Grandest hotels

1. The Fullerton Hotel Singapore
Yes, the Raffles still stands, the flagship of its brand, but the peanut-shell charm of the Long Bar is wearing stale. The Fullerton, a relatively new &lsquogrand old&rsquo &mdash it opened on January 1, 2001 &mdash has all the heritage charm and grandeur sans some of the stuffiness and snobbery. It has been a long journey from the Fort Fullerton officers&rsquo barracks to the present, but its history locates the heritage landmark Fullerton Building, formerly home to Singapore&rsquos GPO, Exchange, Chamber of Commerce and Singapore Club, in the heart of the CBD. The Palladian-style hotel it has become retains Italian marble floors and Doric columns but has added a contemporary art gallery, iPreciation, as well as a (posh) retail wing, infinity pool and Hirsch Bedner interiors. You can request transfers by new Mercs or vintage Rolls Royce. Polished shoes are delivered discreetly, to a niche in your dressing closet and not brought to your door while you are entertaining a guest Its 400 Art Deco-styled rooms with fabulous views &mdash and cute monikers, starting at the Post Master level &mdash are complemented by 24-hour concierge service, 24-hour business centre, 24-hour fitness centre&hellipbecause luxury clearly does not stop at the stroke of midnight. Eats are excellent, and the Courtyard does a fine Indian buffet as well as Japanese and afternoon tea and a chocolate buffet, so you should feel right at home. From&nbspRs 15,000 fullertonhotel.com

2. Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi
When Pullman Hotels partnered with the Vietnamese government to restore the Metropole, it was quite the coup for the company. Now Accor, the group boasts both heritage hotel (since 1901) and luxury in a downtown address with the legendary Metropole. Another address to have been graced by authors (Maugham again, Greene) and other celebrities (Chaplin on honeymoon, Joan Baez in full recording voice through an air raid, Stephen Hawking and Mick Jagger and Roger Moore), its beautiful wrought iron brackets sustaining an alabaster fa&ccedilade have long been a Hanoi landmark. Mahogany and porcelain light fixtures retain pride of place in the historic Metro&shypole Wing decorated in 1920s French mode, while the younger Opera Wing leans neoclassical. The Parisian-style La Terasse bar pushes its café tables out on to the streets for unsurpassable atmo&shysphere &mdash easily the best spot in town to savour a drink, even if it is a bottle of Perrier. From $193.50 sofitel-legend.com

3. Amanpulo, Pamalican Island Philippines
Not an old-world experience, this. The joint venture between Amanresorts and the local Aboitiz and Soriano group is very much about those modern luxu&shyries &mdash space, privacy and leisure. Fringed by seven kilometres of coral-reefed seas, it accommodates guests in private villas and casitas replete with local crafts and craftsmanship, each with their own buggy for island hopping. Coconut-shell tables, paddy-straw basketry and pebble-dashed walls correspond to vernacular architec&shytural inflections of the bahay kubo style in the casitas. Villas come with a cook and housekeeper. The spa sits up a hillside, with views of the Sulu Sea from each treatment room. Among the excellent and varied F&ampB venues is a bar on a bamboo raft out on the sea The Vietnamese joint is particularly good too. From $900 amanresorts.com/amanpulo

4. The Empire Hotel & Country Club Brunei
Palatial luxury for the sporty at heart &mdash especially golf, but also ten&shynis, badminton, squash, bowling&hellipand a sumptuous beachfront that the two-level gym looks on to. Oh, and nine pools dotted around the property, providing 12,285 cu. m of dipping water to choose from Even the smallest rooms have marble-clad bathrooms. Italian linens, gilt fixtures and hand-tufted carpets are everywhere in the old-fashioned, opulent style of furnishings. The presidential suite, the Emperor (of course), even has its own movie theatre but a lower category can also score Bang & Olufsen sound while Swarovski crystal chandeliers light up your ablutions. It&rsquos just over a dozen years old in the busi&shyness, after taking half a dozen to put itself together, but refurbishments are already in progress and should be fun to see when done. The no-alcohol policy is unlikely to change soon, however. From Rs 7,995 theempirehotel.com

5. Como Shambhala Estate Ubud
The 100 acres worth of wellness, in seemingly a Balinese wilderness, is hard to beat for self-indulgence. This resi&shydential spa retreat a small way out of Ubud proper, in the rainforests along the river Ayung, is the brand&rsquos flagship property with a mere thirty suites. Its twin restau&shyrants make much of eating ambiently the Indonesian Kudus House occupies a nineteenth-century Javanese villa while organic Glow&rsquos pavilions salute the river valley. All health facilities draw water from a local spring revered for its healing prop&shyerties. From $400 comoshambhala.com

6. Eastern & Oriental Georgetown
Once upon a time, circa 1884-85, there was the Eastern Hotel and there was the Oriental Hotel, both built by the now-legendary Sarkies Brothers. Then they were one, the big sister to Singapore&rsquos Raffles. From Kipling to Sun-yat Sen to Michael Jackson, it has hosted the rich (Sultan of Brunei) and famous (Herman Hesse). Then it closed down in 1996 &mdash and came back beautiful in 2001 with Moor&shyish minarets and echo dome still in place and this year, the addition of a new Victory Annexe (the first was an extension built in 1923) in modern classic attire has refreshed its reputation. Facing the Anda&shyman Sea, the now all-(spacious)-suite property is luxurious by any era&rsquos defini&shytion. From MYR 600 eohotels.com

7. La R&eacutesidence Phou Vao Luang Prabang
One of the oriental treasures of the Orient-Express group, this is more a boutique property (formerly the Pansea) than a grand old lady like many on this list. However, the air of space and luxury is unmistakably fine. And the hilltop situa&shytion overlooking the World Heritage town with a royal and a French colonial past is the very best money can buy here. It also boasts the country&rsquos first purpose-built spa, with treatment pavilions set beside limpid pools of water. Accommodations are all suites, thirty-four of them, furnished with rosewood, parquet and traditional textiles, as well as freeform terrazzo baths. The solitary restaurant does credit to both Laotian and French heritage but the best table is outside in its celebrated tropical garden, for private candlelight dinners in the glow of 500 flickering flames. From $395 residencephouvao.com

8. The Strand Yangon
The Armenian Sarkies brothers were responsible for many of the grand co&shylonial hotels of Southeast Asia, and this is their Burmese beauty. Facing the Yangon, it opened in 1901 and then went on to have a patchwork of a history since World War II, until a collaboration with Adrian Zecha after the 1988 coup d&rsquoetat saw it reopen as an all-suites luxury property in 1993. No new wing, no swimming pool or golf course plonked in, this one is a true-to-its-roots classic there is a spa. Now a national landmark, it still maintains colonial-style dining rooms. There is no &lsquofront desk&rsquo there is instead a butler&rsquos desk on every floor Teak-floored suites are spacious and all come with 24-hour butler service. Despite several changes of management, the endearing old-world charm endures, keeping pace with the fast, free wi-fi. From Rs 15,540 hotelthestrand.com

9. Mandarin Oriental Bangkok
The 135-year-old grand dame of them all, the Oriental &mdash possibly the best address on the Chao Phraya that a traveller can buy &mdash has had a few unfortunate encounters with modernization, but still remains the style to beat in Bangkok. Built in 1876, it was the first ever hotel in Thailand when it began operating in 1879 it is now one of the Man&shydarin Oriental group&rsquos flagship properties (the other being the Mandarin, Hong Kong) and a seminal acquisition. Now its 358 rooms, most with river views, are surmount&shyed by the coveted Authors&rsquo Suites &mdash named for former guests Maugham, Coward, Michener, Conrad et al &mdash while its restau&shyrants, the Thai speciality Sala Rim Naam and French fine-diner Le Normandie as well as seafood master Lord Jim remain peerless. From THB 10,950 mandarinoriental.com

10. Grand Hotel D&rsquoAngkor Cambodia
Currently a Raffles resort, this property has been in the business of grand hospitality since 1929, when the first Western visitors traipsed over, braving the sinister jungles to see Angkor. The recently refurbished rooms sport art deco inflections alongside vernacular flour&shyishes that extend to staff uniforms &mdash not just the noble helmets but the pants coloured by day of the week per traditional astrological convention. The property is more low-slung mansion than big hotel by modern standards. Outside, the land&shyscaped gardens reflect Cambodia&rsquos French colonial legacy while the royal palace sits across. Inside, a circa-1932 cage elevator still ferries guests up to their rooms from the black-and-white chequerboard lobby level. Lots of choice in dining, but Khmer is surely the must-do. Just one warning the mod cons are not all that modern as the restoration has sought to retain the heritage charm of the building rather than a complete do-over. From $244 raffles.com/siemreap