Art Hotels

It floats. Or near enough. The white marble palace covers almost all of Jag Niwas, a small island in Lake Pichola, so the water seems to come right up to its walls. Maharana Jagat Singh II built it in the 1740s as a summer retreat. Today it runs as a Taj hotel, and guests arrive by boat.

The art is in the structure itself: open courtyards with fountains, lotus ponds, carved arches and inlaid stone. The historic suites keep their palace proportions. From the terraces you look across to the City Palace on the eastern shore, which is at its best in the late light.

Few hotels can trace their oldest walls to 1228. Ashford can. It began as an Anglo-Norman stronghold on the shore of Lough Corrib, on the border of counties Mayo and Galway, and grew over the centuries. The largest additions came in the nineteenth century, when the Guinness family owned the estate. It has taken guests since 1939.

Inside, it is oak panelling, portraits, antique furniture and a great deal of carved stone. Outside is a large walled estate of woodland, gardens and lake shore. Ireland's first school of falconry is based on the grounds. The village of Cong is just beyond the gates.

Pink walls, white trim and a terracotta roof, with the roar of the falls in the background. This Portuguese colonial-style hotel sits inside Iguaçu National Park on the Brazilian side. It is the only hotel inside the park on that side, so guests can walk the trails before the day visitors arrive and after they leave.

Its character comes from the architecture and the gardens: arched verandas, tiled floors, period furniture and grounds busy with birds. Toucans and coatis are regular visitors. It makes for a slower, quieter way to see one of South America's great landmarks.