Four design-led destinations to inspire autumn getaways

Stockholm’s leafy, low-key new address

Villa Dagmar, Miss Clara, The Grand, Nobis, the inimitable Ett Hem: Stockholm’s hotel scene is dense with good design. You’d not think there was room for another address; yet here is Villa Dahlia, which bills itself as “the first luxury hotel in Vasastan”, a leafy, northerly quadrant of the city. A sister hotel to Villa Dagmar, this Villa overlooks Tegnérlunden park from many of its 103 rooms and suites.

The designers have mixed in some Italian artisanship with all the carefully curated Scandi chic: the lobby has indoor-outdoor seating, and at the “food bar” guests can graze from early morning til midnight while gazing at the park. Look up at the ceiling, covered in murals by Swedish-Iraqi artist and accessories designer Susan Szatmáry, who worked at McQueen and Celine before making Stockholm home. hotelvilladahlia.com, from SEK2,625 (about £195)

Majesty and megafauna in Namibia

Damaraland, in the far north-west corner of Namibia, is one of the more otherworldly landscapes on the African continent. Cracked red earth stippled with colourless grasses rolls for miles, punctuated by sharp peaks scorched black at their summits. It’s severe and incredible, and home to the largest population of desert-adapted black rhino in the country. Ten years ago I travelled to Wilderness’s Desert Rhino Camp here. The point was the megafauna – which we tracked, thrillingly, on foot – but I recall wishing that things at the camp, which had formerly been a research station, were a bit… fresher.

Cut to this summer, and Desert Rhino Camp has been completely redesigned and rebuilt. Beds are huge and white; ditto the chaises longues, for admiring the views. The dining takes place everywhere: in the cool of a canyon, out in the open under the stars. There are just six tents with layered canvas roofs pulled taut overhead; sliding glass doors and diaphanous soft-grey curtains enclose the tents at night, but during the day, there’s nothing between you and the 1.4 million acres of wilderness. wildernessdestinations.com, from $5,860pp

New buzz on the Isle of Wight

The Albion, overlooking Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight, was once a Georgian tap house. The last time the inn could claim a real heyday was during the 1960s, but it’s just undergone a £6mn refurbishment, which its owners hope will bring some of the buzz of old back to this snoozy corner of England.

Almost all of the 40 rooms overlook the sea; the design calls itself “calming Victorian chic”, which might be West Wight shorthand for “Soho House-like”– soft tones, sleek brass-and-crystal light fixtures, pretty custom rugs on pale plank floors and claw-foot bathtubs. The 120-seat restaurant has a wide-ranging menu – chef Adam Wells, who came up in the kitchens of Marco Pierre White and Tom Kerridge, does plenty of seafood, but also twists on Caesar, Caprese and Waldorf salads, vegan burgers and an “Isle of Wight” ragu. And that old tap house is now The Cabin, the hotel’s cocktail bar. albionhotel.co.uk, from £234

Luxe lowcountry living in South Carolina

South Carolina’s Barrier Islands are a twitcher’s paradise, home to some 300 native and migratory species. The landscape isn’t too shabby either, with marshlands and wildflower fields, southern live oaks and huge Atlantic Ocean skies. New to the area is The Dunlin, an Auberge Resorts Collection hotel and the Californian company’s first flag in the southern US. They’ve picked a prime site.

The Dunlin’s clutch of two-storey cottages, strung along the banks of the Kiawah River, hold 72 rooms and suites. Wicker and linen abound; outdoor tubs, wraparound porches and spinning fans are par for the course; panelled walls are painted mint-green, jalousie shutters glossy white: it’s high-style Lowcountry all the way. There are 20 miles of waterfront lined with trails and inlets for kayaking, and beaches on nearby Kiawah Island. Downtown Charleston, with its buzzing restaurant and gallery scenes, is an easy half-hour drive. aubergeresorts.com, from $749 

@mariashollenbarger