Playa Vik Jose Ignacio

The centerpiece of this small luxury resort on the Uruguayan coast is a cantilevered titanium-and-glass structure called the Sculpture, housing art-filled suites with shared living and dining space. The rest of the property follows in the same spirit: modernist stone-and-concrete residences where retractable windows open the rooms to the sea. The vibe, improbably, reads less like a hotel than a very wealthy friend's beach house, which is either charming or unsettling, depending on how you feel about that.

One honor, in evidence: