Bucket List Boutique Hotels
Straying from the uniformity of chain hotels, boutique hotels are characterized by strong, definitive personalities and unique themes that ring throughout their customized features. These stylish establishments shine with artistic decor, individualized aesthetics, and locally curated delicacies to enhance your travel experience. Lacking the pressures from corporate ownership, the individually run hotels hold more autonomy over their realm and have the ability to pivot with guest needs and an approachable influence on operations that no Best Western could begin to imagine offering. Equally luxurious as your destination itself, a boutique hotel draws you back into the room just as much as it ushers you out for local exploration.
Beyond refined and tasteful accommodation, seeking out boutique hotels may benefit your experience for reasons more utilitarian in nature as well. Locationally speaking, boutique hotels tend to crop up in the heart of town, centralizing you to the most desired attractions in the surrounding area. Their ability to showcase local culture corrals your getaway into expertly recommended establishments and community must-do’s otherwise concealed without an expert’s guide. With immaculate attention to detail, the extra services offered at boutique hotels make completing these excursions a seamless affair. The smaller room count and lack of endless floors prioritize your individual needs in a calmer environment with amenities not commonly offered in chain hotels. The essentials you forgot to pack, trendy lobby bars, and bespoke tours can all be anticipated when staying at a boutique hotel.
While these specialized hotels require extra effort to seek out, sifting through the dozens of chain hotel search results is worth it. To inspire you to support smaller, local businesses on your next trip, here are our bucket list boutique hotels.
The Ivens
Lisbon, Portugal
A proclaimed oasis in the city, The Ivens offers travelers an escape peppered with maximalist jungle decor inspired by explorers Roberto Ivens and Hermenegildo Capelo. Tranquil rooms are juxtaposed with an exotic velvet-filled lobby, a hidden garden, towering bars, and a jazz club all within the center of Lisbon. The Ivens highlights its sacred refuge dispersed across 87 rooms, including 10 suites and 12 premium rooms.
Osborn House
New South Wales, Australia
Lush views of the Southern Highlands and historical architecture reign throughout New South Wales’ Osborn House with a personalized experience and immaculate detailing by former Soho House Design Director, Linda Boronkay. The 27-room luxury boutique offers sleek rooms amidst the surrounding greenery and options to lodge in the forest for an uninterrupted getaway just across Morton National Park. Rejuvenating spa treatments in the country and live fire cooking embrace leisure and set the tone for tranquility. Looking to expand outside of the hotel? Osborn House offers bushwalks, winery tours, horse riding, and an experience team to customize your itinerary.
Skyview
Los Alamos, California
Through the winding roads of California’s wine country, influenced by its original mid-century motel roots, and overseeing Los Alamos’s Old West spirit is where Skyview entices guests with both nostalgia and modern luxury. The hillside hotel is notable in its single-story layout, offering guests a home-like experience with individualized rooms and generous amenities. Their full-service restaurant, Norman, draws in hotel dwellers and passers-by through their local ingredients and poolside dining. Though leaving the chic, vintage property may seem sinful, Skyview’s convenient location makes wine-tasting and antique shopping nearby inevitable.
Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge
Novo Airão, Brazil
Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge unveils the secrets lying within the Brazilian Amazon in a luxury experience along the Río Negro. Intimacy with the jungle is not taken lightly here, as Anavilhanas’ sustainability and local community are at the forefront of the hotel’s mission. Their continuous effort for preservation encourages education about the Amazon through hikes in the Dryland Forest, river cruises in search of pink dolphins, and farm-to-table dining. The region's caboclo architecture inspires window-lined cottages and bungalows, maximizing views of lush greenery and providing cozy nooks to lounge in nature.
Hotel Charmante
Bergen, Norway
Hotel Charmante transports guests to 20th-century Paris ushering in moody decor and bold wallpapers. Every detail from gold finishes to vintage table wear works to transform the boutique into a charming vintage stay. Rendezvous are encouraged here, where a flamboyant brassiere serves locally sourced Norwegian ingredients and an aesthetically pleasing French-style lounge leaves no room for a French exit. Soak in a clawfoot tub after a welcome glass of champagne before strolling the waterfront of Bergen.
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