The Hotties. My own, rather personal, awards for hotel excellence ... |
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| The story behind these awards I've traveled quite
a bit the past decade; sometimes spending more than 100 nights a year
away from home. That has put me in a large number, and quite a variety,
of hotels all over North America, as well as a few in Europe. So...I've
'slept around.' In the process I've stumbled across some amenities that
I consider truly excellent. These are, for the most part, not the sort
of thing that hotel marketers are ever likely to mention. At least not
with the kind of soul that they merit. So, to fill that serious void,
I present ... |
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| Best view from a bathroom These days, most hotel bathrooms give you a great view of ... walls. The days when hotels were built such that there was actually a window in a bathroom are long gone. Consequently, in order to have much of a chance in this most excellent of all categories, a hotel probably needs to have been built before corporate architecture (devoted to the bottom line, rather than to providing a high quality environment) removed all the personality from buildings.
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| Best view from a non-bathroom Windows are fairly common in hotel rooms, just not in the bathrooms. I always look out. I leave the curtains open all night so I can look out when I wake up. These have been particularly delightful to look out from: Grand Prize: Shoal Harbour Inn, Sidney BC View ... Runner up: Hyatt Regency, Atlanta GA View ... and ... the ignominious: Bottom of the barrel: Adams Mark, Denver CO View ...
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| Best swimming pool This award goes to a place where it is genuinely pleasant to swim. Gaudy, glitzy pools with all kinds of artificial crap (Las Vegas, Disney ... you know who you are!) don't count here. We're talking rock-solid quality; basic clean, clear, delightful water in a pool big enough to enjoy it. Has to be outdoors, and it helps to have a great climate. It has to be a pool not a puddle. That means some deep water, in addition to being big enough to swim for more than 4 seconds before hitting your head on the other end.. Grand Prize: The Lodge (at Torrey Pines); LaJolla CA View ... Runner up: Fairfield Inn/Hilton, Albuquerque NM View ... Second runner up: Holiday Inn; Morgantown WV View ...
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| Greatest number of telephones in one room
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| Closest to a great eatery Nothing really fancy, just GOOD. And none of those awful, bland, hotel restaurants. This hotel wins easily, with a double: The most incredible breakfasts available within 50 steps (at the Bread Garden). And...just a couple of blocks up the road, the best Fish 'n Chips this side of the UK!
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| Best alarm clock
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| Best view into a major league ball park
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Grand
Prize: Hotel du Nord, Interlaken Switzerland 
