Mandarin Oriental

Somerset Maugham nearly died of malaria here in 1923 — and overheard the manager fretting that a guest dying on the premises would hurt business. He recovered, forgave, and wrote the hotel into legend. Its Authors' Wing suites now bear his name, Conrad's and Coward's.

Joseph Conrad stayed here in 1888 as an unknown 30-year-old ship's captain waiting for his first command. The hotel was six years old; neither it nor the sailor knew they'd both become classics.