1 GRAND HYATT, Shanghai

If you’re immune to the protests – and let’s just say China’s is not the only repressive government in the world – the time to visit the People’s Republic is now, before the Olympic rush, and the must-see city is probably Shanghai. The Grand Hyatt is a testament to the new Shanghai. Occupying 30 floors of the soaring Jin Mao tower (the lobby is on the 56th and it goes up from there), it has the world’s tallest atrium and one of its highest hotel bars, on the 87th floor.

WHAT’S IT REALLY LIKE? My bedroom was slickly decorated in muted, minimal creams and browns; floor-to-ceiling windows offered vertiginous views over the brown Yangtze river; and the glass-walled bathroom was similarly slick. My favourite part was the 78th floor swimming pool, where abundant windows give the feeling of flying.
DIDN’T LIKE: The much-hyped Cloud 9 bar on the 87th floor, which despite the vistas had the atmosphere and drinks quality of a middling airline lounge.

shanghai.grand.hyatt.com

LUX RATING: 17/20

2 NEW PARK MANOR, New Forest

Britain’s New Forest can be dreamlike in summer, if you can get away from the hordes, which is exactly what NPM, in the forest’s heart, offers.

WHAT’S IT REALLY LIKE? The hotel offers views of the forest, a former royal hunting ground, at its best: copses of ancient trees, open parkland, the odd pony wandering around nibbling at the grass. Our room was swathed in deep reds and golds, with views of parkland and a pair of horses standing contentedly in their paddock. Very restful. The Manor’s trump card, though, is its spa, which features a proper-length 20-metre pool (useful for those rainy British summer days), hydrotherapy area and treatments by enthusiastic young staff. For the odd sunny day, there’s also an outdoor area with a hot tub and views over the gardens to the forest, and plenty of equestrian activities to hand.
DIDN’T LIKE: The lobby and entrance area are rather characterless.

www.newparkmanorhotel.co.uk

LUX RATING: 17/20

3 THE RITZ, Madrid

There’s no question that the Ritz is Madrid’s grandest hotel, standing as it does astride a crescent by the Prado museum, and forming the end of an architectural axis started at the Royal Palace.

WHAT’S IT REALLY LIKE? The belle époque creation of King Alfonso XIII, the Ritz is a forbidding place to enter still. In the lobby, with its vaulted ceilings, pianist and thick floral carpets, conservatively dressed families were taking tea. My room had bay windows opening out onto a view of the Prado, and the furniture and fittings looked like they hadn’t changed too much, if at all, since Franco’s time. It was all very grand, and probably perfectly suited to its guests, who were of the old-aristo generation.
DIDN’T LIKE: The nagging feeling that you needed to wear a suit, preferably by a tailor whose family has been dealing with yours for 300 years.

www.ritzmadrid.com

LUX RATING: 16.5/20