The Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino has, arguably, been the most underachieving property in Las Vegas. The hotel has a near-perfect location in the middle of The Strip, a superb theater space and one of Spot Cool Stuff’s favorite Vegas sports books and poker rooms. And yet the hotel has never generated much of a buzz or loyal following. Somehow the property falls into that lost space between being too expensive to be considered for budget accommodations and too bland to be considered luxurious.
The Hotel32 could change that . . sort of . . . maybe.
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If RuPaul operated a farm and Liberace an S&M palor the Crazy Bear Hotel would be like a cross between the two.
Sometimes it’s a fine line separating gaudy from opulent, and trashy from romantic. Straddling those lines is the Crazy Bear Hotel in Old Beaconsfield, England
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The Pavilion Hotel, near London’s Hyde Park, calls itself a Fashion Rock ‘N’ Roll Hotel. That description fits some of the hotel’s clientele better than the property itself.
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Spot Cool Stuff strives to be objective in all our reviews. That’s nearly impossible for us when it comes to the Hotel Triton. This fun, boutique hotel at the edge of San Fancisco’s Chinatown has a special place in our heart. In our early adulthood we spent many nights here while working on a consulting project. It was the first high design hotel we stayed at and our home base for exploring the city by the Bay.
Thereafter our travels did not take us back to San Francisco for six years. When we returned we decided to stay at the Triton again. After we checked in we found a handwritten note in our upgraded room that read: Where have you been for the last six years? We’ve missed you!
How can you not love service like that!?
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The absolute smallest, cheapest room available is a two story suite.
Move over Las Vegas, the new new standard for resort luxury, grandiosity and audaciousness is now in Dubai. It is there, on an artificial island just off the coast, that you’ll find the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab. It is the world’s tallest hotel. And that’s only one of the world records it holds.
The Burj Al Arab is also home to the world’s fastest elevators, the world’s tallest atrium and largest aquarium. No other building in the world incorporates as much gold (the 2,000 square meters or 21,500 square feet of gold leaf!) and no other hotel has earned a seven star rating.
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Where serious whimsy meets serious luxury, the Hotel Monaco is a decadent, silly place ideal for fun-loving sorts who don’t mind smaller rooms and the lack of an all-out gym. All the rooms in the renovated 1910 Beaux Arts building have loads of character and include canopy beds draped in romantic fabrics and stripes. Trompe l’oeil murals, such as the cloudscape in the lobby, add a touch of magic to the hotel’s public spaces.
Most hotels would have stopped there, but the Hotel Monaco goes far beyond with dozens of tiny flourishes, such as yoga accessories, Frette robes, Aveda bath goodies, and even a goldfish of your very own for the duration of your stay. Pop down to the living room in the morning for free coffee, and in the afternoon for fresh cookies. Return later for wine, cheese, a tarot reading, and a neck rub. Take the hotel’s complimentary town car to one of the nearby shopping areas. Or free your inner rock star in the Grace Slick Suite, packed with original artwork and memorabilia from Jefferson Starship and Jefferson Airplane.
BOOK | READ
| FLY THERE
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It sounds like the sloppy half of The Odd Couple, but really The Room Mate Oscar is the most hip hotel on one of the most elegant squares in the whole of Madrid.
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