After exploring Japan’s cities and riding the Train Suite Shiki-Shima, I was craving a tranquil island escape. I always begin my search with Leading Hotels of the World, then explore options with Small Luxury Hotels — and that’s when I discovered this resort, which immediately caught my eye.

After booking our trip to Palm Springs for Modernism Week in February, we were keen to explore somewhere new in California or Nevada before flying home from LAX.

We flew to London the night before and stayed over at the Hotel Sofitel London Heathrow - this is in such a great location and connected directly to the terminal.

Having stayed in Palm Springs before, this time we were looking to try a different property and I was attracted to La Serena Villas; not only because of the high rating on TripAdvisor (as I write #8 out of 78 hotels in Palm Springs) but also the very central location.

I cannot explain how amazing this place is - I’d seen it before and thought it looked absolutely amazing (and it was in reality) but finding that this was an option for the Train Suite Shiki-Shima overnight hotel stay meant the choice was made.

We visit London regularly, and with so many exceptional places to stay, the choice is never easy. While The Landmark London may not always be the most high-profile name, it consistently delivers – offering a superb location, timeless elegance, and a level of service that rivals the very best in the city.

The Conrad Osaka is located within the top floors of the Nakanoshima Festival West Tower (164 guest rooms in total) - you enter on the reception level on the 40th floor. It has four restaurants and lounges, a Conrad Spa and beauty salon, a heated indoor pool, and a health club with personal training options.

When it comes to booking luxury hotels, my first port of call is often the Leading Hotels of the World. In Vienna, two properties stood out: Grand Hotel Wien and the iconic Hotel Sacher Wien.

I soon spotted the Cow Hollow Hotel, not least for the captivating name (named after a neighbourhood district in San Francisco apparently), but realising this was voted (currently) #4 out of 123 in Manchester for Traveller Ranking and #1 for Best Value I decided quite quickly that would be the place to stay. A fully restored and converted Victorian brick warehouse, this really is a cool and hip boutique hotel.

The villa, which blends Japanese tradition along with modern design elements, offers hot spring waters that flow freely from the source with an authentic kaiseki cuisine prepared with strictly selected seasonal ingredients.

I was looking for an island experience after having done cities in Japan and the Train Suite Shiki-Shima - I always initially look at LHW but thereafter I look at SLH. I soon spotted this resort and liked the look of it.

Great hotel and facilities in the centre of Havana, looks like a normal ultra-high standard Kempinski until you realise it’s not matched by the service. Five star prices not matched by five star service. Currently voted as #7 out of 246 hotels in Havana on TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com).

Constance Tsarabanjina, part of Mauritian based Constance Group, was a wonderful “get away from it all” private island, with only 25 individual extremely well-appointed bungalows spread across two beaches, North and South.  We were lucky enough to have Villa 14.

Whenever we stay in London my first “go to” site to check hotels is the Leading Hotels of the World. We have stayed quite a number of times as The Café Royal near Piccadilly, The Landmark at Marylebone, One Aldwych and The Langham when it was part of this group too.