Interesting Hotels – for beaches, bikes & exhibitionists
Sunday, 22 December 2013When I’m looking for ‘interesting’ (which could also be read as ‘expensive’) hotels I often use the Tablet Hotels website and booking operation. Tablet’s on-line magazine regularly features interesting categories with an assortment of places that fit the definition. For example if you wanted a hotel with its own private island.
▲ A Berlin wall leaper
Or try this list if you want to pedal away from your bicycle, these hotels are all bicycle friendly. My favourite bicycle last year was the Art’otel Berlin Mitte in the German capital. There were a couple of Unter den Linden addresses I wanted to check out so I borrowed one of the hotel’s bicycles to pedal over there one quiet Sunday morning. And cruise one of the few remaining stretches of the Berlin Wall.
▲ The 1888 lobby
Last week I was at a hotel out of their ‘Hotels for Exhibitionists’ report. I’d stayed in one of their suggestions before, the Standard High Line which straddles the High Line Park in New York City’s trendy Meatpacking District. When it first opened it seemed some guests couldn’t resist forgetting to pull the blinds on their floor to ceiling windows. Studying what was happening at the Standard became part of the attraction for walking the High Line. I wasn’t in an exhibitionist mood, but last week in Sydney I stayed at the 1888 Hotel in Pyrmont, just north of Darling Harbour. It’s an interesting renovation of an old building, the core chopped out to make an atrium and lots of encouragement for guess who want to shoot selfies or put up their hotel shots on Instagram.
I may tote up some expensive nights at Tablet (and other) hotels each year, but I’m always intrigued how low I go. In the past 12 months my cheapest nights have been at the Harmony Guest House in Pingyao, China (US$36) and the Aluna in Santa Marta, Colombia (US$28). Go another couple of months back and in late 2012 I had a US$7 night at the Homestay G at Banteay Chhmar in Cambodia.
