Top 10 Hotels (so far)

While we have more in store, we have accumulated some pretty fantastic hotel experiences and wanted to share our list of our favorites. They come from across Europe and North America. Some can be super-expensive in high season, but if you scout deals in the shoulder and off-seasons you can find a good rate. None of these will disappoint.

Inn of the Anasazi. Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA). When we were working, this was a little retreat for us from the day-to-day grind and aggressive schedules. We returned this fall, on the cusp of winter, for a stay in its gorgeous adobe architecture and New Mexican stylishly decorated rooms. This is one which can be pretty expensive, but if you dog their website (or deals on Booking.com), you may be able to spot a deal in the off-season. It’s a great place to rest and relax while visiting the Plaza, digging in to Santa Fe’s art scene and sampling fantastic New Mexican food all about town. Link to hotel website here.

Herdade do Sobroso. Pedrogão, Alentejo (Portugal). Like the Inn of the Anasazi, this is a place we have visited in all seasons while in Portugal. It is very remote and way off the beaten path. The hotel is built on a working vineyard. The rooms are kind of basic, but the service is excellent, and the dining experiences always seem to exceed expectations. Much of the food is prepared from ingredients sourced on the property. In summer and early fall, we’ve eaten dinner on the terrace and, one time, a South African who joined us told us that the landscape reminded him of an African savannah. Activities include a jeep viewing safari of wildlife on their fenced in nature preserve, hot air ballooning, wine tasting (of course) or just lounging at the pool or by their small pond. Also one where you need to scout for deals, as the rates between high and lower seasons can really vary. Link to the hotel website here.

Sublime. Comporta, Alentejo (Portugal). Amidst olive groves on coastal Alentejo, Sublime is, well, sublime. A small hotel exists on property along with cabanas and guest houses (last time we visited, construction of more rooms was underway across the small rural highway however). Rates can really vary. Summer can be prohibitively expensive (at least for us). Service is excellent as is the food in its several small restaurants. Some of the cabanas have their own private terraces overlooking private pools. Sublime also has a beachfront restaurant where we often take visitors even when we aren’t staying in Comporta on our way to or from other parts of Portugal to the south of Lisbon. Link to hotel website here.

Moni Emvasis Suites. Monemvasia, Peloponnese (Greece). We discovered Monemvasia through a Rick Steves episode on the Peloponnese. We stayed there a long time ago on our first trip to the country. The hotel is very small with only three suites. The village of Monemvasia was built on the sea side of a large rock and has three parts: the upper, middle and lower towns. Cats roam the streets and defend each of their upper, middle and lower territories from cats from other parts of town. But they aren’t exactly strays, the people of the town feed them giving them a more domesticated than feral feel. When we stayed, the owner/operator would ask us during breakfast what we wanted for dinner and would go to the local fishermen to procure it each day. Just fabulous. Link to hotel website here.

Ikies. Oia, Santorini (Greece). Also in Greece, on the island of Santorini (Santorini is the Italian name, the Greek name for the island is Thira) and located on the north end of the island in the town of Oia, Ikies is an ideal location if you’re staying on the island. Away from the hustle of Fira, where the planes land and cruise ships dock, Oia is a destination for locals, visitors, tourists and cruisers to view the sunset. At Ikies, you can sit on your own private terrace, where breakfast is delivered at a time of your choosing, and watch the cruise ships arrive through the caldera (the mouth of the volcano which erupted here in 1600 BC) to dock in Fira. But when the cruisers leave, Oia becomes a town for the locals and overnighters. Ikies is a hotel constructed from traditional whitewashed cliff cave houses. We stayed right after a remodel and got a smoking deal but if you’re staying on the island, it is worth checking it out to see if it can fit into your budget. Link to hotel website here.

Hotel Palazzo Murat. Positano, Amalfi Coast (Italy). The palazzo was built on the ruins of a church and former benedictine abbey. It was converted to a guest house in the early 1900s and a hotel in the 1960s. You can almost feel the visiting movie stars of Hollywood’s bygone era pass through its halls as you head to your room. It is situated right in the heart of Positano, and wafts of lemons greet you each morning as you rise to take in the Amalfi coastline. When we stayed there, a local musician would play mandolin and sing operatic tunes each night from the steps of the church just below us as we drifted off to sleep with a freshly consumed limoncello helping us drift off. Link to the hotel website here.

The Prospect Hotel. Hollywood, Los Angeles, California (USA). Speaking of Hollywood’s heydey, a few blocks from the madness of Hollywood Blvd (and I do mean madness), the Prospect Hotel is a little oasis right near the action. The rooms are named after Hollywood stars from the 1950s and 60s, the service is outstanding, and the garden courtyard is a lovely place to relax and decompress after a day exploring L.A. Link to the hotel website here.

Hotel Endsleigh. Dartmoor, Devon (England). Speaking of gardens, Hotel Endsleigh is surrounded by 100 acres of them. Fantastic rose gardens, amazing natural gardens growing around rivers and streams, woodlands and grottos designed by Humphry Repton. People come just to visit them. Inside the gorgeous English manor, you find relatively simple rooms, fantastic afternoon tea spreads, all of the makings for a luscious English breakfast and relaxing, traditional English dinner feasts by a roaring fire. We are excited to return. Link to hotel website here.

Hotel Le Germain. Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). In the heart of Ottawa, Le Germain has a modern, urban style and exceptional service. The rooms are super comfortable and provide a perfect place to stay and explore Canada’s capitol city, its gardens, canal walk and sights. Don’t skip a stop at the bar for a drink and/or a meal. Link to the hotel website here.

Vilalara Thalassa Resort. Porches, Algarve (Portugal). Last and certainly not least, Vilalara Thalassa is our favorite place we’ve stayed in the Algarve. Slightly smaller than its adjacent neighboring resort, Vila Vita Parc, it has several pools, a beach nestled between some of those famous Algarve cliffs, three restaurants and exceptional service. A great winter getaway and escape to explore the Algarve, Vilalara Thalassa has become our go-to. Like most on this list, shoulder and off-season rates vary widely from height of summer ones, and it does close down after New Year’s for several weeks. Sit back, enjoy the fresh local orange juice at the buffet breakfast, lounge by the pool and just breathe. Link to the hotel website here.

Once we’ve accumulated more favorite hotels we’ll create another post. In the meantime, we’ll tag blog posts which have them with the keyword “Favorite Hotels” so you can enter that in the search bar of our site. Happy traveling!