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Hotel pools are cool, but what about the actual world’s best hotels?

Once conditions are safe enough to open more international borders, likely as a result of vaccine rollouts, those who have been unable to travel will likely take to the skies.

There will be no better way to celebrate than with an I-just-got-through-a-pandemic vacation somewhere far away from your lounge.

And although the world is still struggling with its second, third, or even fourth COVID-19 waves, and many borders are still closed, it can’t hurt to dream about a tantalising vacation.

CNN reported on 10 of the world’s best hotels for when it’s time to splurge, and we’ll show you five of them below.

Let’s start off where it’s easiest for us Saffas to travel to:

Jack’s Camp, Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, Kalahari, Botswana:

If you’re after an ultra-exclusive escape, it doesn’t get much more secluded than Jack’s, a luxury safari camp tucked away inside a million-acre private wildlife reserve in the Kalahari Desert. (There are only two other camps in the reserve).

The hotel (also seen in the heading image) has 10 enormous luxury tents with plush four-poster beds, gorgeous safari-meets-Persia decor, and private plunge pools looking out over the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.

There’s also a library, billiards room, a bar, and a sumptuous tea tent strewn with Persian rugs and cushions.

The rates are from R20 400 all-inclusive per night, game drives included.

Perhaps you can try to get a glimpse of what’s believed to be the world’s third-largest diamond while you’re in the country.

W Melbourne, 408 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, Australia:

This 294-room hotel is brand spanking new, having just opened at the beginning of the year.

A strange time considering the Australian borders are still very much closed, but that doesn’t necessarily stop any preparations for a good old time.

Built inside the glittering, $1,25 billion Collins Arch precinct — also home to luxury residences and upscale retail and dining offerings — the ultramodern hotel boasts five restaurants and bars, plus a gold-roofed indoor heated pool, featuring a poolside bar and DJ booth.

Hopefully, the mouse and spider plagues will have subsided by the time any visitors arrive, too.

Prices start from around R6 300 a night.

The Brando, Tetiaroa private island, French Polynesia:

The Brando, Marlon Brando’s ultra-luxurious private island resort on Tetiaroa, is a bucket-list splurge:

The far-flung resort is a favourite of celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradley Cooper and Ellen DeGeneres. Former President Barack Obama also famously escaped to the island to write his memoir there after he left office in 2017. (More recently, Kim Kardashian infamously hosted her 40th birthday party on the island in October 2020).

It has 35 thatched-roof villas, each one decked out with a private infinity pool and an outdoor dining area, not to mention your own private stretch of the beach.

Rates start from a whopping R49 000 a night.

Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Via Antica Regina, 8, 22016 Tremezzina, Italy:

The Grand Hotel Tremezzo is an iconic Art Nouveau hotel perched on the banks of Lake Como:

Its 90 rooms are all individually decorated, outfitted with indulgent details like sprawling balconies, terraces and whirlpool tubs.

Though it’s worth every euro to splurge on the lake-view rooms, the garden-view rooms overlooking the beautifully manicured grounds also offer a tranquil oasis.

Outside there is plenty of water to dip into, including one pool floating above the lake (seen above).

Rates start from around R14 000 a night.

Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort, Lanai, Hawaii:

You’ll have to leave your kids behind if you vacate to this wellness retreat, which might as well be the epitome of post-pandemic luxury:

It’s located on the Hawaiian island of Lanai, which is so peaceful and secluded it feels like you’re on your own private island.

Then there are the plush suites, hidden so discreetly amongst Lanai’s jungle-filled, mist-covered Koele mountains you’ll barely notice the other guests.

Finally, you get a personalised wellness itinerary crafted by your own Sensei Guide, which sets you up with spa treatments and wellness activities — everything from morning meditation to sound baths — aimed at melting away any lingering stress or anxiety.

Just hope that a stay there doesn’t turn out to be anything like what happens in The White Lotus.

Rates start from around R16 000 a night, including Wellness Experience credits.

For the other five featured hotels, head here.

[source:cnn]