The designer decor is stunning, the safety provisions second to none and there's five nights of dancing with a sophisticated crowd.

While the building dates back to 1135, the designer décor and gamey, inventive roasts (such as venison and wood pigeon) bring this place firmly into 2010.

There are private "safari houses" with designer décors and individual guides, luxury-filled islands at the edge of Victoria Falls and riverfront chalets where you can watch hippos from the comfort of your own sunken tub.

Courtney Love is being evicted from her townhouse in Manhattan's West Village after she allegedly set it on fire and ruined its designer décor.

Sober designer decor, dominated by ochres, creams and buttercup yellows, allows you to concentrate on what emerges from the kitchen, such as tàrtar de anguila fumada, poma verda i caviar d'arengada (smoked eel tartare with green apples and salted sardine caviar).

By comparison, the most sumptuous private lodges along the border of Kruger National Park, in northeastern South Africa, offer Jacuzzis, in-room Internet, exercise rooms, pedicures, designer decor and four-star cuisine - and rent for more than $1,000 a night.

B Map Snug yet loud, a favourite of Madrid's hip young crowd yet utterly unpretentious, La Musa is all about designer decor, lounge music on the sound system and food (breakfast, lunch or dinner) that is always fun and filled with flavour.