https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ Discussion regarding the very best places to stay around the world as well as luxury trains, cruises, villas, private air charter, and luxury guide service. en Wed, 10 Jun 2026 22:35:44 GMT vBulletin 5 https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels-travel/2218787-hawaii-luxury-hotels.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 06:09:29 GMT I'm planning a trip to the Big Island in December, and I'm stuck between Rosewood Kona Village and Four Seasons Hualalai. I'm not interested in doing a split stay, so I'd like to choose one and only one. This will be a solo vacation, so my ideal vibe is one that's somewhere between total peace/isolation and a loud/festive environment. This puts me right in the middle of Rosewood and FS, respectively. The two other things i care about are the food and the hard product.

Rosewood:
- superior hard product, super sleek, super clean, newer build
- fewer food options, and notoriously expensive dining (this is intentional as far as I understand -- something something about brand positioning)
- service inconsistencies and contradictions, aggregated from multiple online reviews

Four Seasons
- inferior hard product. i know they recently went through a renovation, but I still find the hard product here lacking in comparison to KV
- more versatile food options
- service inconsistencies and contradictions, aggregated from multiple online reviews
- worried it might be too busy. I'd be going early/mid December so before the holiday rush of families, but I'm sure the property is busy year-round.
- worried about restaurant reservations. I don't want to be making reservations for places days before I eat there, I want to be able to walk to wherever I want to eat that day and be able to get a spot. I've seen reports that it's hard to do this at Hualalai.

At Rosewood, the Beachfront One Bedroom Kuahale comes out to around $18,500 for 5 nights. At FS, the Superior Oceanfront Suite comes out to around $17,500 for 5 nights. Any input from the community? To my understanding, Rosewood is better for couples, whereas FS is better for families and/or elderly couples. This puts me right in the middle of the two properties, and I can't decide which to pick. ]]> Luxury Hotels and Travel ericyihengji https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels-travel/2218787-hawaii-luxury-hotels.html https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels-travel/2218560-grad-otocec-beautiful-castle-hotel-slovenia.html Thu, 28 May 2026 11:41:15 GMT A niece sent me a book of top 50 hotels in the world. I browsed thru it, saw some places we've stayed, saw some places I've read about in this forum, and happened on a hotel in a country where I have never heard of luxury properties. That was the Grad Otocec in Slovenia. So I booked it and organized a trip around it. And that's how we ended up having a delightful trip to Slovenia, a European destination not yet overrun by tourists.

Grad Otocec was built in the 1200s. Several families owned it over the centuries. One of these owners excavated land around the castle to make it into an island, rather than simply being on a river At the beginning of World War II, Italian forces occupied the castle and used it as a military stronghold. In 1942, Yugoslav Partisans burned the castle, leaving much of it in ruins, including its bridges. Restoration began in 1952 and a restaurant was added in 1959. Sometime in the next 10 years it was opened as a hotel. It became a Relais & Chateaux property in 2010. It is also a Virtuoso property. It has just 16 rooms and suites. It also has a golf course off the island.

We booked a junior suite with a Virtuoso booking as that had additional benefits. The junior suite is actually a full suite but it is dark. Castle windows are small and there wasn't a great deal of natural light. Regardless, I always want space and I would book this again. Service was attentive. We had beautiful spring weather and enjoyed eating outside in their lovely terrace. It is an intimate property with great character that I very much enjoy.








]]> Luxury Hotels and Travel SanDiego1K https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxury-hotels-travel/2218560-grad-otocec-beautiful-castle-hotel-slovenia.html