| Mary Gostelow looks at hotels for more intimate business meetings  >> Quintessence, at Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, has a wine bar that is ideal for meetings. Break sessions can include lake tours in the 1910-vintage mahogany Layare launch, or adrenaline-demanding laps on the 15-curve Circuit Mont-Tremblant, where the first race, in 1965, was won by John Surtees.
www.hotelquintessence.com
>> Take over the eight-bedroom Willows Historic Palm Springs Inn and enjoy the retro chic of the Palm Springs area. Built in 1924, the hotel features rooms named for former regular guests such as Einstein, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, and Marion Davies.
www.thewillowspalmsprings.com  >>One of the 80 m2 Spa Suites at Las Ventanas al Paraiso, Los Cabos, gives total privacy, plus in-suite spa facilities useful to aiding creative thinking.
www.lasventanas.com
>>The 120 m2 Presidential Suite of the Westcliff Hotel overlooks the elephant house of Johannesburg Zoo and, in the distance, the Magaliesberg range. Work, enjoy the pool and spa, and have a customized tasting of Cape vintages.
www.westcliff.co.za >> Twelve can meet in style at Mahua Kothi in Madhya Pradesh, central India. Each guest has a designer villa complete with high-speed connectivity and fabulous Indian food. At sunrise and sundown you can break for memorable guided tiger-spotting safaris.
www.tajsafaris.com  >> In Shanghai, the lower floor of the Cupola atop the Three on the Bund complex seats eight. Surrounded by lapis lazuli and Murano tiles, you have sensational views of the historic Bund and across Huangpu River to Pudong.
www.threeonthebund.com
>> Malmaison Oxford is a conversion of Oxford Prison, in use until 1990. The two-floor Thomas Lowton Robins suite, named for the 1837–1852 governor, even has a small screening room.
www.malmaison-oxford.com  >> The Byron at Byron Resort and Spa, 40 minutes’ flight north of Sydney, offers cutting-edge technology in the middle of the rainforest and five nearby beaches with what is arguably Australia’s best surfing. A 27 m2 room in the Conference Centre will host your bijou group.
www.thebyronatbyron.com.au
>> For up to 25 participants, charter one of the two Bora Bora ships, Tu Moana and Ti’a Moana, and work at sea as you explore French Polynesia. There are daily island visits and beach landings for team-building games of volleyball.
www.boraboracruises.com Ritz-Carlton Moscow, Russia
www.ritzcarlton.com
+7 495 225 8888  You can be sure that Red
Square has shaken off its turbulent history when the Ritz-Carlton Moscow moves around the corner. Due to open this summer, the 334-room hotel will offer contemporary style and impeccable service just a short stroll from the famous Bolshoi Theatre, the Kremlin and other historical and cultural feasts. The guestrooms and suites, among the largest in the city, will be decked out in cherry wood with marble bathrooms cut from the dramatic Altai mountain range in western Siberia. Many will have panoramic views of Red Square, a World Heritage site. Whether in Moscow for business or pleasure, end your day with a tailored bath drawn by your bath butler before dinner with a regional twist in three-Michelin-starred chef Heinz Winkler’s Jeroboam restaurant. Pädaste Manor, Estonia
www.padaste.ee
+372 (00)454 8800 Forget the hectic crowds of the  Mediterranean and escape to the lovingly restored 16th-century seaside manor house of Pädaste Manor on Muhu Island in Estonia. Here everything begins with a welcome glass of sparkling wine and the soothing sound of the Baltic Sea beating a gentle rhythm against the shore. Embark on a guided hunting expedition for wild boar, elk or duck – all natural inhabitants of the island – or pack a picnic lunch and explore the orchards and juniper forests on horseback. Alternatively, indulge your senses at the seawater hot tub overlooking the bay, where the healing water is heated by a wood-burning oven to the perfect temperature, then tantalise your taste buds at the Seahouse restaurant with succulent dishes including ostrich salad and moose carpaccio. This is a hotel that will exceed your expectations.
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