I have spent many frustrated hours searching for JUST the right hotels when I travel. I’ve been to New York, London, Athens, Paris, Dublin, Rome, Florence, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Portland, San Diego, Austin, Charleston and probably more that I can’t remember right now. The point is, I travel. A lot. Take a look at some of my favorite hotels in my favorite cities, starting with New York and Paris!
NEW YORK – The NoMad Hotel
My first time in the NoMad Hotel was during the Manhattan blackout of 2012. We checked into our cozy room and then walked across the street for a late night dinner. The only place open late was a restaurant serving only pizzas by candlelight… literally, there was no electricity, so the pizzas came right from the brick oven and all the light was on top of wax. It was a romantic start to a trip that only got better once we settled back into our room at the NoMad. Spacious for a New York hotel, and impeccably decorated we found ourselves not wanting to leave the room. The warm environment, the city rushing outside, the bear-claw porcelain tub… I’m not gonna get into it, but…
The downstairs Library, Bar and Restaurant are always busy, but you feel like you’ve stepped into the 1930s and are hanging out with the smartest kids in school. No matter where you’re coming from, the NoMad feels like home.
I’ve been a regular guest at this hotel for over 10 years. Whenever I book myself in a NYC hotel on my own dime, I stay in the Hotel Wales on 93rd & Madison. It’s what is referred to as the “suburban” area of town, but it IS the Upper East Side so there’s no shortage of style and class. The Hotel Wales rests upstairs from famed Sarabeth’s Restaurant, where you’ll find one of the best brunches in the City. And just around the corner on Lexington Ave you’ll find my favorite spot for dinner in all of Manhattan, Sfolgia.
Treat yourself (and your wallet) to a stay in this classic hotel, where your room may greet you with a fireplace and definitely with some classic vintage books. If you walk downstairs to the breakfast room there is a grand piano for your poetic, leisurely tinkering and a cappuccino machine running all day and most of the night.
It’s a super walkable area and you really feel like you’re in another era when you stay here. Please go and enjoy your stay at the Wales.
PARIS – Le Bellechasse
I spent two relaxing nights in this enchanting hotel located in the St. Germain district of Paris. All the hallways are curvy and wind around making you feel as though you’re in some re-decorated castle… redecorated by Christian Lacroix, that is. And it was.
Lacroix took on the project of redesigning the 17 rooms in the Bellechasse and described his inspiration thusly:
““Each of the 17 rooms corresponds to a way of approaching this area of Paris where you don’t go downstairs by chance but rather because you are drawn by the history and the spirit of the times.” Of the decor, he says, “One of the rooms may be decorated with cornices, consoles and mouldings, while others may be more pop in style, or more rustic.”
I found this boutique hotel to be totally magical and incredibly cozy.
