The Sandhya

The pool is a repurposed shipping container, which tells you everything about the sensibility here. This nine-room boutique hotel on Kabalana Beach runs mid-century modern inside, with polished concrete floors, bespoke furnishings, and floor-to-ceiling glass framing the Indian Ocean. Every room opens onto a private balcony, and the suites add free-standing soaking tubs. The lounge at sunset, when the Sanskrit name "twilight" starts to make perfect sense, fills with people who planned ahead.

One honor, in evidence: