Cairo

Concierge.com's insider take:

Small by Cairo standards, this 269-room hotel is set one block back from the Nile's west bank, 35 minutes' drive from the Pyramids. Designed to emulate the feel of a luxurious private apartment building, with none of the lobby cacophony typical of Cairo's grand hotels, the Four Seasons has an updated neoclassical elegance. Interiors have crystal chandeliers, inlaid marble floors, and ornate Empire-style furniture; the many amenities include pickup from the airport in a BMW or Mercedes, and a spa where you can gaze at the river while having a foot massage. All rooms come with luxurious bedding, down pillows, and thick terry robes; some have obstructed views of the Nile (the hotel is, unfortunately, behind a twin condo tower occupying the privileged Nile-side position), while others on upper floors look over the green canopy of the Cairo Zoo and the 19th-century botanical gardens to the Pyramids beyond. There are three on-site restaurants—including the chic Lai Thai—as well as the Library Bar for cocktails and a civilized lounge for afternoon tea. The 35 Club, a privately managed restaurant and lounge at the same address (but with a separate entrance), is the city's post–10 pm hot spot for the Westernized elite, thirtysomething politicians, and other Egyptian movers and shakers.