New order

AMIRANDES GRECOTEL, CRETE

OPENED January 2008.
BEST FOR Parents looking for a break with their young children.
WHAT The Amirandes hotel is a grand palace in the style of the Minoan kings. There are stone archways and purpose-built lagoons swirl through the 70,000 square metres of land, while first-class service, a floating restaurant and more than 60 private pools ensure complete tranquillity.
WHERE Crete is said to have been the birthplace of Zeus. Bathe in the mythology and visit the Knossos palace or relax at the Crete Golf Club.
INSIDE Splash out on a 'dream villa' with private pool, gym and Bang & Olufsen entertainment system. The six restaurants serve up an array of international cuisine, including Mediterranean, authentic Cretan and Asian. Fruit and herbs are grown locally.
EXTRA TREATS Enjoy the private beach, Elixir Spa, indoor pool and outdoor Olympic-sized seawater pool, and a range of watersports from windsurfing to sailing and kayaking. Drop the children off at Grecoland, the kids' entertainment area, while you enjoy a chopper ride over the Aegean.
CONTACT Amirandes Grecotel, PO Box 106, GR-711 10 Heraklion, Crete (00 30 28970 41103; www.amirandes.com)

THE FOUR SEASONS, FLORENCE

OPENED July 2008.
BEST FOR Grown-ups and art lovers.
WHAT With a £48 million facelift, the new Four Seasons hotel in Florence straddles two Renaissance palaces housing frescoes, stuccoes, silks and art from the last five centuries. Previous residents of the buildings include a pope, an order of nuns and a viceroy of Egypt.
WHERE On the fringes of the historic centre of Florence where art reigns supreme and big domes and marble six-packs abound. The hotel is close enough to walk to the Duomo or the Uffizi Gallery while still offering breathing space from the tourist hordes.
INSIDE A living museum of art in which you can live like a modern-day Medici, sipping wine beneath ceilings embellished with flamboyant chalk panels and chandeliers before retreating to bedrooms adorned with baroque frescoes, marble bathrooms and gold sinks.
EXTRA TREATS The spa has lots of products by Santa Maria Novella, one of the world's oldest pharmacies founded by Dominican friars in the 13th century, as well as specially blended toiletries by Italian perfumier Lorenzo Villoresi and the largest private garden (11 acres) in Florence.
CONTACT The Four Seasons, Borgo Pinti 99, 50121 Florence (00 39 055 26261; www.fourseasons.com)

AIRE DE BARDENAS, NAVARRA, NORTHERN SPAIN

OPENED November 2007.
BEST FOR Aesthetes wishing to indulge their passion.
WHAT Designed by Barcelona-based architects Monica Rivera and Emiliano Lopez, the Aire de Bardenas hotel in northern Spain consists of a series of contemporary and dazzling angled white cubes, nestled amid wheat fields and the harsh rocky terrain of a semi-desert plain.
WHERE Within the Bardenas Reales national park not far from Tudela in Navarra, this is the perfect setting from which to gaze at a continually changing spectacular landscape or unwind by an exquisitely simple pool.
INSIDE Put your feet up in one of 22 bedrooms that have huge windows, private pebbled patios and outdoor bathtubs. Alternatively, the more discreet can wallow in an indoor lacquered iron tub. Relish contemporary fare, prepared using ingredients from the hotel's own kitchen garden, in the black-walled über-chic restaurant.
EXTRA TREATS For those inspired by their surroundings, mountain biking and horseriding can be arranged. It's also worth visiting the nearby town of Tudela, which has a Gothic cathedral and a fascinating Moorish Jewish quarter.
CONTACT Aire de Bardenas, Carretera de Ejea, Tudela 31500 (00 34 948 116 666; www.airedebardenas.com)

PADASTE MANOR, ESTONIA

OPENED Reopened in June 2008.
BEST FOR Amorous trysts or contemplation.
WHAT Padaste Manor resort and spa is a romantic 19th-century bolt hole guaranteed to soften even the stoniest heart. Sensitively restored over the last two years by Dutch-born Martin Breuer and local MP and pianist Imre Sooaar, it has 16 brand-new rooms and is set amid endless open plains.
WHERE Despite being a short ferry ride from Tallinn, long considered stag-party central, Padaste Manor is a peaceful retreat by the sea. It overlooks marshes on the southern tip of the island of Muhu where moose and wild boar roam free among juniper forests and otherwise deserted bays.
INSIDE Low-key luxury, in the form of stone floors, soft leather chairs, antique furniture and open fires, extends to the rustic bedrooms, set over two levels and furnished with wooden rocking chairs, richly patterned rugs and pretty balconies.
EXTRA TREATS Guests can fish for their supper or practise their horseriding skills. Snowshoes and poles are provided for icy treks in winter. For the less adventurous, an old dairy has been turned into a spa offering mouth-watering treatments such as goat's-milk facials and oatmeal and yoghurt body scrubs.
CONTACT Padaste Manor, Muhu Island, 94716, Estonia (00 372 454 8800; www.padaste.ee)

25HOURS HOTEL, FRANKFURT

OPENED July 2008.
BEST FOR Weekend shoppers and urban nomads. And jeans lovers.
WHAT Housed in a former office building and 'tailored' by architect Karl Dudler who was inspired by new neighbour Levi Strauss, the 25Hours Hotel is a homage to the fashion, styles and culture of the decades from the Thirties to the Eighties. Each of the six floors is devoted to a different decade, but all of them focus on blue jeans.
WHERE In the heart of Frankfurt's commercial centre and just a few minutes' walk from the Hauptbahnhof (the main train station), the hotel has a casual, unfussy feel.
INSIDE Pared-down minimalism with playful touches. Each of the 71 guest rooms and five extra-large studios are decked out in different shades of blue jeans colours - from cobalt to azure, indigo to turquoise - and decorated with images of famous Levi's-wearing icons such as James Dean and Michael Hutchence.
EXTRA TREATS Bunk beds, each with its own TV, a 'living room' complete with iMac workstations, and a rooftop terrace that has skyline views over Frankfurt.
CONTACT 25Hours Hotel, Niddastrasse 58, 60329 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
(00 49 69 25 66 770; www.25hours-hotels.com)

L'AUBERGE BASQUE, ST JEAN DE LUZ

OPENED May 2007.
BEST FOR Foodies and wine connoisseurs.
WHAT With its whitewashed walls, L'Auberge Basque is an 11-room minimalist inn owned by chef Cédric Béchade, who previously worked at the Hôtel du Palais and the Plaza Athénée in Paris. L'Auberge exudes understated elegance, and has uninterrupted views of the surrounding countryside and one of the best restaurants in the area.
WHERE A tranquil valley a few miles inland from St Jean de Luz in southwest France where lush pastures, cornfields and dense greenery abound.
INSIDE An edgy mix of urban good taste and Basque farmhouse. Floors are waxed oak, and framed black and white photos hang symmetrically on stone walls. Stylish Belgian furniture from celebrated shop Flamant decorates large-windowed bedrooms with views to the distant Pyrenees.
EXTA TREATS Home-grown produce served in an open kitchen or in the shade of surrounding trees.
CONTACT L'Auberge Basque, vieille route de St Jean de Luz, 64310 Helbarron/Saint Pee, France (00 33 5 5951 70 00; www.aubergebasque.com)

CARBON HOTEL GENK, BELGIUM

OPENED April 2008.
BEST FOR Serious types looking to be pampered.
WHAT With a grey façade evoking the nearby mines, the exterior of the Carbon Hotel perfectly reflects its industrial surroundings, but the stylised bar with huge glass panels overlooking an elegant restaurant induces comfort and serenity at the same time.
WHERE In the heart of Genk, once at the centre of the 19th-century coalmining industry and now considered the 'friendliest city in Europe', with nature parks and the open-air Bokrijk Museum adding to its charm.
INSIDE Sleek mosaic reception desk, granite walls, stripped wooden floors, black and white Eames furniture and spacious bedrooms equipped with iPod, TV and DVD players, as well as a manmade garden terrace with a dominating metal sculpture and even a few green shoots.
EXTRA TREATS A 'wellness experience' spa offering sauna, hammam, cocoon corners, herbal baths, t'ai chi and chakra balancing, as well as a coffee bar, restaurant, wine bar and three meeting rooms.
CONTACT Carbon Hotel Genk, Europalaan 3600 Genk (00 32 89 32 29 20; www.designhotels.com)

SALT & SILL FLOATING HOTEL, SWEDEN

OPENED October 2008.
BEST FOR Eco-warriors, ocean lovers and seafood fanatics.
WHAT The owners of Sweden's famous Salt & Sill restaurant have opened the first eco-friendly floating hotel 'next door'. Susanna and Patrick Hermansson have designed and built six two-storey buildings on floating pontoons, attracting marine life to the area with a constructed lobster reef.
WHERE An hour from Gothenburg, the hotel sits on the herring island of Kladesholmen, an old fishing community dating back to the 15th century. There are views of the Bohuslan coast and guests drift off to sleep to the soothing sound of lapping waves.
INSIDE Minimalist Scandinavian simplicity. Forty-six guest rooms designed in nautical fashion with unadorned granite flooring - heated using the surrounding seawater - and weathered wood. A master suite has a Jacuzzi room in which to unwind. Outside seating areas are attached to allow easy access to the sea.
EXTRA TREATS Kayaking and a boat ride around the island, and some of the best fish in the region, including a world-famous herring platter.
CONTACT Salt & Sill, Danmark, 471 51 Kladesholmen, Sweden (00 46 304 67 34 80; www.saltosill.se)