These hotels all share one thing in common. Can you figure out what it is?
Below you’ll find what seems to be a random collection of hotels — but actually, they all have one uncommon thing in common. We could tell you what it is, but we thought it’d be more fun if you tried to guess down in the comments. Whoever is first to guess correctly will win a $300 credit to use on Tablet.
Hint: the answer is not something obvious that all hotels share, like having beds or a roof, but it is something specific you can figure out without having to leave Tablet.
Taj Falaknuma Palace
Hyderabad, India
The Taj hotel group has impeccable taste in palaces; this one, with its English architecture, French tapestries and Venetian chandeliers, still belongs to what remains of Hyderabad’s royal family, and is among India’s most opulent residences.
Chateau Mcely
Mcely, Czech Republic
The Central Bohemian countryside may not evoke the same absinthe-soaked visions as Prague’s storied streets, but places like the St. George Forest — home to Chateau Mcely, the modern five-star incarnation of a 17th-century hunting lodge — have a magic all their own.
Il Salviatino
Florence, Italy
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.
The Iron Horse Hotel
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Get on your bikes and ride: this handsome hotel explicitly engages the motorcycling demographic, which makes sense since it’s just across the street from Milwaukee’s Harley-Davidson museum — but this post-industrial beauty is full of details that go beyond theme-hotel kitsch.
Old Parsonage Hotel
Oxford, England
The Old Parsonage is unique in billing itself as a 17th-century boutique hotel, and they’ve got a point. This is a town whose university is so old as to resist any attempt at pinning down a precise date for its founding — in comparison it was practically just yesterday that Oscar Wilde signed the hotel’s guest book.
As Janelas Verdes
Lisbon, Portugal
Janelas Verdes is an eighteenth-century mansion; once the home of the Portuguese novelist Eça de Queirós, today it’s a small and elegant boutique hotel, with many of the trappings of an old-fashioned literary residence — wood-paneled walls, ornate armchairs, musty old books, maps and antique objets d’art at every turn.
The White Elephant
Nantucket, Massachusetts
The White Elephant is more or less everything you’d want from a Nantucket hotel — classic style, sunny nautical interiors, close-up sea views — and a few things you might not have counted on, including a full-service spa looking out over the Nantucket Harbor.
Hudson Hotel
New York City, New York
The Hudson is legendary for the coziness of its ship’s-cabin rooms, but like all the famous Schraeger-Starck collaborations, the real action is in its Alice-style wonderland of social spaces, including a 15th-floor terrace, a bar styled after an old English drawing room, and, of course, an indoor park.
Rooms Hotel
Tbilisi, Georgia
This sleek eight-story hotel, located inside an old publishing house, embodies many of the qualities that make Tbilisi so appealing — elegant architecture, rich traditions in literature and the fine arts, a bohemian spirit, an emphasis on social life.
So, what do you think?
The first person in the comments below to correctly guess what these hotels have in common will win a $300 credit to use on Tablet (runners-up will also win a prize). Feel free to provide as many answers as you want — there may be multiple responses that are technically true, but we’re looking for one unique quality in particular.
Update: And the winner is….
All have opened in 2017
All are Tablet hotels
They are all repurposed buildings turned into hotels
Picturesque views
Mixing vintage with modern architecture
Each hotel is the essence of its location.
Each hotel is the essence of its location, gracious, elegant and superbly at home.
They all have a library
They were all historical castles , palaces lodges or other living quarters before being transformed into hotels.
All of the hotels’ designs take inspiration from either an artist, designer, culture or historical figure.
They all have libraries.
all have/incorporate a garden/outdoor space
They are all mixed between vintage and classic style, they were build in the 17th century and they all have historical story and they have libraries in each hotel
They are all boutique hotels.
They are all in university towns
They all are rated 20 points in tablet hotels.
Old charm
they are all close to gardens, hills, foliage
they all have a travel theme
Each has a strong design aesthetic that reflects the history and essence of the place
They all are reflecting the rich history of their surroundings
All have super cool chandeliers (lighting) and libraries! Thank you!
They all have libraries.
All have a literary connection
Converted properties from other users
None have a hotel sign on the exterior.
They are all repurposed buildings, and the hotels take inspiration from their former incarnations.
They are all adaptive reuse of existing/historic buildings.
The literary idea is nice, but I struggled to find that connection at places like the Iron Horse Hotel. However, I do believe all properties are conversions, and conversions from a past century.
Some, like the Old Parsonage date back to the 17th century or As Janelas Verdes to the 18th and Il Salviatino to the 15th. Others like the Iron Horse, White Elephant or Hudson Hotel date back closer to the first half of the 1900s.
They are all hotels that maintain the original feel while representing a particular century in its time and place.
They all have glass blown products
Perhaps I should say – decorations or building materials made from hand made glass
all have impeccable service
All the hotels are steeped in/draw heavily from history (or even repurposed the building they inhabit) but are nevertheless ready for the new year and the modern traveler. Don’t forget the past, let it make the future even better, richer, and more beautiful.
They are all historical buildings with an association to art, literature or culture and are all on or close to water (sea, river, lake…)
Historic building renovated into hotel and located in a picturesque, crossroads location of that region.
They are all performance spaces embracing the power of interior design.
I have never stayed in any of them.
They are all reasonable priced
Opulent elegance
Philippe Starck
They all have amazing seating shown
All have connections to royalty
All in buildings that writers stayed while working on their novels.
Is it that they all have their own library’s
They all have large windows that give an outdoor/indoor living space and they all are old world classic style hotels with an element of modern amenities and style.
I think the first person who said ‘all have a library’ (Zaina was it?) is probably correct. At least ‘technically’!
They are all formerly a private residence.
A Room with a View
Each has a fireplace
They are all private homes converted into hotels
Seeing your heading is “Name that tune”, then it is something to do with music. They all have performance venues? I know in India they have a music performance one a week. Either that, or they have been used as scenes in musical movies.or famous music performers have owned them or stayed there.
All these hotels have their own history prior to being the hotels they are today
All are make extraordinary use of lighting
Their use of bold YELLOW
All built prior to the 21st centruy
All the hotels are located near historic rivers.
All have a literary or publishing reference
All have bars/lounges styled like something else: library, ship, etc
All SPG hotels
Mark Twain
They are all winter destination hotels, with either snow or cold weather – nothing summer like, plus they all seem to have a fireplace :)
All the hotels are located above the equator, and experiences cold (snowy for most) Christmas
They are all new to Tablet.
All hotels are located in the Northern Hemisphere
All used as movie sets
All the hotels have a library. That’s pretty cool, actually.
All near a body of water, stream, river, ocean
They all have a gym, restaurant, library, concierge services.
They all contain or are located near concert halls or theaters.
They all refurbished to new boutique hotel with classical materials which used to be historical bulidings.
The guessing period is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated. The winner will be revealed on Saturday, January 13. Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest news and updates.
and the winner/winning response is???
Diane the winner is in this post Book It