When a public-smoking ban took effect in London in 2007, the Lanesborough’s Library Bar could no longer serve cigars. So the hotel set three umbrellas on a sunken outdoor patio and served cigars in the makeshift space. The spot became so popular that the hotel sought permissions to upgrade it. …

When Botswana residents Dereck and Beverly Joubert are not traversing continents to promote their latest film, book, or photography exhibition, they live in the bush, tracking the lions and other super predators that are the focus of their Emmy Award–winning documentaries. After 32 years of exploring together, the Jouberts—who are …

Caesars Palace has raised the stakes. The Las Vegas resort’s three Octavius Tower Villas—the property’s only individually designed suites—opened in September as part of an ongoing billion expansion. Central to the development, the 5 million Octavius skyscraper was built to house 665 guest rooms and 71 suites, including this …

If God lives in Italy, then he vacations in the south of France—or so the Provençals say. Such superlatives, however, pass almost without notice in this land of blue skies, lavender fields, olive groves, and vineyards, all of which—after disembarking from an 11-hour transatlantic flight—I have watched roll by during …

Dereck Joubert strides through tightly planted rows of pyrethrum and sweet potatoes on a steep rise in the Rwandan countryside. Reaching a craggy overlook near the mountain’s peak, he points down to the valley floor, where a muddy footpath snakes through the farmland.
"The road will come up through there," says …

By the third day of the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2009 off Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the weather gods are clearly unhappy. A high-pressure system has settled over the island on this August morning, bringing the winds to a standstill and leaving a flotilla of roughly 200 becalmed sailing …

Big and bold like its surroundings, the 74-room Bilila Lodge Kempinski is one of just five non-tented lodges in Tanzania’s 5,700-square-mile Serengeti National Park. The million property, which opened in July, includes all the requisite amenities of a five-star resort—infinity pools, sun decks, a wine cellar, a spa—plus such …

Fresh from a top-to-bottom renovation, the Jefferson in Washington, D.C., reopened in August with a new design scheme that is true to the 87-year-old hotel’s Beaux Arts roots and offers subtle nods to the third American president.
Wander the halls to peruse original Thomas Jefferson sketches and signed notes before …

Since Santorini became a regular cruise-ship stop a few years ago, the Greek volcanic island has become a hot spot for the tourist hordes. But last May, a hotel debuted on an isolated stretch of the island, a setting where the Santorini of old—a peaceful perch from which to sit …

The Eco Villa at Six Senses’ new Soneva Kiri resort is best identified by what it lacks: carbon emissions. This environmentally friendly accommodation—which Six Senses intends as a prototype for its future properties—is one of 42 villas at Soneva Kiri, a stylishly sensitive beach resort that opened on Thailand’s Koh …