You don’t have to splurge on an overnight stay to enjoy the world’s most iconic hotels. Here are some bucket list experiences you can have at ten of our favorites, whether or not you live the suite life.

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Drink High Tea at Claridge’s

High tea at Claridge’s

Adjust your fascinator and mind your manners as you settle in for afternoon tea at this famed and elegant London hotel near Hyde Park. The selection of finger sandwiches, warm scones and two-dozen teas will leave you anything but peckish.

Watch the Bellagio Fountain Show

Bellagio Fountains

These days, everyone from Britney to J Lo to Drake has a Vegas residency. But one of the best shows in town isn’t in a concert hall—it’s the spectacle of music, lights and dancing water at the Fountains of Bellagio that happens every 15 to 30 minutes outside the colossal Vegas Strip hotel and casino.

Walk the Red Carpet at the Beverly Hills Hotel

Beverly Hills Hotel

Over the years this posh Los Angeles hotel has played host to a constellation of celebrity couples, from Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton to John Lennon and Yoko Ono. But you need not be an A-list star, or even a guest at all, to strut your stuff on the red carpet that lines the hotel’s entryway. Make lunch reservations for the Polo Lounge, order the West Hollywood Salad and keep an eye out for familiar faces.

Have a Singapore Sling at Raffles

Singapore Sling

When you pull up a stool at Long Bar at Raffles Singapore (reopening mid-2019), don’t bother asking for a drink menu. Do yourself a favor and order the Singapore Sling. A Raffles bartender dreamed up the rose-colored cocktail back in 1915. Today, the concoction of gin, pineapple juice, lime juice, curaçao, Bénédictine, grenadine and cherry liqueur is hailed as the city-state’s signature drink.

Wake and Bake at the Copacabana

Copacabana Palace

Rio’s beachfront legend is nearly 100 years old and no doubt the most iconic hotel in South America. It opens right onto Copacabana Beach, a fabled crescent-shaped stretch of sand which still packs ’em in on hot summer weekends. Grab your bikini or sunga and join the masses for a beach day like no other. The Copacabana also has an excellent pool in case you’re thirsting for a caipirinha.

Enjoy a Slice of Boston Cream Pie at Omni Parker House

Omni Parker House

Have a sweet time in Beantown when you dig into the city’s eponymous confection. As the story goes, around 1855 the hotel chef drizzled chocolate icing onto custard-filled sponge cake… and the rest was history. Today, you can still enjoy Boston cream pie—now the official dessert of Massachusetts—in the hotel’s Parker’s Restaurant. Ask for table 40, where John F. Kennedy reportedly proposed to Jackie.

Marvel at the Art Collection at the Dolder Grand Zurich

Dolder Grand Zurich

This 19th-century castle building is a work of art unto itself, with its Alpine views and world-class spa. Add to that the hotel’s art collection that includes pieces by pop artist Andy Warhol, sculptor Henry Moore and Salvador Dalí, and you’re in for an experience that’s downright surreal.

Live Like Eloise at the Plaza Hotel

Eloise Suite at the Plaza Hotel

Delight the kids in your life—or your own inner child—when you live out Kay Thompson’s classic book series about a mischievous 6-year-old who calls the haute Plaza Hotel in Manhattan her home. Attend a Rawther Fancy Tea Party at the Palm Court, buy a souvenir in the Eloise Shop and tag @ThePlazaEloise on Instagram. For big spenders, there’s even a Betsey Johnson-decorated Eloise Suite decked out with the character’s dolls, books and pink everything.

Have a Sazerac at the Roosevelt New Orleans

Sazerac

What’s a trip to the Crescent City without a sip of its signature cocktail? In addition to being the birthplace of jazz, N’awlins gets credit for the Sazerac, which was born at Antoine Amédée Peychaud’s pharmacy on Royal Street in the 1830s. Taste why the combination of Sazerac Rye, Peychaud’s bitters, sugar and Herbsaint still works when you visit the Roosevelt hotel’s upscale Sazerac Bar.

Take a Selfie in Front of the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac

Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac

This castle-like hotel overlooking the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec City can be seen from miles away and is believed to be the most photographed hotel in the world. Whether you snap a pic from afar or you stay overnight at the hotel—joining the ranks of Charles de Gaulle, Queen Elizabeth, Charles Lindbergh and Celine Dion—your social media post will be très chic.

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Dalia Colón

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