Princess for a day

We like to travel like locals as much as we can (meaning we typically rent
a house or villa in a foreign country instead of staying in a hotel).
However, every now and then I like to live out a fantasy and experience 4
or 5-star luxury. How do we manage this, you might ask? It’s very easy,
actually. We spend just ONE night in a fabulous, expensive place either at
the beginning or end of our villa vacations.

To me, 24 hours is enough time to realize the very best parts of staying
at a top-notch hotel: a walk or two around the grounds, time at the pool,
a drink in the lounge before dinner, a romantic night with my husband on
high thread count sheets… And, of course, we enjoy a nice breakfast the next
morning. That’s all I need to feel like a princess.

I tend to save travel magazine articles about fantasy places and have a
future list that is quite long! A few ideas for you (including ones we’ve
enjoyed in the past) are as follows:

Hotel Torre di Bellosguardo, Florence, Italy
http://www.torrebellosguardo.com/en/index.htm

You might remember this lovely hotel from an earlier blog entry. We stayed
here, a 15th century nobleman’s home, in 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2007 – I
just could not get enough of the special atmosphere of the place and it
remains my favorite hotel in Europe (closely followed by my other
favorites in Edinburgh – see below).

Ikies Traditional Houses, Santorini, Greece
http://www.ikies.com/index.html

This place takes my breath away. FYI, we have not yet stayed here so I am just going on a gut instinct. However,
it’s on my list for a romantic getaway a deux!

La Case Grande, Arcos de la Frontera, Spain
http://www.lacasagrande.net/

We are planning to visit this luxuriously rustic hotel during our next
trip to Spain (hopefully in 2012; if anyone wants to join us on another
family villa vacation, let me know, stay tuned for details).

The Glasshouse Hotel, Edinburgh, Scotland
http://www.theetoncollection.com/content.aspx?pageID=450

The floor to ceiling windows in place of exterior walls make this 5-star
hotel a truly unique experience. We’ve stayed twice, once by ourselves and
once with the boys (getting a suite the second time was perfect, the boys
loved the balcony and heated bathroom floors; my husband loved the
complimentary Talisker whiskey that came with the Talisker Suite!)

Dalhousie Castle, Bonnyrigg, Edinburgh, Scotland
http://www.dalhousiecastle.co.uk/

This is one of my all-time favorite places to stay! The hotel is a real
castle, a 13th century fortress on the banks of the river Esk. The best
part is the falconry right on the grounds. Our children flew owls and
hawks just like Harry Potter! It was amazing to say the least. There is an
aqueous spa for the adults, an old-fashioned library where you can enjoy
tea and chess, a gourmet restaurant in the dungeon, and many other treats
to be discovered. If I ever win the lottery or sell my movie script, we
are going to rent the entire place for a week and invite family and
friends to join us!

Note: The photo above is from Dalhousie Castle.

[Photo by Kathryn Besser]