Freixo Palace Hotel, Porto, Portugal
pousadas.pt
This Porto-side palace, once home to a baron, was created in 1742 by an Italian architect and stands testament to Classical mastery. Now a national monument, it has a grand salon lined with antique wood, a hall of mirrors and Italianate garden. On the banks of the Douroit, it has an outdoor pool (there's also a spa with an indoor pool). Doubles from €153.

Hotel del Casco, Buenos Aires, Argentina
hoteldelcasco.com.ar
A summer palace built in 1892, this
renovated hotel provides a Neoclasssical welcome through an Ionic colonnade and wrought-iron gates. Inside is a mosaic- floored courtyard heavenly lit by a stained-glass ceiling. The timeless elegance continues with gilt-framed mirrors, free-standing baths, paintings and tapesteries. Doubles from $175 (€131.50).

Consolación, Teruel, Spain
consolacion.com.es
You'd think you were alone in your cliff-edge Kube with a glass wall and balcony offering building-free views in this remote – but Camino-side – part of Spain. The facilities are naturally people-pleasing with rain-showers, real fires, a library, hi-tech "playroom" and baths sunken into black slate floors. The swimming pool is also hewn from rock. Doubles from €135.