Jul 29

In the small world of seaside New England, Nantucket looms pretty large. The island is one of the region’s most storied destinations, and the White Elephant, by virtue of its privileged position in town on Nantucket Harbor, is one of its central attractions. It’s more or less everything you’d want from a Nantucket hotel — classic style, sunny nautical interiors, close-up sea views — and a few things you might not have counted on, including a full-service spa looking out over the harbor.

It’s the city cousin of the more secluded Wauwinet, but its in-town convenience does little to dampen its mellow country style — the décor is traditional, bright and breezy, and the atmosphere is anything but urban. Rooms range from the relatively cozy — with plenty of room for a king bed — on up to the Shoreline Suite, complete with pull-out sofa and wet bar.

There’s a beach for a bit of lounging, but the White Elephant is just as much about sailing — you’re welcome to arrive by boat, if you wish. Port and sherry are served in the afternoon, along with a cheese plate, and the restaurant serves steaks and the latest catch. It’s a Massachusetts favorite, and so quintessentially Nantucket that it would be hard to think of a better introduction to the island.

How to get there:

From Airport: Nantucket Memorial‎ , 3.7 miles - approximately 12 mins.

Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com to arrange airport transfers.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

The idea of a theme hotel is normally cause for some skepticism. Which makes the success of Legado Mitico in Buenos Aires so much more impressive. Its stylish guest rooms and public spaces pay homage to Argentina’s history in a subtle, intelligent manner, and the result is a quirky, cool hotel with an added hook for well-read travelers — and those who’d like a warmer alternative to the city’s frostier minimalist boutiques.

Stepping into the urban townhouse, the polished wood floors, leather couches, and towering bookcases will make you feel like you’re in a cozy-chic library; appropriate, considering the hotel’s intellectual vibe. After all, the eleven individually themed guest rooms go beyond honoring the usual suspects like Eva Peron and Che Guevara — depending on your room, you’ll learn a thing or two about lesser-known legends like painter Benito Quinquela Martin, tango dancer Tita Merello, and millionaire art patron Victoria Ocampo. But you won’t be hit over the head with artifacts. The thematic decor is suggestive, not overt — think old tango posters, a vintage hatbox, an antique guitar — and is used to enhance the otherwise contemporary rooms filled with huge flat-screen TVs and luxe linens. ‘Lujo’ (luxury) rooms also feature jacuzzi tubs.

The petite, thoroughly sophisticated Legado Mitico is done up in classic hues of chocolate brown, cool gray, and deep red that matches the Malbec all of the guests are drinking by the fireplace or in the peaceful courtyard patio. The hotel operates on a small scale — there’s no spa or restaurant here — which is just as well, considering the boutique’s prime location in the heart of Palermo Viejo, the city’s most fashion-forward district.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

Plenty of New Yorkers seem to think Long Island ends at the Hamptons — and the people of Montauk would like to keep it that way. The Surf Lodge isn’t meant to be an extension of the stretch-limo scene, but a window into an older, more authentic Long Island, a place where fishermen and surfers rub elbows, and champagne is still for occasions less common than the setting of the sun.

Of course, despite the bohemian-rustic look and the relentlessly casual vibe of the place, this is still a boutique hotel, one with a bar that’s stylish, if unpretentiously so, and with a quality modern restaurant, albeit one that’s known for upscale versions of such rustic fare as burgers and lobster rolls.

The rooms are comfortable, but not needlessly luxe, and they charmingly mix modern elements and rough-edged motel-chic. Cocktails are served out on the deck, with views of the sunset over the pond — and the beach is just a half-mile away, in case you actually do want to get some surfing in. Absolute purists might find it too polished, but they’re likely too busy hand-carving their wooden longboards to rain on your parade. Long Island desperately needs something a bit rustic, a bit unpolished, and the Surf Lodge just might be it.

How to get there:

From Laguardia Airport, 114 miles - approximately 2.5 Hrs.

Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com to arrange airport transfers.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

One of the only brand-new ground-up hotel projects to open in San Francisco this decade, the Vitale stands on the newly revitalized Embarcadero, right across from the foodie mecca that is the rehabilitated Ferry Building. This is new-school luxury hospitality, distinct from the stately palaces of Nob Hill and the high-rise hotels of the financial district, an unpretentious boutique style — albeit one with a rooftop spa and a stunning view of the bay.

Surfaces are finished in natural wood and stone, and colors are earthy, natural — very little high-design gloss here. This is a town that likes its urbanity with a side of humility; hence the aromatherapy and yoga along with the cocktail bar and the plasma TVs. Rooms are bright and airy, with full-length windows, and the better half look out over the bay, the bridge, and Alcatraz.

The Americano restaurant serves Northern California cuisine with Italian influences, all fresh from local sources, including the Ferry Building’s Saturday farmer’s market. And some clever partnerships expand the Vitale’s services beyond the boutique norm — the doors of the Bay Club gym and the Golden Gateway Swim and Tennis club are open to Vitale guests at low preferred rates.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

If there’s one thing India does well it’s massive, lavish, and extremely well-equipped business hotels — unfortunately for the more design-sensitive among us, they tend to be extremely conservative in style. Not so, however, the ITC Sonar, on the outskirts of town near the Science City. This is a sleek, modern and surprisingly green hotel, billing itself as a “business resort” — and set on sixteen acres of land, with golf, tennis and jogging facilities, it’s more than just a slogan.

The Singapore-based Kerry Hill Architects laid out this wide-open resort along lily-padded waterways, bringing a bit of riverside romance to what could otherwise have looked a bit like an office park. Rooms are spread about the grounds, the more basic ones occupying the tower, the more lavish ones in low-slung secondary buildings, with views out over the lush surroundings. All rooms, tower or otherwise, are standard high-end luxury, crisp and contemporary but not overwhelmingly high-design.

From the pool, spa and fitness center to the modest handful of restaurants and bars, you’ll find the ITC Sonar to be a pretty self-sufficient hotel. If there’s a down side, it’s in the fact that it’s a taxi ride from the city center — but that’s the trade you make for such country charms as the lily ponds and the pitch & putt golf course.

How to get there:

From Netaji Subhas Chandra Airport, 14.64 km - approximately 17 mins.

Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com to arrange airport transfers.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

The Côte d’Azur has its devotees, to be sure, but there’s always been a contingent that prefers the coast of Normandy — what it may lack in Mediterranean balm it more than makes up for in proximity to Paris, not to mention London and Brussels. And for close to a century the smart money has been on the Normandy Barrière, a sprawling palace of a hotel, which just happens to lie a stone’s throw (or a quick dash through an underground tunnel) from the Deauville casino.

With just shy of three hundred rooms it’s no boutique, but from the unmistakable silhouette of the building to the classic half-timbered interiors, it’s certainly not short on personality. It’s a luxury hotel in the old mold, which means there’s no end to the opulence, and the services are fairly traditional: pool, sauna, fitness, tennis courts and a thalassotherapy spa.

If you’re thinking of visiting during the film festival, plan well ahead — this is more or less the place to stay. And it’s not hard to see why. The sea views are dramatic, the atmosphere old-world formal, and the service as old-fashioned as it can be.

How to get there:

From Le Havre Airport, 47.7 km - approximately 1 hr.

Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com to arrange airport transfers.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

The Design Suites luxury hotel mini-chain operates several successful properties in Argentina, but this particular boutique, situated in the far-flung reaches of Patagonia, distinguishes itself with a design by the renowned architect Carlos Ott. His thoroughly contemporary creation mixes eco-friendly functionality with quirky cool: the exterior’s smooth glass and blond wood contrast with the rugged granite of the asymmetrical structure, and inside, rough planks of driftwood serve as coffee tables in front of utterly fashionable leather couches.

The environmentally conscious spin was motivated, no doubt, by the hotel’s location, near some of the world’s most visually striking glaciers, and pristine glassy lakes that stretch further than the eye can see. The well-appointed hotel takes full advantage of Patagonia’s natural wonders — Design Suites faces out to one of the lakes, and daily excursions cart awestruck guests to see truck-sized chunks of ice fall off a glacier — and, in turn, the hotel serves as one of the only design-minded accommodation options in this remote region.

Sixty guest rooms, all outfitted in earth tones and forest green, feature sophisticated decor and pared-down furnishings like updated sixties-style desk chairs and reading lamps that look like they just won first prize at a design fair. While standard rooms face the dusty steppe, the pricier suites offer sweeping views of the lake through the picture windows. Like other Design Suites properties, this branch comes complete with an art gallery, restaurant, fitness center, and free wireless internet access.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

It’s a bit like a microcosm of Munich itself, the Sofitel Munich Bayerpost: at first glance conservative, traditional as can be, but upon closer inspection surprisingly modern, even hip. The old post office building, just a hundred meters from the Munich city-center rail station, retains its classic facade, but the interiors have been completely re-imagined, and the result is an utterly contemporary and breathtakingly stylish luxury hotel.

You’re a long way from the Bavaria of beer halls and Oktoberfest. The Sofitel’s public spaces are marked by the kind of forward-thinking design once only seen in the most exclusive boutique hotels. And the guest rooms, while unmistakably luxurious in orientation, show a streak of minimalist chic alongside their massive stone bathtubs. Up in the eaves, on the eighth floor, are the distinctive “maisonette” suites, with attic-style canted ceilings and views of the Munich rooftops or the Alps.

A full-service hotel is a certainty in a hotel like this, but the Sofitel’s Spa Lagune goes beyond, detailed stonework and mosaic tile providing a striking backdrop for the treatment rooms, the fitness center, and the indoor swimming pool. And as is the Sofitel group’s custom, the cuisine is all French, from the upscale dining room to the casual bistro.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

Hotel Abalu is proof that there’s much more to the hotel business than just location. What was formerly a rather dowdy little hostel (albeit a well-located one, right off the Gran Vía) is now, after some drastic renovation, one of Madrid’s hippest small hotels, the kind of cozy yet stylish boutique hotel that could only be the result of an individual owner with a strong point of view.

At first it was just the original ten hostel rooms, updated with smart new furnishings and dramatic lighting, creating bedrooms that were quirky and stylish, if still a touch on the smallish side. They’re still a fine value, and quite comfortable, but the second phase was an annexation of the property upstairs from the old hostel, resulting in five new suites. Here the Abalu gets a chance to spread its luxury wings, with the new “presidential” suite even going so far as to incorporate a jacuzzi tub.

From the humble single rooms to the more upmarket suites the Abalu has something for everyone — even a destination for socializing, in the form of the popular Beauty Bar. It’s chic, and it’s slightly odd in an endearing and memorable way — just as all the best little boutiques ought to be.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

The Atacama of northern Chile is one of the most sublimely bleak and stunning landscapes on this planet and possibly others — if they were making a movie about Mars they could do worse than this vast red desert. The inhospitability of the place demands an extra measure of luxury from its lodgings, and it’s this contrast, between harsh surroundings and luxe interiors, that makes Atacamadventure so inspiring.

Calling it a hotel is perhaps a stretch; there are just two units here, a two-bedroom and a one-bedroom suite. Capacity is seven at most, so there’s a chance of sharing the living room and the communal kitchen (and dedicated cook) with at most a small handful of strangers. Otherwise it’s all yours: each unit constitutes its own wing, and comes with its own jacuzzi in its own luxurious bathroom.

Creature comforts are only half the package in an Atacaman eco-lodge — the other half is about unearthly expeditions. From desert plains to high mountains to hot springs, by foot or horseback, the whole Atacama is at your feet. There are day trips tailored to anyone’s taste, but for the aspiring adventurer there’s an overland trek to Bolivia, a four-day 4×4 campaign that takes in salt flats, hidden lakes and high mountain volcanoes.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

Our new Tablet Spy program offers the chance to get early looks at the most promising new hotels. If you’re willing to take the risks associated with staying in a hotel that’s not officially open yet — unfinished spaces, noisy construction, inexperienced service — then you’ll be rewarded with deep pre-opening discounts, and the chance to help decide whether the finished hotel will earn a place on Tablet Hotels.

The Ace Hotel group is not content merely to deeply undercut Seattle boutique-hotel prices, or to massively multiply the cool quotient of the Portland budget-hotel market. Now they’re moving beyond the Northwest, straight to what seems like a fairly unlikely locale: the California high desert of Palm Springs.

Then again, this is a brand that’s got a proven track record of being ahead of its time. And Palm Springs makes more sense than you think. Sure, a decade ago this town was fighting the perception that neither it nor its clientele had really moved on from its mid-century heyday — but these days Palm Springs is once again a viable weekender for LA’s young and stylish. This one happens to touch another one of our hot buttons: it’s a refurbishment of a classic and slightly kitsch roadside motel, complete with a restaurant that used to be a Denny’s 24-hour diner.

The rooms are stylish, if not exactly luxurious, offering excellent value and extracting maximum vintage-chic from their humble materials. There’s a central courtyard pool, naturally, and a spa that, in its casual unpretentiousness, makes a mockery of the typical “pampering” hotel-spa experience. Add a well-conceived and effortlessly hip hotel bar, and the Ace vaults to the front line of the Palm Springs renaissance.

How to get there:

From Palm Springs International. Airport, 3.5 miles - approximately 10 mins.

Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com to arrange airport transfers.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

The concept, frankly, sounds like a classic Russian Reversal joke: in Blow Up Hall 5050, hotel room chooses you. This place is half interactive art project, half high-design boutique hotel — guests in its stylish public spaces are monitored on video, and their images are incorporated into a real-time video installation. Oh, and it’s in Poznań, in west-central Poland, a city on the way from Berlin to Warsaw, which will likely be new to at least 95% of our readers.

The whole thing was conceived as a collaboration between the founder Grażyna Kulczyk and Rafael Lozano Hemmer, a Mexican-Canadian electronic artist. And just about every part of the experience is non-traditional — you’re not given a choice of room type, but subjected to a sort of personality test, the results of which determine the style of your room from one of three categories. So while it may be an exaggeration to say the room chooses you, you’re certainly not choosing it. Nor, while we’re at it, are you using a key or even a key card to let yourself into the room that chose you, but rather (somehow) an iPhone.

It’s almost easier to list what is conventional about the place. The bar does serve drinks, and the restaurant does serve food, which is nice. And the rooms, however visually eccentric, do come with such necessary comforts as beds and baths, in addition to rain showers, Bang & Olufsen televisions and iPod docking stereos. Apart from that we’re not in a position to make any guarantees — if you’re brave enough to try it out you’re definitely in for an uncommon experience.

How to get there:

From Poznan Lawica Airport Ltd, 10 km - approximately 20 mins.

Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com to arrange airport transfers or to get directions.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

There was a time when the fact that the film director Francis Ford Coppola had a special fondness for the jungles of Belize would have simply been celebrity gossip, or Hollywood trivia. But now that he’s opened his holdings to the paying public, it’s a matter for the travel pages.

Blancaneaux Lodge was first something of a vacation home; the landscape apparently reminded him just enough of the Philippine locations used in Apocalypse Now, with the added benefit of being quite a lot closer to California. Now Coppola’s house is just one of the twenty units available for rent, in Blancaneaux’s new incarnation as an upscale eco-lodge.

Of course you don’t have to splash out for the owner’s villa: humbler cabanas are available, and they’re all in the same vein, equal parts rustic escapism and unpretentious luxury, right at the frontier where carefully tended gardens dissolve into wild rainforest.

That rainforest is easily half the appeal when you’re talking about Belize, and Blancaneaux is no different. Ultimately it’s not your bedroom or some infinity pool that you’ll remember, it’s the setting, the dramatic landscape and the lush rainforest, teeming with life. So what it lacks in high-tech amenities, as they say, it more than makes up for in outdoor offerings, from rushing rivers to Mayan ruins, on foot, bike or horseback. And when the day is done it’s back to Blancaneaux for authentic Guatemalan cuisine, wood-fired pizza and other hearty Italian classics, all accompanied by wines from the Coppola estate.

How to get there:

The property is a two and a half hours drive from Belize International Airport or a 35 minute charter flight. It is a three hours drive to sister properties La Lancha or Turtle Inn. Transfers and charter flights should be pre-booked. Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com for assistance.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

Brighter, sunnier, somehow friendlier than the average riad hotel — maybe it’s the owners, a couple of designers, one Dutch and the other Spanish, but for whatever reason, Ryad Dyor stands out. The medina location and the inside-out riad design mean it’s as private as any, but where many go dark and heavy, this one goes for graphic and sun-drenched, a look that’s probably more accessible than the traditional riad hotel.

It’s actually two houses back to back, which means that with just seven rooms there’s no shortage of space. The courtyard plunge pool is a nice surprise, and the rooftop terrace is the ideal spot for lounging under the stars. And inside the rooms, that plentiful sunlight falls on an eclectic collection of furnishings, artworks and antiques — by no means is it strictly Moroccan, but incorporates elements from Europe to the far East.

There’s a small hammam, for massage and minimal spa treatments, and plenty of lounge space, aside from just the rooftop — even the rooms and suites, spacious as they are, invite guests to stay in. Plan ahead if you’d like lunch or dinner in — there’s no restaurant, strictly speaking, but the riad is happy to save you the trouble of venturing forth into the medina.

How to get there:

Ryad Dyor is approximately a 15 minute drive from Marrakech-Menara Airport. Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com to arrange complimentary airport transfers.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

Le Relais de Franc Mayne is housed in a 16th-century château. Not the sprawling estate style that’s so common in the Bordeaux countryside, but the other kind — a down-to-earth wine château, the sort of place where one of the main attractions is a series of old stone quarries where Cabernet Franc ages in oak barrels. Which isn’t to say that anyone is roughing it at this impeccably restored nine-room hotel: sophisticated lighting, decadent silks in bold hues, plasma televisions, a plush billiards room, and vintage wine tastings are just a few of the features putting a contemporary spin on this country-chic property.

Though the unadorned stone exterior is simple, the interior is anything but. The proprietors, perhaps unable to choose between diverse design schemes, selected a different stylistic theme for each individually decorated guest quarter: canary yellow walls in the Pop Art room, zebra prints in the African Lodge room, carved wood in the Indian Fusion room, and so on (suffice it to say, the British Landscape room is not the most exotic of the bunch.) High thread-count linens, DVD players, and wireless internet access come standard, and all rooms afford views over the vineyards surrounding the hotel.

The antique dining room, an intimate venue featuring ornate candelabras and bunches of pink roses, is decidedly more traditional for a French country estate. The cuisine, however fresh and well-prepared, takes a backseat to the red wine produced on the premises — visit the quarries before strolling through the vineyards and then into the medieval town of Saint-Emilion.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

Palladium Hotel is closed from late Oct. until May 15th for the winter season.

It’s hard to go too wrong anywhere in the Cyclades, of course, but some places are a bit more special than others. Mykonos is one of those places, and the seaside resort town of Platis Gialos boasts one of the island’s best beaches. It’s here, on a terraced hillside on the south coast of the island, that you’ll find the Palladium Hotel, a newly renovated 40-room boutique-style resort hotel.

Exteriors are pretty much as you’d expect, low whitewashed terraced buildings, the better to set off the deep blue of the Aegean. Interiors, though, are livelier and more stylish than the average all-white Greek hotel, and the rooms and suites are as well-equipped as any: balconies or verandas, flat-screen TVs, stereo systems, and luxurious marble-clad bathrooms. Many come with hydromassage tubs, if not actual jacuzzis, and a few of the suites offer a step up to a private swimming pool.

It’s a short walk down to the beach, and a short taxi ride to Mykonos town center. All in all the Palladium is a big step up from the average, in a place that’s already well above average. Small in size, intimate in atmosphere, and plush in comfort, and yet with little of the fussiness that luxury boutique hotels are often prone to.

How to get there:

Palladium Hotel is 3 km from Mykonos Airport. Taxi fare is approx. €10. Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com to arrange airport transfers.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

Situated as it is between Europe and Asia, Turkey is a land comfortable with dualities: east and west, religious and secular, ancient and modern. It’s no surprise that the Museum Hotel, in the Central Anatolian region, also blends two distinct hotel experiences: luxury and history. Recent visitors span a range of demographics, from heads of state to the ladies of the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit calendar, but the big draw, swimsuit models aside, isn’t the crowd, but Cappadocia’s famous underground cities. Constructed by early Christians to hide from the Roman Empire, these cities consist of great labyrinths carved into and beneath the volcanic rock.

Rooms have been restored to modern versions of these cave-like habitats. The exposed rock, overlaid with thick woven rugs and heavy gilt mirrors, is totally authentic. In one so-called Cave Suite, the tub is tucked beneath a natural awning; in another, the headboard is a series of mini-caves, ideal for storing a book or another nighttime need. If you’re into antiques, you won’t have to leave the hotel. The owner’s vast collection of museum-certified tapestries, furniture, and other objets d’art from the Romans and Ottomans, among others, decorate the hotel, including the award-winning restaurant, which specializes in—no surprises here—both classic and modern takes on the regional cuisine. But you’ll be fine just staying in your room too: besides the obvious amenities, such as Jacuzzis and LCD televisions, the hotel boasts stunning views of the unusual rural landscape, dotted with the stone houses still used by locals.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

We say Geneva for clarity’s sake but it’s worth knowing that the Jiva Hill Park Hotel is technically in France — it’s in the greater Geneva area, in the town of Crozet, just across the border, which looks out over the valley towards Lake Geneva. You’ll find it matters little, until you settle your bill in euros rather than Swiss francs.

What does matter is the atmosphere of the place. Downtown Geneva is nice, but the foothills of the Jura mountains are nicer, and the Jiva Hill is a favorite for business travelers who can afford to be a few miles outside of town. Of course leisure travelers don’t mind being so near the mountains either, especially during ski season.

The lines are clean and modern but the Jiva Hill isn’t minimal — the colors are rich, as are the materials, and the place just radiates comfort. The 28 deluxe rooms are deluxe indeed, with high-tech electronics and sleek modern bathrooms, and the six junior suites are only more so, with the addition of private terraces, gardens and Jacuzzis. The spa is surprisingly extensive, given the hotel’s small size, and the restaurant serves a mix of rustic and avant-garde French cuisine — with a view, weather permitting, from the terrace.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

Just the second W outside of the United States, the W Mexico City opened in October 2003 in the glitzy Polanco district — itself a sort of luxury hotel row, already home to the Inter-Continental and the J.W. Marriott. Next to these buttoned-up business hotels, the W plays the brash party-crasher, luxurious enough to hold its own, but almost mind-bendingly hip, for those accustomed to the five-star corporate chains.

Of course W is a chain too, and its success is due in no small part to precisely this savvy positioning; all the consistency and loyalty-building branding of a corporate hotel, with a carefully targeted dose of idiosyncratic cool. Its secret weapon, though, is a dedication to service that places it solidly in the big leagues — and, unsurprisingly, its first hotel in Mexico is no departure.

The design, though, is all Mexico—thankfully, hypermodern modern Mexico city, not some nightmare of pink stucco—with glass and sunlight everywhere, and in the guest rooms, black carpets and plenty of cherry red to balance the traditional boutique white. The look is, if we may indulge in some hotel hyperbole, sexy — perfectly fitting this town’s steamy cosmopolitan image.

The service is there (Whatever/Whenever, as they are fond of saying), the design is smart, and the rooms are utterly modern, with the obligatory 29” TVs and wireless internet; the final piece of the puzzle is the nightlife. The bar at the W is embodiment of the modern lobby-bar culture, with decked-out locals trampling one another (elegantly, of course) for a chance to bump elbows with the visiting film stars and rockers. Every hotel of this kind claims that its bar is the hot spot in town — in this case it may actually be true.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

Jul 29

When it comes to stylish boutique hotels in Argentina’s rural northwest, there’s not a lot of competition, so a place like Legado Mitico may seem like a bit of overkill. But its architect owners honed their craft in Buenos Aires, where fashionable small hotels are thick on the ground, and their expertise is on display here, in what is essentially a concept hotel — each room pays a subtle homage to a major figure in Argentine history.

It’s housed in an old mansion near the striking main square of colonial Salta, comprising eleven guest rooms dedicated to various national heroes. While the Buenos Aires location centers around politicians and cultural figures, this northern hotel looks to the region’s indigenous history, naming rooms after native tribes, gauchos, even a feminist sculptor.

More tangibly, each room is oversized, outfitted with plush bedding, a flatscreen TV and DVD player, and a bright, contemporary bathroom. It’s a sophisticated, almost intellectual atmosphere throughout, the spaces filled with masculine leather armchairs, smooth dark wood, oil paintings, literary artifacts and art objects in moody shades of slate grey and deep red — and the spacious house boasts a cozy library, breakfast nook, and a tiled patio, if not more conventional amenities like a swimming pool or restaurant.

At the end of the day, this is a city hotel, just like the original Legado Mitico, and while there’s no question that the restored mansion is gorgeous through and through, the real attractions of Salta are the stunning mountain scenery, the nearby wine region, and the fascinating mix of indigenous and European cultures that influence everything from architecture to cuisine.

How to get there:

From Martin Miguel de Guemes International Airport - approximately 20 mins.

Please contact customerservice@tablethotels.com to arrange airport transfers or to get directions.

author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com

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