A Sense of Place

ICONIC VIEWS FROM THE WORLD'S MOST LUXURIOUS HOTEL SUITES

VICTORIA MATHER

DOGARESSA SUITE, HOTEL CIPRIANI, VENICE

The view through the Gothic windows of the 15th-century Dogaressa Suite is of San Marco, the Palazzo Ducale, the beginning of the Grand Canal, and the church of Santa Maria della Salute. It's like living in a Canaletto painting. Vaporetti (the boats that are Venice's public transport) motor past to the Giudecca and cross to the Zattere. Private water taxis moor at the dock below, bringing guests to eat at Cip's, the restaurant which in summer floats on pontoons. The suite is in the Palazzo Vendramin, the oldest part of the Hotel Cipriani. (Rate: from $5,372.)

GOVERNOR'S SUITE, PARK HYATT SYDNEY ► In the land of Oz, open the curtains in the cool Governor's Suite, and the Sydney Opera House is in your face, its white roofs, shaped like sails, glittering across the water. Stand on one of the suite's six terraces, and Sydney Harbor Bridge arches above. (Rate: from $4,629.)

◄ PENTHOUSE SUITE,

HOTEL HASSLER, ROME

From the seventh-floor terrace of the Penthouse Suite, you can see St. Peter's Basilica, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and the Borghese Gardens. Sunbathe in private, among miniature orange trees, with classical statues for company. Paintings from the schools of Tintoretto and Caravaggio decorate the suite, and the I'rinita dei Monti church is so close you feel you can reach out and touch it. (Rate: from $3,808.)

◄ KOHINOOR SUITE, THE OBEROI AMARVILAS, AGRA

Silver in the moonlight, golden at dawn, pink at sunset, the glowing Taj Mahal sits in perfect view from your bed (it's like tickling a world icon with your toes), your spa room, the tub, and the three private wraparound terraces. Its symmetrical beauty makes one cry. (Rate: from $2,800.)

PRESIDENTIAL SUITE 5101, THE FOUR SEASONS NEW YORK

Architect I. M. Pei came out of retirement to design this suite, running the width of this spectacular building. You can see the Hudson, East River, and Central Park through 10-foot-high floor-to-ceiling windows. In summer, dine outside on the limestone terrace, more than 600 feet above Park Avenue. (Rate: from $15,000.)

BELLE ETOILE SUITE, LE MEURICE, PARIS V All of Paris's greatest hits—the Eiffel Tower, L'Arc de Triomphe, Notre I)ame, the Louvre, the Seine

are visible from the 360-degree wraparound terrace of the Belle Etoile penthouse. A humming limousine waits to whisk you around the city, and a helicopter is on standby for a day's chateau-hopping in the Loire Valley or Formula One training in Burgundy. Le Meurice is the most successfully | restored palace hotel in Paris. The brilliance is that this penthouse used to be servants' tiny hellhole rooms. (Rate: from $11,873.)

◄ PRESIDENTIAL SUITE, INTERCONTINENTAL HONG KONG

Watch boats sail into Victoria Harbor as you swim in your private infinity pool on the rooftop terrace of the 7,000-squarefoot duplex with two-story windows which give an Imax view of the Orient. Below, the Star Ferry chugs between Kowloon and Central. The suite also has its own gym, yoga instructors, and Tai Chi masters on call. A Rolls-Royce Phantom VI collects guests from the airport. (Rate: from $ 10,000.)