Once they were called "boutique" hotels. Now the most covetable adjective a hotel can achieve is "hip" - thanks largely to Herbert Ypma's Hip Hotels series, the latest one being highlighted in this issue.
While not all the hotels below would meet his criteria, they all try very hard. Don't forget to visit timeout.com and cntraveller.co.uk - both reliable arbiters of chic accommodation - which frequently link to the homepages of the hotels they recommend.
W is the boutique offshoot of Starwood Hotels, and perhaps tries a little harder than a British clientele might like. ("W... for warm, wonderful, witty, wired"). The US chain has five New York branches, two each in Chicago and New Orleans, and more on the West Coast and in Sydney. W beds are reputedly exceptionally comfortable.
Good selection of hotels by arrondissement. Use it in conjunction with Pariserve Hotel.
Ian Schrager is credited with inventing the boutique hotel. His site is not quite so innovative, although a new version is promised soon. In the meantime, you can admire photos of the Sanderson in London, the Mondrian in LA, the Hudson in New York, the Clift in San Francisco and the Delano in Miami to the strains of a trance soundtrack.
While the Relais du Silence group is not self-consciously modern, its founding philosophy - which dates from 1968 - emphasises many of the same qualities as contemporary hotels do: tranquillity, excellent food, and attractive buildings. All are in Europe.
Pretentious directory of "gems" around the world. Dreadful prose.
A collection of 280 small luxury hotels, favouring the rural and well-established over the young and urban.
A useful selection of European hotels chosen for their small size, private ownership and quality of service.
The Hotel Hotlist here is excellent, but fuller listings are hidden deeper in the site - click on Hotels at the top of the page. Choices are based on editors' and readers' recommendations and hotels do not pay to be included. This week's best site.
Charming Italy is part of a network of Charming sites (londonby.com and parisby.com are two of them). There are plenty of wonderful photographs, with a tendency towards the rural and the luxurious rather than the chic.
Recommended for the hip and moneyed Alpine skier.
Extraordinarily luxurious Far Eastern spas and hotels. Amanhotels.com has more of the same ilk.
Finally, if you're planning to visit Washington DC, the Tabard Inn is highly recommended; all the rooms can be inspected online, and each is furnished in a different style. It is the very model of a modern hotel website.
