Our Top Places to Stay the Night

Completely isolated from even a paved road, this Bedouin camp in the heart of the Wadi Rum Protected Area is an other-worldly retreat. The camp has plenty of traditional Bedouin tent style accommodations that are very nice, but undoubtedly the true draw is these white domed rooms that look like they belong to a Martian colony. The ONLY ways to get here are to hire a local Bedouin in Wadi Rum Village to give you a ride in the back of an old off road capable pickup, or take a camel (It's about a 4km ride from the paved roads of Wadi Rum Village so the camel is going to take some time!).

At night the desert cools off very quickly and after sunset the stars are on full display. When it got dark out we went for a wander through the sand and despite the lack of any artificial light, the moon provided plenty to find our way around.

During the day there are plenty of excursions that you can take part in including hiking, camel riding, history walks, 4x4 rides, and rock climbing. Most of the excursions on offer are conducted by local Bedouin guides and you can book them at your hotel on short notice. We spent some time on our own wandering the desert and climbing up the mountain beside the camp for fantastic views!

The camp includes a buffet restaurant inside a giant dome tucked into the cliffs. It is only open for breakfast and dinner, as they expect guests to be out on catered excursions during the day. In behind the restaurant and partially in a cave is an amazing hookah lounge that lights up with music and colorful lanterns at night where they serve complementary hot local tea. 

The drawback to staying out here in isolation is that in-between excursions and hikes there really isn't much to keep you busy. 

If you go, only stay 1 to 3 nights.

https://mlc.jo/en/ 

That's right, the rooms here are inside giant used wine barrels! Just inside the door, and completely encased in burgundy stained oak staves is the bedroom, complete with a queen size bed with night stands and a chandelier. When laying in your wine barrel bed you can smell the wine and the oak all around you! 

Through a doorway at the back of the wine barrel is a full sized and modern living room, with a doorway at the back leading to a very large and modern three-piece bathroom. The rooms look small from the front facade but they are huge!

The tiny village of Stavroven where the hotel is located is as stereotypical Dutch as it gets, and it should never change. Don't make any plans for your time here and just wander the quaint streets. On the main block where the hotel is located you will find several interesting shops and a few very good restaurants. The town is the oldest  in the Friesland area, dating back to around 1060AD and the harbor is absolutely beautiful.

Make sure to stop at the local bakery and try the suikerbrood (Dutch sugar bread). Try it heated with butter and make sure you have napkins!

http://www.hotel-vrouwevanstavoren.nl/ 

What child hasn't dreamed of living in a tree house? In the jungles of north central Costa Rica, that childhood dream becomes an adult reality. These tree houses may be rustic and secluded, but they have all the comforts you need, including air-conditioning. 

One of our favorite features was the open-air screened-in shower at the back of the tree house. You are high enough up here that you will be face to face with  wildlife while you shower, including monkeys and all sorts of tropical birds.

Tree Houses Hotel is the perfect place for nature lovers.  A family of bats lived in the rafters over our deck and every morning staff would put out fresh fruit, attracting a kaleidoscope of colorful birds and various jungle rodents! The property includes trails through dense jungle where you will be overwhelmed by the diversity of flower and insect species. 

One trail leads to a winding river, while another leads to a beautiful waterfall with natural cascading pools that you can take a dip in. The owners have built a change room next to the pools, but we didn't use them after we saw the size of the arachnids on the ceiling inside!

If you plan to stay here, rent a car and drive yourself. It is roughly 2-2.5 hours from San Jose or the airport and the drive is beautiful. Stay a few nights, then consider driving further north around Arenal National Park and Lake Arenal where you will have amazing views of the volcanoes. If you make it around the lake then you can drive south through the Monteverde Cloud Forest.   

 https://treehouseshotelcostarica.com/ 

Saying that the Marina Bay Sands dominates the Singapore skyline would be an understatement! Without question one of the most incredible architectural wonders of the modern world. 

At the base of the towers is a massive open atrium where you will find the reception, as well as several restaurants and shops.  On the rooftop deck is where the real magic takes place; where the world's highest infinity pool runs almost the entire length of the deck and the rest of the space is occupied by gardens, a restaurant, a bar, a Jacuzzi, and a public viewing deck.  

Take a short stroll through an underground, or rooftop, walkway and you will find yourself in a massive mall full of high end shops and dozens of world class restaurants.  There is a casino and a skating rink and an amazing water feature as well. In the mall you will also find a train station to whisk you around the city and even right to the airport. 

The best part of the mall is certainly the food court on the bottom floor. This is no ordinary food court though... what are you craving? Doesn't matter - you will find it there.  

https://www.marinabaysands.com/ 

This one is for baseball fans. If you don't care for baseball then this probably isn't the hotel for you unless you'd just like the experience. For the rest of us, this hotel is perfect. When you book a night here on a game day, you don't need an additional ticket for the game. You get what you see here; seats with an incredible unobstructed view, air-conditioning, a private bathroom, a television so you can watch replays and listen to the play-by-play, and possibly the best part - you have no crowds to fight with and no traffic to sit in after the game. After the game you flop on the couch and watch the highlights!

Another major benefit of watching the game from your room is that you can bring your own alcohol which can save you a fortune off of jacked up stadium prices. The room has a mini fridge so you can bring your own beer and keep it cold. You also have the option of either ordering room service, ordering from a delivery service like Skip the Dishes, or grabbing take-out and bringing your own food. Add the food and drink options to the fact that you don't need to buy a game ticket, and the room price becomes far more reasonable.

There is parking underground for hotel guests, for a fee. The lobby also has a restaurant and bar that offers great views over left field. The bar and restaurant are open to the public though so you are best to watch from your room. If you have friends in Toronto, or with you, the hotel allows you to have up to eight people in your room to watch the game. Now, we wouldn't suggest charging admission, but if everyone chipped in to help pay for the room it would be a no-brainer. Just remember that the room only sleeps four, two on the king size bed and two on the queen size pull-out couch.

Sound is something to consider. Surprisingly to us, the sounds of the game channeled right up to our window and everything was crystal clear, right down to the sound of the ball hitting the catchers mitt. The issue comes at night after the game. The cleanup crew uses leaf blowers all night to clean up the garbage in the stands. The hotel supplies ear plugs for just this reason, but if you someone who cannot sleep with earplugs in, you may want to bring some source of white noise to drown out the leaf blowers.

When the game is not on, and it's time to sight see or go out for food, the stadium is in the perfect location to walk anywhere around downtown, and the CN Tower is right next door. If you need to go further, there are a few train options for you, including the main terminal Union Station, just a 10 minute walk away.

EVERY time we return to Toronto, and there is a game on, we will be staying here!   

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/yyzcc-toronto-marriott-city-centre-hotel/ 

Phuket is notorious as a busy, party-centered island with crazy beaches like Patong, but there are a few beaches that maintain their serene appeal. Kamala Beach is one of those and at the far north end you find Novotel Phuket Kamala Beach. The ocean bungalows in the cover photo are exactly what we were looking for out of Phuket. The bungalow on the far right was our slice of paradise. The ocean front bungalows are just a few steps away from the incredibly warm and strikingly turquoise water of the Andaman Sea and you will want to spend a lot of time in the water.

The hotel itself has a very large pool with some really cool bar seating. There is a really nice restaurant in the main building and breakfast is included. The main building also has a rooftop bar with great views. The real draw to Kamala beach is the strip of restaurants and markets that run the length of the bay. Take a walk down the beach and you can find authentic Thai food and cheap drinks in any number of oceanfront restaurants. Kamala beach is also facing west so you may be treated to the sunset of your life here - we certainly were!  

 https://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-7235-novotel-phuket-kamala-beach/index.shtml 

You want to feel like a celebrity? Book this suite and you will. In fact, the last guest to stay in the suite before us was the actor Dennis Quaid. If you are looking at the cover photo and have no idea why the window says "Hair Peace Bed Peace", allow Wikipedia to enlighten you -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed-Ins_for_Peace 

The suite is basically a museum to John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and the Beatles in general. The lounge room that separates the two bedrooms has a wall of cabinets with little doors you can open for media displays including video footage and audio recordings of the Bed-In and the Vietnam war, and the hype in Montreal at the time of the Bed-In. All over the suite there are displays of John and Yoko, and custom artworks. The Fairmont thought of everything when they renovated the four rooms into one... the nightstands each have a virtual reality headset that transports you back to 1969 and you turn into John or Yoko, sitting on the bed and speaking to reporters, or watching the maid clean the room. The old television set in front of the bed shows a documentary of the Bed-In and the Vietnam war, there is an old tape deck on one night stand with media recordings, and the rotary dial phone in the living room plays recordings of John speaking about the war. As you can see in the cover photo, the hotel even provides a guitar for those lucky enough to be able to play it. All the little touches are incredible.   

The suite is at the corner of the building, with only the royal suite above. It is almost 1400 square feet and was originally four separate rooms. When John and Yoko had their Bed-In here they had booked all four rooms, one for the media to gather, one for their support staff, one for them as a getaway from the chaos, and the one used for the Bed-In. The Fairmont brilliantly combined all four rooms into one during a recent renovation. The suite has two bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a kitchenette, two bathrooms, a lounge, and a massive entry way. Two people staying here can easily lose each other! The views from the corner windows are incredible, on the one side you look over Rene-Levesque Boulevard (one of the busiest streets in Montreal), and the other side looks down on the Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral and Dorchester Square. 

When you stay here, I'm convinced that the hotel staff take security footage of you and make sure every single staff member knows who you are. I mean that in a good way of course, as everywhere we went in the hotel we were greeted as celebrities and they all knew we were staying in "room 1742". The room comes with automatic Le Club Accor Hotels gold status and all the perks that entails like free welcome drinks, early check-in, late-check out, a private concierge, and unlimited access to the Gold Lounge on the top floor. Trust me, we made use of the lounge, which included free gourmet breakfasts, drinks, hor d'oeurves, and desserts!

In the basement of the hotel, a short walk takes you right into the center of Montreal's famous underground walkways and the Gare Centrale train station. There are huge food courts, shopping centers and lots of things to see and do, even when it's frozen outside. If you drive here, parking at the Gare Centrale is far more affordable then at the hotel itself, and you can get from the parkade to the hotel lobby without braving the Montreal winter. 

https://www.fairmont.com/queen-elizabeth-montreal/?cmpid=msn_qeh_search-branded-na_branded-e-revsh 

On our second trip to Phuket we opted for convenience, something close to the airport, and so we booked a room at the T-Villa resort - just a 5 minute drive to the terminal. We had no idea what we were in for though. We booked a swim-up room, connected to the main pool that runs the length of the hotel, but when we got to reception we were told they had double booked our room. No worries though, they were putting us in a private pool villa. Cool, we thought, sounds nice. 

Well, we could hardly contain our excitement when the host opened the gate and welcomed us to our villa! The gate opens to a pathway through tropical gardens, past your huge private pool, and onto the deck. Open the double doors into your living room, and to your right is the full size kitchen and dining room. Past the kitchen is the master bedroom with a luxurious king size bed, and an en-suite bathroom worthy of royalty. The bedroom wraps around the pool and also has double doors that open up to the deck. All of this is as private as you can possibly find. The entire villa is surrounded by tropical plants and a high fence. The gate has an intercom on it, and even the room service staff will not open the gate without your blessing.

The only reason you have to interact with other humans here is to order food, and if you love Thai food the way that we do then your life will be complete. Just remember that this is Phuket, and what is extremely spicy in other parts of Thailand is just the beginning here. If you are crazy, order off the menu as is. If you have some sanity, order your curry with low heat... trust us, it will still be very spicy!

The hotel grounds are extremely beautiful, and you can always make use of the main pool if you wish to. The lobby area has some nice seating areas and a little coffee nook with couches and television. The coffee nook is a great place to wait for the airport shuttle as long as you can before braving the hectic Phuket airport. 

Our only regret was that we weren't staying here longer. One day we will return.  

 http://www.t-villa.com/ 

High up on the cliffs of central Santorini is the community of Imerovigli. In complete contrast to the busy areas of Oia, Thera and Pyrgos, Imerovigli is totally peaceful.  Sitting high above Skaros Rock (shown in the cover photo) sits Iliovaselema Hotel & Suites. The hotel is perfectly situated in the center of Santorini so that it gets sweeping views from the southern tip of the island all the way to the northern tip. Everything you see in front of you is of course a giant volcano caldera and it is incredible to watch the dozens of cruise ships sailing into the flooded caldera every day. You truly get a sense of the scale of the eruption that took place here around 1600BC. The eruption was the 3rd or 4th largest in recorded history.

Lucky for us, the result of the eruption is a totally unique land and seascape that lines up perfectly for stunning sunsets. The island itself is actually very dry and lacks much vegetation or wildlife, and would likely not be such a beautiful place if it weren't for the locals use of white paint on their dwellings. The hospitality industry picked up on the attraction to these white cave houses and began to replicate them  in their hotels all over the cliffs. Illiovaselema Hotel & Suites has done a fantastic job of this.

The cave suite we stayed in here really is a cave, with only the front windows for natural light. Not a problem though since any time not spent sleeping is spent in the private pool that begins inside the cave and stretches out towards the cliff. At the foot of the pool is an outdoor shower, and directly in front of the suite is a private patio with chairs, and this is where we spent every breakfast. The hotel provides an exceptional breakfast spread which they deliver to your suite at a time you arrange the night before.

On the inside there is a kitchenette and a dining room with a bathroom to one side. Behind the dining room is a wall of windows with a doorway that leads into the bedroom, with the living room even deeper into the cave consisting of a full size couch and a television. At the very back of the cave behind the living room is the master bathroom with a huge soaker tub.  In all the suite has three showers, a soaker tub, and the pool!

Just up the hill from the hotel is the walking trail that runs the entire length of the caldera. It is only a few minutes walk to the incredibly beautiful Anastasi Church with its white walls and dark blue domes. You will more then likely wish to spend all of your time under the sun in or beside your pool, and it will be easy because the hotel room service menu is exceptional.

We would recommend staying at least three nights here and not making any other plans ahead of time.

 https://iliovasilema.com/ 

If there is a heaven... it's Point No Point. We debated even mentioning this place because we really love how secluded and relatively unknown it is. This place is not on any booking sites and it barely receives a mention online. The only way to book a cabin here is to phone them, and you will receive your booking confirmation in the mail - not email, THE mail. We go here often, but not as often as we'd like!

When we say secluded, we mean no WiFi, no cellular service, and no television. You are only a 30 minute drive from the nearest town, but you are secluded in the digital sense. It really is incredible to check into your cabin and remove yourself from the outside world. For as long as you are there, your phone will be used for playing music and snapping photos of the incredible sunsets, and not much else. The cabins are equipped with board games, cribbage, as well as books and magazines. The majority of our time spent here is either sitting in front of the fire playing a game, or soaking in the hot tub. 

There is an onsite restaurant with sweeping views of the ocean, but we typically make use of the full kitchen in our cabin and cook all of our own meals. We like to stop at a few choice breweries in Victoria and fill up several growlers with beer on our way here, as well as a grocery shop for everything we will need for our stay.  Firewood is delivered to a cubby outside your door everyday, along with kindling and newspapers. Your hot tub water will be checked by a technician to make sure it is clean, and you may have your cabin cleaned if you wish, but otherwise there will be as little human interaction as you dictate. You will know the times that the hot tub technician and room service are coming, so you can go for a hike on the sprawling property, or stroll on the private beaches during those times (which we do!). Once we check in and open our cabin door, we may not see another human until we check out and that is perfect.

 https://www.pointnopointresort.com/