Hillside Haven

Ten minutes' drive from Chiang Mai International Airport, in the well-trodden hills of northern Thailand, Baan Saen Doi (House of a Hundred Thousand Hills) has somehow eluded the platinum-card-carrying class. Featuring classic Lanna architecture without, and authentic hill-tribe craftsmanship within, this two-year-old hidden gem comprises just seven suites and four rooms, making it feel less like a hotel and more like the sumptuous home of its Thai owner Wanphen Sakdatorn and her husband, German Honorary Consul Hagen Dirksen.

Tennis courts, a spa, private balconies (taking in palm-fringed mountain views), bathtubs built for two and butler service make for...