Hotels

[Cannon]

After a few days in Vegas on my first visit there, I can't stop thinking about hotels. Ones I've seen, stayed at, want to stay at, love the architecture of, etc.


So I was hoping some memorable hotels could be shared here that are out of the ordinary due to good location (Times Square), quality, design, or something else worth a look.


In Vegas, they of course have a bunch of great hotels, largely due to extravagant themes and design. The last night I was there, we went to a show at the Wynn Theatre at the Wynn and Encore. We entered by passing through the Wynn, which was the classiest and nicest place I had seen yet in Vegas. Everyone was dressed nicer and there were less smoking and drinking loners (which is, fine, since it is more typically Vegas from what I saw). Almost no t-shirts in that whole casino. It was beautiful. Then, after the show, we decided to exit by walking out through Encore.


Oh wow. That is perhaps the nicest hotel I've ever been in. We looked so underdressed there (we looked fine in the Wynn with collared shirts and decent pants. In Encore, the women were all in very nice dresses (not the occasional beauty queen party girl looks that some groups have in the other casinos before they go drink with too much make-up) and it looked like the standard there rather than the odd exception it was among the jeans in other casinos. The men were all in button-up shirts and pants with jackets. Many in suits.


It didn't look casual at all, but it was quite alluring. I'd imagine if Bond ever returned to Vegas, he would stay at Encore (unless there is some other major casino/hotel that I just didn't see that is more amazing). The decor was modern, warm, and clean. No big theme of tigers, or Italy, or movie stars, just plain individually beautiful.


I'd certainly love to stay there.

[Cause Moe]

Hotel Le Meridien Lingotto in Turin, Italy. It used to be a Fiat factory, and there is an oval automobile test rack on the roof. The rest of the hotel is nice if you like late-20th-century modern, with lots of hardwood and metal. But the roof is really cool as a jogging track with a nice view of the Alps.


Some other favorites of mine are the Copley Plaza in Boston, and the Opryland Hotel in Nashville.

[nicholascrawford]

The Opryland is stellar.


There are several hostels that I've stayed at around the world which are more like the polar opposites of this thread. =P

[Shomas]

My taste and experience is generally in the other direction as well. My favorite hotel/motel experience was at the Kool Wink Motel in Romney, WV (ignore potential current events implications of the location - none is intended).


It's like a super affordable, very clean blast from the past. With a flat screen.


http://www.koolwinkmotel.com/


Also, as someone who works literally in the middle of Times Square, you'd be better off not staying there - no matter the hotel, you're going to be getting a bad deal.

[alan]

They have a terrible website, but the King George Palace in Athens was pretty nice. We stayed there for a couple of days during our honeymoon. It's basically the second-nicest hotel in Athens, right next door the the actually-nicest hotel in Athens. I think the name comes from it having actually been the private residence of King George while Greece was a monarchy.


While I haven't stayed at the InterContinental in San Francisco, I've eaten at the restaurant, the Top of the Mark. The view is pretty much unbeaten, but the food is pricey. We went for "high tea". For that matter, the hotel built into the Coppola winery in Sonoma isn't particularly fancy, but it's very comfortable and it's full of authentic movie memorabilia. Plus, it's built in the middle of a vineyard.


The Hilton in Venice doesn't sound like it would be particularly authentic, but it was actually very nice. Rather than being new construction, it's based in an old converted factory. It was extremely snazzy, and directly on one of the larger canals. We felt like movie stars.


I'm sure I'll recall more...

[Cannon]

@nicholascrawford - I've stayed at The Gaylord Opryland's sister hotel, The Gaylord Palms, a couple of times. It was certainly one of the more enjoyable stays I've had in Orlando.

[alan]

Oh! I forgot to mention The Springs Resort in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. They actually filled a season of the Bachelor (or was it Bachelorette) there, but we went before the TV show made it famous. They only have 30 or 40 rooms, but they have like 10 or 12 hot spring pools, 4 restaurants, 3 bars, and tons of activities. It overlooks the famous Arenal Volcano.


We also visited their sister property the Peace Lodge at La Paz Waterfalls Gardens (also in the jungles of Costa Rica). They have even fewer rooms (less than 10), but they're basically located on the premises of a rainforest zoo with an aviary, butterfly building, and native cat exhibits in addition to rainforest frogs (including poison dart frogs) and the humming birds swarm with hundreds at a time feeding directly out of your hands. The place gets it name from the several giant waterfalls on the property.

[LosRockets]

@Alan - just bookmarked those for when I finally get to visit Costa Rica. Thanks!

[alan]

@LosRockets: We were able to get a discount by staying at both properties. That was a couple of years ago so I don't know if the offer still stands, but it never hurts to check.