Mexico

Mexico's hotel landscape runs from converted colonial haciendas in the Yucatán to concrete brutalist retreats above the Pacific, and the country has a stronger design culture than almost anywhere else in the Americas. Oaxaca and San Miguel de Allende are known for small houses with courtyards and mezcal lists; Tulum and the Riviera Maya for beachfront rooms and adults only properties; Los Cabos for large resorts with private pools and golf. Families gravitate to the Caribbean coast, while quiet seekers head for the Pacific bays around Puerto Escondido and Careyes.

The dry season from November to April is the most comfortable; summer brings heat and afternoon rain, and September is hurricane month on both coasts. Insiders skip the all inclusive belt of Cancún, book the hacienda country inland from Mérida, and treat Mexico City as a destination in its own right, with some of the best independent hotels in the hemisphere.