Surrounded by luxuriant, exotic tropical gardens, the Hotel Giardino on Lago Maggiore can be recommended for its southern brightness und its country mansion atmosphere.

Between Monaco and Menton, perched on the top of a rock three hundred metres above sea level, the hotelier Thomas H. Althoff invites his guests to a stay with spectacular views.

On Madeira, Portugal‘s subtropical sunshine island, Reid's  Palace has enjoyed a reputation for over a hundred years for being a charming preserve of English culture and the epitome of traditional values and luxurious living.

The privately owned Tongsai Bay with powdery white sand is gently curved like a half moon and is enclosed by imposing rocks. The shady sundecks of the villas of the Tongsai Bay Hotel and Cottages provide maximum privacy.

The Sea Cloud was originally built as a floating palace for an eccentric American billionaires. Today its suites and salons furnished with genuine antiques, make the Sea Cloud the most luxurious sailing ship on the Seven Seas.

Since the end of 1998 Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns have been linked by a new luxury train. Not only can passengers delight in the wood panelled compartments fitted out in Edwardian style but enjoy the passing scenery of the tropical rain forests.

The whole fascination of Merano, its wonderful countryside, the sub-tropical and Mediterranean flora and the mild climate can be experienced in a quite unique way in the smallest fivestar hotel in the region.

Built in the style of an idyllic Andalusian village, La Bobadilla in Loja, Granada, is a harmonious symbiosis between Spanish and Moorish architecture.

The small but beautiful grand hotel of the renowned Kempinski hotel group procures the ambience of a lavishly renovated grand 18th century house.

HIDEAWAYS readers have voted for the fourth time the "Hideaways of the Year 1999". Congratulations to the "Las Ventanas al Paraiso" in Mexiko.