West India, India

This palatial five-star offers luxury on a scale matched by few resorts in India. Set amid 75 acres of tropical gardens, landscaped waterfalls ad lagoons, its 206 rooms and suites come in no less than eight different categories, all of them with interiors inspired by 17th-century Portuguese palacios.

A vast golden-sand beach is on the doorstep should you tire of the hotel’s three spectacular pools, and there’s a state-of-the-art fitness room, spa and casino on site. Golf carts take guests to the rooms from a dazzlingly grand reception decorated with a huge dancing Shiva bronze and exquisite pieces of Vijayanagar temple sculpture.