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» Learn more about RSSHow perfectly Granada: the Villa Oniria is one part classically Andalusian, one part historically Moorish, and one part architecturally modern. It’s right in the heart of this chaotic city, but you’d be hard pressed to feel the chaos — the Villa is designed a bit like a Moroccan riad, the whole thing turned inside-out around a central courtyard, and so from within it’s an oasis of absolute calm.
Rooms are attractively contemporary, in sedate earth tones, all the furnishings modern but somehow adding up to an impression that evokes a romantic past — no small feat, and if we knew how they did it, we’d go into interior design ourselves. The better rooms have deep soaking tubs, but for everyone else there’s always the option of the spa downstairs, which is accompanied by a small fitness room and even a little swimming pool, a much-needed refuge from Granada’s daytime heat.
The restaurant lives up to Spain’s reputation as a country that’s mad for gastronomy. For this kind of quiet, intimate atmosphere you’d be prepared to stay somewhere a bit more secluded — the fact that it’s right in the heart of the old town makes Villa Oniria all the more impressive.
Our Tablet Spy program offers the chance to get early looks at the most promising new hotels. If you’re willing to take the risks associated with staying in a hotel that’s newly opened,then you’ll be rewarded with the chance to help decide whether the finished hotel will earn a place on Tablet Hotels.
Rarely is the Colombian city of Cartagena mentioned without reference to its rich Spanish colonial history. Most of the hotels in town make as much as they can of this heritage, and the architecture it left behind. And so, in its way, does the Tcherassi Hotel + Spa — but anyone expecting a pure nostalgia trip is likely to be surprised by what they find. Not disappointed, mind — the house’s old colonial bones are still very much in place, but the owner, fashion designer Silvia Tcherassi, has made some pretty unmissable additions.
It’s rare to find a hotel whose period detailing and contemporary finishes manage to coexist in such harmony. Perhaps the key is that it’s not exactly subtle — the unfinished brick and stone walls are unapologetically rough, while the fabrics and finishes are flamboyantly luxe. And it probably helps to work with such a small canvas; with just seven rooms and suites there’s no space for Ms. Tcherassi to repeat herself.
The fact that the restaurant seats more guests than the hotel sleeps ought to give you an idea of what sort of place this is — the upper floor, where the guest rooms are, may be quiet and intimate, but the Tcherassi isn’t shy of a bit of attention. And it’ll get plenty of it — there’s nothing like it anywhere else in Cartagena, that’s for sure.
How to Get There
The hotel is 3km from Cartagena's Rafael Nunez International airport (CTG) and 109 km from Barranquilla International Airport (BAQ).
High in the Holywood hills, five miles outside of town, you’ll find what may be Belfast’s grandest old hotel. The 19th-century Culloden estate cuts an impressive silhouette, surrounded by twelve acres of wooded parklands and gardens overlooking the waters of Belfast Lough. Once a bishops’ residence, then a private home, today it’s the sort of place that hosts pop stars and heads of state on their way through town.
Behind this imposing Gothic exterior lies a lush interior; no drafty castle, the Culloden is stuffed with antiques and artworks, stained glass and Louis XV chandeliers. Guest rooms are decked out in rich fabrics and antique furnishings, with marble bathrooms, separate showers and tubs, and views of the gardens or the Lough. Suites come with king beds, stereo systems and superior views.
Dining options include the informal Cultra Inn and the award-winning Mitre Restaurant, serving continental fare made from fresh Irish ingredients in a dining room converted from the old refectory. Golfers are in heaven, surrounded by a number of fine courses including the Royal Belfast, and the athletically minded can make use of the hotel’s pool and fitness center. Sailing the Lough is a popular pastime as well, and the grounds and gardens make for excellent walking. Perhaps best of all, the shops, restaurants and nightlife of Belfast’s city center are just minutes away.
While it’s often the Chilean side that gets the most attention, the Argentine side of Patagonia has its fair share of charms as well. Perhaps less otherworldly, Argentine Patagonia, where the plains meet the Andes, contains a mountain idyll by the side of Nahuel Huapi Lake, and the architecturally striking modern mountain lodge of Sol Arrayán.
Century-old trees partly conceal this 42-room lodge, whose modernist lines are constructed from unfinished local wood and stone. In the rooms, the interiors are contemporary-rustic, in a style somewhere between modernist luxury-boutique, pious eco-lodge, and traditional crafts and fabrics. All of them look out over the lake, which means each one has a pretty astonishing view, and the better ones have jetted tubs or outdoor verandas facing the water.
There’s a spa and an indoor-outdoor pool, both with that same stunning view of the lake, as well as a restaurant and a bar serving Patagonian cuisine and Argentinean wines with Nahuel Huapi as a backdrop. Summer is for hiking, sailing, and the lakeside private beach, while winter is ski season — the Bayo Mountain ski resort is a short drive away, and the country around Sol Arrayán is ideal for snowshoeing or horseback rides.
How to get there:
Sol Arrayan is approximately a 50 minute (40 miles) drive from San Carlos de Bariloche International Airport. Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com to arrange airport transfers.
Morgans Hotel is a luxury boutique hotel in New York and part of Morgans Hotel Group. Located on Madison Avenue, the hotel features Asia de Cuba restaurant from famed restaurateur, Jeffrey Chodorow.
Located in the once-grand neighborhood of Murray Hill, next to what used to be J.P. Morgan's New York mansion, Morgans Hotel looks turn-of-the-century grand from the outside, with its Beaux-Arts limestone facade, but inside is smaller and less intimidating than Morgans Hotel Group's other hotels. The lobby resembles a slightly updated but very tasteful mansion living room: leather armchairs, 1920s nickel lamps, and Parisian flea market cane tables. There's also an M.C. Escher carpet and Japanese paper screens; but the feeling is old-fashioned formal.
The rooms are stylish in a masculine way, but far from overwhelming. Bathrooms are modestly sized and tiled in black and white, while bedrooms are a calming caramel, ivory and pale gold. The fabrics provide an unexpected tingle — corduroy armchairs, suede banquettes and silk lampshades. There's even a cherry wood breakfast nook where you can nibble your croissant and scan Page Six.
Though the underground Morgans Hotel bar is quite the after-office hangout, it is incredibly dark, and therefore perfect for a clandestine rendezvous — but only if you can find your date. If you are hungry for a bit of outrageous style, eat upstairs at Asia de Cuba where you'll find massive expanses of white marble, the rather forbidding “communal” table, and a motel-style waterfall mural. The food is described as New York-innovative pan-Asian — sometimes dubious (like five spice foie gras with bananas), sometimes delicious, but always daring.
Morgans Hotel is proud to count execs-on-the-run among its fashionable clientele: after all, the midtown location makes it a perfect base for business travelers. But with only four to five rooms per floor Morgans is more intimate than the average business hotel. While the service may not be the in-your-face convenient that most execs demand, the staffers always make you feel right at home. Morgans is perfect for those with a bit of patience, who want a taste of New York, an exceedingly handsome atmosphere, but with just a bit of nostalgia for what they've left behind.
Yes, this is the one with the stripper pole. Granted, it’s only in one room (the so very over-the-top Star Suite, complete with fuzzy plush king-size bunk beds and mirrored bedroom floor), but it goes a long way towards illustrating what sort of place the Andaz San Diego is. As in, maybe not the ideal place to book Mom and Dad a room while they’re in town visiting Sea World.
For the sort of person who’s into velvet-rope exclusivity, peekaboo showers, and hotel-bar bottle service from suggestively-clad cocktail waitresses, however — and who knows, that may include Mom and Dad after all — the Andaz is just the thing. While some hotel concerns are dialing back the nightlife, this one has it turned up all the way; the Quarter Kitchen restaurant is big news on San Diego’s emerging culinary scene, the Eden rooftop bar is quite often packed (though occasionally chilly, this being San Diego) and the Envy nightclub features tight door control on the outside and go-go-dancing debauchery on the inside.
Of course the little things we expect from boutique hotels everywhere are present here as well: flat-panel HDTVs, iPod docks, top-shelf bath products and luxurious linens. There’s butler service as well, and Cadillac Escalade mega-SUVs available to ferry you and your guests about the Gaslamp district, if need be. A quiet and private place to lay your head it’s not — the Andaz is for travelers who demand quite a bit more.
In recent memory Sri Lanka was a fairly obscure locale for a holiday. But now that seems a very long time ago. Today it’s an absolutely first-class luxury destination, especially the Dutch colonial town of Galle, on the island’s south coast. It’s home to a picturesque fortress, with battlements surrounding the old town, and now it’s home to a Fortress of another kind — this one a luxury resort by the Maldives-based Per Aquum group.
Many of its local competitors are mom-and-pop affairs, which are great for casual intimacy. The Fortress is bigger, just under fifty rooms, and feels a bit more like a resort, albeit a small one — there’s a full-service spa, for example, complete with yoga pavilion and fitness center, and amenities include round-the-clock room service and a pillow menu. Several dining venues serve everything from Sri Lankan cuisine to wood-fired pizza.
It’s still got plenty of personality, though, with the rooms outfitted in a striking and vaguely retro modernist style. Here raising the luxury stakes hasn’t compromised the experience at all — who could complain about Bose home theaters and in-room espresso machines, just a few steps away from the beach?
How to get there:
The Fortress is a four hour drive from Bandaranaike International Airport. Contact the hotel for airport transfer requests.
If there’s any real reason why the Greek Isles should be synonymous with sun-soaked, idyllic escape and the Bodrum Peninsula should remain obscure, it’s certainly nothing to do with geography. This part of Turkey is as stunning as anything on the Mediterranean, and it provides a splendid backdrop for some very fine hotels, including the Hamak Hotel, in the seaside village of Gündoğan, just across the peninsula from Bodrum.
The owners previously opened the Sofa Hotel in Istanbul, and they’re not strangers to the genre of chic, design-conscious little boutique hotels. This sort of understated luxe is at a premium in Turkey, but the Hamak’s style is carried off confidently, the rooms a vision in light neutrals and dark wood, the public spaces in soft whites and organic textures.
With just 20 rooms and one suite, it’s intimate, and the atmosphere is mellow, even as DJs spin in the beach club and the restaurant. There’s a Pilates studio, for the fitness-minded, and all manner of water sports are available. And for guests who require more stimulation than this laid-back village can provide, it’s a short drive into Bodrum proper, where there’s no end of nightlife.
Phuket has lately been one of Thailand's more popular destinations, and it was inevitable, really, that Westerners would eventually catch on to this tropical island idyll. The Royal Phuket Yacht Club predates most of the new development, and is in some sense the island's grand dame, still one of Phuket's most elegant and luxurious properties.
One gets the sense here that they are untroubled by the new kids on the block, and deliberately play up the old-world aspects of the resort — staffers seem to be dressed for a jungle expedition, rather than in black designer outfits, and the service is more formal than at some of the more style-conscious resorts. Rooms, though decorated in a traditional blend of Thai and Balinese styles, have all the modern appointments, such as satellite TV and internet access. And the hotel's facilities include everything once comes to Thailand for, from the pool, tennis courts and water sports to the Royal Spa.
But what makes this place special is the sense that guests here are somehow above the fray, isolated from the circus atmosphere of the big resorts. All of the rooms have large balconies or terraces with sublime views of the Andaman Sea, and many overlook the picturesque Nai Harn Bay or Promthep Cape. All in all, the perfect place to secret yourself away; and the next time you hear someone say Phuket is getting popular, you can truthfully say “Really? I hadn't noticed.”
"Now with oxygen enriched rooms" - Hotel Monasterio
And at ten thousand feet above sea level, it certainly seems that piping oxygen into the guest rooms is an idea whose time has come. Cusco is the oldest living city in the Americas, and one of the highest. The city was once the capital, even the Mecca, of the Incan Empire.
The hotel itself was built as a Spanish colonial seminary more than 300 years ago - and the mix of Incan and Colonial cultures is what makes Cusco special. Not only is the landscape quite impressive, but it is surrounded by a wealth of architectural ruins, even within the city limits, and just a day trip away from Macchu Picchu. The explorer can arrange for a hiking and camping expedition along the Inca Trail.
The rooms and suites are a blend of modern and Spanish colonial style, befitting their heritage as, essentially, dormitories for Jesuit missionaries. No two are quite alike, in dimension or design, though all are rather charming and authentically "old-new world." Most, but not all, are oxygen-enriched. No, they are not joking about that. Altitude sickness is no walk in the park, and has, apparently, been a problem in the past.
The Illary Restaurant, adjacent to the main courtyard, is the modern luxury hotel restaurant, featuring Peruvian and International Orient Express cuisine. The El Tupuay Restaurant, housed in what was once the monastery's refectory, is the more traditional Peruvian restaurant, open for breakfast and for Saturday's Inca Dinner.
Fitness options within the hotel are severely limited. Then again, at 3,300 meters above sea level, a brisk walk is an aerobic workout, and merely sitting up in bed might be considered exercise. However, for the truly irrepressible, there are more strenuous options available outdoors, including mountain biking and whitewater rafting.
A tip from the concierge for those who may prefer a hike outdoors - the Sacsayhuamán ruins, just north of the city, are much closer and more extensive (therefore possibly quite a bit more appealing) than those at Macchu Picchu. And the Spanish culture has of course left its mark - there are a number of fantastic churches and cathedrals scattered about town.
How to get there:
Hotel Monasterio is a 10 minute drive from Cusco-Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport. Hotel Monasterio can provide a car transfer service from the airport to the Hotel Monasterio for approx. $20-30 USD. Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com to arrange airport transfers.
The flagship Ferragamo store at the foot of the Spanish Steps would already be something of a holy place, if you’re into that sort of thing. Less well known, but possibly more exciting, is what’s upstairs, in the top floors of this 19th-century townhouse: the Portrait Suites, the newest in a string of chic city boutique hotels by Lungarno, the Ferragamo family’s hospitality concern.
As you’d expect from that kind of pedigree, the Portrait Suites have style to spare. The designer is the same Michele Bonan who’s responsible for the rest of the Lungarno hotels, and he’s in fine form here, turning out interiors that are elegant, understated, and above all richer than rich, from the silk curtains to the elevator, lined not just in leather but in ultra-luxe boarskin leather.
Simpler pleasures abound as well — many rooms come with petite balconies overlooking the action on the streets below, and the hotel’s finest detail has to be the rooftop lounge, serving cocktails by the fireplace with a view of the Spanish Steps. You can’t stay on this world-famous shopper’s boulevard without being prepared to drop some cash, but if money is truly no object then try the penthouse, with its own kitchen, sauna, and private terrace — there’s possibly no more princely lodging in all of Rome.
Our Tablet Spy program offers the chance to get early looks at the most promising new hotels. If you’re willing to take the risks associated with staying in a hotel that’s just opened — then you’ll be rewarded with the chance to help decide whether the hotel will earn a place on Tablet Hotels.
You can have your design hotels. This fifteenth-century villa, on the Fiesole hillside overlooking Florence, has undergone a thorough renovation for the purpose of converting it into a modern boutique hotel — but a look around the place will confirm that it was more a restoration than a redesign. It’s not all Renaissance splendor, though that’s a part of it — Il Salviatino’s influences are drawn from every era of its existence, including frescoes from the nineteenth century and furnishings from the early twentieth, as well as some well-chosen contemporary design pieces.
This is a town that’s sometimes a bit too backwards-looking, but Il Salviatino is proof that modern living and classic style aren’t mutually exclusive. Imagine a carefully edited minimalist take on a classic Tuscan palazzo and you’re most of the way there — one that’s highly theatrical, more romantic than baroque, and in terms of luxury, more plush than opulent.
A place like Il Salviatino is much more about atmosphere than about services and facilities, and a little goes quite a long way. Dinner on the terrace looking down at the rooftops of Florence is an experience that won’t soon be forgotten. Before long, though, the spa will be open for business — we expect to hear a few reports of travelers who never found time for a look at the Florentine galleries.
Our Tablet Spy program offers the chance to get early looks at the most promising new hotels. If you’re willing to take the risks associated with staying in a hotel that’s just opened — then you’ll be rewarded with the chance to help decide whether the hotel will earn a place on Tablet Hotels.
You can have your design hotels. This fifteenth-century villa, on the Fiesole hillside overlooking Florence, has undergone a thorough renovation for the purpose of converting it into a modern boutique hotel — but a look around the place will confirm that it was more a restoration than a redesign. It’s not all Renaissance splendor, though that’s a part of it — Il Salviatino’s influences are drawn from every era of its existence, including frescoes from the nineteenth century and furnishings from the early twentieth, as well as some well-chosen contemporary design pieces.
This is a town that’s sometimes a bit too backwards-looking, but Il Salviatino is proof that modern living and classic style aren’t mutually exclusive. Imagine a carefully edited minimalist take on a classic Tuscan palazzo and you’re most of the way there — one that’s highly theatrical, more romantic than baroque, and in terms of luxury, more plush than opulent.
A place like Il Salviatino is much more about atmosphere than about services and facilities, and a little goes quite a long way. Dinner on the terrace looking down at the rooftops of Florence is an experience that won’t soon be forgotten. Before long, though, the spa will be open for business — we expect to hear a few reports of travelers who never found time for a look at the Florentine galleries.
The transition from civilization to wilderness is perhaps more abrupt in Australia than most anywhere else. Just three hours’ drive from Sydney, from city traffic to rough-and-tumble dirt roads, the Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa is about as close to the outback as most of us will ever need to get.
It’s not exactly the hardscrabble ranch life, however; Wolgan Valley is part of Emirates’ new hospitality project, and the Dubai-based air carrier typically tends towards the more luxurious end of things. The resort centers around an extensively renovated 19th-century farmhouse, while the 40 villas are sparkling new, and as comfortable and luxe as any accommodations in Australia.
Of course state-of-the-art living quarters are only part of the story. You don’t drive three hours for a nice hotel room, you do it for the Wolgan Valley itself, and for the nearby Blue Mountains. The unspoiled landscape is just stark enough to cross over to sublime from merely beautiful. And there’s no guilt involved. You might not expect to hear it from a Dubai-based airline, of all things, but the Wolgan Valley Resort is a thoroughly green operation.
The end result is perhaps less a spiritually charged walkabout than a bit of high-luxury unplugging. Ownership aside, Wolgan Valley is quintessentially Australian — and as accessible as it is, this feels about as far “away from it all” as you can get without stranding yourself on a desert island. Just do yourself a favor and choose something rugged at the airport rental desk.
Queensland is often unfairly regarded as the uncultured cousin of its southerly neighbors, those edgy urban nests of Sydney and Melbourne. Put it down to the Australian competitive spirit, since any claim of The Elandra as being anything less than cosmopolitan, luxurious or refined is nonsense, evident as soon as one enters its lavish fusion of styles.
Wooden walkways connect the Elandra’s buildings, leaving the rich ecology of local flora and fauna undisturbed. Happily, the opposite isn’t always true — human guests are quite often visited by curious locals; cassowary families are known to stroll casually through back patios on their morning walks, while butterflies, frogs and various fuzzy marsupials are all part of the scenery as well.
Remodeled in 2007 by ex–stage actress Katrina Knowles, the Elandra’s inner spaces reflect Knowles’s considerable travels, and the design is a dramatic mix of global influences. Tribal totems, Moorish lamps and African artifacts give the property’s shiny white interiors an overriding exotic appeal — something that defies all Australian resort conventions; there’s not a dolphin portrait, shell sketching or dried starfish to be found on the entire premises.
The centerpiece of The Elandra — and the thing to which most guests will feel helplessly drawn — is its sizable pool. Skirted by designer loungers and Moroccan-style day beds to which gourmet food and beverages can be summoned, hours here magically turn into days, guests tuning out to the hush of the ocean and the silhouette of swaying palms against pastel skies. If only The Elandra were home.
Comparable properties in this tony section of town love to broadcast their celeb-cred: Marilyn once slept here, Sinatra’s Rat Pack used to party over there. This one prefers 21st-century iconography to Old Hollywood glamour. Indeed, the SLS at Beverly Hills, funded by nightclub mogul Sam Nazarian, boasts a few bold-faced names of its own.
The legendary Philippe Starck masterminded the furnishing of all 297 rooms and suites. These days he claims to be more interested in a good night’s sleep than in visual fireworks, and it shows. But don’t be fooled by the monogrammed linens, personalized pillow menu, or even the way the low light offsets the minimalist décor in blues, creams, and earth tones: activity abounds, especially on the weekends. Or, in the case of the seven fitness centers, any time you want.
James Beard–winner José Andrés brings the molecular gastronomy–inflected formula that’s proven so successful in his Washington, DC–area restaurants to the aptly named Bazaar. Instead of a staid set-off dining room, the in-lobby space actually consists of several separate entities. The colorful, funky Patisserie traffics in high teas and sweets, Roja offers traditional tapas, and Blanca serves modern small plates. Cocktails at Bar Centro demonstrate the same playfulness as Andres’s food; both use emulsifiers and chemicals like liquid nitrogen to de- and re-construct familiar tastes in new ways. Think “olive brine air” and cotton candy that dissolves when doused with alcohol.
No high-end Los Angeles hotel would be complete without a pool, or, in the case of the SLS, two pools. The deck on the sixth floor features expansive views and a pair of rectangular reflecting pools. And for those who’d rather see than be seen, there are six private cabanas with built-in entertainment systems.
The very eclectic San Francisco–based Joie de Vivre group has been setting up shop in Southern California, most recently in Venice Beach, itself quite possibly the most laid-back place in the United States. And the Hotel Erwin does its level best to fit in — with a restaurant called Hash and a rooftop lounge called High, it’s obviously taking its cues from Venice’s notoriously weird vibes.
Venice, and especially the funky old boardwalk, is no place for white-glove luxury, and the Erwin is suitably budget-conscious — though you’d never guess it from the décor, with its bold, cheery colors and its stylish modern furniture. The better rooms have sea views, but even the ones that look out over the town of Venice come with private balconies and HDTVs.
The name of the rooftop bar, High, is a bit more literal than you might think; it’s the highest rooftop lounge in Venice Beach, and the views range up and down the coast and far out to sea. And Hash, predictably, serves a fine home-style breakfast, as well as a slightly upscale bistro-style dinner. With the beach just steps from the door, and the boardwalk even closer, it’s the quintessential Venice experience — which is a different animal entirely from the typical Southern California beachfront hotel.
There’s a school of thought which seems to subscribe to the idea that the only appropriate architectural styles in the Northern California wine country are Tuscan, Provençal, and in a pinch, some sort of Spanish-villa thing. When you’re talking about a gas station or a chain motel, it’s a bit much. But when a hotelier goes so far as to build a painstakingly authentic 18th-century-style French country house, just off Healdsburg Avenue, you’ve got to give credit where it’s due.
It’s so convincing that if you arrived blindfolded, you might spend some time wondering when the French developed such convincing American accents. The sixteen rooms are formal in style, and incredibly detailed, right down to the fabrics, the rugs, the woodwork — four-poster beds, Louis XVI chairs, the whole kit and caboodle.
The restaurant, Cyrus, is a cut above the usual hotel eatery; in this part of California the food is at least as highly-regarded as the wine. Just like the hotel it calls home, Cyrus is distinctly French — and it’s the owner of two of the wine country’s thirteen Michelin stars. You could argue that Les Mars is, on some level, a folly, architecturally at least; but it works, and the guests certainly aren’t complaining.
If we have a mission when it comes to these rural Japanese escapes, it’s this: to make the classic ryokan-style country inn every bit as familiar an image, in foreigners’ minds, as the iconic Western-style luxury hotels or the only-in-Japan capsule hotels and love hotels. All the Japanese hoteliers need to do, in order to hold up their end of the bargain, is go on creating places as stunning, as memorably luxurious, as Scapes.
It may seem a world apart, but Scapes is particularly convenient to Tokyo; the seaside location in Hayama is about an hour from Tokyo, by train or by car. If it feels remote, it’s the size — just four rooms — and the setting, with ocean views that might put you in mind of the Mediterranean or the Aegean. And the design is endlessly calming in itself, without resorting to tired international minimalism or easy Zen clichés — the polished hardwoods and earth-tone modernist furnishings may feel slightly retro, but never dated.
There’s just enough to do. The rooms invite late sleeping, with plush bedding, spa-like bathrooms and views of the sea. Reserve the jacuzzi room for a soak, spend a quiet hour in the library, or pop in to the chapel to take care of the spiritual side. There are sights to be seen on the Kanagawa seaside, but the first order of business here is simply to escape.
Your first clue comes by way of the letter Y — Riyad El Mezouar’s slightly archaic spelling hints at the atmosphere of the place, which, while not exactly antique, is about as classic as they come in the world of Marrakech medina riad hotels.
Of course classic doesn’t just happen by accident. El Mezouar’s owners, a pair of French architects and designers, clearly put some effort into crafting its interiors. They were fortunate to begin with a grand and well-preserved 18th-century mansion, and many of the original architectural details are intact — but the presence of details from as far off as X shows that there was more to it than simply brushing off a coat of dust.
In the end it’s all about the personality, and how well the sensibility matches your taste. With just five rooms there’s no crowd to speak of, and the interior courtyard and the roof terrace (with its view over the medina’s rooftops out towards the Atlas mountains) are pretty much the extent of the public spaces. It’s more or less the sweet spot, a riad hotel that’s neither too modern nor too old-fashioned, but pretty much just right.
There are a few more historic and more atmospheric hotels in town than the Hyatt Regency Kiev, but there are arguably none so luxurious. And if the gleaming glass structure seems incongruously modern, there’s a reason, which is readily apparent from inside — the views from behind that wall of glass manage to take in the whole of Kiev’s low-slung old town, including the city’s monumental gold-topped Ukrainian Orthodox churches.
Rooms are remarkably crisp and contemporary in style, with all the functional i’s dotted and t’s crossed — as Kiev evolves into a global city, this kind of proper high-end business/luxury hotel is a must. There are king beds and Frette linens for comfort, as well as full-size work spaces for efficiency, and the room service and concierge service are on duty around the clock.
Space is plentiful here, which means there’s room for not just a full-service spa and fitness center, but a 23-meter indoor swimming pool as well. The main restaurant, Grill Asia, is open-plan, with the kitchen’s wood-burning oven clearly visible. And no fewer than three bars keep patrons hydrated and lubricated, from the 8th-floor cocktail bar to the lobby lounge to the wine bar, Brunello, serving Italian cuisine alongside a wide selection of vintages.
San Francisco, already America’s highest-occupancy hotel town, has lately been upgrading its stock, and the Personality Hotels group has been at the front lines. Hotel Frank is a fine example of the new guard of stylish hotels around Union Square; though the classic building is pure historic San Francisco, the interiors, by Thomas Schoos, are all maximalist 21st-century modern-retro chic.
The look is more fantasy than fashion, and that’s a good thing. Depending where you look you could be reminded of anything from Beaux Arts to Art Deco to Jetsons-era retro-futurism. Though it’s not quite in the high-luxury league, the Frank is comfortable, the rooms spacious enough, with thoughtful little touches like iPod docks and in-room refrigerators.
As for location, the Frank is just about as central as it gets, just off Union Square, where San Francisco’s shops and restaurants are at their highest concentration — and a fine compromise between the palaces up on Nob Hill and the convention-friendly lodgings south of Market. Services inside the hotel can thus be kept a bit light; the gym is a separate establishment nearby, and there’s no need for a high-concept hotel restaurant with so much excellent food so close at hand.
Settled comfortably at the base of Santiago’s Cerro San Cristóbal, and overseen by the giant Virgin Mary statue at the summit, the Aubrey embodies the contrast of old and new that the specialty-lodging aficionado lives for. In a past life the Aubrey was a stately home for a prominent political family. As a hotel, however, the scale is decidedly intimate. The combination of the tudor-revival style house and the tropical urban flora of Santiago is a delightfully odd one, and this unorthodoxy is embraced by the hotel’s interior design, fresh off a multi-year renovation.
The property is stepped into the topography, making for some surprising views, unexpected nooks, and a charming swimming pool terrace — the uphill Parque Metropolitano seems to devour the building with its palms and vines. Some rooms are borderline palatial with heavy and imposing wood detailing, others are tucked into the angles of the roof and finished with taut, contemporary refinement. Many of them come with private terraces, and all enjoy a unique vista upon the fanciful surroundings.
Beyond the Aubrey’s perimeter lies Santiago’s most verdant and aristocratic district of Providencia. The sub-neighborhood of Bellavista is a perfect fit for the Aubrey’s boho airs; for instance the Fundación Pablo Neruda is right around the corner, one of many institutes here upholding Chilean culture. There are plenty of bars and cafés to enjoy late into the night, although one might be just as happy to stay in, dining and imbibing at Aubrey’s own Restaurant Pasta e Vino, which adds Italian cuisine to the mélange of themes. Also very nearby is the Funicular Sociedad Anonima, which stands ready to whisk you up that Cerro, just in case you feel compelled to pay Mary an up-close visit, or just take in a view of the Aubrey from above.
Stuck out on a promontory in the middle of Narragansett Bay, the old Agassiz Mansion’s location was ideal for its original owner, a Harvard marine biologist. Which means it’s equally well suited for its present purpose, as the Castle Hill Inn and Resort. A short drive from Newport, it’s possibly the most impressive location on the Rhode Island coast. Which, by the transitive property of real estate, means the Castle Hill is one of the coast’s top lodgings.
It spreads out over forty acres of land along a private beach, overlooking the picturesque waters of the bay. The bedrooms in the 19th-century main house are the most atmospheric, but the outlying beach houses and cottages are scarcely less stylish, with a bit more space thrown in in the bargain. In all rooms you’ll find crisp, well-maintained classic New England style, and a full complement of contemporary comforts.
As with most historical properties in New England, the ultimate result is somewhere between the quirky charm of a family-owned bed and breakfast and the smooth polish of a modern luxury hotel, incorporating elements of both. Fine food and top-notch service ensure that the experience is anything but rough, while the Northeastern nautical atmosphere contributes an air of romance that the dull corporate hotels can’t hope to match.
Outsiders often expect interiors in this part of the world to look chilly and minimalist, in the sort of hybrid retro-futuristic style that’s lazily labeled “Scandinavian.” But it turns out this perception is a bit dated. Leaving aside the fact that Finland isn’t in Scandinavia at all, that sort of thing is really more mid-century than 21st-century. What looks most contemporary in today’s Nordic countries is the new cozy classicism, a look that’s very much on display in Helsinki’s Hotel Haven.
It’s usually best to ignore the names a hotel gives its room categories, with their empty promises and their inflating superlatives. But here they do a handy bit of summing up: Comfort, Style and Lux. The Haven is seventy-seven rooms of exactly those things, a grown-up and dignified take on the contemporary luxury boutique. Beds are massive and plush, bathrooms are well-equipped and indulgent, and the little things are up to date, from the espresso machines to the Bang & Olufsen entertainment centers.
You could criticize it for a lack of flash, but you’d be missing the point. It’s a haven, not a nightclub — and with a fine little restaurant and bar and a Siluetti spa, it’s in a category of its own for Helsinki.
What with the name and all you might be expecting something French-colonial in style, but the 3 Nagas is classic Lao, a former royal residence from the end of the 19th century, a pair of buildings that have traveled on a winding path: from mansion to ice-cream factory to now, finally, a stylish and contemporary boutique hotel, one that just happens to be run by a little company called Alila.
It’s an interesting choice for the company that’s pretty much writing the book on modernist villa resorts in Indonesia and Indochina. But Les 3 Nagas shows they’re not unduly constrained by the task of taking on a historical building or two. The style is necessarily a bit less stark and sleek, a bit more classic, but it’s certainly no less chic, and the comforts are very much up to the prevailing Alila standard, which is somewhere short of “grand hotel” but well above “design boutique.”
And after all this it’s probably just as well known for its restaurant as for its rooms, which says something about the quality of the cuisine. The only real question mark is whether Alila devotees will mind that there’s no beach, no pool, no lavish modern spa — here’s hoping the classic charms of Luang Prabang prove an adequate substitute.
Some of our readers no doubt reflexively cringe at the mention of the phrase “bed and breakfast.” It’s not an uncommon affliction. But the apocalypse of chintz and lace that the phrase so often conjures is nowhere in evidence at Oak House No. 1, in the Cotswolds village of Tetbury. Instead it’s a bed and breakfast for the post-boutique-hotel era. It’s chock full of antiques, true, a result of the fact that Tetbury is a veritable antiquing hotbed. But it’s chock full of plenty else as well, from Warhol prints to design pieces to contemporary luxury-hotel fittings — clearly not an inch of its décor has gone un-ruminated-over.
The Oak House’s owners are designers in their own right, and while the result may be panic-inducing for die-hard minimalists, for anyone who wants a bit of character in a country getaway it’s the perfect tonic. The three suites and one bedroom are all different, from the classic Cavalier and Prince’s suites to the Library Bedroom, whose bath looks like something out of a Japanese luxury hotel. You’re two hours outside London, but in England that’s a world of difference — let your hosts pack you a picnic lunch for a day out and you’ll get all the fine wine and seasonal produce you can handle.
For some of us, the name is all the description this one needs. But for those of you who demand a little more explanation than simply Casa Camper Berlin, we’ll elaborate. It’s a sequel to the Casa Camper in Barcelona, owned by the Spanish footwear brand, and it brings the same youthful irreverence and unpretentious artiness to Berlin, which for all the differences between the two cities is probably the most logical choice if it’s young cosmopolitan creative types you’re after.
The rooms and suites are stylish in a remarkably original way. That Camper brick red color is everywhere in evidence, and the modern-utilitarian design comes off humble rather than bombastic. Guests expecting white-glove luxury should look elsewhere, but most of us will find it more than comfortable enough — here some of the weight is carried by inspiring visuals and clever design rather than acres of marble and handmade horsehair beds.
With a location right in the middle of Berlin Mitte the Casa Camper is anything but isolated. Inevitably there are times when you’ll want to stay in, though, and the hotel offers one remarkable enticement: the Dos Palillos restaurant serves Asian tapas under the direction of Albert Raurich, formerly the chef de cuisine at Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli.
If you still think Dallas is a cowtown, you’ve got another think coming. It’s an urbane and relatively cosmopolitan city, with enough style-seekers and design addicts to keep a W Hotel in business. And it’s not just any W — the W Dallas – Victory (it’s one of the anchors of a massive multi-use development called Victory Park) is the first to include condo residences, as well as the first to include a rooftop heliport.
You don’t have to feel bad about arriving by car, though. To be honest this glass and limestone tower looks most impressive from below, and otherwise you’d miss the typically over-the-top entry, and the dramatic lighting on the grand staircase. The W is a hotel to be seen in, and there’s nothing wrong with that — in fact if socializing is what’s on your mind, you’ll love Ghostbar, the 33rd-floor lounge, the kind of Vegas-style club that makes a typical hotel bar look sleepy by comparison.
The W Dallas is a hotel first. Even the most basic rooms start with 32-inch LCD televisions, wireless internet, and bath amenities from the Bliss spa. Views are impressive from the bedrooms and from the 16th-floor open-air pool, and they’re at their best from the Ghostbar, which looks out over the well-lit Dallas skyline. A lobby lounge and a fine restaurant round out the selection — the latter is an outpost of Craft, the New York restaurant by James Beard award-winner (and Top Chef cast member) Tom Colicchio.
How to get there:
From Dallas Love Field Airport, 11.76 km - approximately 12 mins.From Dallas Executive Airport, 20.82 km - approximatly 15 mins.
Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com to arrange airport transfers or to get directions.
Costa Rica was doing ecotourism before anyone else was, so it’s no surprise that this most socially-minded of tropical paradises would be among the first to update the industry to fit the very current trend of green-luxury fusion. El Silencio Lodge, deep in the country’s mountainous jungle region, is luxury travel for the “Inconvenient Truth” generation.
It’s environmentalism gone high-end, not the other way around. Guests are expected to appreciate the use of natural cleaning products and low-consumption light bulbs along with the high-thread count sheets and the private hot tub. And if simply patronizing such a worthy establishment feels inadequate, the resort also offers the option of offsetting the carbon generated by air travel to Costa Rica, or even a year’s worth of driving, by contributing to the resort’s efforts to preserve the cloud forest.
As ecotourism is best experienced outside of one’s hotel room, El Silencio is designed to help visitors explore the tropical forest via foot, horse, river raft, mountain bike or even zip-line. An “eco-concierge” is always on hand to coordinate various jungle expeditions and to make recommendations based on visitors’ personal interests. When it’s time to unwind, the spa offers a range of treatments, from a simple massage to an hour in the mysterious Conical room, which, we are told, channels the healing powers of the lush jungle setting — and there’s a lovely open-air yoga studio available as well.
The restaurant serves a variety of Costa Rican-inspired international dishes, and the unifying theme is El Silencio’s favorite concept: “wellness.” This extends to the dinner as well as the diner: rest assured that your chicken once roamed happily on a nearby farm, and that your salad greens were allowed to grow blissfully free of chemical pesticides. There’s no red meat on the menu, but if you find that a long day exploring the cloud forest requires nothing less than a steak, the resort won’t judge you; they’ll present you with a voucher for a nearby restaurant.
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