Five urban garden hotels

Hotel de Russie, Rome

This occupies one of Rome's most beguilingly verdant spots, in the Villa Borghese estate. Russian aristocrats gave the place its name in the 19th century. These days it attracts an international crowd who still have to book ahead for dinner or a prosecco on the terrace, surrounded by palm, pine, cypress, magnolia, lemon and orange trees. A stroll around the grounds (don't miss the WWF-created Butterfly Oasis) is feast enough for the eyes, though.

Hotel de Russie, Via del Barbuino 9, Rome, Italy (00 39 06 32 88 81; www.hotelderussie.it). Doubles start at €480 (£400), including breakfast.

Hotel New Otani, Tokyo

This is not so much a garden as a leafy suburb of Tokyo. Within its 10 acres are stone gardens, waterfalls, bamboo groves, a 13-storey pagoda and carp ponds. These 400-year old gardens belonged to a feudal lord and some of the trees date back almost that far. Expect sculptural treasures such as the red Akadama stones, brought from Sado Island – the largest weighing a hefty 22 tons.

Hotel New Otani, 4-1 Kioi-Cho, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, Japan (00 81 3 3265 1111; www.newotani.co.jp). Doubles start at Y32,510 (£168), room only.

Hotel Le Bristol, Paris

The largest hotel garden in Paris covers almost an acre of its priciest arrondissement, the eighth. Children can gleefully explore the grounds' azaleas, magnolias, and rhododendrons on a hunt for garden tools belonging to Hippolyte, the rabbit mascot named after the hotel's founder.

Hotel le Bristol, 112 Faubourg St-Honore, Paris 8e, France (00 33 1 53 43 43 25; www.lebristolparis.com). Doubles from €733 (£610), room only.

Gramercy Park Hotel, New York

The designer Ian Schrager updated every inch of this hotel, from the interior to the roof garden, whose retractable roof brings you nose to nose with the Chrysler Building. Guests may access the private park below of the same name.

Gramercy Park Hotel, 2 Lexington Avenue, New York, US (001 212 920 3300; www.gramercyparkhotel.com). Doubles start at $706 (£404), room only.

Pestana Palace, Lisbon

Madonna allegedly decamped to the Pestana from the landmark Lapa Palace Hotel on hearing it was more splendid. This villa, built in the early 1900s by a cocoa mogul, has some of the nation's best Romantic Revival architecture. In the gardens, which are a national monument, the flamboyance continues: the pool looks like a grotto dreamt up by Neptune.

Pestana Palace Hotel, 54 Rua Jau, Lisbon, Portugal (00 351 21 361 56 00; www.pestana.com). Doubles start at €193 (£161), including breakfast.

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