With most of our lives taking place online these days, we expect, like us, you're craving a bit of break from the norm. Escape the humdrum of another virtual Zoom get-together, FaceTime, Google Hangout, or Microsoft Teams meeting and upgrade your digital space with these gorgeous backgrounds and screensavers from our collection of independent luxury hotels around the world.
An iconic country estate set beneath the beautiful Ochil Hills, Gleneagles offers the perfect retreat for those looking for relaxation, fun, and adventure. Three championship courses have established the resort’s reputation as a golfer’s paradise but the hotel offers so much more than golf. The 850-acre estate offers guests a glorious playground of country pursuits and activities: falconry, horse-riding, tennis, off-roading, shooting game, fishing, Michelin-starred dining, and an award-winning spa.
The Grand Hôtel Stockholm has been home to celebrities, high-profile events and everyday bon-vivants since 1874. Occupying an enviable spot on the Stockholm waterfront, the hotel overlooks the Royal Palace and Old Town.
In 1832 Prince von Metternich, the Chancellor of the Austrian empire, asked his executive chef to make him a cake so delicious it could win over the hearts of kings and queens, diplomats, businessmen, and intellectuals. Since the chef was sick that night, a young kitchen apprentice named Franz Sacher fulfilled the Prince's request, and the Original Sacher-Torte, a rich chocolate cake filled with apricot jam was born. The cake made the Sacher name so famous that the son of the dessert's inventor decided to open Hotel Sacher Wien and since 1876, the hotel has been an authentic piece of Viennese history.
Ritz Paris possesses an indescribable charm and an illustrious history. Its exquisitely appointed rooms and suites bear the names of notable guests of the past: Coco Chanel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Marcel Proust, among other luminaries—all of whom considered the Ritz “like a second home.” The Salon Proust (pictured left) is the place to enjoy teatime à la française. And no visit to the Ritz Paris would be complete without stopping by the Bar Hemingway.
Built above the perched village of Tourrettes at the far southeastern edge of Provence, the 750-acre site looks and feels like a private evergreen forest. Low buildings of pale stucco and local terracotta tiles blend into the landscape. All accommodation is on a human scale, in villas or suites connected by walkways planted with rosemary, sage and thyme. Spread out above and below are places to play, relax, eat and mingle – all with generous outdoor areas to take advantage of the south of France’s near-perfect weather, and all with stunning views of the surrounding countryside and the foothills of the Alps on the horizon.
Gstaad Palace is one of the only family-owned and operated hotels in Switzerland, and guests are made to feel at home.
The property's most exclusive room, set apart on the roof of the Palace, is not to be missed. The exclusive, 240-square-meter Penthouse Suite–with a gorgeous private terrace–offers an unforgettable Alpine escape.
A visionary interpretation of a typical village, surrounded by millennial olive groves in the beautiful landscape of Puglia, Borgo Egnazia showcases the best the region has to offer. The spectacular property, on a windswept plain near the beach town of Savelletri between Bari and Brindisi, is a full-scale rendition of a 15th-century Puglian village, or borgo, with the amenities of a five-star resort. Built from the ground up in 2010 under the direction of Aldo Melpignano, whose family is a leader in luxury hospitality, Borgo Egnazia is a fantasy escape that has one foot in the real world - and it exists to give guests a taste of both. “We live a good life in this part of the world,” Aldo told The New York Times recently.
Say “Tuscany” and the mind automatically goes to the rolling hills and wine-country landscapes of the Chianti. The Maremma is also Tuscany, but of a different kind: broad farmlands bordered by the Apennine mountains to the east and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west, where vineyards cascade down to beaches, the local cuisine ranges from briny seafood to wild game and back again, history and culture live in tiny towns rather than big cities of art, and the local wines are both delicious and undiscovered – for now. In the middle lies L'Andana, the former summer estate of the Duke of Loreto, gently converted into an expansive luxury spa and resort.
A noble Italian family’s summer residence turned boutique luxury hotel, Le Sirenuse wants its guests to feel that they have been invited to stay in a private home – which, essentially, they have been, as the extended Sersale family still owns and runs the property. And like all good hosts, the Sersales know that great moments are not about the room or the menu, but the guests. “Of course, this is a special place,” says Antonio Sersale, the hotel’s general manager. “But what makes Le Sirenuse special is the people who come here - not the other way around.”
Located on the enchanting Algarve coast, VILA VITA Parc Resort & Spa is a grande dame which reigns supreme above a secluded beach. Symbolizing a new standard of luxury, combining contemporary and traditional styles, the guest rooms and suites have breathtaking seascapes, and beautifully landscaped gardens, and the Masterpiece Villas offer the supreme luxury, complemented by exceptional attention to detail.
Set in the heart of Tokyo’s business district, Marunouchi, Palace Hotel Tokyo’s beautiful moat-side setting is difficult to beat. The hotel features multiple restaurants and bars, extensive function space and Japan’s very first Evian Spa – all of which features views of the Imperial Palace gardens against the backdrop of the surrounding skyline beyond. With earthy color palettes throughout, the hotel’s elegant and luxurious cozy interiors invoke its proximity to the city’s natural splendor.
The Okura Prestige Bangkok embraces an Asian design that harmonizes Japanese and Thai cultures, and boasts cutting-edge facilities and Okura’s original hospitality principles of calmness and comfort to ensure that guests have an enjoyable stay.
Situated ocean-side in the heart of Miami’s most desirable location, The Setai, Miami Beach masterfully combines the warmth of Asian hospitality with the best in personalized service and truly rarified comfort.
The majestic Grace Bay Club captured its prime beachfront location in 1993 when it opened the first luxury resort on Providenciales in Turks & Caicos.
Since then, the hotel has elevated offshore sophistication with handmade Caribbean experiences crafted by personal butlers assigned to each of its 82 oceanfront suites.
