From royal opulence to huts on the edge of

ROYAL MANSOUR, MARRAKECH

Built by royal command, this “medina within a medina” set a new global standard for luxury. Its design, overseen by the king of Morocco, puts privacy above all else. Guests in the 53 private riads (houses) can only guess at the size of the army of staff silently moving through an underground labyrinth, appearing and disappearing through secret doors with strict instructions never to be seen. With a Michelinstarred

restaurant and a world-beating spa, King Mohammed VI’s vanity project has yet to be matched for luxury.

Rooms from £900 (00 2 12 529 808 080; telegraph. co.uk/tt-royal-mansour)

THE PIG AT BROCKENHURST, NEW FOREST

The first of the litter has been much imitated but rarely surpassed, even by six later Pig openings. When Robin and Judy Hutson opened their cosy country house hotel in the New Forest, few could have predicted the revolution it would spark. Its rustic-chic aesthetic is still the benchmark for stylish rural retreats, but its chief coup was in placing the kitchen garden at the centre of everything. A near-cultish devotion to local produce placed it at the forefront of a then-fledgling slow food movement that became a cultural phenomenon.

Rooms from £145 (01590 622354; telegraph.co.uk/ tt-the-pig)

MASHPI LODGE, ECUADOR

Ecuador’s Chocó-Andean Cloud Forest is mesmerising: a 15,000-acre spread of mountainous, thick jungle populated by pumas, anteaters and toucans. It’s the last place you’d expect to find a sleek, modernist boutique hotel. Mashpi Lodge is an extraordinary achievement that has had a profound and lasting impact on luxury wildlife tourism. Chief among its attractions is the Sky Bike, a pedalpowered tandem suspended hundreds of feet in the air so guests can peek at rainforest life while cruising above the canopy.

Rooms from £1,030 (00 593 2 400 4100; telegraph. co.uk/tt-mashpi-lodge)

FOGO ISLAND INN, NEWFOUNDLAND

Increasing overtourism has been a regrettable travel trend in the past few years. Fogo Island Inn has helped pioneer a new breed of extremely remote hotels, where those willing to make arduous journeys can escape the crowds. Here, time can be whiled away indoors, watching out for breaching whales and drifting icebergs. Despite the extreme logistical challenge of victualling a hotel on a storm-lashed island in the North Atlantic, the inn has flourished thanks to a reputation for creative meals crafted out of whatever ingredients can be foraged nearby.

Rooms from £1,215 (00 1 709 658 3444; telegraph. co.uk/tt-fogo-island-inn)

THE BRANDO, TAHITI

Marlon Brando fell in love with the Polynesian island of Tetiaroa while filming Mutiny on the Bounty. He bought it in 1966, and almost 50 years later (and 10 years after his death), his dream of an ecologically sensitive guest resort was realised. There are paradise island hotels to rival it, but

The Brando continues to stand out, even before you take into account the remarkable measures taken to preserve Tetiaroa’s fragile ecosystem. The presiding sense of castaway bliss draws the great and good, including the Obamas, who went to the resort shortly after leaving the White House in 2017. …Rooms from£2,720 (00 689 40 86 63 00; telegraph.co.uk/tt-thebrando)

SOHO FARMHOUSE, COTSWOLDS

Soho Farmhouse is not