Oftentimes, we don’t think too much about the hotels we stay in. They’re a place to rest, a warm bed, a hot shower, perhaps a place for free breakfast? (One can only hope.) Nonetheless, there a few that stick out in my mind:
The Hotel Bloom in Brussels. Brussels itself was bitterly cold at the end of January 2011, but this hotel was bright, modern, cheery, and had the comfiest beds ever.
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A hotel near a beach in the province of Granada, from which I hardly got any enjoyment (due to sun poisoning!) even though this was my view:
The Eagle’s Nest in Indianapolis where we ate while rotating around in the sky:
The Poet’s Hostel in Lisbon, the most fun hostel I’ve been to:
The Sheraton Hotel where Mario was fascinated by Chicago’s skyscrapers.
And who can forgot “Hostal Mario,” for which a cranky Spanish lady felt the need to tell us that Mario wasn’t allowed to run a business out of his apartment (when in reality, it was a joke—my brother and his friend were staying there)?
So, tell me, what have been some of your most memorable hotel stays?
My favorite hotel ever was Hotel Pasquale in Cinque Terre, Italy. It is located in the village of Monterosso. It was amazing to fall asleep and wake up to the Mediterranean waves. We had an amazing view, the service was great, breakfast was delicious, and they had laundry services!! I would drop of my clothes and come back to the room with clean, neatly folded clothes.
This little town was recently ravaged by a flood and I hope to visit again to help support their economy but this is the town where I fell in love with Italy.
That’s a cool story. I’m sure that was quite a memorable hotel! I want to go there someday (soon).
My favorite hostel is the Oasis Backpacker’s Hostel in Lisbon – it was SO nice and super social. I love a good hotel – in the US, I love the sleekness of the “W” chain
Aren’t those rather expensive? Not sure I could afford to visit those too often!
They are on the pricier side…I went with my Dad once when we traveled to DC…but even the lobbies are ultra-hip and fun to stroll through in different cities
Oooh, I LOVE the Bloom ones – the walls are awesome! That last one cracks me up though.
The Hotel Bloom was great.
Loved Poets Hostel! How do you get sun poisoning? overexposure? Doesn’t sound fun!
I don’t know; I’d never had it. I mean, I wasn’t even sunburned…?
We stayed at the Hotel Barcelona Universal in September 2011 and it was great. The rooms were very clean and the staff was amazing and recommended some really fun places that weren’t so touristy. Since this was our 4th time in Barcelona, we had already done all the touristy stuff. ;)
http://www.hotelbarcelonauniversal.com/
Cool. I’ll have to check it out if I get back there somedya. I’ll try to forget my Barcelona woes …
Thanks for sharing, it sounds like you’ve had some great experiences traveling. Maybe a degree in hospitality is for you!