This 58-room architectural landmark in downtown San Juan opened as a Carmelite convent in 1651, and became a hotel 310 years later, soon attracting the likes of Rita Hayworth and George Hamilton. Extensive renovations in the past decade have re-established it as the classiest hotel in Puerto Rico, and from the tiled lobby and lush interior courtyard lit with the glow of wrought-iron lamps, to the sumptuous tiled bedrooms with marble baths and antique furnishings, it has lost none of the status and grandeur King Phillip IV of Spain intended when he commissioned it in 1646.

For more information: Hotel El Convento

Set on the banks of the Ara River in the rolling hills outside Boltana, capital of Huesca, in northeast Spain, this multi-winged stone and tile building was originally established for an Order of Decalced Carmelites—barefoot monks—in the mid 1600s. Abandoned in the 1860s, it functioned as a sanitarium for most of the 20th century before its current incarnation as a business-friendly resort hotel. Most of the original architecture—exposed brick, vaulted ceilings, stone tunnels—remains, as does an operating church on the grounds, but a spa, terrace swimming pool and 154 modern rooms and villa suites have been added. The highlight is Marbore, a gourmet restaurant lit with ostrich-egg ceiling lamps that serves a regional delicacy: Truffled eggs. Remember to bring your shoes.

For more information: Monasterio de Boltana

A seaside Franciscan monastery built in 1200 is the unlikely setting of the Grand Hotel Portovenere in the historic UNESCO-listed village of that name on the eastern tip of the Italian Riviera. Renovated in 1994, most of the 44 rooms and 10 suites of the hotel overlook ancient cobbled streets of the town, and the fishing boats, yachts and islands of a glistening bay. Breakfasts are served on a sea-view terrace restaurant, and the original dining room of the ancient monastery is now the gourmet seafood restaurant Al Convento.

For more information: Grand Hotel Portovenere

With its cliff-side location, ocean views, landscaped courtyards, gardens of pines and firs, and soaring vision of Mount Etna in the distance, even the most secular guests at this monastery (built in 1430) turned hotel might be inspired to a belief in God. Established as a hotel in 1896 by the descendants of the monastery's founder, the monastic ethos remains in images of saints on the walls, original sacristy, choir stall and cloisters, all enhanced by discreet Old World service. The 105 rooms with soaring ceilings and gilt walls are split between the Monastery wing and the newer Grand Hotel wing.

For more information: San Domenico Palace Hotel

In the heart of historic Cuzco, at 11,000 feet in the Andes, the elegant Hotel Monasterio was originally the San Antonio Abad seminary for Jesuit monks—built in 1592 on the foundations of an Inca ruin. Now part of the Orient Express Hotels group, much of the original layout remains, from a lantern-lit garden courtyard to 126 rooms with city and mountain views. Walls are decorated with religious art and tapestries that channel Spanish colonial and ancient Cuzco styles. Don't miss dinner in romantic Illariy Restaurant, adjacent to the courtyard, decorated with paintings from the original Cuzco seminary.

For more information: Hotel Monasterio

Golf, spas and whirlpool baths—things have come a long way since Sister Marie Saint Agnes and 33 novice nuns from the Order of Notre Dame moved into Ashdown Park, Sussex, in 1919. While the original mansion on the estate dates from 1815, most of the buildings guests see today originate form the 1920s, with the East and West Wings and its Church of Our Lady built to order by the Order using quarry stone and Italian marble. Converted into a hotel and Country Club in 1991, the monastic feel is replicated in the hushed corridors of each residential wing, the still-operating church, and of course the Country Club, where privileged guests and members can swim, play golf or get pampering facials and massage treatments in a spa fittingly described as "heavenly."

For more information: Ashdown Park Hotel and Country Club

Declared a national monument in 1907, this architectural treasure built by the Order of San Benito monks in the 12th century could easily be a museum. Instead, lucky guests in 53 twin, nine double, and two single rooms have satellite TV, mini-bars, four-poster beds and views of the Sella River winding through the foothills of the Picos de Europa. The beauty and isolation—there's no other building in site—reflects the solitude those first monks were seeking, but when you've had enough of that, you can explore the surrounding villages, museums and folk festivals of the wider Asturias region.

For more information: Parador de Cangas de Onis

Comprising five historic buildings in the heart of Prague, near the beautiful Wallenstein Gardens, The Rocco Forte Collection's 101-room five-star The Augustine, due to open in January 2009, doesn't lack for monastic authenticity. Not only are the shady courtyards, graceful garden squares, wine vaults, and cloistered terraces barely changed in 600 years (the main St. Thomas Monastery building was built in the 1300s), but certain parts of the hotel are closed off to guests since Augustinian monks are still in situ. Rocco Forte's designers will bring an operatic flair to the interiors, perhaps best experienced in a glassed-in courtyard restaurant that contains two fully-grown indigenous trees.

For more information: The Augustine

For those of you who remember the luscious Tuscan landscapes of the Merchant/Ivory movie "A Room With a View," the views toward Florence from this magnificent monastery-turned-hotel will be pure balm. They are, in a word, spellbinding. Michelangelo himself designed the main building's facade, behind which lies the monastery's former library, now a suite. The most idyllic rooms are spread out along a terraced green hillside, at the top of which is a marvelous swimming pool and nature trail. After a swim, repair to the restaurant terrace: monks once walked there, but you can sip a Bellini instead as you think beautiful, romantic (and not necessarily monastic) thoughts.

For more information: Villa San Michele