Ok, I'm in a travel mood! Here's the last of 'em!
Hospitality industry experts say rumors of the boutique hotel's demise have been greatly exaggerated. You can still find hotels that are small enough to create an intimate feel, and are genuinely stylish and luxuriously comfortable to boot. In fact, a slew have opened in the last year, and more are on the way.
Here's a list of favorite new arrivals to help you sort through them. The largest has 90 rooms, the smallest just 4, and while their styles range from traditional to futuristic, all have distinct design and top-notch service.
Portrait Suites
Rome
Opened in 2006, this 14-room hotel owned by the Ferragamo family's Lungarno Hotels and poised above a Ferragamo store. But there's no branding inside--just cozy rooms and exquisite attention to detail, with boar-skin covered tables, portraits strewn around like family photos, and a classic palate of neutral colors accented with dashes of acid green.
Six Columbus
New York
The company that brought us the Hollywood Roosevelt and 60 Thompson is going uptown with the 90-room Six Columbus, on Columbus Circle overlooking Central Park, due to open in 2007. Interiors by designer Steven Sclaroff have a 1960s modernist look.
Hotel Marqués de Riscal
Elciego, Spain
Whether you love or hate this five-month-old hotel may depend on how you feel about starchitects in general, and designer Frank Gehry's signature metallic swoops in particular. But there is no denying it's a rare chance to stay inside a work of modern art. Just don't expect too many right angles in the 41 rooms.
Les Ottomans
Istanbul
The 12 opulent rooms in this nearly year-old boîte have what the Kiwi Collection's Philippe Kjellgren calls a "wild interpretation of traditional Turkish design." Translation? Gilt mirrors, French doors and plush Anatolian carpets in the lobby, plus unique suites overlooking the Bosphorus. All mix gold bedspreads fit for a pasha with widescreen televisions and feng shui design principles.
Adara Hotel
Whistler, Canada
Design goes to the ski slopes with Whistler's Adara Hotel, which opened last year. In a town that reveres timber beams and vast stone slabs, the 41-room Adara brings a refreshing hybrid sensibility with bright colors, molded plastic and work by local artists.
Hospitality industry experts say rumors of the boutique hotel's demise have been greatly exaggerated. You can still find hotels that are small enough to create an intimate feel, and are genuinely stylish and luxuriously comfortable to boot. In fact, a slew have opened in the last year, and more are on the way.
Here's a list of favorite new arrivals to help you sort through them. The largest has 90 rooms, the smallest just 4, and while their styles range from traditional to futuristic, all have distinct design and top-notch service.
Portrait Suites
Rome
Opened in 2006, this 14-room hotel owned by the Ferragamo family's Lungarno Hotels and poised above a Ferragamo store. But there's no branding inside--just cozy rooms and exquisite attention to detail, with boar-skin covered tables, portraits strewn around like family photos, and a classic palate of neutral colors accented with dashes of acid green.
Six Columbus
New York
The company that brought us the Hollywood Roosevelt and 60 Thompson is going uptown with the 90-room Six Columbus, on Columbus Circle overlooking Central Park, due to open in 2007. Interiors by designer Steven Sclaroff have a 1960s modernist look.
Hotel Marqués de Riscal
Elciego, Spain
Whether you love or hate this five-month-old hotel may depend on how you feel about starchitects in general, and designer Frank Gehry's signature metallic swoops in particular. But there is no denying it's a rare chance to stay inside a work of modern art. Just don't expect too many right angles in the 41 rooms.
Les Ottomans
Istanbul
The 12 opulent rooms in this nearly year-old boîte have what the Kiwi Collection's Philippe Kjellgren calls a "wild interpretation of traditional Turkish design." Translation? Gilt mirrors, French doors and plush Anatolian carpets in the lobby, plus unique suites overlooking the Bosphorus. All mix gold bedspreads fit for a pasha with widescreen televisions and feng shui design principles.
Adara Hotel
Whistler, Canada
Design goes to the ski slopes with Whistler's Adara Hotel, which opened last year. In a town that reveres timber beams and vast stone slabs, the 41-room Adara brings a refreshing hybrid sensibility with bright colors, molded plastic and work by local artists.
(Maybe I should make it one of my goals lol)
