The It List

Trailblazers

Marques de Riscal (www.luxurycollection.com)
Room choice all comes down to whether you want to be in Gehry’s building (room Nos. 1-4, 12, 14 and 15 all enjoy panoramas of the village), or admire it (room Nos. 16-27, especially 19-27, have great views of the unusual edifice). If you have no other choice than to stay in No. 128 or 144, skip the visit; you’ll pay top dollar for viewless double in the annex.

Bowery Hotel (www.theboweryhotel.com)
Ask for one of the seven rooms with private terraces found on floors six, seven, and fourteen; all seven feature outdoor showers. For a truly spectacular view, request a room that overlooks the rooftops of the East Village and the Lower East Side.

Baghvan (www.tajsafaris.com)
For the most privacy, choose suite No. 1, located at the end of the camp’s footpath. The bathroom is secluded from view; the room, on the edge of an empty ravine, offers the best spot to catch sight of deer, including the chital or the sambar.

Beachcombers

Fairmont Mayakoba (www.fairmont.com)
The 458-square-foot, lagoon-facing casita rooms are worth the $100 upgrade for additional space and a private balcony overlooking nesting herons.

Fazenda da Lagoa (www.fazendadalagoa.br)
Bungalows Nos.1, 6, and 14 have spacious terraces overlooking the sea or the river. Be sure to inquire about a king-size bed; only ten rooms have them. The remaining four are furnished with two queens.

Nam Hai (www.ghmhotels.com)
All 40 pool villas are positioned around five U-shaped sand banks. All of the villas have ocean views, but our favorites (room Nos. 1010, 1100, 2010, and 2120) are closest to the water, afford greater privacy, and make use of the sweeping views. Request a beach villa to experience the full roar of the South China Sea.

Koh Samui Four Seasons (www.fourseasons.com)
Splurge on one of two Beach Villas, which are tucked into verdant gardens with their own pathways to the beach. They epitomize privacy and romance (No. 910 is our favorite). The convenient location also means that guests avoid hiking the hill after taking a swim or having dinner at the Pla Pla Restaurant.

Wild Ones

Awasi (www.awasi.cl)
The five round rooms (Nos. 1-5) have the most personality, with arched doorways, lofty domed ceilings, and prime positioning—either near the bonfire or tucked discretely behind the pool. In-the-know travelers request Room 1, which has two private patios, as opposed to the standard one.

Islas Secas (www.islassecas.com)
At the Casita Grande for $200 more per night than the usual price, you get a tent on the property, complete with a full kitchen, and both sunset and sunrise views. Guests in search of quiet isolation should book the Magote. Located offshore on its own tiny islet, the main island can be reached on foot at low tide, but only by kayak at high tide.

Tintswalo at Waterfall (www.tintswalo.com)
Ask for a room on the top floor—Basuto, Connemarra, Akhal Teke, and Palomino—with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the polo fields and facing the Magaliesberg Mountains. Otherwise, views are limited to relatively unexciting landscaped grounds and the local countryside.

The Healers

Bauer Il Palladio Hotel & Spa (www.bauerhotels.com)
We love the seven doubles on the second floor—all painted red, rose, and bordeaux— because of their spectacular views of the lagoon, the Doge’s Palace, and St. Mark’s Square. Those on the first floor are styled in drab browns and beige and look out only on the garden.

The Barai (www.thebarai.com)
Suites on the ground floor offer private diving pools and direct access to the beach, though none of the Barai’s rooms capitalize on the lovely ocean views. Beware of the top-floor rooms (Nos. 6, 7, 8, and 9); they are a hike from the beach and the main pool area.

Four Seasons Westlake Village (www.fourseasons.com)
Even-numbered rooms ending in No.16 to No. 54 have views of the grounds and of a man-made waterfall. Equally as nice are the seventh-floor accommodations with vistas of the Santa Monica Mountains. Avoid courtyard-facing rooms that look out on a parking lot and an adjacent wing.

Modern Classics

Melenos Lindos (www.melenoslindos.com)
Suites No. 4, 5, and 6 measure about 400 square feet and are the most spacious, but all rooms feature traditional Greek sleeping platforms, retractable canvas roofs, and private terraces that have views of the Aegean Sea.

Hospes Palacio del Bailio (www.hospes.es)
Ask for room No. 109, where the walls are covered in 18th-century frescoes, and where Fernando de Cordoba, the Moorish warrior who first called this palace home, slept. The room leads to a tiny private patio with flowers and views of the fountain below.

Convento de Carmo (www.pousadas.pt)
Since the convent’s loftlike second story was divided into two levels (resulting in a third floor of rooms reachable via a dramatically cantilevered walkway), some units feel a bit cramped—better to reserve one of the harbor-facing rooms, which retain their original soaring ceilings. No. 238, flooded with sunlight and awash in colonial character, has polished plank floors, ornate handcrafted rugs, and a refreshingly contemporary bathroom.

New Urbanists

Mandarin Oriental, Prague (www.mandarinoriental.com)
Premier-class rooms and the Castle View suite are all drama; each looks out on the painfully quaint Mala Strana neighborhood and the awesome medieval spires of Prague Castle.

Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street (www.ritz-carlton.com)
Only the upper floors of this new Ritz Carlton are blessed with panoramic views of Beijing. Ask for room No.1707, 1708, 1709, or 1710 on the club floor; all four feature fabulous easterly views that include the Tibetan-style White Pagoda Temple.

Hotel de Rome (www.roccofortehotels.com)
Go for rooms on the fourth and fifth floors; request one of the rooms with a terrace facing scenic Bebelplatz and Humboldt University. We also love the suites on the first floor that feature 14-foot ceilings, original stucco, and boardroom-style wood paneling.

Comeback Kids

Cloister at Sea Island (www.seaisland.com)
Though River View rooms in the main building lack a separate sitting area, they tend to feel as large as the suites (at about half the price).

Hotel Fauchere (www.hotelfauchere.com)
For an extra dose of privacy and charm, ask for the super-quiet deluxe suites on the second floor (Nos. 3 and 4), with terraces facing the back garden.

Gramercy Park Hotel (www.gramercyparkhotel.com)
The spacious Park Rooms (550-square-feet) feature French doors and wonderful views of Gramercy Park. For a truly lavish getaway, inquire about the Penthouse, which has soaring rooftop and park vistas, an original Sanford White fireplace and mantle, and antique furnishings.

Artful Lodgers

La Suite
Our favorite is the spacious Black Suite, where cascading bead curtains surround the platform bed. The suite features two black-marble bathrooms and a generous terrace. It’s also the only room with two huge walls of windows facing the sea.

El Casco Art Hotel (www.hotelelcasco.com)
Rooms differ only in the artwork hanging on the walls; pick your favorite from a lengthy list of modern Argentine greats, including painters Benito Quinquela Martín, Florencio Molina Campos, Raúl Soldi, or Pablo Curatella Manes.

Chambers Art Hotel (www.chambersminneapolis.com)
The loftlike Penthouse Studio rooms have balconies that extend over the sculpture-filled courtyard; in the evening, the courtyard is packed with stylish locals sipping ginger margaritas and milling around the Angus Fairhurst-designed one-armed bronze gorilla.