Bora Bora is an island in the Leeward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The island, located about 230 kilometres (140 mi) northwest of Papeete, is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef. In the center of the island are the remnants of an extinct volcano rising to two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu, the highest point at 727 metres (2,385 ft). The original name of the island in the Tahitian language might be better rendered as Pora Pora, meaning “First Born”; an early transcription found in 18th- and 19th century accounts, is Bolabolla (or “Bollabolla”).

The major settlement, Vaitape is on the western side of the island, opposite the main channel into the lagoon. The products of the island are mostly limited to what can be obtained from the sea and coconut trees, which were historically of economic importance for copra.

During the August 2007 census, the population on the island was about 8,880 people.^[1]

Anantara Phuket Resort and Spa in Thailand, which officially opened its doors in October, is giving guests the opportunity to leave a lasting mark on the hotel’s local community. This winter, guests who register for a stay at the resort are offered the opportunity to take part in a day-long excursion to Baan Talay Nok, one of the villages hardest hit by the 2004 tsunami, to work side by side with tsunami survivors in a handicraft cooperative involving soap making, batik painting, and palm weaving. The activities are set up to help create self-sufficiency and autonomy in Thailand’s fishing and farming communities, and proceeds from the day’s efforts will go to a fund for survivors.

After a day of work, guests may look forward to retiring to one of the resort’s 83 private pool suites along Mai Khao Beach, on the north end of the island. Each villa is unique, featuring walled gardens, hardwood decks, and private pools. A traditional Thai spa incorporates five treatment rooms, including a couples’ suite that can be reserved by the day, and a yoga guru roams the grounds of the resort, offering group and private yoga classes. Winter 2009 rates begin at ,300 per night. (www.anantara.com)

—Alexandra Foster

An apothecary with access to more than 20 native Hawaiian plants and minerals is at the core of the custom healing and relaxing blends of elixirs, lotions and oils available for guests at the newly reopened Four Seasons Resort Hual?lai. The five-diamond, 243-room resort on the Big Island’s Kona Coast reopened in mid-December following a million expansion and renovation of the spa. In early 2009, the facility will add the Waiea (Water of Life) Garden; couples’ hale with a private plunge pool; and relaxation salons. Guests who desire something more active than a spa treatment can discover a range of exercise and recreational opportunities from open-air gyms to outrigger canoe paddling. Located within the larger Hual?lai Resort at Historic Ka‘?p?lehu resort community, the Four Seasons also has tennis courts and two 18-hole golf courses—one by Jack Nicklaus, the other by Tom Weiskopf. (808.325.8000, www.fourseasons.com)

—Debra Ryono

Since 1867, the Amstel has been a fixture on the banks of its namesake river in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The hotel became an InterContinental property in 1981 and since has reduced the number of accommodations (which now total 55 guest rooms and 24 suites, most with views of the Amstel River).

The historic Hotel Caruso, Orient-Express Hotels’ fourth property in Italy, incorporates the excavated remains of an 11th-century palace, a colonnade that dates to the 17th century, and buildings and artworks from the 1700s. But the property, which opened after a million restoration in 2005, does not lack for modern comforts.

In Munich, Germany, new boutiques and fashionable wine bars mingle with the city’s traditional beer-hall, brass-band gusto. This merry dance of old and new continues at the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski München, a 150-year-old grande dame that occupies a commanding position on the broad Maximilianstrasse.

Turn-of-the-20th-century Finnish composer Jean Sibelius is said to have seen music in shapes and colors. This may explain why, when he needed inspiration, Sibelius retired to the Hotel Kämp in Helsinki, Finland.

Though it dates to 1861, Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, Switzerland, is by no means fusty and old-fashioned. A recently completed million refurbishment—which spanned 12 years—has kept this Belle Epoque gem on the banks of Lake Geneva looking shiny and new.

The British monarch who ruled the largest empire in history would no doubt be pleased by the new 2 million ocean liner that the fabled Cunard Line recently christened after her. By any standard, Queen Victoria, known simply as “the QV,” is an imposing vessel.

Located 26 miles south of Cancún, the Mandarin occupies a one-mile-long, 150-yard-wide sliver of land that stretches from the region’s main highway to the Caribbean Sea. Reflecting pools line a thatch-roofed pavilion at the front of the property, where guests board golf carts for a ride through the jungle, past a cenote (a freshwater sinkhole), and along canals to their rooms.