Resorts

Nothing says luxury like a hotel resort. To be pampered and looked after, to unwind and relax, there's arguably no better type of accommodation than this. There are countless frills to look forward to in these sorts of stays. Infinity pools overlooking sparkling white-sand beaches? Check. Honeymoon suites with wide beds and marble-clad bathrooms? Check. Enticing spa facilities where Turkish steam rooms and Swedish massages await? Check. And that's just a taster of what resort hotels have up their sleeve.

Foodies and gourmands are likely to love what they find on the menu in most hotel resorts. From Mexico to the French Riviera, Southeast Asia to the Caribbean, these large-scale stays are home to some of the most acclaimed fine-dining bistros going – some even with Michelin stars or celebrity chefs behind the stove. And if you can't be bothered with the evening walk to the table, don't worry – room service abounds.

Taste buds sated, perhaps it's time to make the most of the hotel resort gardens. Sprawling and manicured, they often encompass palm-topped walkways and sunning terraces. Others have turquoise pools that spill onto shimmering coastlines or come laden with swim-up bars and slides for the kids. For rainy days, there are health clubs by the bucket load or business centres for travellers who like to stay on top of emails in between R&R.

Thailand is brimming with these accommodations. Lining palm-fringed beaches that glow cotton-white under the Southeast Asian sun, the resorts of the Land of Smiles are able to entice with tropical sands and pools. There are hotel resorts in Pattaya that soar above the glistening Thai Gulf with 100s of rooms and massage parlours – the Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort is one to look out for along those shores. There are hotel resorts in Ko Lanta, surrounded by yellow-hued Long Beach and the bumping bamboo bars of Klong Khong. And there are iconic 5-star hotel resorts in Koh Samui, like the opulent Tongsai Bay and its seaside tennis courts and swimming pools.

Of course, things don't end with sun-splashed Thailand. You can find unbridled luxury in hotel resorts all over the globe, whether a stone's throw from the casuarina-scented beaches of the South Pacific, amid the pine groves of the Greek isles, by the Costa del Sol, the California coast – the world's your oyster.