Whisper it – the world is almost your oyster again. With transatlantic travel soaring back in to view, we've been busy diving for pearls. Among this month's lustrous arrivals is a Maldivian hotel with a chiselled face and a green soul, an Americana-steeped stay on California's picturesque Route 166, and a 300-year-old inn in London's Hampstead that serves food so good the locals are in a table-nabbing frenzy. Time to start spinning that globe…

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PATINA MALDIVES

Breaking the mould of the Maldivian resort, eco-friendly stay Patina Maldives is built in the style of Brazilian modernism, channeling its pleasing geometrics and green-minded ideals. The covetable villas have serene living areas, swoon-worthy furnishings and floor-to ceiling windows that slide open to the sea air. The looks alone should have you feeling weightless, but if not, the beach club or spa’s sensory deprivation tanks will do the trick. Oh, and did we mention there’s 12 dining options to choose from?

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ANANTARA AL BALEED RESORT SALALAH, OMAN

This Arabian Sea-skirting hotel is in Salalah, a port city in southern Oman known for its frankincense trees and summer monsoon. For most hotels rain is a dirty word, but here the khareef is a major selling point, adding a verdant fuzz to the landscape between July and September. Spend your days rotating between the Asian-inspired restaurants, spoling spa and wonderfully warm sea, where you can spot dolphins and turtles. For something really wild, ask the concierge to arrange a camping trip in the Empty Quarter, the world’s largest sand desert.

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CUYAMA BUCKHORN, CALIFORNIA

Made-over motel Cuyama Buckhorn skirts Highway 166 as it passes through New Cuyama, a pretty pocket of California with a population of just 550. In business since the Fifties, this roadside stay has been at the centre of the community for decades, loved by touring bikers and local ranchers alike. The refurbished rooms are decked with vintage furniture, cowboy hats and other Americana, and the diner serves all-American classics and painterly views of the Caliente mountain range.

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70 HECTARES ET L'OCÉAN, AQUITANE

A hit with outdoorsy types, 70 Hectares et l’Océan rubs shoulders with an old-growth forest on one side and some of Aquitaine's best sandy beaches on the other. In keeping with its leafy surroundings, the hotel is an ode to woods, from its moss-green facade to the timber panelling in the forest-facing rooms. Top surfing destination Hossegor is just down the road and you can hire e-bikes to breeze over pine-flanked trails.

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THE BULL & LAST, LONDON

Historic inn the Bull & Last has kept Hampstead locals wined and dined for more than 300 years. On the ground floor, there’s an oak-panelled pub that deserves the ‘gastro’ prefix and then some. Tables here go like hot cakes and for good reason – the kitchen is helmed by an ex-Corrigan’s chef and turns out dishes made with top-tier produce that changes daily. Upstairs, the six rooms pay tribute to some of Hampstead’s famous residents, including John Keats and Dido Belle, heiress of nearby Kenwood House.

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PORT HOTEL, EASTBOURNE

Painted head to toe in black instead of seaside white, Eastbourne’s Port Hotel was never meant to blend in. Instead, this transfigured townhouse is leading a revolution, bringing a burst of contemporary design and culinary adventurism to the sleepy seaside town. Designer Imraan Ismail was enlisted to rework the rooms, which riff off Eric Ravilious’ South Downs watercolours, borrowing their sunset pinks and lichen greens. In the restaurant, fish and chips has been deposed by enticing small plates and vibrant Sussex wines.

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