Three more (sorry!) that this time belong to hotel groups (but again, no Aman, Peninsula etc. allowed):

1) Neemrana Fort Palace hotel, south of Delhi. Amazing nine-storey fort carved into a hill with a roof terrace swimming pool and its own amphitheatre. I stayed for a wedding so we had it to ourselves. Stunning building, characterful rooms, OK food, rubbish service.

2) The Chedi, Oman. Oman is an amazing country to visit and the Chedi is a beautiful hotel. The design is almost flawless, but make sure you get a sea view room above the main foyer rather than in the distant ends of the hotel or around an inner courtyard. Food is good but safe - might be become boring after a while.

3) Kohama Golf Resort (or preferably their new spa resort on Iriomote-jima). We stayed here accidentally (I let the girlfriend book part of our trip ) and, once we got over the shock of being in a golf resort (and the cost), we loved it. The staff found it a little strange that we never played any golf (since that's why all the Japanese were paying through the nose) or signed up for the golf-widow tours and activities but the service was great, even by Japanese standards, and the hotel is really laid back - like all the Yaeyama islands.

There is a hotel within a hotel built around a lagoon and spa but to be honest the sea view rooms in the main hotel are better, since they have a view of the lagoon and the sea. Kohama is a quiet, flat island in the Yaeyama chain, mostly covered in pasture and golf course. We went back to a neighbouring island this year and stayed in a guesthouse (budgeting!) and learned that the same group has opened a spa and onsen resort on Iriomote, the big, wild, volcanic jungle island. Will definitely give this a try!