Cleopatra is often cast as a temptress in someone else’s story. But she was not the tragic seductress so often painted by Roman propaganda – she was the ruler of Egypt at just eighteen, a woman fluent in nine languages, who shifted the course of powerful empires. Cleopatra was sovereign, strategist, mother, and monarch – ruling Egypt at a time when women were expected to be silent. And this is the thread binding the hotels we’ve chosen. Each one is indulgent – designed for someone who knows that pleasure is a form of power. Step into rooms heavy with silk and scent – here candlelit baths exist not for excess, but for ceremony, and beauty is a form of intellect. What binds these properties is not geography but mood. If Cleopatra were here today, these are the keys she’d pocket.
The Ritz, Paris
Cleopatra would not have resisted the Ritz. Neither did Coco Chanel, who lived here for 34 years. It’s Paris distilled: gilded salons, plus a bar where Hemingway apparently once drank 51 martinis in a row. The spa is legendary (the swimming pool sits beneath a trompe-l’oeil ceiling) and the library is full of rare editions. The ultimate romance in the heart of the French capital .
Steam Ship Sudan, Nile Boat
Built in 1885 for the Egyptian royal family, this is the last Belle Époque steamer still cruising the Nile. The boat served as inspiration for Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. Indeed, the dark wood-panelled cabins complete with copper bed frames and parquet floors are so cinematic that scenes for the film adaptation were shot on board too. Drift past temples Cleopatra herself once visited and sip cocktails on deck as the sun sets and the river swallows the light.
https://www.steam-ship-sudan.com/
El Corazon, Mallorca
British fashion photographer Kate Bellm’s romantically grainy shots now feel like a lifetime’s moodboard for her hotel, a 16th-century finca in the wild, romantic North of Mallorca. Bedrooms painted shades of pink and ochre are filled with four-posters draped in linen and the standout suite comes with a bathtub on the private roof terrace. Guests head to the hilltop for immersive sound baths. A bohemian hideaway where meals linger late into the night.
In Salento, on Italy’s southern tip (where some locals still speak an ancient Greek dialect), is an under-the-radar hotel from art curator Francesco Petrucci. All of the monastic bedrooms show off ceiling frescoes but in the Royal Junior Suite the shower itself is an installation. Designed by Italian artist Andrea Sala, water falls from a six-metre-high ceiling into a large, circular basin.
https://www.palazzodaniele.com/
Adrère Amellal, Siwa Oasis, Egypt
There’s no electricity at this desert retreat; just candlelight flickering and the crazy glow of the stars in the inky skies. The buildings are made from desert salt and stone – against a striking backdrop of the palm-lined Siwa oasis. Water is supplied from a natural spring and all the ingredients used in meals are locally-sourced and organic. The pool carved into rock is a showstopper at this dream desert escape.
https://www.adrereamellal.com/adrere/
El Fenn, Marrakech, Morocco
Sunset in Marrakesh should be spent sipping mint cocktails at El Fenn’s famous red-and-white-striped rooftop bar. The vibe is that of a houseparty – complete with views of the Koutoubia minaret. Elsewhere, stained-glass windows, velvet sofas, zellige tiles and lush courtyards with plunge pools hidden between palms set the tone. Madonna may have hosted her 60th here, but the spa is down-to-earth with traditional hammam treatments using local ingredients. Marrakech’s maximalist bohemian pioneer.
Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita, Matera, Italy
This hotel is suspended over Matera’s dramatic Gravina canyon – an otherworldly setting. But the rooms are just as extraordinary – with guests sleeping in a complex of cave dwellings that date back to prehistoric times. The soft tufa stone grottos are kitted out with upcycled antiques, freestanding bathtubs and candles burning in alcoves. The mood is pared back, but sensual – one of the most memorable hotel experiences in Italy.
https://www.sextantio.it/legrottedellacivita/matera/
Macakizi, Bodrum, Turkey
Once a bohemian retreat for the likes of Mick Jagger, who hung out in the sleepy village of Türkbükü on the west coast of Turkey in the 70s, Mackizi is now a glamorous institution. Days begin with breakfast of sesame pide and honeycomb overlooking the Aegean, then stretch into long swims from wooden decks. The nights here belong to bellinis and DJs.
Al Moudira Hotel, Luxor, Egypt
Set on a private patch of farmland on the Nile's west bank (where Cleopatra’s barges once sailed past) are gardens draped in bougainvillea and palm trees bursting with dates. In the bedrooms, hand-painted domed ceilings, tiled floors and delicate stained-glass windows give each suite a palatial feel. But there’s so much more to explore – the library (full of Egyptian art books), holistic spa treatments, plus a pool that glitters at dusk.
Vermelho Hotel, Melides
This little hotel, the vision of Christian Louboutin, is both extravagant and curious. Here, traditional Portuguese design meets a powder blue exterior and cherry-red lacquer touches in the Alentejo. The pool is naturally heated, the bathrooms bedecked in traditional tiling and the crowd is chic and in-the-know. A flamboyant retreat that’s charmingly out of the way – surrounded by pine forests and marshland.