The best hotels, with reasons

Ten New York hotels worth choosing for the trip they create, from the hush of Tribeca to a Central Park grand dame and a downtown lobby that belongs to the city.

Ten distinct ways into Hong Kong, from a Kowloon harbour icon and a discreet Admiralty sanctuary to a thoroughly useful city hotel above Pacific Place.

My ten best hotels in Singapore, chosen for different kinds of trips: Raffles for occasion, Marina Bay for spectacle, Robertson Quay for intimacy and Sentosa for a slower stay.

A river grand dame, contemporary waterside sanctuaries and sharp city addresses: ten Bangkok hotels chosen for the trip you actually want to take.

Palaces, sea-facing resorts and a desert fort: ten hotels with a credible setting for a celebration, and the practical questions to ask before signing a contract.

The City of Lakes has more than one kind of romance. Here is where I would stay for palace theatre, a true lake address, a quiet country escape or a less predictable view of Udaipur.

A palace above the city, a haveli beneath the fort and a handful of desert addresses prove that there is no single way to sleep well in the Blue City.

Ten exceptional ways to stay in the Pink City, from a maharaja's former residence and an eight-suite bazaar hideaway to a wilderness camp beneath the Aravallis.

The Goa stays that rise above the beach-resort blur: private villas, paddy-field hideaways, serious South Goa resorts and a seven-room fort at the edge of the sea.

Ten exceptional Delhi stays, from an Art Deco grande dame and a Lutyens-era landmark to a Mughal-inspired palace and the old city's most atmospheric haveli.

The Mumbai hotels that understand the city best, from an Indo-Saracenic icon on the harbour to sea-facing modern classics, a members' house and Colaba's cleverest boutique stay.