Read the full list of the world's best 100 hotels in The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, November

THE DANIELI, Venice

After almost two centuries as a hotel – and five as a palace – the Danieli was beginning to show its age. Now, Venice’s most prestigious address is undergoing a renaissance under new Italian owners.

While the lagoon view, beloved of Canaletto, remains thankfully unaltered, designer Jacques Garcia has banished faux-Empire clutter for a light, Venetian look.

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They’re planning a spa, as well as a covered swimming pool – a first for the city. The Terazza rooftop restaurant now has a bold menu of local specialities – fingers crossed they’ve got the stunning tagliolini pasta with lobster and aubergine cream when you visit. Doubles from £411, B&B (00 39 041 522 6480, www.luxurycollection.com).

HOTEL ARTS, Barcelona

Until the W hotel opens beside the seaside next year, this place rules. Nowhere else in the city combines five-star service with such a splendid aquatic setting and walkability to the Gothic/Born/Eixample quarters. Add a sleek outdoor pool, a 43rd-floor spa, and designer dining at Enoteca restaurant and you’re on to a winner.

Beds induce child-like slumber, the decor is calming, and views from the upper floors (there are 44) reveal Barcelona unfurling like a treasure map. Doubles from £278, room only (00 34 900 221900, www.hotelartsbarcelona.com).

THE RITZ-CARLTON, Moscow

The place boasts Russia’s best hotel address: Number 3 Tverskaya, their capital’s answer to London’s Bond Street. Inside, the hotel is an outing in polished dark-cherrywood, with queenly bathrooms of Portuguese marble.

Crucially, Moscow’s marquee attractions are a two-minute walk from Red Square, the disco-domes of St Basil’s Cathedral and the Kremlin. You can sightsee, sozzled, from the trendy 02 Lounge, a glass-and-metal roof bar overlooking the sights. But watch the bill – in Russia it’ll grow zeros quicker than you can say ‘Nazdorovje!’. Doubles from £595, room only (0800 234000, www.ritzcarlton.com).

THE PENINSULA, Chicago

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