Oprah Winfrey

Ellerman House feels less like a hotel than a private Cape Town mansion suspended above the Atlantic, filled with South African art and guarded seclusion. Oprah Winfrey has called it one of her favourite hotels anywhere in the world.

Cape Grace sits on its own quay at Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, pairing marina calm with Table Mountain views and deeply personal service. Oprah Winfrey chose the five-star landmark for a Cape Town stay, joining a guestbook rich in film and political history.

Oprah Winfrey stayed in the Sultan Suite at Çırağan Palace Kempinski, joining a guest history that also includes Bono and other major performers. An Ottoman palace on the Bosphorus hardly needs borrowed glamour, but those arrivals add a modern celebrity layer. Waterside terraces, palace rooms and the sweep of the strait make the hotel feel built for entrances that deserve an audience.