Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff, Johannesburg

What the classifiers highlight

A forested ridge above Johannesburg's northern suburbs, part of one of the world's largest man-made urban forests, holds this Forbes four-star retreat above the treeline. Glass elevators drop guests to View, a restaurant with 240-degree views, while Après-Spa serves as the city's only open-air spa lounge, its treatments built on rooibos, baobab and Kalahari melon.