[150] hotels I'm obsessed with...

50 of my fave stays and 100 hotels I'm dying to check out 🗝️

before we get into the fun, this edition of the sunday series is too long for email, so I’d recommend clicking out to read in browser or even better, in the substack app, where you can like and comment! your engagement on Substack means so much to me 💌

hi, friends!

what better place to be writing to you than from 35k feet en route back from Zurich to New York? it’s been a frenzied week of nonstop work-meets-raucous-fun as I attended the annual December gathering of the luxury travel industry’s glitterati: ILTM Cannes. from glorious mornings getting ready overlooking the sea perched upon or our Carlton Cannes balcony to late nights at Luigi dancing around the dinner table (or for some, on it), I’m still riding the high of being surrounded by so many stellar humans who’ve gone from being colleagues to the realest of friends.

aside from the people, I think what I love most about the work that I get to do is the ongoing pursuit of education around places, properties and products. in my role at SmartFlyer, I’m always in search of the next story — in the case of Cannes, the purpose of me attending three straight days of meetings in the South of France was to stay up to speed on the latest news across the world’s most beloved and up-and-coming destinations. and while I actively try to keep my work self separate from the sunday series, coming off of this epic week, I wanted to switch it up and focus on a topic I love just as much as books: HOTELS.

this spring marks a decade of me working in the travel agency space. during that time, I’ve been fortunate enough to take research trips, attend events, and indulge in more than a few vacations across the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. but the funny thing is, the more places I go, the more I want to visit! case in point: the smile on my face below at FORESTIS, a property in the Dolomites that got me wanting to come back to the region for the 2026 Winter Olympics, something that wasn’t even on my radar a few months ago.

but, let’s not get ahead of ourselves! as we look ahead to our 2025 travel plans, I thought that this recap of 50 of my most memorable hotel stays ever could help spark some inspo. and for paid subscribers, I’m also recapping 100 hotels around the world that I’m dying to check out that I think I should be on your radar, too. of course, every single stay on this list would be enhanced by the perks that come with booking with a travel advisor. so if you ever find yourself needing one, I’m close with dozens of savvy agents and am constantly matching acquaintances and friends with different experts based on their personalities and destination interests. so, you know where to find me if you’d like an intro! xKD

curatedbykayla

A post shared by @curatedbykayla

50 of my most memorable hotel stays ever

when brainstorming a list of my fifty most memorable hotel stays EVER, I had a few stipulations in mind. for me, it’s not always about the newest, hottest hotel opening its doors (though that allure exists, too), but I’m always seeking a sense of timelessness. I love a property that feels like it’s always been there — wherever ‘there’ is. exemplary service and impeccable design go without asking, but first and foremost, it’s a feeling of belonging I’m after when I check into a hotel.

so after much deliberation, here are fifty check-ins that are near and dear to my heart in no particular ranking order…

1. The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel (New York, New York)

2. Commodore Perry Estate (Austin, Texas)

3. Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club (Surfside, Florida)

4. Rosewood Miramar Beach (Montecito, California)

5. The Lodge at Blue Sky (Wanship, Utah)

6. Cap Juluca, A Belmond Hotel (Anguilla)

7. Malliouhana (Anguilla)

8. Hacienda AltaGracia (Santa Teresa de Cajón de Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica)

9. Las Ventanas al Paraíso, A Rosewood Hotel (Los Cabos, Mexico)

10. Esperanza (Los Cabos, Mexico)

11. The Dorchester (London, England)

12. Monasterio, A Belmond Hotel (Cusco, Peru)

13. La Réserve Paris Hotel & Spa (Paris, France)

14. Four Seasons Hotel George V (Paris, France)

15. Hôtel Plaza Athénée (Paris, France)

16. Le Meurice (Paris, France)

17. BULGARI Hotel Paris (Paris, France)

18. Carlton Cannes, A Regent Hotel (Cannes, France)

19. Hotel de La Ville (Rome, Italy)

20. Hotel Eden Rome (Rome, Italy)

21. Portrait Firenze (Florence, Italy)

22. Villa Igiea (Sicily, Italy)

23. FORESTIS (The Dolomites, Italy)

24. Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel (Venice, Italy)

25. Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid (Madrid, Spain)

26. Six Senses Ibiza (Ibiza, Spain)

27. La Residencia, A Belmond Hotel (Mallorca, Spain)

28. Grand Hotel Son Net (Mallorca, Spain)

29. Hotel Can Ferrereta (Mallorca, Spain)

30. Finca Cortesin (Marbella, Spain)

31. Marbella Club (Marbella, Spain)

32. The Gleneagles Hotel (Auchterarder, Scotland)

33. Rosewood Schloss Fuschl (Lake Fuschl, Austria)

34. Hotel Sacher Vienna (Vienna, Austria)

35. Four Seasons Hotel Prague (Prague, Czech Republic)

36. Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace (Budapest, Hungary)

37. Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet (Istanbul, Turkey)

38. MAÇAKIZI (Bodrum, Turkey)

39. Babylonstoren (Cape Winelands, South Africa)

40. Ellerman House (Cape Town, South Africa)

41. The Silo Hotel (Cape Town, South Africa)

42. Singita Lebombo Lodge (Kruger National Park, South Africa)

43. Singita Sabora Tented Camp (Serengeti, Tanzania)

44. Singita Faru Faru (Serengeti, Tanzania)

45. Kwessi Dunes (NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia)

46. Shipwreck Lodge (Skeleton Coast, Namibia)

47. Zannier Omaanda (Windhoek, Namibia)

48. Kasbah Tamadot (The Atlas Mountains, Morocco)

49. InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort (Danang Sun Peninsula, Vietnam)

50. Rosewood Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

---

100 hotels I’m dying to check into…

WOW! it was so fun for me to compile this list. personally, I’m aiming to use it sort of like I use my ‘Want to Read’ list on Goodreads. meaning I try my best not to walk into a bookstore without at least consulting one of the hundreds of books I’ve already noted that I wanted to read. so, in the case of these 100 hotels, I’m going to aim to refer to this list as I plan future trips and try to work off the list versus always just flailing my way toward whatever hotel check-in comes next. no guarantees, but let’s see if putting this in black and white helps me dig into some of the places across all seven (!!) continents that I’ve been dreaming about for quite some time!

1. Aman New York (New York, New York)

2. The Greenwich Hotel (New York, New York)

3. Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resorts Collection (Aspen, Colorado)

4. Amangiri (Canyon Point, Utah)

5. The Green O (Greenough, Montana)

6. Post Ranch Inn (Big Sur, California)

7. Meadowood Napa Valley (St Helena, California)

8. The Beverly Hills Hotel (Los Angeles, California)

9. Naviva, A Four Seasons Hotel (Punta Mita, Mexico)

10. One&Only Mandarina (Riviera Nayarit, Mexico)