The decor is unlike anything the city has seen before, infusing a bit of London and New York design via hanging chrome bedside lamps and animal print fabrics into a city proud of its colonial heritage.

BBC: Business trip: Quito

They have included the granting of the National Monument Conservation and Restoration Award, a National Workshop on the 1972 Convention, a travelling photograph exhibit of Cuban spots declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, and the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the declaration of Old Havana and its colonial fortress system as World Heritage Sites.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

Like the Heritage winner, the Colonial champion gets a plaid jacket, though the 2008 Ryder Cup team member wasn't able to compare any differences between them.

NPR: Weekley Wins Colonial, 1st PGA Tour Win In 5 Years

Different cultures from Spain, Latin America and the Philippines met here during the colonial era and created a remarkable cultural heritage.

UNESCO: Culture

Surrounded by 500-year-old fortress walls, the Centro Historico is a Unesco World Heritage Site, with Spanish colonial architecture, internationally branded luxury hotels and obvious traveller appeal.

BBC: A renaissance beyond Cartagena��s historic walls

Salvador was the first colonial capital of Brazil and its central district, Pelourinho, now a UNESCO world heritage site, was the New World's first slave market from 1553, according to UNESCO.

CNN: From Samba to carnival: Brazil's thriving African culture

The capital Willemstad, settled in 1634, is the financial and commercial centre of life on the island, as well as a Unesco World Heritage Site, thanks to its well-preserved, cotton-candy-coloured Dutch Colonial architecture and buildings like the Mikve Israel Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in use in the Western Hemisphere.

BBC: Living in: the ABC islands

Getting Bangkok under my belt would have given me the opportunity to take a shore excursion to Ayutthaya, the ancient Thai capital and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, when we were in Bangkok, and the chance to knock Hanoi (and the Colonial-era Metropole Hotel) off my bucket list.

FORBES: A Luxury Voyage From Singapore To Hong Kong With Crystal Cruises