Ace Hotel - New York

Step inside and you’ll feel like you’re in the Brooklyn apartment of your achingly cool friend with an annoying knack for finding the most perfectly worn stools, tweed retro chairs and vintage side tables. Kick up your feet on the comfy, plaid-sheeted bed, or pick up the room’s guitar and write a generation-defining anthem (or just play the three chords you know).

The hotel – north of Madison Square Park and south of the Empire State Building – lies in a not oft-used in-between district, sparing patrons the cloying midtown bustle, but putting them close enough to enjoy its perks. Dinner is an easy choice; the bohemian and celeb-friendly Breslin is downstairs, a carnivorous fantasyland that could tempt even the staunchest of vegetarians.

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Lydmar - Stockholm

The Lydmar is much like the city of Stockholm; imminently fashionable, elegantly understated and full of personality. Each room is bathed in luxury with a contemporary style all their own; supple, tufted leather chairs in cappuccino and eggshell, expansive Chesterfield couches in marigold and peacock blue, and Italian bed linens with an erotic surprise on the back side of luxurious duvets.

Boasting rotating art exhibits, Old Town and harbor views, and a Scandinavian cool charm, the Lydmar claims a regular place in the social conscience of Stockholmers. You’ll end your day in its lauded, affable restaurant, surrounded by brimming bookshelves and quirky archaeological artifacts.

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Santa Teresa - Rio de Janeiro

This charming, contemporary hotel in the hills of Santa Teresa, the artistic heart of Rio, has all of the warmth and elegance of a good friend’s home, but with a bigger decorating budget. The hotel is filled with burnt cement floors, recycled wood furniture, golden slate walls, and architectural furniture and artwork made by famed Brazilian designers and artists, inspired by Brazil’s colonial, African and indigenous roots.

The hotel’s perch high above Rio offers stunning views of the bay and the Teresópolis Mountains, whether you’re lounging at the rectangular, jade-hued pool or waking up in a spacious loft room with a panoramic terrace. And the delicious aromas of French and Brazilian cuisine that waft through the expansive windows of the Térèze restaurant even coax the locals to this hilltop hideaway.

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