This is a great question but I think it's being asked in the wrong forum. Your friend is still at the stage of trying to decide where to go but is not yet factoring hotels (particularly luxury hotels) into the equation. So I think the folks in the Asia forum are more likely to have helpful answers and I am going to move this there.

Good luck in finding a destination and bear in mind that the monsoons don't run for the entire month of July, depending on location. For example, in Korea and Japan, the monsoon is usually gone by the middle of July -- although it then gets hot and humid!

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels