The 1930s motel that now serves as Camptown’s main lodge is full of character. The nearly century-old bones of the place have been preserved, but it’s been refinished with a bit of modernism, a healthy dose of Shaker simplicity, and plenty of rustic rough edge — and joined by 26 cabins, each a variation on the theme.

The Nobu brand, today, is synonymous with more than sushi — with the advent of the eponymous hotels, the name now calls to mind a collection of chic, luxurious modern hotels — like this one, located in one of Barcelona’s most rapidly evolving neighborhoods, within a 23-story tower that dates back to the 1970s.

This sort of high-style, small-scale lodging isn’t common in the Caribbean the way it is in the world’s capital cities. Le Martin Boutique Hotel makes a statement with its name; in this corner of the French West Indies, fans of boutique hospitality and modern, glamorous hotel interiors need look no further.

Lisbon’s Almaria group transforms unusual historical structures into stylish and modern apartment-style quasi-hotels. For Almaria Officina Real the raw material is a handsome building in Baixa-Chiado once used as a pewter workshop for the Royal House — it’s now 10 attractive and characterful apartments.

High-end luxury travelers have always been well served by the Milanese hotel market; less common in Italy’s most fashionable city are hotels that appeal to a younger and more diverse crowd. Urban Hive Milano, in the Brera district, just to the north of the city center, aims to fill this gap.

As a work of design, Six Senses Kyoto is an impressive one, as modern as can be and yet maximally respectful of Japanese tradition. Woven throughout are details inspired by the Tale of Genji and by ancient Japanese folklore. And yet the effect is never didactic, but simply adds depth to the experience.

This former motel is now the Gallivant, a remarkably swanky, beachy-chic boutique hotel. And while it’s inspired by an idealized vision of the Hamptons, its interpretation is a unique one, studiously avoiding transatlantic clichés in favor of a look that’s roughly equal parts casual surf shack and stylish country inn.

This corner of Porto is known for its distinctive terrace-style townhouses, designed in the 19th century as housing for workers’ families. And after a long period of disuse, five of these houses have been transformed into a luxurious and stylish collection of apartment-style hotel suites called Village by BOA.

The Naumi group is based in Singapore, but that doesn’t stop the colorful creations of hotelier Gaurang Jhunjhnuwala from fitting perfectly in New Zealand. Naumi Wellington, in fact, leans on the local design firm Material Creative to create an experience that’s not just memorable but, ideally, transformative.

Little Palm Island is anything but routine. Guests arrive at the relatively ordinary Little Torch Key and transfer to a yacht named for Harry Truman for the final hop to an island that was one of the former president’s favorite haunts, and is now the only private island resort in North America.

The aim of Villa Santa Cruz is to allow guests to unwind in a style that’s both luxurious and as casual as can be. Its owners, two Calfornia-born couples, started with a single villa, and slowly expanded the hotel’s offerings into what you see today: villas, bugalows, tented suites, and maximum communion with the beach.

In a private home dating to the late 19th century, lovingly restored and updated with 14 bedrooms, Blind Tiger Burlington combines period architecture with unique vintage details and original contemporary artworks. Its location is close to both the University of Vermont and the city’s lakeside downtown district.

Tata Castle is one of rural Hungary’s signature attractions. You can’t stay in the castle itself, but right next door, in a 17th-century palace that once belonged to the aristocratic Esterházy family, is Platán Manor, a small-scale hideaway that combines the noble character of a historical residence with modern comforts.

An elegant escape in a pastoral setting midway between Paris and Versailles is not the toughest sell — it was true for Corot and his Impressionist contemporaries and it’s true today. Les Etangs de Corot still bears their influence, each room at the hotel is named for an artist who spent time in Ville-d’Avray.

Most MGallery hotels come with an extra helping of personality, but Royal Hoi An adds an unusual amount of romance to the luxury. Its architecture and design take inspiration from the story of a Japanese merchant and a Vietnamese aristocrat who fell in love in Hoi An, a major trade hub, in the late 1600s.

Kit Kemp’s Firmdale hotels are practically a genre unto themselves — luxurious yet lively, they combine country and city aesthetics, and feel glamorous and cozy at the same time. Colors, in particular, run rampant, and that’s particularly true of the Warren Street Hotel, a self-contained world apart from its Tribeca surroundings.

Châteaux come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but few are as photogenically castle-like as the Château de Belet, a 15th-century relic in the Périgord, which comes with battlements and towers, like something from a fairy tale. You almost expect to find mythological creatures in its surrounding woodlands.

The Hoxton, Poblenou was designed as a tribute to the eminent Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill. As a result, it’s stylistically distinct from other Hoxtons — but in a way that makes it a perfect fit for this ultra-hip Barcelona neighborhood, a former industrial quarter now filling with creative professionals and lively nightlife.

There’s no mistaking the eclectic Palihotels aesthetic. This is true even for the renovation of a 1958 motel, which is what the Palihotel Hollywood is — now a 76-room boutique hotel right on Sunset Boulevard, complete with a spa, a courtyard swimming pool, and a poolside restaurant and bar.

Liostasi is perhaps not as isolated as some island luxury boutique hotels, but the convenience of its location, a short walk from town, is undeniable. And the experience within is as sedate as you want to make it, with interiors that marry rough-edged rustic with the polished sheen of urban boutique-hotel design.

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