Credit: St Regis Rome

For travellers seeking the perfect urban escape these hotels redefine city living. Whether you're visiting for business, leisure, or a bit of both- join us as we unveil a collection of the most opulent city hotels around the globe.

Credit: Hôtel Plaza Athénée

Some things never get old, like seeing the Eiffel Tower, that recognizable icon that embodies the spirit of Paris. But gazing at the monument from your sumptuous suite as if it were close enough to touch, as if it were a view framed just for you, well, that’s the stuff of legends.

Credit: Hôtel Plaza Athénée

Ensconced on French couture’s most storied boulevard, Avenue Montaigne, Hôtel Plaza Athénée easily captivates from its exterior, where 1,900 red geraniums and ornate wrought-iron balconies enliven the cut-stone facade. Palatial and pampering within, interiors exude extravagant pomp.

Credit: Hôtel Plaza Athénée

The hotel’s general regal perfection reaches a zenith in the Haute Couture Eiffel Suite, a crème de la crème fashionista’s dreamscape. As elegant as Dior runway finery, the suite’s couture fabrics in silky greys and pops of lipstick-pink summon modern times in the living room and bedroom, while ornate mouldings, silver-leaf detail and the mesmerizing tower view celebrate classic chic. From $20,000 per night.

Credit: Bulgari Tokyo

When it comes to a Bulgari hotel, one expects a masterfully crafted gem, bijoux worthy of the finest lacquer jewel box. As the eighth of the elegant brand, Bulgari Tokyo marries Italian finesse and Roman love for beauty with Japanese gracefulness and soul.

Credit: Bulgari Tokyo

Needless to say, this eponymous Bulgari Suite, which is nearly 5,000 sq ft, employs master craftsmanship and local panache worthy of its setting. Sporting urbane views from the 44th floor, it reigns as one of the largest suites in Tokyo. It has a vestibule decorated with Japanese calligraphy artwork by artist Toko Shinoda and an expansive living room sectioned into four distinct seating areas, where an Irene Kung artistic photograph hangs.

Credit: Bulgari Tokyo

Illuminating the ample dining room, a scenographic chandelier by Murano glass factory Barovier & Toso diffuses a glittery goldfish light through seven glass lanterns. In the bedroom a silk-covered headboard, produced in a collaboration between Japanese artist Shoko Okumura and revered kimono textile producer Hosoo, ensures enchanted dreams. From $30,000 per night.

Credit: The Peninsula Shanghai

Though newly built, the lavish Peninsula Shanghai deliberately captures the exotic, east-meets-west nostalgia of the Jazz Age with its ode to vintage design. Note dramatic, detailed touches — such as pill-shaped hats worn by doormen; shiny, black lacquer furnishings; and reams of sultry silk throughout.

Credit: The Peninsula Shanghai

Richly plush, over-the-top amenities pamper — such as a fleet of Rolls-Royce Phantoms to whisk you to the airport. Poised on the historic Bund, the hotel’s placement adds to its element of fantasy.

Credit: The Peninsula Shanghai

Tuck into the dreamy Peninsula Suite to enjoy its abundance: a creamy extravagance of chinoiserie wallpaper, a private gym, study, two commodious bedrooms, a fireplace, a fully equipped kitchen and a large balcony with vistas across the Huangpu River. From $20,000 a night.

Credit: InterContinental Geneva

Entered via immense bronze doors, The Residence also features common areas, such as a library and a Grand Salon with fireplace. Book the entire floor to include nine additional rooms for ultimate privacy.

Credit: InterContinental Geneva

Its serene, Zen-inspired, feng shui-aware design by Tony Chi emanates positivity throughout the hotel but no place more than in the two-wing Residence. Encompassing a tremendous 6,200 sq ft, the suite divides into a duet of pied-a-terre-like sections, each with grand bedrooms, personal living areas, separate dining rooms and floor-to-ceiling windows. From $27,000 per night.

Credit: Almanac Barcelona

As the flagship for the forward-thinking Almanac hotel brand, Almanac Barcelona carves out a hotel experience conceived for a new generation of travelers. While landmarks such as La Sagrada Familia basilica and Mount Tibidabo continue to quicken guests’ hearts from the hotel’s Azimuth rooftop bar, with its plunge pool and 360-degree vistas, the hotel gainfully forms a contemporary take on the old city. Think: art and treasures gleaned from local galleries, cutting-edge technology, and custom scents and amenities from perfumer Jimmy Boyd. Head up to the Two-bedroom Penthouse Suite where panoramic windows embrace views of the bustling Gran Via. With two bedrooms, separate marble-sheathed bathrooms, walk-in closets, a sleek living room and a dining room-cum-boardroom, the suite has room for four occupants. Avail yourselves of the two private terraces, replete with outdoor showers. From $2,280 per night.

Credit: Raffles Singapore

Oh, if the walls could talk at Raffles Singapore, the Garden City’s stunningly renovated, nonpareil, historic hotel. From Singapore Slings tippled at the Long Bar by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Somerset Maugham to the tale of an escaped tiger who hid away from the circus beneath the hotel’s restaurant, the more-than-a-century-year-old Raffles bears a nearly mystic status amongst world travelers.

Credit: Raffles Singapore

No better place to immerse amongst its jet setter’s aura than in the Sarkies Suite, named for the family that founded Raffles, and managed it until the early 1930s. Positioned in the Main Building, the 2,798-sq-ft guest room commands views of the leafy Palm Court and the hotel’s trademark porte-cochère.

Credit: Raffles Singapore

Enriched with antiques and objet d’art, the suite welcomes families and long-stay couples with two bedrooms, separate living and dining areas, a private veranda, a double vanity bathroom and more. From $18,000 per night.

Credit: The Plaza, A Fairmont Managed Hotel

The Plaza has become part of nearly every traveler’s cultural consciousness since it opened in 1907. Whether it’s sweetly adventurous Eloise at the Plaza, the domain of Kevin McCallister in Home Alone, the place where Gatsby, Daisy and company escape the heat in a suite (this suite?) in The Great Gatsby or just every young child’s dream of afternoon tea in fancy dress as a rite of passage, this National Historic Landmark on the border of Central Park epitomizes society’s concept of the quintessential grand dame hotel.

Credit: The Plaza, A Fairmont Managed Hotel

Beaux-Arts and beloved, the hotel ups its already exemplary ante with the 2,100-sq-ft Grand Penthouse Two-bedroom Terrace Suite. Velvet upholstery, dripping chandeliers, marble-flanked fireplaces, and a ritzy staircase set a mood.

Credit: Corey Stovin

Bi-level, on the 20th floor, revealing jaw dropping views, this penthouse feels heaven sent. White glove butler service? That’s part of the deal. From $15,000 per night.

Credit: St Regis Rome

When a yearning for dolce far niente calls, only Rome will do — and no place provides a more languorous and elegantly hedonistic setting for self care than St. Regis Rome, a sanctum on Piazza della Repubblica.

Credit: St Regis Rome

Instituted as a palace of opulence by César Ritz in 1894, the hotel has become even more lavish throughout the years; its marvelous bones continually polished and enhanced by top tier design visionaries, such Pierre Yves-Rochon.

Credit: St Regis Rome

Discover why luminaries aplenty prefer the 3,299-sq-ft Royal Suite, located on the hotel’s first floor. A realm of fine fabric, Aubusson carpet, sculptural busts, marble embellishments, a grand antique piano, Murano chandeliers, silk-dressed walls, Louis XVI pieces and Piedmonts furniture. Invite friends for a St Regis midnight supper, served in the private dining room around the marble table. From $20,000 per night.

Credit: Corey Stovin

Subtly Asian as behooves Vancouver’s location facing west, not to mention the brand’s Hong Kong roots, the distinguished Shangri-La Vancouver draws gravitas from its placement between mountain and sea.

Credit: Corey Stovin

Lording above the city’s top shopping streets, it was designed by Vancouver-based architect James Cheng to soar 646 ft toward the sky with arresting results. You’ll feel its power in the Orchid Balcony Suite, the hotel’s 1,395-sq-ft premier hideaway.

Credit: Corey Stovin

The only unit at the hotel with an enclosed kitchen awash in amenities (full-size fridge, Mille espresso maker, stove, dishwasher and more), the elegant sanctuary has room for three, but it could also be a romantic bolthole a deux or solo nook for one writer trying to finish that elusive next novel. From $3,700 per night.

Credit: Rosewood London

Purportedly part of London’s only suite complex with its own postcode, the theatric Lincoln House Wing has an open floor plan that spreads out to embrace more than 6,000 sq ft of brilliantly decadent (albeit elegantly restrained), Tony Chi-designed space. Large enough for a family — or all your best friends — it boasts up to eight bedrooms in a supremely private, residential setting near Covent Garden.

Credit: Rosewood London

Windows line a long wall, effusing the rooms with natural light, prime for highlighting the suite’s luxuriant elements from artwork to tailor-made furnishings The white, marble-blanketed master bath is worth the price of admission. Do leave the haven occasionally to partake of Rosewood London’s charming manor house vibe and overall over-the-top amenities. From $14,600.