Redefining what it means to escape to paradise, this inclusive resort is truly a place to reset.

A tropical-island escape of dreams, Amilla Maldives is located on the Baa Atoll, a 35-minute seaplane journey north of Malé to Hanifaru Bay. Here, the sun shines, the sand glitters and turtles paddle near the feet of diners eating Maldivian tuna sashimi and lobster miso thermidor at Feeling Koi, one of seven on-site restaurants.

It looks exactly like a Maldivian paradise should but there’s more to Amilla than just aesthetics. Resort activities include kombucha making, coral frame planting and visiting endangered birds, while organic kitchen gardens, a banana plantation, coconut processing facility and waste treatment centre are among its sustainability initiatives. And wait until you spy the giant transparent glamping bubble.

But the most impressive accomplishment is Amilla’s commitment to inclusion. Each member of staff undergoes extensive training to ensure all guests feel comfortable and accommodated, regardless of ability. Last year, the resort attained Inclucare total-guest inclusion premier accreditation.

All rooms (except Treetop Villas) and restaurants are on the ground floor – the Sunset Water Villa affords direct lagoon access, an over-lagoon hammock and an in-villa wine cellar. There are sensory touch, aroma and sound activities for vision-impaired guests, as well as dedicated calming spaces for those with neurological conditions. De rigeur resort activities, including yoga, swimming and snorkelling, are also offered for guests with special needs. There’s a certain lightness of being that comes from being completely looked after – and here, everyone gets to experience it.

This forward-thinking, Brooklyn inspired bolthole is upskilling staff for an extra-warm welcome.

A photogenic lobby, a fun, cocktail-and-burger-focused dining and bar scene, and a Portland Street location within easy reach of galleries, city-centre shopping and Manchester’s lively Gay Village – Hotel Brooklyn ticks all the boxes for a millennial’s city bolthole. There’s even a stoop (it’s inside but so what?) on which to sit and sip a Brooklyn Heights (Chambord, prosecco) and shoot the (non-existent) breeze.

Manchester’s streets have stood in for those of NYC in films (Captain America: The First Avenger, Alfie) but visitors will find the city has a romance all its own, with cobblestones, canals and that Northern gregariousness.

Opened in 2020, the hotel’s 189 rooms begin at Snug and progress through to Club rooms, king-sized Governors and Uptown Suites with their extravagant lounge areas. All the categories have king-sized beds and a 36-square-metre footprint, and there are 18 Liberty rooms that come in a variety of different layouts to suit a range of needs – without ever compromising on the design: a mix of patterned carpet, bold fixtures, fabulous wall-sized artworks and pops of bronze and pink.

It’s not only the guestrooms that are adapted to be welcoming to all guests. New team members attend a training session with Pure Innovations, an organisation that supports the differently abled or people with health-related issues. “Our president, Robin Sheppard, has a dream that all guests should feel welcome at any Bespoke Hotel around the world,” says the hotel’s Kostadin Dimitrov.

A historic gem drawing on the benefits of mineral-rich waters has restorative wellness at its core.

Since the 12th century, deep in the countryside of Castilla y León, two hours north of Madrid, the massive stone walls, soaring cloisters and sunny courtyards of the Monasterio de Valbuena have stood on the banks of the Douro River. No monks have resided here since 1835 but in still moments there’s a resonance – almost as if their chants are echoing across the centuries.

Of course, this is a very different place to the one the Cistercian monks (a particularly austere order focused on manual labour) inhabited for 700 years.

These days, life here is entirely less self-flagellating; in fact, it’s downright decadent. The retreat is famed for its Valbuena Spa, one of only three Clarins spas that utilises thermal waters. There are 16 treatment rooms, an enormous thermal pool and an outdoor heated pool.

Using a combination of relaxing and decontracting jets, water curtains, water cannons and rest areas, a visit to the spa is said to aid circulation, boost metabolism and relieve stress – medical consultations and physiotherapy sessions can also be arranged. For the ultimate decompression, the Chapel of San Pedro Experience, set among Gothic frescoes, promises “absolute tranquillity”.

The property’s commitment to innovation has prompted a raft of changes, including the phasing out of single-use plastics, the creation of its own natural cosmetics range, the and kitchen gardens, and the implementation of a responsible water management program.

Wine and gastronomy are further strings to the retreat’s indulgent bow. Winemaking is an ancient occupation in the Ribero del Duero region and 20,000 bottles of the hotel’s own Converso tempranillo crianza are produced each harvest. Among the three dining options (including the fabulous Los Monjes Winery), Converso Restaurant, with its rough-hewn walls golden in candlelight, is the place to order a bottle of that exceptional red.

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