This round-up of the world's most exceptional hotels and retreats is packed with awe-inspiring photos and tantalizing descriptions of the world's greatest getaways. While few will visit them all, this collection provides a dizzying array of exotic destinations for the armchair traveller. Highlights include a California inn where Liberace would have felt right at home, and shabby-chic bungalows on Highway 1 in Big Sur.

You can choose from luxurious residences nestled on the Ubud hillside overlooking the Ayung River in Bali, or ocean side bungalows on a Brazilian archipelago. You can go camping in "royal style" in the Indian desert, or opt for a luxury tented camp on an island in the best game-viewing location in Botswana. You can relax in a hand-woven banda on Zanzibar, a hotel-museum full of contemporary art on the Sicilian coast, or a sumptuous Provencal spa retreat in the south of France.