The World's Most 'Hip' Hotels

Someone at the Associated Press has worked overtime in search of trendy sleeps ...

Luxury tent accommodations in Sri Lanka and South Africa made it onto Travel + Leisure magazine's "It List" of coolest hotels around the world.

The "It List," which appears in the June 2006 issue, features 15 hip and high-end hotels that are new or newly renovated, including several opening later this year.

No. 1 on the "It List" is the Four Seasons Tented Camp, Chiang Rai, Thailand, which offers tents with teakwood floors, a spa, and six resident elephants for riding.

Next is The James in Chicago, notable for amenities and minimalist design; The Marataba, in Marakele National Park, Limpopo, South Africa, where guests embark on safaris from their tented suites; the elegant Palacio Duhau-Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, in Argentina; and the villas at Bulgari Bali, in Indonesia, which is the Italian designer Bulgari's first resort.

Sixth and seventh on the list are two newly renovated New York properties: the Gramercy Park Hotel, a storied institution now owned by Ian Schrager, reopening in July, with artist Julian Schnabel designing the interior; and The London, formerly the Rihga Royal, reopening in September on West 54th Street.

European hotels fill the next three spots. The Chateau du Champ de Bataille, Le Neubourg, France, a 17th-century castle designed by the architect of Versailles, will be reincarnated in September as a glamorous palace hotel complete with gardens and open-air operas. Next are Boccadileone Suites, Rome, run by the Ferragamo fashion clan, and Do & Co Hotel, Vienna, which has a Turkish-influenced interior design.

The final five were the Banyan Tree, a collection of villas with gardens and a view of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains in Lijiang, in the southwestern province of Yunnan, China; the W Maldives Fesdu Retreat & Spa on an island in the Maldives; the JIA, a boutique hotel in Shanghai; The Fortress, a sprawling resort in a 2,000-year-old port in Galle, Sri Lanka, 70 miles from Colombo; and the extravagant Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates, Dubai.

For more details, go to www.travelandleisure.com.