For travelling alone on purpose.

Hotels are built for couples and families. The solo traveller is treated, in most properties, as a billing irregularity. The hotels in this list are different. They are built around the assumption that the most interesting guest in the room may be sitting alone at the bar with a book, and they are built to make that experience excellent.

What you want from a solo retreat: a single room that does not feel like a discount, a bar with seats at the bar (not just tables), a pool you can swim laps in, and a concierge who takes you seriously. That is harder to find than it should be. The hotels below find it.