Best Room, Suite or Villa you've stayed in?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: London
Posts: 3,439
Best Room, Suite or Villa you've stayed in?
There was an old thread on this but as it was over 10 years old I've started a new one. I'll start it off by saying I've just stayed in one of the Prestige Suites at the IC in Marseille - easily the most impressive Suite I've stayed in! It was approx 115 M² with ceilings of 6-7M high and floor to ceiling opening windows overlooking the Vieux Port and the Notre Dame. Extremely well thought out layout with excellent fittings including all electric curtains and Porcelanosa bathroom fittings. Much more impressive than say the Pen in Shanghai - no little delivery hatch though! http://marseille.intercontinental.co...ge-suites.html
Second best is a tie between either Villa 501 at Sugar Beach (formerly the Jalousie ) in St Lucia - just loved the all white decor which complimented the colonial inspired design and the views from the plunge pool and terrace are to die for - or our corner suite at the IC in Sydney, well appointed but what made it was the views of the full harbour right round from the Bridge past the Opera House out to the east.
Best room would be the Park Hyatt in Siem Reap - loved the layout and decor. Others such as Oriental Bangkok, MO HK, FSs Budapest and Bosphorus may have been nice and had great views but for actual room the PH is the one I think was the best.
Second best is a tie between either Villa 501 at Sugar Beach (formerly the Jalousie ) in St Lucia - just loved the all white decor which complimented the colonial inspired design and the views from the plunge pool and terrace are to die for - or our corner suite at the IC in Sydney, well appointed but what made it was the views of the full harbour right round from the Bridge past the Opera House out to the east.
Best room would be the Park Hyatt in Siem Reap - loved the layout and decor. Others such as Oriental Bangkok, MO HK, FSs Budapest and Bosphorus may have been nice and had great views but for actual room the PH is the one I think was the best.
#2
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: UK
Posts: 1,644
Shall I go first? But in no particular order . . .
The overwater bungalow called Vete at the Hotel Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Any room at the Chateau de Bagnols, France
Our room at the Four Seasons, Carmelo, Uruguay
Our first room in 1990 at Amandari, Bali, Indonesia
Ed Tuttle's villa at Amanpuri, Phuket, Thailand
Poolside cabanas at the Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills, USA
Perhaps the best of all has been Amantaka, Luang Prabang, Laos
Great city hotels such as FS Hong Kong and Doha were stunning but a bit predictable.
I also recall with the greatest affection several rooms and hotels which might not have been luxury but were bursting with character:
Our hilarious fale at Aggie Grey's, Apia, Samoa
Peponi at Lamu, Kenya, then the trendiest hotel in the world
Living a Joseph Conrad novel at the Maulana Inn, Banda Islands, Indonesia
Gazing across a forest of Roman columns from our balcony at the Meridien Hotel, Palmyra, Syria (RIP)
The Petra Rest House, Petra, Jordan, where the cold water tap was on one wall and the basin on another.
Apsara Villas in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in 1992 - dead snakes in the empty pool and giant spiders in our room (this place is now Amansara).
The overwater bungalow called Vete at the Hotel Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Any room at the Chateau de Bagnols, France
Our room at the Four Seasons, Carmelo, Uruguay
Our first room in 1990 at Amandari, Bali, Indonesia
Ed Tuttle's villa at Amanpuri, Phuket, Thailand
Poolside cabanas at the Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills, USA
Perhaps the best of all has been Amantaka, Luang Prabang, Laos
Great city hotels such as FS Hong Kong and Doha were stunning but a bit predictable.
I also recall with the greatest affection several rooms and hotels which might not have been luxury but were bursting with character:
Our hilarious fale at Aggie Grey's, Apia, Samoa
Peponi at Lamu, Kenya, then the trendiest hotel in the world
Living a Joseph Conrad novel at the Maulana Inn, Banda Islands, Indonesia
Gazing across a forest of Roman columns from our balcony at the Meridien Hotel, Palmyra, Syria (RIP)
The Petra Rest House, Petra, Jordan, where the cold water tap was on one wall and the basin on another.
Apsara Villas in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in 1992 - dead snakes in the empty pool and giant spiders in our room (this place is now Amansara).
Last edited by Pausanias; Aug 21, 2014 at 10:34 am
#4
Community Director Emerita
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 33,747
Best: 1800 sq ft beachfront suite at St Regis Punta Mita with private pool and jacuzzi.
Worst: private cottage in Bandipur National Park, India. Our driver didn't speak English. The cook didn't speak English. There were no linens on the bed and no running water. We had a single blanket (width of a cot) to cover two of us on a very chilly night. We had wild boar running around the building at night. I subsequently got pneumonia. We figured out that the rate for the cottage was $2/night. I've no idea why the agency booked it on what was otherwise a luxe trip.
Worst: private cottage in Bandipur National Park, India. Our driver didn't speak English. The cook didn't speak English. There were no linens on the bed and no running water. We had a single blanket (width of a cot) to cover two of us on a very chilly night. We had wild boar running around the building at night. I subsequently got pneumonia. We figured out that the rate for the cottage was $2/night. I've no idea why the agency booked it on what was otherwise a luxe trip.
#5
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: France
Posts: 971
Nicest: Conventino Presidential Suite at Four Seasons Florence
Best lay out / residential feeling: Bvlgari V at Bvlgari London
Best holiday suite: Sveti Stefan Suite at Aman Sveti Stefan
May be if you ask again tomorrow I will say something different
Best lay out / residential feeling: Bvlgari V at Bvlgari London
Best holiday suite: Sveti Stefan Suite at Aman Sveti Stefan
May be if you ask again tomorrow I will say something different
#6
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Woodside, CA, USA
Programs: United Platinum
Posts: 517
Observatory Suite in Sydney
The Observatory Suite at the hotel of the same name in Sydney was spectacular, and larger than the apartment I lived in at the time. Unfortunately I was only there for one night.
Someone at the hotel decided I was the Australian Rules Hall of Fame player I share a name with, and when I checked in at 10pm the front desk didn't realize I was at least 50 years too young :-)
Bob
Someone at the hotel decided I was the Australian Rules Hall of Fame player I share a name with, and when I checked in at 10pm the front desk didn't realize I was at least 50 years too young :-)
Bob
#7
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764
Favorite suite/villas includes:
The Point, Vatulele Island, Fiji--spacious villa with 2 dramatic private pools and ocean view
Grand Deluxe Riverview Suite, Peninsula Shanghai--amazing suite design, layout, and views, probably favorite city suite for us ever
Everest Suite, St. Regis Lhasa, Tibet--beautiful spacious suite with amazing view and private deck looking onto Potala Palace
Presidential Villa, Azura Benguerra Island, Mozambique--incredibly spacious villa with huge pool and bar/layout
Presidential Suite, The Halkin, London--love an urban suite with an outdoor terrace, especially in boutique type property
Presidential Suite, Hotel de Vendome--beautiful Deco suite with private outdoor terrace, boutique type property
Villa, Cavas Wine Lodge, Mendoza, Argentina--the view is majestic in a boutique property
Indrakila Suite, Amankila, Bali--spacious villa with amazing pool deck with forever views
The Point, Vatulele Island, Fiji--spacious villa with 2 dramatic private pools and ocean view
Grand Deluxe Riverview Suite, Peninsula Shanghai--amazing suite design, layout, and views, probably favorite city suite for us ever
Everest Suite, St. Regis Lhasa, Tibet--beautiful spacious suite with amazing view and private deck looking onto Potala Palace
Presidential Villa, Azura Benguerra Island, Mozambique--incredibly spacious villa with huge pool and bar/layout
Presidential Suite, The Halkin, London--love an urban suite with an outdoor terrace, especially in boutique type property
Presidential Suite, Hotel de Vendome--beautiful Deco suite with private outdoor terrace, boutique type property
Villa, Cavas Wine Lodge, Mendoza, Argentina--the view is majestic in a boutique property
Indrakila Suite, Amankila, Bali--spacious villa with amazing pool deck with forever views
#9
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Palo Alto, CA, USA
Posts: 3,222
River-view Edwardian suite at The Savoy in London
Pool suite at La Casa Que Canta in Zihuatanejo, Mexico
Vista suite at Ventana, Big Sur
Villa King Jacuzzi suite at The Peninsula Beverly Hills
At Las Alamandas, Casa del Domo and Casa del Sol.
Pool suite at La Casa Que Canta in Zihuatanejo, Mexico
Vista suite at Ventana, Big Sur
Villa King Jacuzzi suite at The Peninsula Beverly Hills
At Las Alamandas, Casa del Domo and Casa del Sol.
Last edited by KatW; Aug 24, 2014 at 11:59 am