No. 1: Burj Al Arab, Photo by jonrawlinson

For some, a hotel is nothing more than the place you lay your head when not at home. For others, hotels are works of art and luxurious paradises where your every wish is granted.

If you fall into the latter category and dream of a combination of art, decadence and world-famous architectural design, consider the following the next time you book.

1. Burj Al Arab

Most have heard of the bending curves of this ultra-lavish hotel on the Arabian Gulf, but it’s only fair to mention it here again as it is one of the most eccentric forms of hotel architecture to date.

The Burj Al Arab is 321 meters of pure luxury and exclusive service. British architect Tom Wright conceived the billowing hotel in 1993.

Where: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

What: Luxury hotel with helipad on the gulf

Designed by: Tom Wright

More: www.burj-al-arab.com

2. Hotel Marqués de Riscal, The Luxury Collection

This is a smart fusion of award-winning wine and avant-garde architecture. Spain’s Rioja vino is a favorite for many and a visit to the region makes for an interesting trip in rural Spain, especially if staying at Hotel Maqués de Riscal.

The hotel’s flamboyant style is signature Gehry, who has left his artistic imprint on other parts of the country as well.

Where: Spain’s Rioja wine country

What: Luxury hotel and vineyard

Designed by: Frank O. Gehry

More:www.marquesderiscal.com.

3. Park Hyatt Tokyo

Photo by wili

This upscale hotel has 178 rooms and a mere 23 suites with views of Yoyogi Park. Designed by Kenzo Tange, who has made many contributions to Tokyo’s skyline, this hotel made a famous appearance in the United States in the film, Lost in Translation.

Where: Tokyo, Japan

What: Luxury hotel with interior design by John Morford

Designed by: Kenzo Tange

More: www.tokyo.park.hyatt.com

4. Wynn Hotel

Photo by kathika

From the outside Wynn is a striped giant, new and sleek in a town that is the definition of over-the-top. As the Wynn P.R. reps are quick to mention, the hotel holds five stars, five diamonds and Michelin seal of approval.

True, it’s not an easy task to obtain all these bells and whistles and most would agree that Wynn is the cream of the crop when it comes to staying in Las Vegas.

Where: Las Vegas, Nevada baby!, USA

What: Luxury hotel and casino

Designed by: DeRuyter O. Butler

More: www.wynnlasvegas.com

5. Phinda Getty House

Unlike most of the hotels listed here, the Phinda Getty is a lodge which architect Nick Plewman attempted to blend into the surrounding environment. The lodge is set on a private game reserve in South Africa looking over grassy landscapes and onto volcanoes in the distance.

Photo by ricoslounge

Where: KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

What: Luxury lodge and reserve

Designed by: Nick Plewman

More: www.phinda.com

6. Inn at Price Tower

Built in 1956, the Price Tower is famous because it’s a Frank Lloyd Wright building. Only recently did interior architect Wendy Evans Joseph turn eight floors of the tower into a 21-room hotel.

The tower is owned by the non-profit group, Price Tower Arts Center.

Where: Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA

What: Hotel of historical significance

Designed by: Frank Lloyd Wright

More: www.pricetower.org

7. The Four Seasons Hotel, NYC

Photo by paulkhor

New York has some of the best hotels around and so it is no small feat that the Four Seasons’ Manhattan Hotel is one of the best in New York City. Pritzker prize winner, architect I.M. Pie is the talent behind this top-of-the-line hotel, which is located on 57th Street in the city’s shopping and financial district.

Where: New York, New York, USA

What: Metropolitan luxury hotel

Designed by: I.M. Pei

More: www.fourseasons.com

8. Shanghai’s St. Regis

Bustling Shanghai has reinvented itself and continues to build as the world looks to China with curious eyes. K. Jeffries Sydness’ Shanghai’s St. Regis Hotel is a fine example of just how chic Shanghai has become.

The hotel’s silvery towers jump up like an exclamation mark, as if to say we’re it and then some!

Where: Shanghai, China

What: Metropolitan luxury hotel

Designed by: K. Jeffries Sydness

More: www.starwoodhotels.com

9. Le Meriden Lingotto

Once a Fiat car factory, this hotel is an example of a popular blend of architecture in Europe which mixes the old with the new. A competition was help to see which architect would bring the old factory into the 21st century, and the winner was Renzo Piano who took on the 800,000 sq. foot factory and transformed it into the successful hotel you see today.

Where: Turin, Italy

What: Design Hotel; old meets new

Designed by: Renzo Piano

More: www.starwoodhotels.com

Spain, land of eternal fiesta and much needed siesta. Eating dinner at 10 and sleeping two hours midday has long been Spanish custom. Every month of the year boasts a festival, or feria, in Spain. Keeping up with these year-round festivities can be exhausting, but it sure is a lot of fun. Here’s a guide to the 5 best.

1. Carnival

In February, Carnival takes over every part of Spain. Carnival is the blow-out party before Lent and Easter. The Canary Islands and Mediterranean are prime places to experience it. Expect a week of parades, costumes, drinking and dancing.

When: Festivities begin in February, 45 days before Easter.

Where: Sitges in Catalonia (a gay tradition) or Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands or Cadiz

What you need: A costume and perseverance: this party lasts all night long.

2. Las Fallas

photo courtesy of viajar24h

People start to get a springtime buzz when March rolls in, and celebration is ceaseless. Las Fallas is a fire festival in Valencia. If you are a pyromaniac, you should be at Las Fallas, no exceptions.

Of course, it’s also interesting for the average person who wants to take his life into his own hands and wander burning streets and amidst whizzing firecrackers. Watch the head!

The good people of Valencia spend the better part of a year building wonderful sculptures made of wood and paper mache, which are giant in size and remarkable in beauty, only to burn them to the ground between the 15th-20th of March. It’s like the Rose Parade bu the floats are staues–some up to 70 feet tall–and everything is torched at the end of the week.

Some say this is the best feria in Spain and is not one to miss.

When: March 15th-20th

Where: Valencia city center

What you need: A lighter to participate in the festivities and a camera to capture the amazing images of el arte en fuego

3. Semana Santa

Right after Las Fallas is Semana Santa, which may be Spain’s most famous feria after San Fermin (The Running of the Bulls) in Pamplona. Semana Santa or Easter Holy Week is celebrated everywhere, but most spectacularly in the south of Spain.

A week-long celebration, Semana Santa involves daily processions depicting the death and resurrection of Christ. This is a religious festival which is a dazzling visual spectacle for believers and non-believers alike.

During Semana Santa, intricate alfombras, or carpets made of flowers, are crafted by locals only to be trampled by thousands of feet during the day’s next procession. Especially in Sevilla, you’ll have a lot more fun if you have a couple Spanish friends whose families get cabanas (where much of the party, music, drinking and dancing unfolds), otherwise you’re just wandering the streets.

photo courtesy of Gaspar

When: March

Where: Andalucia (Granada or Seville)

What you need: A camera and Spanish friends with a cabana.

4. Calçots

So many parties in March will surely make a visitor weary and hungry. Lucky for you, during the entire month of March Catalonia celebrates its Calçots festivals, or Onion-fest.

Calçots are young green onions which the Catalans grill on a barbecue and then dip in a red Romanesco sauce. These slippery but tasty onions are eaten whole, and the experience is both delicious and messy. Calçots can be sampled (usually with a full course lunch) any time in March and early April.

When: March

Where: rural Catalonia

What you need: A bib and an appetite.

5. Sant Joan’s Day

Summer equinox, June 24th, marks Sant Joan’s Day. A pagan holiday, Saint Joan has long been a favorite along the Mediterranean. Today it’s best to visit Barcelona or Menorca for this all-nighter.

In Barcelona the young and old (but mostly the young) head for the beach. This is the only night of the year where it is permitted to sleep on Barcelona’s public beaches. Fires are lit and people sing, dance and drink into the wee hours of the morning.

The city puts on a grandiose fireworks display and citizens create their own pyrotechnic shows in dangerous proximity to passers by. It is a wild party.

In Menorca, the party is a bit more subdued and the focus is more on the horses than fire and beer. Menorca is famous for breeding beautiful horses, and during Sant Joan, Menorcan horses and riders participate in parades and games with villagers gathered from all around the island to watch and cheer them on.

When: The 24th of June

Where: Barcelona or Menorca (Balearic Islands)

What you need: Barcelona: a lighter, a bottle and a guitar. Menorca: A hotel in Ciutadella and a love for cultural traditions.

6. San Fermín (Bonus)

Perhaps the most famous of all ferias in Spain, San Fermín is a week-long party that is both raucous and relentless. You have never seen people party this hard, for this long.

Tens of thousands descend on the sleepy mountain town of Pamplona for this single week and the experience is not for the light-hearted. Prices soar and it’s very difficult to find an affordable place to crash even if you plan ahead, far in advance.

The party is all consuming, with loud music blasting out of every hole-in-the-wall bar, on every street. People drink like there’s no tomorrow and when the sun begins to rise, the cops literally have to kick people off the streets to set up the fences that keep the furious, confused bulls on their course to certain death.

Many sleep in the park but due to the elevation, that can be cold and wet and opportunists lurk. You might be better off wandering the streets until dawn–but don’t drink too heavily if you plan on running. The danger is real and other runners are just as dangerous as the bulls themselves.

Seasoned runners will all tell you the same thing: “look out for number one.” All the danger and party scum aside, 24 hours in Pamplona during San Fermín is something you will never forget.

When: July 7th to July 14th

Where: Pamplona (best reached via train from Madrid)

What you need: A camera, a place to crash, and some tightly-laced Nike running shoes

Community Connection!

Matador is bursting with cool people who are currently living in Spain and/or experts on the nightlife there! If you’re looking for more info on Spanish ferias–or just general advice about partying in the world capital of nightlife, just reach out to the community.

In Madrid, you can count on Abha or Brian–or scan this underground guide to bars and clubs of Madrid. If you’re headed to Barcelona ask Doug, Khobi, or Georgia, what’s going on that weekend. Down south in Andalucia you can reach out to our Seville experts, Jon and Emily.