For the gourmet special our Globetrotter handpicks six unrivalled locations for six sensational breakfasts you'll never forget
Whatever the season, if the sun is shining there is nothing nicer than breakfasting outdoors, and looking back at the thousands of early-morning meals I have eaten around the world there is always one unique memory. At Gran Hotel Son Net, Puigpunyent, Majorca, for instance, I love the way that while you may be breakfasting outside, the buffet is inside, in the two-floor stone-walled restaurant. As well as two giant olive presses, the room houses two six-foot-tall Ben Jakober sculptures, one a rack of 21 standing knives, the other a display of 13 equally-big forks, set deliberately skew-whiff. www.sonnet.es
At the Peninsula Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Hollywood moguls' secret morning rendezvous is up at the rooftop spa, where breakfast is served poolside, with vineyard heaters and a fabulous working fireplace to keep you warm. Best-sellers are Hawaiian papaya with yogurt and fruit, and egg-white spa frittata. If you are then going to the airport, charismatic valet supervisor JC (Juan Carlos Rivera) will have transport ready. www.peninsula.com
Looking down at the Mediterranean far below and up at the distant Mount Etna over your freshly squeezed juice, ricotta and croissant is one of the joys of breakfast on the terrace of San Domenico Palace Hotel, a cleverly-converted medieval monastery tucked into the picturesque hilltop town of Taormina, Sicily. The buffet includes copious organic and Sicilian sections, the latter including almond milk, and almond and coffee granites. www.sandomenico.thi.it
At Banyan Tree Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, you sit on a deck looking through palm fronds to the turquoise waves crashing on the white Intendance Beach 20ft away. Be adventurous, and try fresh sour sop juice for the first time. It is delicious, as are the fresh orange and papaya juices, the baby bananas, mango, peaches and yogurts. A neighbour's poached egg comes, as requested, with smoked salmon and fresh asparagus, brought by smiling Seychellois. www.banyantree.com
Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, Thailand, is built on the extremely-steep slopes of a crescent-shaped inlet. From the upper level Lan Tanya - 'terrace of the blue palms' - you look down 350ft, over hundreds of lush-green mature coconut palms, to the Gulf of Thailand. The buffet here is in an air-conditioned area, your table outside is set with blue mats to match the sea, and the charming servers are in complementary plain cotton Jirachai Rengthong designs, in beige, turquoise and soft chocolate. The yellow of the fresh juice and the saffron-robed monks, there at my visit, added to the morning palette. www.fourseasons.com
Finally, the music and idiosyncracy of Mollies, in Auckland, shows New Zealand humour at its best. Its owners, stage designer Stephen Fitzgerald and opera singer Frances Wilson - who may well burst into impromptu song - have made Mollies (her mother's former home) into a theatrical set. Terrace breakfast tables are set with turquoise flower vases that soar to over four feet tall. Your place is set with at least fives plates on top of each other, the whole sculpture topped by a stemmed glass holding an embroidered napkin in a ring. Toasted ciabatta comes in a silver rack and the coffee in a tall yellow-lined cup with a handle. www.mollies.co.nz
MARY GOSTELOW is editor-in-chief of WOW.travel, the online magazine of www.kiwicollection.com