Top ten hotel rooms with a view

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Hotels aren’t the sum of travel, but the right hotel can bring magic to a journey. Friendly employees, amazing furnishings, and great locations can all make a good holiday great. And an exceptional view, above and beyond the rest, can stick in one’s memory forever. Here are ten hotels strewn around the world, each with ridiculously stunning views.

1. Shearwater Resort, Saba. Shearwater’s Cottage Rooms, which overlook the resort’s cliffside pool from an altitude of 2000 feet and sport views of the ocean and several neighboring islands (St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, and Nevis) are in a league of their own. See above for evidence. Shearwater’s owners also recommend the views from their Ocean View Suite. Cottage Rooms from $175; Ocean View Suite from $250.

2. Longitude 131, Ayers Rock Resort, Australia. The tents at Longitude 131 at Ayers Rock feature heart-stopping panoramic views of this most iconic of Australian sights. This is real fantasy territory, with rates well beyond feasibility for most. From A$4080 for two for two nights ($4095).

3. Hotel on Rivington, New York, New York. The corner king rooms at this Lower East Side outpost of extravagance have floor-to-ceiling glass walls affording astounding views of the city. Aim for a room on a higher floor. From $379.

4. Hotel de Crillon, Paris, France. Terribly exorbitant, yes–not sure that a room at this price point should ever be recommended–but the views are exquisite here. Do you best to nab a room with a view over the Place de la Concorde to the Eiffel Tower. From €630 ($875).

5. Sheraton Iguazú Resort and Spa, Iguazú Falls, Argentina. The only hotel inside the Iguazú National Park offers awe-inspiring views of the falls themselves. The Falls View rooms, all with balconies, are perfect for the view-minded. From $255.

6. Campi ya Kanzi, Mtito Andei, Kenya. Campi ya Kanzi lies in a 400 square-mile are of Maasai-run land in southern Kenya. Mount Kilimanjaro is 35 miles away from the camp site, which consists of six tented cottages and two suites. Suites run $1600 for two; single occupancy $900.

7. The Intercontinental, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Stunning Hong Kong Harbor provides the world one of its most exciting skylines, and a harbourview room at the Intercontinental is one of the best places to glimpse it. From around HK$2600 ($335).

8. The Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff, Alberta, Canada. The most iconic of Canada’s mountain lodges, the Fairmont Banff Springs is in a league of its own as far as picturesque placement is concerned. Many rooms offer extraordinary views as well. Book a valley view room (not a mountain view room) to take full advantage of the Rockies’ scenic majesty. From around C$439 ($437).

9. Explora, Torres del Paine, Chile. Gorgeous if minimalist modernism features here in the wilds of Chilean Patagonia, courtesy of famed Chilean architect Germán del Sol. Views of Macizo del Paine are drop-dead extraordinary. They’re also most definitely not cheap. Four nights will run $5840 for two.

10. La Haut Plantation, St. Lucia. The least expensive of the options here is this reasonable stunner, which has great views of St. Lucia’s famous Pitons. Even the least expensive Standard Garden rooms here boast incredible views of the Pitons. From $120 in low season.

A list like this one is of course necessarily quite subjective, and my evaluation here is designed to suggest and expose more than it is intended to lay down the law. Have a hotel view in mind that you think belongs on this list? Add it in the comments below!

(Images provided by hotels, except for the view from the Sheraton Iguazú Resort and Spa [Flickr / Tran’s World Productions] and view from the Fairmont Banff Springs [Flickr / dbaron]

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From World Cup to contemporary tourist destination: part one

by Alex Robertson Textor on

The World Cup is first and foremost a sporting event, though it’s also a chance for national brands to be disseminated widely, and for a sense of shared excitement to gather around the countries competing. No country has the opportunity to launch an ambitious branding effort like the host country, of course, and South Africa has done a good job drumming up interest in its people, history, and sights.

The next step, at least for anyone interested in tying an increased national profile to prospective tourist revenue, is to motivate people to actually visit the countries in question. Following, one hotel or resort each from countries selected from World Cup Groups A, B, C, and D ideal for putting their country’s modern (and in most cases relatively reasonably-priced) foot forward.

Group A. Mexico: Hotel Básico, Playa del Carmen.

Hotel Básico is minimalist yet completely Mexican in spirit, a blending of edginess and warmth. The tourism portrait of Mexico doesn’t usually extend to contemporary cool. This is a shame, especially given Mexico’s strong modernist bona fides. Hotels as bold as Básico go some distance toward rectifying the impression. Doubles from $178.

Group B. Argentina: Home Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires.

There are pricier and cushier hotels in Buenos Aires, but none gathers the ridiculous cool of post-economic crisis Buenos Aires like Home. Décor is chic and fresh, and the location in ultra-hip Palermo is perfect for stylish city slickers. Doubles from $130.

Group C: Slovenia: Nebesa, Livek.

The marriage of modernity and mountains is wonderfully center-stage in Slovenia. Nebesa, from its mountain perch in the tiny village of Livek on the Italian border, gathers this Slovenian tradition. The views are extraordinary (see above) and the houses are perfectly executed. Houses for two from €210 per night.

Group D: Germany: Arte Luise Kunsthotel, Berlin.

Berlin, in the immortal words of its mayor Klaus Wowereit, is “poor but sexy.” Germany’s most electrifying city isn’t just sexy and poor. It’s also remarkably easy on the wallet for visitors, and happily this fact extends to the city’s hotel stock. The Arte Luise Kunsthotel, located in the exciting Mitte ‘hood, features artist-decorated rooms in a range of themes. Double rooms from €79.

(Image: Flickr/Andrea Musi)

Photo of the Day 5.12.10

by Melanie Nayer on


It’s sexy, sultry, and seductive. To some it’s forbidden, for others it’s a brief moment of passion stemmed from just a few musical notes, which for centuries have created a stirring sensation on the dance floor. The tango is one of the most romantic forms of dance and while some have tried to ban the dance from their halls, others have embraced the tango for everything it stands for.

So, when the mood strikes, just dance. That’s what the people outside this Cathedral we doing when Cristina Passarelli grabbed this shot of couples doing the tango in Argentina.

Titled “Tango en frente de la Catedral”, the photo captures an awesome irony between the tango’s forbidden footwork and the church’s regimented principles.

Have a photo you think captures art in motion? Upload it to our Flickr Pool and we might just choose your shot to highlight in our Photo of the Day.

Photo of the Day (5.11.10)

by Stephen Greenwood on
If someone asked you to pick out Ushuaia on a map, would you know where to look? That’s the location of today’s Photo of the Day, taken by Flickr user pancha!.

Ushuaia (hear the pronunciation here) is the capital of Argentine province Tierra del Fuego and regarded as the southernmost city in the world. Tourists flock to Ushuaia for skiiing, wildlife, Antarctica-bound cruises, and apparently the beautiful sunsets. Light is key in any great photo, and this is certainly a great example of capturing a photo at just the right moment.

If you’ve been to a remote destination and snapped a great photo of it – share it with us! Drop it in our Gadling Flickr Pool and it could be tomorrow’s Photo of the Day!

3 unexpected destinations for riding like a wild west cowboy

by Katie Hammel on

The wild west cowboy is an American icon. Buffalo Bill. John Wayne. The Marlboro Man. These guys were as tough, rugged and wild as the west itself. They represented everything exciting and romantic about the undiscovered western half of the country. But this area of the US isn’t the only place where cowboys roam the range. Here are are few more places where you can rope and ride alongside real cowboys.

South America – The Pampas of Argentina
Someone has to wrangle the cows that make that famously tender Argentine beef, and that’s the job of Argentina’s gauchos, the South American cowboys who run the country’s estancias (or ranches). Many, like Estancia los dos Hermanos, are now open to tourism. Just an hour or so outside of Buenos Aires, you can gallop alongside the gauchos for hours, and then return to the ranch for a filling meal of juicy local beef.

Other cowboy outposts in the region include Uruguay, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.

Central America – The Hills of Honduras
The hilly region of northwest Honduras, close to the border with Guatemala, is pure cowboy country. Outside of the small town of Copan, near the Mayan ruins, coffee plantations and cattle farms cover the land. Most of these are purely working operations, but a select few, like Finca el Cisne, have caught on to the agri-tourism trend and offer horseback tours of their properties. Here you can learn all about how coffee is produced and then enjoy an exhilarating ride through the misty green hills.

You can also find cowboy culture alive and well in parts of Guatemala and Costa Rica.North America – The Islands of Hawaii
In Hawaii, paniolos (Hawaiian cowboys), herd cattle and sheep over the rolling hills of the islands. Kahua Ranch, on the Big Island, is one of the oldest working ranches in Hawaii. It’s been around since 1850, and in fact is located just above the harbor where the very first cattle arrived on the island. The ranch welcomes guests for 2.5 hour rides over some of the property’s 12,000 acres.

Western Canada, Mexico and of course, many parts of the Western US still rely heavily on cowboys to manage large cattle farms.

Cowboy culture extends far beyond the Americas. They’re just as tough in Australia, where they herd cattle over never-ending expanses of the hot, dusty, Outback, or in New Zealand, where they guide sheep over the country’s rugged landscape. There are even cowboys in South Africa. So pack your boots and ten-gallon hat for your next international journey, and you can have a cowboy adventure almost anywhere you go.