Who needs a beach? Casa Palopo overlooks Guatemala's Lake Atitlan and its three surrounding volcanoes.
Unsung, unspoiled and with room for only a handful of guests, Casa Palopo overlooks Guatemala's volcano-embellished Lake Atitlan.
Villa interiors match the
vivid colors associated with Guatemalan culture, with handwoven
textiles and brightly painted walls throughout.
Guests are served a
traditional Guatemalan breakfast of black beans, eggs and plantains on
the villas' private terraces, which offer prime views of the lake's
three volcanoes -- Toliman, Atitlan and San Pedro.
There are no TVs here --
all you can hear are the breeze and the birds -- but Wi-Fi is available
to facilitate the endless Instagrammable moments.
Guests can take a boat
from the Casa's private dock to visit the lakeside town of San Juan,
where Mayan women dye and weave traditional textiles.
Explora Patagonia's
Ona Bathhouses have four open-air Jacuzzis with views of Lake Pehoe and
the Cordillera del Paine mountain ridge. 
Mirror Lake Inn, a 125-year-old hotel that's housed Olympic athletes, features wrap-around private balconies. 
Times have changed
since Queen Victoria stayed here in 1838. Hotel Royal Victoria on Lake
Como, Italy, now offers two-person chromotherapy showers and Wi-Fi. 
Guests at the
Moraine Lake Lodge in Canada's Banff National Park enjoy the Rocky
Mountains and glacial blue lake from private balconies. 
Privacy is easy to
come by at the four-room Lake Timara Lodge in New Zealand. Meals are
paired with wine from the lodge's backyard winery or sizable cellar. 
Once home to
Yugoslavian leader Josip Tito, Slovenia's Vila Bled offers views of the
17th-century church on Lake Bled Island. You can stay in Tito's
apartment, now fitted with a massage tub.
Prime perk: The hotel's helipad is available if you want to fly in via chopper, allowing you to get stunning views of the rolling landscape.
Casa Palopo, Carretera a San Antonio Palopo, km 6.8, San Antonio Palopo, Guatemala; +502 7762 2270; from $140 per night
Cozy, 1920's-style rooms overlook Lake Timara, the Richmond Range mountains and a 25-acre garden.
Lake Timara Lodge (Marlborough, New Zealand)
For intimacy it's hard to beat the four-room Lake Timara Lodge, located in New Zealand's premier wine region.
Country-style rooms with
1920s decor overlook the lake, Richmond Range mountains or 25-acre
gardens -- you can pick your preferred vista.
A short walk away, nine varieties of grapes are waiting to be tasted at the 400-acre Spy Valley Winery.
The region's sauvignon blanc is particularly famous.
The chef's menu includes fresh fish from the Marlborough Sounds, lobster, lamb and herbs from the lodge's garden.
Rowboats are available for a lap around the lake and there's a tennis court on the grounds.
Prime perk: Four-course garden-to-table meals are paired with wine from Timara's backyard winery or local vintages from its sizable cellar.
Lake Timara Lodge, Dog Point Road, RD 2, Marlborough, New Zealand; +64 3 572 8276; from $550 per person per night
Moraine Lake Lodge (Banff National Park, Canada)
In-room TVs and phones are a no-go at the Moraine Lake Lodge in Canada's Rocky Mountains, so if you're ready to disconnect and bask in the beauty of Banff, this is the place.
Cabin-chic premier rooms
come with jetted Jacuzzi tubs, wood-burning fireplaces and private
balconies overlooking the piercing glacial blue of Moraine Lake.
Lodge staff leave wood and kindling refills outside your door.
The dining room is known
for being one of Banff National Park's top spots for gourmet food,
offering dishes like fresh elk or buffalo carpaccio with roasted pine
nuts.
Prime perk:
Rates include a lake view breakfast buffet, canoeing and guided hikes
with a resident naturalist -- the Banff Upper Hot Springs are within
easy reach for a soak.
Moraine Lake Lodge, Moraine Lake Road, Alberta, Canada; +1 403 522 3733; Open June 1-September 30; from $500 per night
Mirror Lake Inn offers a taste of luxury in the middle of Lake Placid.
Mirror Lake Inn (Lake Placid, New York)
You can tell a lot about a property by the way it greets its guests.
At the 125-year-old
Mirror Lake Inn -- which housed Olympic athletes who came to the
Adirondack area for the Winter Games in both 1932 and 1980 -- house-made
chocolate chip cookies come with your room key.
Guests enjoy lake views
through floor-to-ceiling windows from private balconies, where the scent
of fresh wood smoke hangs in the air.
Dining is as first-rate as the views.
The Mirror Lake Inn brings in bacon cured at local farms and herbs are picked from the backyard garden.
In summer, canoes, kayaks, paddleboats and rowboats are available from the inn.
In winter, staff can set up a biathlon range (cross-country skiing plus target shooting) lesson for you.
Prime perk:
Former Olympic runs are open for winter guests who want to take a slide
down the bobsled or luge tracks, or ski Whiteface Mountain.
Mirror Lake Inn, 77 Mirror Lake Drive; +1 518 523 2544; from $239 per night
Hotel Royal Victoria (Lake Como, Italy)
If it feels like Hotel
Royal Victoria is fit for a queen, that's because it is -- Queen
Victoria slept in the property's Varenna villa in 1838 and the place was
renamed in her honor.
Rooms have been
modernized to accommodate today's regal traveler, offering perks like a
two-person chromotherapy shower, Wi-Fi and minibar, but the hotel's
19th-century soul remains.
Lakefront suites feature a lounge area, fireplace and balcony with cafe-style table and chairs.
Nearby, Varenna's Castello di Vizio is a medieval castle turned falcon sanctuary.
You can also wander the nearby tiered terrace garden at Villa Cipressi.
Hotel Royal Victoria is
also a stop on the Walking Italian Lakes Tour organized by VBT Bicycling
and Walking Vacations, which will take you to a Coiromonte farm to
savor fresh cheese and to Sacro Monte di Varese, a gorgeous 17th-century
church.
Prime perk: The hotel offers full-day wine excursions to Valtellina, where you can taste wines made from dried Nebbiolo grapes.
Hotel Royal Victoria, Piazza S. Giorgio, 2, Varenna, Italy; +39 0341 815111; from $112 per night
Explora Patagonia (Chile)
If Patagonia is the leader in lakefront landscapes, then Explora in Chile's portion of the Andes is its crown jewel.
Located in the heart of
Torres del Paine National Park, rooms at the all-inclusive Explora lodge
overlook the shores of Lake Pehoe and open up to vistas of the
Cordillera del Paine mountain ridge, or the famed Salto Chico waterfall.
Designed for silence and simplicity, rooms come with Wi-Fi and expansive windows that sub in for TVs.
The lodge's Ona Bathhouses have four open-air Jacuzzis offering views of the lake and mountain peaks.
Meals at the lodge are five-star and fixed to personal tastes, including Chilean wine pairings with meals.
Staff will help you pick
from more than 50 day trips and send you out trekking, hiking or
horseback riding with trained guides through ancient forests, gaucho
territory or the Southern Ice Fields.
Prime perk: There's a heated, covered pool -- swims can be followed with an essential oil massage.
Explora Patagonia, Salto Chico, Chile; + 56 2 2395 2800; from $3,000 for four nights
Vila Bled (Lake Bled, Slovenia)
Once home to former
Yugoslavian leader Marshal Josip Tito, Vila Bled is now a lakeside
hideaway offering some of the best views around Slovenia's iconic Lake
Bled.
The Presidential Suite
(Tito's former apartment) is on the top floor of the villa and has two
bedrooms, a living room and a study, plus two bathrooms and a massage
tub.
Classic rooms also have balconies overlooking the lake and 17th-century church on Lake Bled Island.
The villa's restaurant offers Slovenian and international cuisine.
For lighter fare -- like custard cream cake kremna rezina -- there's Belvedere Cafe, where Tito used to throw tea parties.
Vila Bled has its own private boathouse and lakeside lido for soaking up the sun.
Guests can go canoeing,
rafting or mountaineering in the Julian Alps, or hop in a hot air
balloon for a more panoramic perspective.
Prime perk: With the hotel's "Tell Us How to Pamper You" button, guests can quickly have their needs answered to.
Vila Bled, Cesta svobode 26, Bled, Slovenia; +386 (0) 4 575 37 10; from $219 per night
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