The Empire Brunei

The Empire Brunei began life in the 1990s as accommodation for guests of the royal family before opening to the public in 2000, and the ambition of that origin is written into every surface. The soaring atrium lobby, lined in marble and gold detailing, remains one of Southeast Asia's most theatrical hotel spaces, and the resort spreads from it across landscaped grounds on a headland above the South China Sea at Jerudong, twenty minutes from Bandar Seri Begawan.

Rooms are vast by regional standards, classically furnished with sea or garden outlooks, and the villa wings add private pools for families and delegations. Days revolve around the lagoon-style pools stepping down towards the beach, an indoor pool under a domed pavilion, a cinema, bowling lanes and a Jack Nicklaus-designed championship golf course that ranks among the region's most scenic.

Dining spans Italian, pan-Asian and international rooms, all alcohol-free in keeping with Brunei's laws—an adjustment for some travellers, though the value equation compensates: five-star grandeur here costs a fraction of its equivalent elsewhere. As the country's flagship resort and the natural base for exploring Kampong Ayer, the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque and Ulu Temburong's rainforest, The Empire is Brunei's essential stay.