Ritz-Carlton, Moscow

Ritz-Carlton Suite, Ritz-Carlton, Moscow; 7-495-225-8888. There are 334 rooms; doubles range from $570 to $1,475. The Ritz-Carlton Suite is $18,223.

Question: Whom do you picture sitting in these Russian Empire–style chairs (besides yourself)? Perhaps Nicholas and Alexandra? Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev? Stalin whispering to Beria? Or even Putin to Medvedev? With the Kremlin in the background, the grandest new hotel in Moscow could serve as a stage for centuries of Russia's incarnations. In fact, the Ritz-Carlton itself is a phoenix built on the site of the Intourist Hotel, the world-renowned Soviet dump demolished in 2002. Tverskaya Street has been reborn, too, emerging as one of the splashiest shopping districts in the world—and, assuming you have any funds left after shelling out for this suite, there's plenty of room in its 2,550 square feet for that new silver samovar or a colossal jug of beluga caviar. Answer: Whoever gets to sit in those chairs will find himself in the heart of Russia, and in the midst of its latest rebirth.