1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, New York

Over the past decade, landscaped green spaces and piers have transformed a two-kilometre stretch of post-industrial waterfront into one of Brooklyn’s most appealing destinations, attracting gourmet food trucks, art installations and day trippers. But why rush back to Manhattan when you can stay and admire it from 1 Hotel? The eco-friendly urban retreat opened in 2017 with floor-to-ceiling windows that reveal a sweeping panorama of skyscrapers, Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty, while ferries make the two-minute ride to and from Wall Street. There’s also a rooftop bar with garden and pool, and a seven-metre-high green wall in the lobby lounge. Architect Jonathan Marvel designed the hotel to bring the outdoors in, using reclaimed natural materials such as heart-pine beams from the borough’s former Domino Sugar Factory. Rooms feature pieces by local furniture makers and glassblowers, along with eco touches like filtered water and organic bedding. (If that sounds serene, wait until you try the hammocks strung up in certain suites.) The hotel also operates entirely on wind power and uses a rainwater reclamation system to irrigate Brooklyn Bridge Park. –Kate Appleton

The Silo, Cape Town

Turning a century-old grain silo into Africa’s preeminent contemporary art museum and boutique hotel was no easy task, but the mission was accomplished with great panache. The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa occupies the grain silos while hotelier Liz Biden’s 28-suite luxury boutique hotel is next door in the old machinery tower. Chief among the hotel’s seductions are architect Thomas Heatherwick’s much-lauded floor-to-ceiling faceted bay windows, furnishing views of Table Mountain, the bay and the working harbour. Elsewhere, the hotel trades in strong colours, Biden’s quirky personal art collection and rooftop spaces for sundowners, meals and swimming. Choose one of the deluxe superior suites for corner office grandeur and a bath with arguably one of the world’s most astonishing views. –Mark Jones