From the East End of London to the outer boroughs of New York, arts-led neighbourhood regeneration has been one of the major dynamics in the evolution of the modern city. In some cases, most notably Shoreditch and Brooklyn, this has been a slow-burn ground-up phenomenon, with young artists taking over decaying post-industrial buildings and transforming them into studios and galleries.&nbsp;In other parts of the world, though, it&rsquo;s been more organised, notable examples being the Southbank Centre in London and Abu Dhabi&rsquo;s Saadiyat Island and, more recently, Hong Kong&rsquo;s hugely ambitious West Kowloon Cultural District, which is both a case study in urban renewal, and confirmation of the city&rsquo;s emergence as Asia&rsquo;s cultural big hitter.&nbsp;

Despite its reputation as a hard-headed financial hub, all commerce and bustle, there has always been another Hong Kong: one that is cooler and more creative, a regional centre for Cantonese opera and fine art. West Kowloon Cultural District has brought the best bits of this Hong Kong to the fore, transforming an area of reclaimed scrubland into a Norman Foster-masterplanned modern neighbourhood with parks, waterside walks and a number of innovative contemporary buildings that are destinations in and of themselves.The positive impact on the city&rsquo;s cultural life has been considerable, as Elaine Kwok, Managing Partner, Asia at Hauser &amp; Wirth, notes: &ldquo;I feel very fortunate that my children will be growing up in a Hong Kong where the cultural life has become much richer than for my generation.&nbsp;I cannot wait for tourists from all over the world to come to Hong Kong and discover all that West Kowloon has to offer &ndash; the visitors have always known Hong Kong for our dynamic energy, and fabulous dining and shopping &ndash; now there is a new cultural dimension to their visit.&rdquo;

<h2>A pioneering hotel</h2>The cultural district was built on the back of the first strikingly contemporary building to appear: the 484m ICC building, which kickstarted the transformation of the area when it was completed in 2010. Within the ICC is The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, which occupies floors 102&ndash;118, and has some of the greatest views of Victoria Harbour and the Hong Kong skyline.

One man who knows this well is the hotel&rsquo;s longstanding General Manager, Pierre Perusset, who has had a bird&rsquo;s eye view of the evolution of the district. &ldquo;Since the opening of The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, back in 2011, I have been observing daily,&nbsp;through my 117th floor office&rsquo;s window, the incredible development of the West Kowloon Cultural District. It has been an amazing journey to witness the opening of the high-speed train linking Hong Kong to Guangzhou-Shenzhen and other cities in China. Then, as time went by, the further development of the cultural district, which has flourished beneath my eyes and created a lot of excitement.&nbsp;I am extremely grateful to have been able to witness the evolution of this area into a place where locals and&nbsp;overseas guests will have the chance to experience something that is unique, within such a short walking distance from our hotel.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s not merely proximity and that thrilling perspective that make The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong the obvious place to stay when visiting the cultural district: the hotel&rsquo;s pioneering aesthetic complements perfectly the arts hub below. Take, for example, the hotel&rsquo;s Ozone bar, the highest in Asia. Its avant-garde interior was created by Japanese design studio Wonderwall, and its honeycomb cellular shapes and dramatic lighting combine to give it the quality of an immersive art installation.

<h2>A dynamic cultural hub</h2>This kind of attention to detail is also much in evidence throughout the West Kowloon Cultural District. It&rsquo;s certainly there at the Herzog and de Meuron-designed M+, an epic space that exhibits the best of contemporary art &ndash; a major Yayoi Kusama retrospective is running until May 23 &ndash; and also features design, fashion, film and architecture. M+ museum director Suhanya Raffel is aware of the role her space is playing in reshaping Hong Kong&rsquo;s cultural standing: &ldquo;This landmark museum building, together with a unique collection, has established our vision &ndash; to build a global museum culture in Hong Kong,&nbsp;as a new kind of public institution that reflects our unique time and place, and looks at the world from a Hong Kong perspective. I believe that the future history of the art museum will be rewritten to a significant degree in Asia, with M+ crystallising this ambition.&rdquo;

A short distance along the waterfront from M+ is West Kowloon&rsquo;s purpose-built showcase for the region&rsquo;s beloved Cantonese Opera, the Xiqu Centre, a towering space designed to evoke Chinese lanterns. Those looking for a memorable introduction to the art form should book the Tea House Theatre Experience, which ranges across different musical styles and features romance, comedy and martial arts.

Other spaces to visit include the Hong Kong Palace Museum, with its incredible collection of pieces from the Palace Museum in Beijing, among them exhibits that explore life in the Forbidden City, and Freespace, an immersive contemporary performance space with VR installations, soundscapes, jazz festivals and live gigs. In 2024, the Lyric Theatre complex will open, a home for international theatre and dance.This raft of major new spaces has elevated Hong Kong to the first rank of global cultural big hitters, as Elaine Kwok explains: &ldquo;Over the past two decades, Hong Kong has become the leading hub for the art market in Asia &ndash; with Art Basel Hong Kong, a growing gallery scene with both international and local players, as well as major auctions sales. The museums that have recently opened in West Kowloon, such as M+ and Palace Museum Hong Kong, will add to the city&rsquo;s public institutions, a critical component of the overall arts eco-system.&nbsp;Both M+ and Palace Museum have grand ambitions, and I believe that they will reframe existing art historical narratives in a way that puts Asia front and centre.&rdquo;

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Singapore has long been recognised as one of the world&rsquo;s great culinary destinations, home to Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurants such as Odette and Summer Pavilion as well as Unesco-recognised street food. The city&rsquo;s culinary culture is a vivid expression of Singapore&rsquo;s vibrancy, colour and cultural diversity.&nbsp;But when it comes to attracting epicureans from around the globe, Singapore&rsquo;s esteemed restaurants have recently found themselves competing with a new generation of cocktail bars vying to become the jewel in the island&rsquo;s crown.&ldquo;Singapore is the cocktail capital of Asia, and there is no sign that the industry is slowing down,&rdquo; says Ivy Woo, co-founder of the Singapore Cocktail Festival. &ldquo;A decade ago, we saw some of the best cocktail talents arrive on our shores. &ldquo;Coming from around the world, they brought their knowledge and expertise in mixology, and inspired a new generation of homegrown talent. That generation is now coming of age, and has such a strong sense of individualism that they are creating a cocktail culture that we can finally call our own.&rdquo;

<h2>International recognition</h2>The vitality of the city&rsquo;s cocktail scene is encapsulated by Republic, the atmospheric new bar at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore, which, despite only opening last year, debuted at 12th place in the annual Asia&rsquo;s 50 Best Bars awards. As its name suggests, Republic pays homage to the 1960s and the birth of Singapore as an independent sovereign nation, with a wall adorned by images of the decade&rsquo;s icons.Headed by Martin Villareal, who started at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore as an intern from the Philippines and has risen to the position of head bartender, Republic&rsquo;s cocktails are inspired by the art, cinema, fashion and music of that transformative period in popular culture. Drinks include a celebration of Yves Saint Laurent called Smoking Suit, which combines Grey Goose vodka, lapsang souchong tea and Islay whisky, and Velvet Underground, a marriage of Michter&rsquo;s rye whiskey with cherry and banana. Martin&rsquo;s favourite cocktail on the menu is Glass in Bloom. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a Sazerac-style cocktail with a great flavour combination that is the result of sous-viding together beetroot and cognac, and also rye whiskey and feta cheese.&rdquo;

Ivy Woo was won over instantly: &ldquo;Republic embodies the warm, welcoming personality of an independent bar, and the impeccable, thoughtful service that is synonymous with The Ritz-Carlton. The menu celebrates the influential hallmarks of the 1960s, and one cannot help but wonder at the amount of research that goes into it. Every cocktail comes with a historical anecdote that piques your curiosity.&rdquo;Republic represents the apex of a new breed of hotel bar: considered spaces that are no longer simply lounges where guests pop in for a quick nightcap chosen from a standard menu, but destinations in their own right. Another is the Astor Bar at The St. Regis Singapore, where the cocktail list is inspired by five New York neighbourhoods, a homage to the original St. Regis opened by business magnate John Jacob Astor IV in Manhattan in 1904. Highlights include the Harlem Swizzle, made with light rum and manzanilla sherry, and Tong Wars, inspired by New York&rsquo;s Chinatown and made with Chinese plum vodka and lime.

<h2>New bars to know</h2>Away from the top hotels, the wider Singapore scene is similarly dynamic, from its underground speakeasy-style joints to its ultra-modern drinking lounges. Noteworthy recent openings include Analogue, a new bar from rising star Vijay Mudaliar that takes sustainability seriously &ndash; the show-stopping bar top was 3D-printed from 1,600kg of recycled plastic bottles and everything on the menu is plant-based. The super-cool Stay Gold Flamingo is another much-talked-about arrival &ndash; a coffee bar by day that transforms at night into a neon-lit haven. &ldquo;I adore that sense of self at these new, independent bars,&rdquo; says Ivy Woo. &ldquo;The moment you step into one of these bars, you can almost immediately see the personality of the people behind them. Stay Gold, for a start, is the brainchild of young bartenders Bai JiaWei and Jerrold Khoo, who came together to create a cocktail bar with a rock &rsquo;n&rsquo; roll attitude.&rdquo;&nbsp;As well as energy and exuberance, this new generation of cocktail-makers has a genuine knowledge of the craft, a willingness to experiment and, maybe most importantly of all, a deep sense that the emerging Singapore scene has serious staying power. &ldquo;When it comes to bars, the UK is very strong and so is the US,&rdquo; says Martin Villareal. &ldquo;But after that it is Singapore. It&rsquo;s only a relatively young scene, but we&rsquo;re now number three in the world when it comes to cocktails, which is incredible.&rdquo;

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Giant brushstrokes of lacquered steel twirl and dance in greeting at the entrance to <a href='https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/sinxr-the-st-regis-singapore/overview/?sp=true' target='_blank'>The St. Regis Singapore</a>. The product of three decades&rsquo; experimentation in geometric abstraction, the distinctive red ribbons of Anthony Poon&rsquo;s&nbsp;Sense Surround&nbsp;represent the apotheosis of the late&nbsp;artist&rsquo;s work. It's a vibrant presence on Tanglin Road and serves as a visual reminder of the artistic patronage that is an inherent part of Singapore&rsquo;s rich cultural identity.

A city-state that stimulates all the senses, Singapore&rsquo;s quintessence lies in its confluence of cultures and its vibrant, tropical palette, from the pastel clash of its shophouse fa&ccedil;ades and the jewel-like orchids in its world-famous Botanic Gardens to its kaleidoscopic markets and cool, pristine colonial architecture. Together they paint a unique canvas of experiences that visitors never forget.Cherishing tradition while embracing innovation, especially when it comes to the finer things in life, Singapore is renowned for cuisine and retail experiences that elevate dining and shopping to fine arts. Lovers of the city are also attracted by its thriving art scene, driven by knowledgeable gallerists, enthusiastic collectors and a government that understands how&nbsp;culture can&nbsp;help to deliver prosperity and growth.<h2>Art and tech in the heart of the city</h2>For visitors, the experience is exhilarating: in a single day you can expand your understanding of Singaporean and south-east Asian contemporary and modern art in the calmly refined spaces of the National Gallery Singapore; engage with cutting-edge artistic practice at STPI Creative Workshop and Gallery, a not-for-profit arts hub; or forage for collectibles among the textile shops and artisan boutiques against a backdrop of colourful street art in the lively Kampong Glam district.

Back at the St. Regis Singapore, guests relax amid one of the finest private art collections in south-east Asia: more than 70 works of art by internationally renowned artists across a spectrum of media. The five-star luxury hotel&rsquo;s collection, which is toured daily, contains work by contemporary Singaporean artists such as Eng Tow, Lim Joo Hong and Chen KeZhan, alongside French expressionist Marc Chagall and American abstractionists Mark Tobey and Sam Francis. You can even raise a glass&nbsp;before works by Pablo Picasso, and float in the pool or bask in the sunshine next to a sculpture by one of Taiwan&rsquo;s leading contemporary artists, Li Chen.&nbsp;Anchored by the past but embracing the possibilities of the future, Singapore&rsquo;s art scene is highly attuned to new technology. Take ArtScience Museum, which unfolds like a space-age lotus flower on the harbourfront at Marina Bay, blending art, science, culture, and technology in its curated spaces. The museum&rsquo;s new VR Gallery invites visitors to use state-of-the-art technology to explore&nbsp;Hyperrealities&nbsp;&ndash; three all-encompassing artworks-cum-virtual worlds created by Olafur Eliasson, Marina Abramovic&nbsp;and Anish Kapoor as they explore light, climate change and physicality respectively.&nbsp;

<h2>Augmented reality for aesthetes</h2>If viewing a wondrously different dimension through a virtual reality headset is a uniquely solitary activity, the augmented reality art tour nearby at <a href='https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/singapore?sp=true' target='_blank'>The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore</a> promises the opposite: a way to reach out and share your artistic appreciation with others.&nbsp;

The luxury destination, located in Marina Bay, has a significant private art collection with hundreds of notable, museum-quality works within its 4,200 pieces. Ritz Suite guests will find two pieces from Andy Warhol&rsquo;s&nbsp;Flowers&nbsp;series,&nbsp;as well as two large-scale screen prints entitled&nbsp;Dumpling&nbsp;and&nbsp;Liver Bacon Onions&nbsp;by the headline-grabbing British artist Damien Hirst from his series&nbsp;The Last Supper&nbsp;(1999).&nbsp;

In a world first, its web-hosted tour invites guests to interact with 10 great artworks, including&nbsp;Cornucopia&nbsp;and&nbsp;Moby Dick&nbsp;by the American minimalist Frank Stella;&nbsp;China China and&nbsp;Greater Water&nbsp;by Zhu Wei, two works that showcase the Chinese artist&rsquo;s figurative sculpture and fine ink work;&nbsp;Sunset&nbsp;by Dale Chihuly, the American glass sculptor, and&nbsp;Double Screw&nbsp;by John Rose, who is best known for his contorted bentwood forms.&nbsp;The immersive digital tour informs and entertains against moving soundscapes: guests step into the works via their mobile phones, interacting as the art springs to life in dynamic ways. Sharing their journey through the artworks on social media makes it possible to delight and inspire others too.&nbsp;<h2> The art of autumn in Singapore</h2>Memorable visual and sensory experiences abound at this time of year. Late September sees the lighting of countless brightly coloured lanterns that dot the streets for Moon Festival, during which Singapore&rsquo;s Chinese community gives thanks for a bountiful harvest. And, moving into the realm of culinary arts, autumn in Singapore is the time when chefs seize the opportunity to prepare the costly seasonal delicacy of freshwater hairy crab, whose succulent flesh is delicately steamed and served with ginger tea alongside, Cantonese-style.&nbsp;These are the kind of signature Singapore moments that social media seems made for.

Amid the noise and thrill of Instagrammable experiences, the city and its culture exert a powerful attraction. The artist and sculptor Antony Poon once described his creativity as a process of reduction, saying that “everything can be simplified in the basic shapes of lines and angles”. The opposite can perhaps be said of his home country: Singapore amplifies experiences through its many layers of culture, history, colour and sensation, creating a destination which, like a great work of art, proves inspiring and enlightening, no matter how many times you return.

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Looking out from its home between the 102nd and 118th floors of the territory’s tallest building, <a href='https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/china/hong-kong?sp=true' target='_blank'>The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong</a> affords remarkable 360-degree views across the city, West Kowloon and Victoria Harbour, with in-suite telescopes and skyline maps helping guests to pick out world-famous harbourfront landmarks. Wherever you sit in the sumptuous Club Lounge, 116 floors up, you can't help feeling almost literally on top of the world, so elevated is its position. The atmosphere is calm and cloistered, far removed from city bustle, and the concierge service suitably stellar; guests may receive handwritten notes or find that their preferred refreshments (or even reading matter) are remembered with a smile.

This is a place where two culinary hemispheres meet, courtesy of the two-Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Tin Lung Heen, meaning Dragon in the Sky, which specialises in dim sum; and Michelin-starred Tosca di Angelo, with its Mediterranean-inspired menu and skyline views. The particular draw of Tosca di Angelo is the regional Italian palate of its chef, Angelo Aglianó, son of a Sicilian fisherman, who recreates dishes such as his treasured, garlic-laced matalotta fish soup using Hong Kong grouper, or risotto with Hokkaido sea urchin. East greets West again at Tin Lung Heen, where self-taught chef Paul Lau sends out traditional Cantonese food, yet deploys the finest of world produce, such as Ibérico pork for the char siu.

Stepping outside the hotel, guests can enjoy unrivalled access to the ambitious new West Kowloon Cultural District, which embodies the spirit of East greets West. The new quarter is intended to become a destination for Hong Kong residents themselves to visit, enjoy and share with family and friends abroad. Alongside an art park and performing arts venue showcasing traditional art forms such as Chinese opera, or xiqu, the neighbourhood is also home to M+, a new museum of visual culture that celebrates global culture in a distinctively Hong Kong way.

For Hong Kong regulars who always like to discover something unknown to them, the development's cheerleaders propose walking routes around West Kowloon neighbourhood that will lead locals and visitors alike around some of the city's lesser-known corners, such as a bookstore hidden within the Tin Hau Temple, tempting food stores and restaurants, as well as the Hong Kong Palace Museum, set to open in mid-2022.&nbsp;<h2>New York state of mind</h2>Across the water, Victoria Harbour&rsquo;s silhouettes of glass and steel shelter another exciting fusion, <a href='https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/hkgxr-the-st-regis-hong-kong/overview/?sp=true' target='_blank'>The St. Regis Hong Kong</a>, as designed by Andr&eacute; Fu. This property blends New York&rsquo;s grand townhouse aesthetic with a vision of old Hong Kong to create a luxurious, almost intimate home-away-from-home.

The St. Regis New York opened its doors in 1904, the brainchild of John Jacob Astor IV, one of America&rsquo;s wealthiest men; it became the centre of a rarefied and heady social scene, and the St. Regis Hong Kong consciously continues this tradition.&nbsp;&ldquo;The property was designed to be as iconic as the St. Regis in New York, which was a fit for the Astor family back then,&rdquo; Fu has said.&nbsp;Indeed, Fu recalls both historic Hong Kong and old New York to striking effect in the hotel&rsquo;s design details and specially commissioned artworks. For example, the towering Skyline lantern in the Great Room evokes the territory&rsquo;s skyscrapers, while the distinctive mouldings of the marble-clad elevator lobby echo its American antecedent.&nbsp;The designer also brings his own memories of growing up in Hong Kong to play within the grandiose triple-height reception area. Here, intimate spaces have been created using bronze screens, inspired by traditional shop-window frames, and the soft glow from imitation 19th-century gas lamps &mdash; lamps that disappeared from the territory&rsquo;s streets with electrification in the 1960s, but which can still be seen on Duddell Street in Central District.

The interplay between New York and Hong Kong continues in the elegant St. Regis Bar, where an inspired cocktail menu reimagines classic drinks once synonymous with Astor&rsquo;s original hotel, such as a Tie on Lenox and Canto Mary, all mixed beneath Zhang Gong&rsquo;s striking mural depicting highlights of Hong Kong: its port, the Star Ferry and Wan Chai.&nbsp;<h2>City of contrasts</h2>Beyond the hotel&rsquo;s threshold, history and culture converse on the streets of Central and Wan Chai, two fascinating neighbourhoods, each with its own particular feel. Built in the 1920s, the four-storey Blue House in Wan Chai is instantly recognisable, with its blend of Chinese and European architectural details. Today, it operates as a community centre, known as the Hong Kong House of Stories, and promotes local culture through exhibitions, workshops and walking tours.&nbsp;

The astonishing array of eateries a few steps away on Ship Street is evidence of Hong Kong&rsquo;s culinary melting pot: connoisseurs can linger over anything from Spanish tapas to spicy Sichuan dishes. Above street level, the St. Regis Hong Kong reflects this same seasonality at L&rsquo;Envol, its two-Michelin-starred French restaurant, and R&ugrave;n, a one-Michelin-star Cantonese restaurant set in a contemporary tearoom.&nbsp;Central District is bookended by shining towers and Victoria Harbour landmarks that hide a more nuanced visitor experience within. PMQ is an arts venue and lifestyle emporium that attracts young designers and creatives, housed in a former police officers&rsquo; dormitory on Aberdeen Street. Another draw is Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts, a complex of 16 colonial buildings that once housed a police station, prison and magistrates&rsquo; offices, all now skilfully reimagined by the architects Herzog &amp; de Meuron to foster a mix of arts, food, culture, shopping and history.&nbsp;Finally, a cup of rich, sweet&nbsp;nai cha&nbsp;is a time-honoured pick-me-up after all that bewildering colour and contrast. The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong serves milk tea to the wonderfully weary at 4pm every day. A combination of strong black tea with either evaporated or condensed milk, thickened through a silk strainer, this fusion of tastes and customs, served since the 1940s, is the perfect conclusion to a day of Hong Kong contrasts.&nbsp;

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The St. Regis

The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong

W Hong Kong

JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong

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Tokyo and Kyoto each occupy a unique place in the popular imagination. A whole world within a city, Japan&rsquo;s modern-day capital is an horizon-filling, high-rise, hi-tech urban phenomenon, while its erstwhile capital, Kyoto, offers more reflective pleasures centred on time-honoured traditions. The contrast is thrilling &ndash; and experienced effortlessly, thanks to the speed of the shinkansen, or bullet train, which whisks passengers between the two cities in just two-and-a-half hours.Given the rich complexity of Japanese culture, the difference in character between the two cities is far from straightforward: if the very idea of Tokyo conjures images of a forest of skyscrapers and dazzling, neon-drenched streets seemingly oblivious to the harmony of nature, the city also possesses a through-the-looking-glass quality, which combines future and past, whether you're mixing with the anime crowd in Ikebukuro or sourcing vintage items in Shimokitazawa.

At ground level, tradition is never too far away. Sleek towers, convenience stores and glittering malls stand side by side with wooden temples, miniature gardens and narrow, lantern-lined alleyways that lend the city's modernity its uniquely Japanese character. High above, from the private sanctuary and superb vantage point of the 53rd-floor Club Lounge of <a href='https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/japan/tokyo?sp=true' target='_blank'>The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo</a>, street blocks stretch as far as the horizon, but they do so under the age-old gaze of Mount Fuji.

This duality holds true in the contrast between The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo’s contemporary design, which draws inspiration from the skyline, nature and distinctive Japanese patterns such as bamboo, kimono sashes and stone pavement blocks, and the insights the hotel lends into traditional Japanese culture.

Anyone who visits Japan even once is likely to find their own favourites among the exquisite arcana of Japanese food and drink traditions. In the hotel bar, a specialist sake sommelier will happily enlighten guests about the myriad varieties of Japan’s famously subtle and complex national drink, as bartender Wada san expertly pours the drinks. Less intoxicating, just, are the hotel’s enjoyably focused sessions teaching the art of Senko incense making, during which guests create their own original scent by measuring out and mixing natural ingredients such as sandalwood or cinnamon to create pastilles of incense (mastering this art takes years, naturally).

While The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo is clad in skyscraping glass giving floor-to-ceiling urban panoramas, the low-rise <a href='https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/japan/kyoto?sp=true' target='_blank'>The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto</a> has an air of pared-back luxury and cloistered tranquillity that is underscored by its unobtrusive architecture, soothing design and some 400 pieces of modern art by local artists: sculptures and paintings curated to chime with the hotel&rsquo;s understated aesthetic.With the contours of the Higashiyama mountains creating a backdrop to the east, the Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto is modelled on a traditional townhouse or machiya. Its low-rise buildings stand next to the Kamo River, along whose banks Kyoto residents love to walk and socialise. The stylised gardens are replete with maple trees and harmonious bridges, and the natural world feels woven into the design of the hotel, too, starting with a walkway across a rushing stream on the threshold, and a bonsai tree by Christian Tortu.

Softly illuminating the reception area is a contemporary ceiling light constructed in paper by Hiyoshiya, a traditional Kyoto umbrella-making company established 150 years ago. Next to the front desk, Ritsue Mishima’s artwork, The Light of the Moon is the artist’s imagining of a bamboo grove lit by moonlight. On the way to the lower level, Shinji Omaki’s Echoes – crystallization / moon uses correction fluid and crystal powder to represent endangered flower species. To the naked eye, it appears like the moon, cratered and glowing against a dark background, suspended by the staircase leading down to the restaurants.

The city’s craftsmanship and historic atmosphere can be imbibed together in a genuinely unique private dining room within La Locanda, known as Ebisugawa-tei; this niche inside the hotel’s lauded Italian restaurant has been painstakingly reconstructed with an interior from a machiya dating back to 1908 and the Meiji era.

There are many ways to get under the skin of this secretive city. Behind high walls, in the tranquil courtyard gardens of 14th-century Myokaku-ji Temple, guests of The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto can exclusively attend a morning chanting ritual performed by Buddhist monks. And, this November, a special seasonal hike has been arranged giving guests the chance to see the autumn leaves at their most colourful and view the city from the top of the mountain with a bento lunchbox.

Back in Tokyo, so pervasive is the complexity of Japanese culture that, even amid the Bladerunner bustle, a contemporary slow movement is flourishing that honours the skills and rhythms of the country’s traditional arts and crafts. The contrast is nicely illustrated in the ikebana classes held at The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo, which explore the meditative practice of Japanese flower arranging while life in the non-stop, 24-hour city hurries on below.

The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo

The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, a Luxury Collection Hotel

The Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon

The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza (Opening in April 2022)

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The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto

HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO, a Luxury Collection Hotel & Spa

Suiran, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Kyoto

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The Ritz-Carlton, Osaka

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The St. Regis Osaka

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One of the world’s archetypal tropical paradises, the Maldives form an archipelago of more than 1,000 coral reefs, sand bars and low-lying islands in a paired chain of 26 atolls. These cluster around astonishingly clear aquamarine lagoons, such as the four islands of Rah Falhu Huraa in the North Malé Atoll, home to the picturesque Fari Marina Village, and <a href='https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/maldives-fari-islands?sp=true' target='_blank'>The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands</a>.

On arrival at the resort’s jetty, guests are welcomed by the sound of a traditional Sangu horn greeting; from that moment on, their stay on the Indian Ocean archipelago is entrusted to the care of their own aris meeha. Formerly a privileged role in the ancient Maldivian royal household, the Aris Meeha, or “closest person”, is on hand to carefully craft and curate every stay by accommodating guests’ wishes and dreams — arranging sunrise yoga in the resort’s secluded Mystique Garden, perhaps, or swimming with turtles.

In the company of their Aris Meeha, guests begin by exploring their destination, a graceful halo of minimalist overwater villas that appear to float above the crystal-clear waters of the Rah Falhu Huraa lagoon. Designed by the late Kerry Hill, an award-winning Australian architect whose projects are renowned for the sensitivity they show to their surroundings, the delicate circle of villas and spa connect via a jetty to the resort’s three island bases and 100 private ocean-facing villas.

<h2>Marine dreams</h2>Every day here unfolds with a relaxed rhythm. The morning feels like the right time to make the most of the resort’s connection with its surroundings, via Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment programme. As the first Ritz-Carlton destination in the Asia-Pacific region to participate in the ocean explorer’s initiative, the resort gives its guests the opportunity to engage with the fragile beauty of the Maldives’ ecosystems, with seasonally varying programmes.

Guests are led by an expert naturalist to explore the islands’ flora and fauna via marine biology classes for children, genuinely captivating talks at the dive centre, and the chance to use remote aerial and submarine drones to study the surrounding islands and reefs in real time. Back on land, guests can take part in exclusive, immersive experiences inspired by Maldivian culture, such as Mudu Edhuru sessions with a “Water Man” storyteller, or classes in boduberu drumming.<h2>Horizontal balance</h2>Afternoons are for relaxation — on the beach, in the seclusion of a private villa’s circular patio, set between the soothing understatement of the interiors and the intense turquoise horizon, or amid the minimalist design and lulling calm of the spa. Appearing like a pebble within concentric ripples, this soothing sanctuary within a sanctuary sits within the circle of private overwater villas, offering a menu of therapies that will restore peacefulness to body and mind.

Taking one’s time is of the essence here. The therapeutic massages and treatments include the spa’s three-hour Maldivian Signature Rejuvenation, which incorporates organic coconut and pearly-white sand into a full-body massage. Or there’s the healing Bamford Signature Journey, which combines Japanese shiatsu and Swedish motions to release tension and balance meridians, followed by a wave-like massage designed to echo the ocean’s motions.<h2>Rhythm of the night</h2>At sunset each day, the beat of a drum is deployed to announce the gentle transition from the day’s discoveries into an evening of relaxation, indulgence and reflection. This is accompanied by a flame-lighting ritual and the thump and clap of the boduberu drums, one of the Maldives’ oldest traditions. Enjoyed with sundowners made with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, cumin and turmeric — the islands’ favoured spices — the ceremony connects all comers to the resort with a tradition dating from the 11th century.

Dining at The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands is an invitation to indulge in some culinary globetrotting, allowing you to travel gastronomically from Guangdong to the Lebanon in one day. But it is also about sustainably caught fish and seafood sourced from local fishermen, as well as plenty of homegrown organic produce from the resort’s kitchen garden. With the sea just steps away and soft sand underfoot, diners at the Beach Shack can choose from a mouthwatering menu that includes soft-shell crab tacos and crispy fried snapper to share. Guests can go super-light, with the plant-based tasting menu at the open-air Japanese restaurant Iwau, or tuck into authentically hearty dishes, such as osso buco alla milanese, at La Locanda, the all-day Italian whose indoor-outdoor dining room doubles as the resort’s living room. Here, kicking back with a digestif, or watching a movie under the stars with your loved ones, are amazing places to come full circle at the end of a Maldivian day.

The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands

The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort

W Maldives

JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa

Explore luxury hotels in Maldives

For many, Bali’s mix of pristine beaches, fertile volcanic peaks and dense jungle make it the ultimate tropical paradise. But the Indonesian island is also possessed of a profoundly spiritual culture – born of a reverence for the balance between the temporal and the sacred, the natural and the manmade – that visibly infuses every aspect of daily life.

Those seeking better to understand this precious inner life should make a beeline for Ubud, Bali&rsquo;s cultural and spiritual capital, which sits amid rainforest, temple sites and shrines, high up in the island&rsquo;s verdant interior. Ubud has long been a source of wellness on the island, a place where healers known as balians practise their intuitive treatments using medicinal native plants. <a href='https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/indonesia/mandapa?sp=true' target='_blank'>Mandapa, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve</a>, holds true to Bali&rsquo;s promise of wellbeing &ndash; both in the experiences the luxury spa resort curates for its guests, and in its evocative atmosphere and closeness to local spirituality. Mandapa means &ldquo;temple&rdquo; in Sanskrit and, as guests wind up and around the mountains near Ubud to arrive at their destination, the brick gates of a truly peaceful enclave await.&nbsp;Hugged by the jungle, traditional tiered rooftops map out the confines of the resort from the quasi-sacred space of a hilltop open-air meeting pavilion, or wantilian, dotted with thatched pavilions and floating platforms. Guests make their way down through the property via a maze of floating walkways and walled pathways to discover lush terraces with secluded villas and pools, restaurants, and a boutique, spa and temple on the steep hillside below. The temple actually predates the existence of the resort, and thus is used by locals, who make frequent offerings of flowers and incense &ndash; something guests can also do if they wish.

Mandapa also brings guests into continuous contact with the natural world, through the sights and sounds of the rainforest and the fast-flowing Ayung River, which curves around the resort and, like all water, is considered holy and cleansing by locals. Filled with Balinese artwork, wall murals and textiles, the private villas combine traditional and contemporary design details with panoramic windows and indoor-outdoor dining and living areas, as well as swimming or lap pools to complete the immersive experience.&nbsp;<h2>Nurture through nature</h2>Ubud is named after the Balinese word for medicine, and this heritage is reflected in the resort&rsquo;s spa treatments, which embrace the region&rsquo;s ancient healing techniques and philosophies through the use of indigenous ingredients, or usada, to help rebalance body and mind. Tucked quietly away, overlooking the river, the spa&rsquo;s private treatment pavilions are linked with leafy wooden walkways, dotted with stone idols.

The spa can call upon the gifts of a number of renowned local healers to help to ease guests&rsquo; physical or emotional discomfort. One such is Ketut Mursi, a blind healer who works with a sighted therapist, using four-hand massage, reflexology, and touch, alongside a special mix of herbs, to cleanse the body from head to toe, realigning the body&rsquo;s energy flow during a Mandapa Spa Balinese Healing Touch Treatment.

For guests taking part in a Balinese Blessing Ritual, guided by Mandapa&rsquo;s own priest presiding over the resort&rsquo;s Hindu temple, purification begins with chanting and meditation over burning fire or water followed by offerings to symbolise letting go of negative habits or feelings to restore a positive consciousness. A plunge under the water jets of the vitality pool or an open-air yoga session bring the chance of uplifting contemplation across the rainforest canopy.&nbsp;<h2>Beach blessings</h2>

Far down the valley, along the southern coast to the exclusive enclave of Nusa Dua, the beachfront <a href='https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/dpsxr-the-st-regis-bali-resort/overview/?sp=true' target='_blank'>St. Regis Bali Resort</a> offers the perfect counterpoint, embracing the Indian Ocean and the Balinese concept of nyegara gunung. Designed by Bill Bensley of Bensley Design Studios, the resort also takes inspiration from the work of the Japanese-American artist and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi. In keeping with nyegara gunung, it features a Fire Garden lined with coconut palms, representing a river flowing from the mountain to the sea, where guests can enjoy the resort&rsquo;s secluded beach, considered the loveliest in Nusa Dua.

At the resort&rsquo;s Iridium Spa, a calmness pervades, thanks in part to the butterflies that appear to flit throughout in a delicate light show inspired by the 15th-century Indian poet Kabir, who wrote &ldquo;The Moon Shines in my Body&rdquo;. &nbsp;Authentic details play an important role in the spa&rsquo;s local treatment menu, while more modern treatments hint at the heritage and luxurious character of the St. Regis resort itself. Try, for example, a Bloody Mary-inspired ritual, which uses the spices of that famous vodka cocktail, first mixed at The St. Regis New York in 1934, for its detoxifying and invigorating massage, clay wrap and salt bath treatment. All spa treatments conclude with a therapeutic dip in the turquoise-blue waters of the Aqua Vitae Pool, which promises to further destress and detoxify.

For the last word in pampering, choose the Luxury Champagne Treatment, during which champagne is used as a balm, before a circulation-boosting grape-seed body scrub and grape-seed oil massage, followed by a champagne and white clay body mask. Sipping champagne within the relaxation pavilion after a peaceful flower bath, guests will wonder whether they can take a Bali moment home.

RELAX, RENEW, REINVENT: CITIES WITH ENERGY