When we talk about cool hotels, we’re not talking about hotels where the “cool” kids stay. We’re talking about places that make you say “oh wow, that’s cool!” when you see them. Sure, they might also be hip and trendy, but it’s more likely that their sheer unexpectedness is what really got your attention.
South Africa’s parks and private game reserves are not only filled with the country’s “Big Five” wild animals, they also boast some of the world’s most respected and remarkable safari hotels.
Not many hotels willfully claim having the smallest rooms in Europe. Italy’s Eremito all but brags about the achievement, calling their rooms “celluzze” — cells meant to evoke the ascetic living of a monastery. It only gets more interesting from there.
As you stroll the remote French village of Assignan, you can’t miss the colors of Chateau & Village Castigno, a wine hotel that’s been splashed all throughout the town.
In a new annual tradition, Tablet CEO Lucy Lieberman presents the twelve hotels she’s most excited about for the year ahead. Maybe this time she’ll even get to visit some of them.
We’re most intrigued by hotels that have distinguishing features — some set of singular traits that separates them from all the rest. A hotel like the Saint James, then, really gets us excited. It’s the only hotel of its kind. The only hotel in Paris that fits the definition of a classic, country-style chateau.