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Elegant Small HotelsA Connoisseur’s GuideReviewed by Judy Colbert
By small, Lanier generally means fewer than 200 guest rooms, with most of them having half that number. By elegant, she eliminates all chain and cookie-cutter properties. These places are decorated with the fabrics and style that you might choose if you were building a home with 100 or so guest rooms (the Kachemak Bay Lodge in Homer, Alaska has only six rooms and three suites and the Golden Door spa in Escondido, California, has room for only thirty-nine guests). And the staff must treat the guests as you would treat yours. Without doubt, the hotel has overnight shoeshine service available. Certainly there are fresh flowers in your room. And, surely, the concierge can find the unfindable and can do the impossible. From Alaska to Florida (but not every state in between) and several foreign countries and Caribbean islands, if luxury is what you seek, you should find your ideal property in your ideal location in Lanier’s book. A delightful touch to the listed properties is that they don’t all charge over-the-top prices, with some hotels starting at under $100 a night (okay, so some of them may be in the $1000 a night category). Each listing includes contact information (with email and web site when available) the number of rooms/suites; attractions; services and amenities; restrictions (pets, children); concierge and room service availability; dining options; and business, conference, and sports facilities in-house or nearby. Write-ups, apparently provided by the individual properties, include what they think makes them a special lodging option. A photo or drawing accompanies each one-page listing. Of course, the most important information in each listing could be what makes each property elegant, whether it’s the décor, location, service, dining, or other intangible. So, even if your travel plans don’t include Fiji and you won’t be staying in one of the twelve Bures (villas) at the Maravu Plantation Resort and enjoying one of Fiji’s best wine lists, “Elegant Small Hotels” lets you dream or talk as though you’ve been there. Elegant Small Hotels: A Connoisseur’s Guide |
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TM
Pamela Lanier has made a career of publishing books
about the most elegant, posh, and luxurious hotels around the world. Yeah,
it’s one of those “someone has to do it” jobs. For the 17th
edition of her guidebook to these lovely out-of-the-way places, she includes
246 grand luxe hotels, city center hotels, outstanding resorts, affordable
elegance, and wonderful country inns.