Pausanias

Lockdown delirium -

CAMBODIA
Amansara, Siem Reap
We stayed here in 1992, when it was the Apsara Villas, then again a few years ago. We appreciated the change in every respect. Amansara really has this Angkor thing sorted.

FRANCE
Chateau de Bagnols, Bagnols
Seen it through various managements, from Aman onwards, and still regard it as the ultimate chateau hotel in France.
L’Oustau de Baumaniere, Les Baux-de-Provence
The first Relais & Chateaux and the first three-star Michelin meal of my life made an indelible impression on me. This is the furthest south I get to in France as I hate the bling-ugliness of the coast.
Hotel des Berges, Illhaeusern
A luxurious, characterful hotel attached to the best and most beautiful restaurant I have ever seen, the Auberge de I’Ill.
De Crillon, Georges V, Plaza Athenee, Paris
They all have their winning ways and can't be separated.

FRENCH POLYNESIA
Hotel Bora Bora, Society Islands
The legendary hotel, now sadly demolished, superceded by the tacky honeymoon havens out on the motus. My memories live on.

GERMANY
Bareiss, Baiersbronn-Mitteltal
Classic spa hotel with three world-class restaurants.

HONG KONG
Four Seasons, Hong Kong Island
Stunningly smooth, unpretentious luxury city hotel with resort facilities and amazing restaurants.

INDIA
The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai
Layers of history and colonial elegance, brought up to date.

INDONESIA
The Oberoi, Legian Beach, Bali
Back in the late 1980s this was the only place to stay and one of the most exquisitely beautiful hotels in the world.
Amandari, Ubud, Bali
My first Aman experience, in 1990, spoilt me forever but I'll never go back to Bali now.
Maulana Inn, Banda Islands
Colonial-style guest house in a Spice Island setting which is pure Joseph Conrad.

LAOS PDR
Amantaka, Luang Prabang
A converted hospital, stunningly designed, perfectly attuned to its location in the centre of one of Indo-China’s most culturally rich cities.

MAURITIUS
Le Prince Maurice, Flic-en-Flac
Quiet, luxurious, gloriously located, perfect resort food.

PHILIPPINES
Amanpulo, Pamalican Island
The best hotel in the Maldives and mercifully not in the Maldives.

SAMOA
Aggie Grey’s, Apia
A legendary hotel deep in the South Pacific, a bit shambolic with giggly service, haunted by the likes of Bill Holden on tropical trysts. Sadly, it’s now part of the Sheraton empire.

SEYCHELLES
La Digue Island Lodge, La Digue
It’s now the La Digue Resort, I think, but we went in the early 1980s and it was wonderfully rustique, a genuine backwater with octopus curries.

SRI LANKA
Ceylon Tea Trails, Hatton
An imaginative concept - five former tea planter’s bungalows converted into hotel rooms, a sort of tropical Tunbridge Wells. Adept service, supremely relaxing, well worth spending a week here to really wind down.

THAILAND
The Oriental, Bangkok
The perfect city hotel in a city I don’t much like. Lots of literary history, prescient service levels, a great pool and romantic riverside restaurant terrace.

UNITED KINGDOM
Gravetye Manor, East Grinstead
The perfect English Country House experience, now with a new glassed-in restaurant. No pool and no spa guarantees no riff-raff.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills
I was something of a regular here, always the same poolside cabana, where I took calls from Marlon and Warren, lunched with Billy Wilder, dined with Natalie Wood.

I'm sure there are a few others which slip my mind . . . but I should also mention the numerous cruise ships which have taken me to some of the remotest places on the planet. Something no hotel can achieve.