Cool Hotels

Ice Hotel

 

 

I fully accept responsibility for the ensuing puns.

Since this is a blog about cool hotels, it make perfect sense to spotlight the coolest hotel in the world. And I mean that sincerely and literally, as I am talking about Quebec City's Ice Hotel, or as they say in the native French, Hôtel de Glace.  Hôtel de Glace sounds so much more sophisticated doesn't it?

A marvel of Canadian engineering and affinity for the cold, each year workers rebuild the hotel out of about 500 tons ice and 15,000 tons of snow.  And while it isn't toasty warm inside, that ice does insulate guests from the bitter winter chill outside. Rooms stay around 25 degrees Fahrenheit or minus five degrees Celsius.  So essentially, it's necessary to dress warmly and stay under the covers to fully enjoy the hotel. 

Don't, however, think the hotel is just a glorified igloo.  More like a real life Fortress of Solitude. Original artwork adorns the walls, many rooms have working fireplaces and some have actual hot-tubs. There's an ice-chapel and better yet, an ice-bar.

People do come from all over the world to stay in the Ice Hotel, and this creates a rare sense of camaraderie among the guests, most all of whom are willing to share their various  "wow" and "cool" and "amazings" with anyone who will listen. Pretty, cool, eh?

photo by Sandra Bellefoy

The Arizona Inn

The Arizona Inn, a pink Adobe complex tucked away in a lovely residential neighborhood not far from The University of Arizona, manages to be the place to stay in Tucson. I know this because, everyone I know who has ever stayed at a hotel in Tucson has stayed at the Inn.

Best of all, the Arizona Inn seems to have earned its cache by being quintessentially southwestern. Cactus and flower gardens plus Mexican tile, furniture and local art, all create color palette that says “Hey, you’re in Arizona.” I especially like the library-sitting area and its Spanish-style leather and wood chairs, which are just about as comfortable as you would expect to find in an old Hacienda. Or maybe a monastery. Okay, there are sofas that don’t dig into your back, but you can find that kind of seating everywhere.

The place is also teeming with resort-style amenities like a pretty swimming pool, tennis courts and a shaded ping pong table in the center of a courtyard (right by some sort of Madonna shrine). Yes, ping pong and catholic iconography do mix well. However, since I stayed at the Arizona Inn in June, I was only able to enjoy the outdoor activities until about 8:30am. After which, the hotel was best enjoyed from the air-conditioned inside. Rooms are lovely, and each one that I saw had a little seating area as well as a bed.

If you don’t mind getting up at 5:30am to play tennis, which isn’t so hard if you remain on Eastern time, The Arizona Inn does offer great room rates in the summer time (under $200 for a room) that include a gourmet breakfast and ice cream by the pool in the evenings. 

The Point at Saranac Lake

The Point, tucked mysteriously on the edge of Lake Saranac in Adirondacks, is something of a legend among the editors of travel magazines. It'€™s always listed at the top or close to the top of those "€œbest hotel" or "most romantic spots"€ lists.  Everything from the hefty price tag (the never-discounted rooms start at $1250 per night) to its beautiful, isolated location, to a ridiculously blue-blooded history has sustained the place's reputation as the pinnacle of high living

When I  heard one of the world's most luxurious and expensive hotels was not located in London or Dubai but rather rustic upstate New York, my curiosity was piqued.  I was unaware that certain early-twentieth century robber barons preferred the lush wilderness of the Adirondacks over bourgeois destinations like the Hamptons. These overstuffed, bored rich folks built spectacular "€œcamps"€ nestled in the forests and lakes of upstate New York and hoped that no one would notice.

The heyday of the robber baron is now gone, replaced by the heyday of the sports star, the movie star or the internet mogul, but the greatest of the Adirondack camps, once owned by the Rockefellers, is, now The Point -  a resort of unparalleled luxury that promises you too can live like the gilded age millionaires old.

So, the question I wanted to know is, just what the hell makes a hotel room (with one bed) worth $1250 per night? Do vestal virgins feed you grapes? Do they carry you to the restroom? What?

Luckily for me, I was able to spend a night at The Point and discover how people like P Diddy and Warren Buffet can afford to live. Allow me to share.

1) Staff members greet guests with good Champagne as their cars and luggage are whisked away by valets. Everything is unloaded into your room for you as you are toured the relatively small but meticulously kept grounds. (I refused, nay, kept a death-grip on my purse - the valets no doubt recognized me as a peasant right then and there.)

2) Once inside, everything is included and tipping is forbidden. There are three fully stocked bars open 24 hours. If an attendant is not available to make your drink, you are free to make your own. And generous as you wish. (This explained why do many guests slept so soundly on the chaise lounges scattered throughout the property.)

3) The kitchen is also open twenty-four hours, and although the hoity-toity chef plans a dinner menu – you can have whatever you what made any time day or night. If they don'€™t have it, they will have it FedExed for the next day. (Oh the agony of choice. With each meal, I begged for suggestions from the chef.)

4) There are several boats available to the guests. These include canoes, kayaks, three small, but gorgeous wooden motorboats, a cruiser, perfect for a summertime cocktails, speedboat boat for waterskiing. And there’s the replica of Mr. Rockefeller'€™s boat, the 33-foot mahogany Hackercraft. I took out one of the small outboards and thoroughly enjoyed put-putting about the lake. Before I left, one of the staff members gave me a map so I wouldn'€™t get lost. (He also handed me a cocktail for the road. So, I assume they weren't too worried about me wrecking the boat.)

5) After boating, I went to the pub for a quick game of pool in the cozy pub. The pub also has darts, cards and one of the fully stocked bars. There is also a nearby croquet field and badminton equipment. A VCR and TV is there, but it is not hooked up to cable because you are supposed to be getting away from it all here. There's a selection of old movies in VHS. (That'€™s gloriously old school rich.)The pub, like every other building, also has big, green umbrellas available just in case it rains – which was one of my favorite touches even though it did not rain.

6) There are no phones in the rooms, but there are wooden phone cubicles where long distance is unlimited and free. (Hi, Mom! They placed a cookie with my name on it on the pillow! No kidding!)

7) All the rooms have working fireplaces and fires are ready-made for guests. All that's necessary is to light them. The sumptuous beds offer fluffy mattresses, down featherbeds and plenty of space. The room is also stocked with complementary bottled water and snacks including fresh fruit and the bathrooms are chocked full of Kiehl'€™s products. (Soon, my bag was stuffed with them, too.)

8) The hotel holds a cocktail hour in the early evening, which is a perfect time to meet the other guests. Since it was a beautiful night, we had cocktails and Horsdoeuvres on the cruising boat. The staff helpfully reminded me that I should wear flats on the boat, but I could change into my heels at dinner. This prompted an amusing visual image of a stiletto-ed trophy wife plunging headfirst into the lake. (By the way, it'€™s Crudités not carrot sticks.)

9) Dinner is served at eight, either in your room or in the community dinning room. jackets & ties are required and black tie is suggested on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Big round tables, a fireplace and giant dead animal heads lend a rustic vibe to the fancy food. Appropriate wines are served with each course. As the wine flowed, I began to field delicately-worded but still vulgar questions from my dinner companions about just how it is that was that I could afford to be there. My suggestion on how to handle these Caddyshack moments? Answer like old money, with a smooth evasion.  (Let'€™s face, real billionaires wouldn't have to come to this joint, would they? They already own joints like this.)

10)  After dinner, guests are invited to a bonfire, including s'mores, on the point itself, which overlooks the lake. Not only were there s'€™mores, but a small bar had been set up there as well. Brilliant.

11) In the morning, you may choose breakfast in bed or breakfast on the deck overlooking the lake. I'€™m an early riser, so I was able to enjoy the sunrise on the deck with my morning coffee. Again are no menus -€“ you just order what you like and they make it. You want eggs benedict? You got it. You want an atkins-approved omelet? You got it. You want fresh blueberries, granola and yogurt (like I did) - you got it - €“ all served with a smile.

12) I needed to leave early, so the hotel manager offered to send me away with a box lunch for the road. My car was brought around (filled with gas), my luggage and the box lunch packed inside and chilled bottled water in the cup holders.

Ostán Oileain Árainn (The Aran Islands Hotel)

Eerily silent, green and isolated, Ireland's Aran islands do seem to exist a little bit out of time and place. After all, island's famously rugged denizens  speak Gaelic as their native tongue because the islands are so remote that the British never bothered to invade and force everybody to speak English. Although very popular with day trippers from Galway, very few take the Aran islands experience to the highest level by staying the night.

Pity that because Ostán Oileain Árainn or The Aran Islands Hotel offers a chance at peace and quiet rarely found so close to the modern world. The well-built structure isn't big or imposing, but it does fit right in with the other sturdy Irish buildings on Inis Mór, the largest of the three islands, and it does keep out the cold wind and rain that add to the mystique of the islands. Family run, the staff is always willing to suggest a route for one's walk, whether you'd like to see ancient ruins or sublime vistas. And yes, walking, sitting and talking are probably the primary activities at the hotel and on the islands. The rooms themselves are comfortable and warm, which is probably all you need or want if you come here.

Inis Mór can be reached via ferry or small plane, but if you are at all prone to seasickness, take the plane.

Soniat House

One of the best litmus tests for hotel coolness, especially if the hotel is located in a big city like New Orleans, is how well it blends into its surroundings. Because a hotel that doesn't have to advertise its presence, usually has something quite special to offer.

By that standard, the posh but decidedly low key Soniat House takes the prize because I walked past it about four times before realizing I had found the place.  No doormen or taxi stands here, just a pair of old school antique-looking double doors that lead to a restored French Quarter mansion.  Once I rang the doorbell, a gentleman's gentleman in a white jacket and gloves answered the door and led me into a almost silent gardened courtyard. It felt transporting, almost like stepping through a wardrobe or into Diagon Alley, except it was real and an authentically different world.

Once inside, everything seems designed to transport you back at least a century to the Creole New Orleans that no longer exists. Each room is decorated with original period antiques (think four poster beds armoires) and what few pieces of technology to be found are tucked away out of sight. It may not take you back as far as the 1870s, but it sure feels like the 1920s.  Oh, and breakfast served in that Garden? Very romantic.

Hotel Punta Tragara

Hotel Punta Tragara is the best hotel in Capri, and Capri is one of the best places on the planet. First, Capri is an island with sublime vistas and lovely Mediterranean beaches that can be uncrowded depending on when you go. The place overflows with flora, as if the whole island is a garden, and the food is well, Italian. And not Little Italy Italian either. Real Euro-Italian. The itself island also has thousands of years of history, including but not limited to incidents involving exiled emperors and crazy pop stars.

The best view of all can be had from the Punta Tragara, a hotel which feels legitimately luxurious yet unpretentious.  No silly over-the-top amenities here, just the ones you need. The large, pink structure is - I kid you not - nestled on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The white washed rooms evoke peace, pleasure and a perpetual sense of "I am in Italy and all is right with the world." It's as if the Punta Tragara always existed or at the very least  was always meant to exist.  Moreover, it feels like James Bond should have some sort of adventure there.  Daniel Crag's bond, I mean. 

The Mill Resort & Suites

The problem with overdeveloped islands like Aruba, which I love visiting, is that there are very few cool hotels.  I suppose when people go on a beach vacation, they want air conditioning, towels and comfy beds. They don't worry about character the same way they would if they were visiting, say, Scotland or Napa. Heck, the island's time-share Marriott resort is growing so fast it threatens to swallow the entire northern tip of the island whole. But the sad thing is, Caribbean islands are chocked full of eccentricity and if you look hard enough, you'll find places like The Mill Resort & Suites.

One of the best things about the low-rise  Mill Resort in is the literalness of its name. Unlike most hotels, named after some nearby or abstract cultural landmark or artifact (see The Alamo Hotel, San Antonio), The Mill Resort actually has a  full-sized windmill, brought over from the Netherlands, sitting in its courtyard. And given how the trade winds constantly pound at the little desert island, well, it makes perfect sense that some enterprising Dutchman would buy a windmill and ship it over.

But beyond the windmill, the Mill Resort offers a terrific alternative to plastic chains without one having to give up on that towels, a/c and comfy beds. The courtyard has tropical gardens and a pool that feel miles away from the casinos, shops and popular beaches that are in fact just a few hundred yards  away. Every room is different, giving a distinct "This is my friend's beach house" vibe. 

Best of all, the Mill Resort  attracts some of Aruba's most interesting visitors. Lots of Europeans choose to stay there as well as some of the islands kiteboarding/windsurfing community.

The Hotel Paisano

Marfa, Texas may be a tiny town and several hours away from an international airport, Wal-Mart or even a Burger King, but its multiple claims to fame draw everyone from ultra-hip art scenesters to film geeks to UFO enthusiasts. The town itself is home to Donald Judd's Chinati Foundation, was the place where James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson filmed Giant and is home to the mysterious, possibly supernatural Marfa Lights.

Right smack in the center of town, The Hotel Paisano isn't just a place to stay. It's part of the fabric of the town. The lobby, chocked full of enough leather furniture and Mexican tile to make any cattle baron feel at home, runs Giant on a loop and sells all sorts of ufo, art and James Dean memorabilia. There's a gorgeous, tiled swimming pool, a courtyard and a fountain and best of all, a sense of history. The rooms may not quite evoke the same sense of luxury as the lobby, but they are comfy. And my room had a balcony that was perfect for having breakfast. From there, I watched a group of black-clad art collectors head off through the courtyard to see Donald Judd's work and heard a couple of guys in the next balcony bemoan not seeing the lights.

There is a restaurant, Jett's, named after James Dean's character in Giant, and the food isn't bad and isn't overpriced. And dogs can say, if you negotiate properly.