HERBERT YPMA

The Orient has held sway over the Western imagination since the days of Marco Polo and Genghis Khan. And that remains true in the 21st century, even if the world east of Istanbul is today a very different place, where potent symbols of age-old cultures exist alongside bold expressions of modernity and futuristic style. These are some of the most extraordinary Hip Hotels yet. Live like a maharaja - with a maharaja - in the Umed Bhawan Palace in Rajasthan, a splendid art deco fantasy designed between 1929 and 1932. Or relax in a guest villa of King Sihanouk, now the setting for Cambodia's ...

"Hip Hotels Beach" highlights forty hotels on the shores of six continents, each one harmonizing the best of international design with a deep sympathy for local tradition, landscape and ecology. Destinations include Broome, Western Australia (former pearldiving capital of the world), the dramatic volcanic Greek island of Santorini, and a luxury ecological reserve on Mexico''s Pacific Coast. It''s not all Robinson Crusoe-style minimalism: Hi Hotel in Nice, France , is shaped by up-and-coming design star Matali Crasset.

For "Hip Hotels: USA", Herbert Ypma has taken to the road, travelling the length and breadth of that vast land in search of Highly Individual Places to stay. Every HIP hotel has its own unique character. It is timelessly stylish, it is attuned to its location in design, ethos and cuisine, and it achieves that subtle balance between attentiveness and discretion that marks the best of modern service. The natural magnificence of the US is stupendous. Many of these hotels invite you to immerse yourself in wilderness. Restore your perspective in a spectacular private treehouse 50 feet up a giant cedar in the heart of Mount Rainier National Park, or come back to earth in your own lakeside cabin in Wisconsin designed by a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright. Experience Old World gentility in the Renaissance palazzo of Wheatleigh, amid the steeples and clapboard farmhouses of New England, where an immaculate makeover has restored the grace and understated privilege of the world of Edith Wharton (but added all the discreet modern luxuries you might mention).Or live out your Rat Pack fantasies as you lounge poolside with a cocktail surrounded by mid-century modern classics - furniture by Bertoia, Eames, Saarinen - in an authentic 1950s motel in Palm Springs.

This volume features eight spectacular residential properties designed by the hugely influential interior and furniture designer Christian Liaigre. It includes over 500 photographs of Liaige interiors and an illustrated guide to Liaigre''s furniture designs.

For this latest addition to the "HIP Hotels" series, Herbert Ypma has journeyed almost 4,000 miles in search of that special combination of authenticity and style that defines a HIP Hotel. His travels have taken him beyond the big cities and deep into the famously lush and beautiful British countryside, which boasts an exciting range of contemporary, hedonistic hotels and retreats. With a fresh look but all the style and vision that have made "HIP Hotels" a travel publishing phenomenon, this new volume is guaranteed to appeal to "HIP Hotels" devotees everywhere.

"Hip Hotels Paris" is one of two special "Hip Hotels" editions publishing this spring, the first book in the series to focus uniquely on cities. In a smaller, more easily portable format than usual, these beautifully designed and lavishly produced books offer up a breathtaking selection of destination hotels. Whatever your taste, whatever your budget, and whether you are travelling for business or pleasure, "Hip Hotels" will never fail to inspire.

These easily portable, beautifully designed and lavishly produced books offer up the usual enticing selection of destinations, whether you are after a funky boutique hotel in a vibrant, up-and-coming area or a quietly luxurious stay in a well-heeled arrondissement. Whatever your taste, whatever your budget, and whether you are travelling for business or pleasure, these stylish books will never fail to inspire and are sure to become collectors items.