Brigitte Bardot

InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut carries the glamour of the city's golden age in its sweeping staircases and Mediterranean-facing rooms. Marlon Brando was among the screen legends hosted here when the Phoenicia stood at the centre of cosmopolitan Beirut.

Copacabana Palace is Rio's enduring beachfront stage, where white-glove service, Atlantic light and the famous pool turn a stay into old-world theatre. The Rolling Stones used it as their base for the monumental 2006 Copacabana Beach concert, crossing to the stage through a purpose-built bridge from the hotel.

Hotel la Ponche keeps Saint-Tropez close and the crowds at a graceful distance. Its intimate rooms, sea-view terraces and softly glamorous dining spaces feel rooted in the old fishing quarter rather than the Riviera spectacle beyond. Days begin almost at the water's edge and evenings settle into candlelit calm—a discreet, storied address shaped by the same bohemian Saint-Tropez world as Brigitte Bardot.