Bangkok, Thailand

An early 20th-century Italianate mansion on the banks of the river, the Praya Palazzo perfectly evokes the faded gentility of Rama-V-era Bangkok, when most of the traffic was water-borne and the city’s inhabitants awoke to the sound of birdsong. Access is via a pretty wooden barge, which enhances the feeling of entering a time warp. Exposed brickwork, patches of peeling plaster, striped-wood floorboards and antique furniture evoke the period feel perfectly, though you’re not compromised on comforts: there’s a generous pool and spa, and the service is as gracious as the architecture.