Thimphu, Bhutan

This is the capital’s top hotel – a spectacular five-star built in lavish dzong style. The exterior, with its Bhutanese wood-carved windows, pagoda roofs and yellow ochre walls, is as easy on the eye as the interior décor, which is every inch as lavish as you’d expect from India’s gold-standard chain, featuring hand-painted Buddhist cloud murals, luxurious Himalayan rugs and lashings of brocaded silk. The Bhutanese food served in the hotel restaurant is fit for a king, and there’s a gorgeous spa offering hot-stone baths and massages – though not a pool.