Best Places to Stay: 44 Extraordinary Hotels Review

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(More customer reviews)I have traveled quite a bit, and when I travel for work I normally end up in a sterile, adequate, and uninspired hotel room in an average location. These hotels get the job done, but are certainly nothing to write home about, especially when spending 200 or more days on the road a year. Perhaps that why when I go on vacation I seek out unusual hotels that are unique in some way, even if they cost more than, say, a Hyatt (which is a perfectly fine chain, mind you.)
I saw "Best Places to Stay" in a bookstore and was immediately compelled to buy it. It features a wonderful pictorial collage of each of the 44 featured properties, and a very good (but brief) writeup of each as well. It is printed on very heavy paper and is beautiful to leaf through. The featured properties are from all over the world, and there are some I definitely plan on staying at, as the destinations are on my "to visit" list. Some of the properties that I find especially interesting are The Adelphi Hotel in Melbourne, Australia, which combines delightful minimalist furnishings with a beautiful view of the city skyline and a glass-bottom pool jutting several feet over the edge of the roof; The Rogner-Bad Blumau Hotel in Blumau, Austria, which combines the decorating aesthetic of an early Dr. Seuss (if he had been a German-Incan Russian Orthodox balloon pilot and architect) and peculiar holistic experiences featuring both xylophones and gongs, as well as a sound pyramid and Tibetan singing bowls; The Sandibe Safari Lodge in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, which is not only a beautiful lodging, but features some amazing neighbors, such as lions, elephants, and hippos; the Hotel d'Urville in Blenheim, New Zealand, which is off the beaten path in an amazingly beautiful region, with eclectic design (I want to stay in the "Colours Room;") and the wonderfully quirky Gran Hotel Domine in Bilbao, Spain, which features amazing architectural and design elements including a 33 foot tall puppy made of flowers by artist Jeff Koons.
The book was written by Shelley-Maree Cassidy and the wonderful photos are by Grant Sheehan, both of whom are experienced travelers capable of finding the subtle nuances that separate the ordinary from the extraordinary. The one critique of the book is the lack of clear organization (though countries are grouped together,) although this is a relatively minor distraction. The book is clearly aimed at an upscale travel experience, though not all hotels in the book are off-the-charts on the expense front. One hotel in the book (undeservingly the last hotel in the book) is San Francisco's wonderfully avant-garde Triton, which I personally stay at whenever I go to San Francisco on vacation. It's in a great location just outside the Dragon's Gate entrance to Chinatown, and the book rightfully calls attention to the guest celebrity designers who decorate individual rooms (Jerry Garcia, Carlos Santana, and others have decorated rooms here,) contributing to the weirdly serene ambiance of the hotel. Sheehan and Cassidy certainly got it right about the Triton and despite not having been to each of the hotels in the book, I can't imagine there's a bad room in any of these places. The book includes contact information about all the hotels featured, and all the Internet links and addresses that I have used from the book have worked perfectly. If you are looking for a unique hotel for your next vacation, this is an excellent book to get your brain thinking about all the diverse travel options available.

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The most desirable, original and memorable hotels in the world.

More than a guidebook, Best Places to Stay is a photographic celebration of the world's most extraordinary "homes away from home." These remarkable destinations range from modern to traditional, from large to small, from simple to luxurious, from rural to urban -- all with diversity in style. Each resort has been specially selected for its distinctive or innovative features, and the book is fully illustrated with lavish commissioned photography.

Here is a sampling of the 44 hotels featured:

IceHotel, Jukkasajävi, Sweden
Grand Hotel Europa, Prague, Czech Republic
The Lake Palace Hotel, Udaipur, India
The Motu, Bora Bora, French Polynesia
VillIa d'Este Hotel, Lake Como, Italy
Sandibe Safari Lodge, Okavanga Delta, Botswana
Avalon, Los Angeles, California
The Old Inn, Shanghai, China
La Cavas Lodge, Mendoza, Australia
Perivolas Traditional Houses, Oia-Santorini, Greece.

There is a special hotel, somewhere in the world, for just about any taste. Generous text describes each hotel's history, amenities, prominent natural features and local attractions. Complete contact details are provided. Every selected hotel is a destination in itself with much to see and do -- or just perfect for relaxing in new and unusual surroundings.
(20071209)

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