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Los Angeles interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard's hotel renovations tend to follow a pattern - or, rather, dazzling patterns, created by bold colors and Moroccan-influenced textiles and tiles. After reviving the Colony Palms Hotel in Palm Springs and the Hotel Californian in Santa Barbara, the celebrity designer has put a rosy bloom on another formerly dated desert inn and created Indian Wells' first boutique hotel. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Santa Barbara's ubiquitous Spanish Colonial architecture and Southern California beach scene, not to mention celebrity residents, can give it the feel of a Hollywood back lot. Spending a day exploring the deep roots and modern blossoms of its often-overlooked Chumash history provides both a dose of Native American reality and insights into "Island of the Blue Dolphins," as cinematic a tale as there ever was. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall - those are the marching orders of a typical Beijing itinerary. But before reconnoitering the Terracotta Army in Xi'an, plot a day exploring more contemporary art in the Chinese capital. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An avid collector and dealer in Japanese ukiyo-e prints, architect Frank Lloyd Wright also practiced his own art in Japan, winning acclaim and disciples with the debut of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo in 1923. Although the hotel was rebuilt in the 1960s, several sites remain where visitors can explore Wright's intertwining of Japanese aesthetics and materials with his organic, open-floor designs and attention to details. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Thanks to the Beatles, thousands of visitors head to Liverpool every year to visit Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, the Cavern Club and other landmarks tied to the Fab Four. Less well-known is the city's claim to more museums and galleries than any other in the United Kingdom, outside of London. Create your own magical mystery tour by exploring a few of the most distinctive exhibition halls and the beautifully renewed civic spaces between them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In what may sound like a scenario from a Dan Brown novel, the German Templar Society built housing and a school for its community in western Jerusalem in the late 19th century. This summer, after years of restoration, two of its buildings and a new main structure opened as the Orient Jerusalem, an opulent hotel that reflects East and West as much as past and present. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Typically, you can find it in the local grocery store. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

"Out of sight, out of mind" may seem an odd way to describe two 33-story towers of rosy limestone and glass, but since its opening in 1990, Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki & Golf Club kept a low profile among mainland visitors. That's in part because of its location at Waikiki's western end, and in part because it was marketed mostly in Japan. But thanks to a recent $55 million renovation, the renamed Prince Waikiki has broadened its appeal, celebrating both its waterfront location and Hawaiian roots through beautiful new public spaces and guestrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

New walking tours in some of the United Kingdom's capital cities are spicing up the nation's reputation for forgettable cuisine, while serving a side of cultural history. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Play word association with "Manchester" and most likely "United" follows, thanks to the world-renowned soccer team of Northern England's hub (and much to the dismay of its crosstown rival, Manchester City). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Of the 26 newly designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites, England's Lake District may have produced the most literature - at least in English. Renowned as an oasis of inspiration for William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Beatrix Potter, these days the popular district encompasses a national park, quaint stone villages and a network of boats, buses and steam trains that shuttle around more than a dozen hill-ringed lakes. Here's one way to spend a day taking a literary look at the Lake District. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Ferragamo family may have gained fame through Salvatore's shoes, but since 1995 it has also catered to well-heeled travelers: Its Lungarno Collection numbers seven luxury hotels in Italy and a fleet of yachts in Europe and the Caribbean. Florence's Arno River inspired the redesign of flagship Hotel Lungarno, which reopened in June after a six-month renovation that led to fewer rooms but greater views of the water and the picturesque city. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

If George and Amal Clooney didn't already have a home in Italy's Lake Como district, the ultra-luxurious Il Sereno Lago di Como could provide them a suitable "babymoon" retreat. Now open for its first full summer season, the 30-suite resort is also welcoming a new addition: the Spa at Il Sereno, featuring Swiss skincare treatments and lake views. Other amenities include Berton Al Lago, the indoor-outdoor restaurant created by Michelin-starred chef Andrea Berton; and custom-built boats that allow celebrities and non-celebrities alike to arrive in style at the private dock. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Forget cactuses and Kokopelli - Found:Re Phoenix, a 105-room hotel that opened downtown late last year, forgoes typical Southwestern imagery for a riot of bold artwork amid industrial-style design. Taking its cue from the numerous galleries of nearby Roosevelt Row, this transformation of a long-shuttered '70s hotel celebrates the work of local contemporary artists throughout its public and private spaces. Some of the art's quite cheeky - witness the mural of a blond, bewigged Burt Reynolds in his 1972 "Playgirl" centerfold pose, hovering above the front desk - but it suits the playful spirit of the recently revitalized area. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Normally "down-sized" doesn't correlate with "palatial," but in the case of the Peninsula Beijing, reducing its 525 rooms by nearly half has helped create the largest standard hotel lodgings in the Chinese capital. The recent $123 million renovation has also transformed public areas in the former Palace Hotel, which opened in 1989 and joined the Peninsula brand in 2006. The redesigned hotel showcases the Middle Kingdom's cultural riches, from Imperial-inspired architecture to bold works by contemporary artists. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The two newest nationally managed preserves in Hawaii - one now the largest protected area in the world - are also the least accessible. But thanks to off-site exhibitions, visitors can still explore the endangered treasures of a vast ecosystem and a dark, little-discussed chapter of World War II. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Shaded by ironwood trees rustling in the trade wind, I tread briskly along the pebbly coastal path, keeping my eye out for green sea turtles bobbing near wave-lapped rocks. A bent heliotrope branch jutting over the water provides a tempting natural bench to get a closer look. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Germany: The annual Wagner Bayreuth Festival may have ended, but the expanded Richard Wagner Museum, which debuted in July, is open year round. Among other new exhibitions, the Siegfried House explores in detail for the first time the Wagner family's relationship with Hitler. www.wagnermuseum.de [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Billionaire Larry Ellison may have made headlines in June when he picked up virtually the entire island of Lanai for pocket change of $500 million to $600 million, but he's far from the first Bay Area tycoon to add a piece of Hawaii to his portfolio. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

"Pick your battles" is sound advice. "Pick your battleships," even better. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]