site, two villa suites and three junior suites. But for those who need to accommodate nannies, bodyguards, or personal trainers, there are 10 extra rooms hidden in the main house, which also features a gym, sauna, massage room, heated swimming pool, library, wine cellar (housing more than 1,000 bottles of carefully-selected New Zealand and international wines), several lounge areas, on outdoor fire pit and the lodge's restaurant, created by Italy’s Michelin-starred Ristorante Don Alfonso 1890. The six-course degustation dinner, served outside on the terrace by the lodge’s tux-clad maitre de, is not to be missed. Helena Bay is a 50-minute flight north of Auckland to Wharerangi, and then a 40-minute drive from the airport along scenic winding roads, flanked by thick native bush. A driver will pick you up in a comfortable Range Rover, or VIP guests can helicopter in directly from Auckland, which shaves off 30 minutes of travel time. –Olivia Fleming, BAZAAR.com Senior Features Editor

The newly refurbished Belmond Eagle Island Lodge on Xaxaba Island is one of Africa’s most charming and intimate safari destinations. The lodge is perfectly located on a private island in Botswana’s lush Okavango Delta, and is home to some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities on the continent. Made for romantics, the 12 tented rooms’ offer breath taking views across the UNESCO honed delta, and even feature uniquely designed beds which look out onto your private plunge pool. Safari’s here are done via navigating the twisting waterways by traditional Mokoros (dugout canoes) where you can spot hippos, lions, and elephants on the water’s edge. The lodge also offers thrilling heli-safaris where you’ll be air-lifted over the sprawling delta to view herds of game. For added thrill factor the helicopters come without doors so you’re guaranteed to capture the perfect snap from the skies. After all the excitement out in the bush I loved spending evenings around the camps fire pit under the night sky, beneath blankets and regaling stories of the days game drives. –Tom Marchant, Co-Founder, Black Tomato.

Surrounded by vast canyons in southeastern Utah, Amangiri (meaning peaceful mountain) is an intimate resort comprised of sleek, low-slung buildings that blend into the sand-hued landscape. Guests can hike picturesque trails on property or at nearby national parks, indulge in spa treatments and relax by the mirage-like pool. –Melissa Bradley, Founder, Indagare