Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong

A 16-story glass atrium anchors this luxury hotel in Pacific Place, and inside it hangs a 167-foot silk painting called "The Great Motherland of China," which puts the lobby art at most hotels to shame. Rooms run large, with full-length harbor views, crystal chandeliers, and lacquered furniture that somehow doesn't clash with the bedside panel running everything. Seven restaurants mean you may never leave the building, which in Hong Kong summers, with the outdoor pool waiting, feels less like a failure and more like a plan.