So, you want to stay in a sophisticated Las Vegas hotel, with top-end service, restaurants and amenities. But you aren’t much for gambling and don’t want to find your way through a haze of cigarette smoke and maze of ding-ding-dinging slot machines every time you go to your room and back. Las Vegas has the perfect resort for you:
Thailand has over 250 islands, from deserted specks of land to tourist havens with mega resorts to everything in between. Regardless of what you are looking for in a tropical island, chances are that Thailand has at least one to fit your tastes.
Here’s the first of our two-part rundown of Spot Cool Stuff’s favorite Thailand islands. Continue reading on or click on an island category that meets your fancy:
| Best Thailand Islands | More of Thailand’s Best Islands |
| The Best Overall Thailand Island | Best For Tropical Forests |
| Best For Honeymoons | Best Island Close To Bangkok |
| Best For Scuba Diving | Best Nearly Undeveloped Island |
| Best For Rock Climbing | Best For Wild Parties |
| Best For Chill Parties | |
| Best For Families |
There are several cottage resorts around but few are as luxurious—and none are as unusual—as northwest Connecticut’s Winvian Cottages. Really “cottage” is a bit of a misnomer here, suggesting accommodations more simple than the Winvian’s abodes, each of which designed by a different architect and possessing its own flair. The Library Cottage is centered around double-story wrap-around book shelves. The Treehouse Cottage is a two-story wonder built amongst the leaves and branches 30 feet above the ground. Perhaps the most unusual option is the Helicopter Cottage, which is large enough to contain the whole of a Sea King Pelican helicopter. Though back when the U.S. Coast Guard was flying it we suspect this ‘copter didn’t contain the minibar, sofa and flat screen TV it has today.
Walk off of New York City’s Times Square and into the Room Mate Grace Hotel and here’s some of what you’ll see on the hotel’s ground floor: a stylish lobby, a sauna, a gym, a steam room and a pool with a swim-up bar. In the morning you’ll see guests enjoying the free continental breakfast. In the evening you’ll see a DJ spinning tunes in the hotel’s low-lit lounge.
You might think that the Room Mate Grace would be among New York’s top tier expensive hotels. You’d be wrong.
Most eco-resorts aim to preserve nature. At the Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa they work to preserve a culture too.
“Affordable” and “Caribbean” are not necessarily contradictions in terms.
To find cool hotels, relaxing beach resorts and luxurious bed and breakfasts in the Caribbean at an affordable price try these tips:
Look at the smaller establishments. They don’t get the press the big resorts do, but they sometimes provide much better value. A good Caribbean guidebook can be an invaluable friend in finding the high value hotel gems.
Check out the less developed areas. In Jamaica, for example, there are lots of great, inexpensive hotel and resort options outside of the major Negril, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay tourist centers.
Decide what’s most important to you and try to find a hotel without a lot of frills you won’t use. If you don’t care about using a spa, for example, you can save money by staying in a resort without one.
Shop around. A superb website for finding great deals on resorts, as well as on cruises and vacation packages, is Cheap Caribbean.
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And, most of all, read on. The resorts below are among Spot Cool Stuff’s favorite affordable Caribbean digs. Each has rooms in the high season for less—and in some cases much less—than $150 a night . . .
For those seeking a Caribbean experience that’s exclusive, private, nature-filled and Asian-tinged look no further than Aman’s Amanyara Resort in the Turks and Caicos.
