Thought you'd seen luxury? Think again. These hotel suites, decked out with everything from basketball courts to water slides, redefine the very meaning of luxury.From underwater suites in Dubai to New York penthouses with pianists, we've rounded up the 10 most over-the-top rooms you can check into -- if you can afford it.
If you're looking to make your dollar go further while traveling, hotels can be a good area to focus on. Hotel room costs actually make up a significant portion of the average American's travel budget—about 26% of the cost for U.S.-based trips, and just over 20% for international trips, according to financial research company ValuePenguin.
You've seen them—aspiring passengers stuck in airport limbo, curled up on the edge of a busy corridor trying to catch some z's or turning a row of uncomfortable chairs into a makeshift bed for all to behold and hopefully not spill coffee on. Maybe a flight was cancelled or owing to a misconnect they're temporarily terminal-bound. While a layover of eight or nine hours doesn't automatically justify a stay in an airport hotel, sleeping in airports isn't best practices for any global traveler. What's more, airport hotels don't have to be depressing: there are some I'd stay in even if I didn't have a flight to catch. Hear me out.
Many hotels promise guests a one-of-a-kind hospitality experience, but for the most part, they tend to offer the same standard fare.
Everyone loves a bargain, and there's no need to compromise on location when planning a shoestring holiday. If you look in the right places you can find decent lodgings in incredible places - from oceanfront boutiques in Koh Samui and spa hotels in Bali, to rustic lodges on deserted Cambodian beaches.
Europe wants to conquer the world all over again. Only this time, its killer app isn't steel or gunpowder. It's an EU legal juggernaut aimed at imposing ever tougher privacy rules on governments and companies from San Francisco to Seoul. When the region's regulators roll out the changes — known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR — on May 25, it will represent the biggest overhaul of the world's privacy rules in more than 20 years. The new regulations offer EU citizens sweeping new powers over how their data can be collected, used and stored, presenting global leaders outside the 28-country block with a stark choice: bring their domestic laws in line with the EU's new rules, or risk being shut out of a market of 500 million well-heeled consumers.
In days gone by, spending the night at an airport hotel was considered a humdrum affair, characterised by formulaic chains, carbon-copy hotel rooms and uninspiring cuisine.
Should you use price comparison websites to get a few pounds off the cost of your holiday hotel, you might want to look away now.
The General Data Protection Regulation was first proposed in 2012, and what followed was four years of discussions, debates, and amendments, with the regulation finally adopted by the European Parliament in 2016. Countries, companies, and organisations were given two years to comply, with the regulation being enforced from 25 May 2018. What originally seemed like a reasonable amount of time to prepare has passed quickly, and at the time of this writing, enforcement of the GDPR is barely 5-months away.
Whether it's the glittering Eiffel Tower or the smell of fresh baguettes wafting through the air, Paris is known for romance.
Where do business travelers like to stay when on the road for work?
An employee for the federal agency supervising the lease for the Trump hotel in Washington spent more than $900 for a stay there last year, according to a document reviewed by CNN -- the first publicly known movement of federal taxpayer dollars into the highly scrutinized business.
For more than 80 years, the Wiiliamsburg Inn in Virginia has taken guests back in time.A short walk from the historic Colonial Village, this elegant Regency-style hotel is decorated with fine antiques and artwork—but offers guests soaking tubs and other modern amenities.All that focus on luxury and guest comfort has earned the Williamsburg Inn AAA's Five Diamond rating, one of only eight new properties added to the exclusive list of hotels and restaurants this year, the travel company announced Wednesday.AAA inspectors visit 1,200 hotels and restaurants weekly in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, and a tiny 0.3 percent of the nearly 59,000 properties inspected annually earn the Five Diamond rating.The newest eight members join an exclusive AAA/CAA Five Diamond club of just 121 hotels and 63 restaurants.
Jetsetters hoping to get a jump start on their 2018 travel plans will love this latest news. The travel experts at TripAdvisor just released their 16th annual Traveler’s Choice Awards for the world’s best hotels for 2018.
With its exceptional food, impeccable service, and stunning Instagram-worthy pool, Cambodia’s greenery-shrouded Viroth’s Hotel tops this year’s list. The luxury hotel is located in the country’s central-northern city of Siem Reap.
New York may be the city that never sleeps but when you’re paying top dollar for a hotel room, you’re going to want some quality shuteye. Fortunately the luxury hotels in Manhattan are among the best in the world, offering the finest interiors from renowned designers, chic in-room amenities, attentive service, and glorious city views (which is often the number one selling point for a hotel).
Just when you thought travel couldn't get any more luxurious, the newest batch of hotels and resorts have seriously upped the ante. From ultraluxe mountain lodges in Bhutan to far-flung island hideaways in the Seychelles, there's something for all styles of discerning travelers when choosing a place to stay. Here's our handpicked selection of incredible new hotels to check into in 2018:
It may rank high on the list of destinations for stag and hen dos, but Amsterdam has so much more to offer than an inebriated weekend browsing its (in)famous coffee shops. The last few years have seen a wave of new hotels arriving in the city, seriously expanding the range of interesting options to stay within – and, most encouragingly, beyond – the well-trodden cobbled streets of its immediate historic core. Even existing properties have been dealt a much needed jolt and upped their game.
One of the questions I am often asked – besides what’s my favorite travel destination – is “From your travels, what hotels would you recommend?” This past year, most of my travels were with @AzamaraVoyages, therefore, I had a floating hotel take me around the world. I did extend my stay at several stops in addition to having a few staycations while home in the states. So, I do feel qualified to make hotel recommendations.
The following are my top 10 hotels for 2017. This list is curated from a variety of destinations in the event you may wish to check out these fabulous locations (which I also recommend).
Bulgari Resort Dubai has only been open for a matter of weeks, but it's already been crowned the best new luxury hotel of 2017. The lavish property, located on man-made island Jumeira Bay, came out on top in members-only travel ratings company Luxury Travel Intelligence's annual list, beating off stiff competition from the likes of The Ned in London and Paris' Hotel de Crillon. Described as an "urban oasis," the 158,000 square-meter complex, designed by renowned Italian architectural firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, was credited for its structural design as well as its "understated" location. While the Bulgari Resort Dubai may have taken the top spot, it certainly wasn't the only new hotel that made a lasting impression. Here's the full list of LTI's top 14 "truly exceptional" new hotels.
For the last several years, I have closed out December here at Forbes.com with round-ups of the Travel Year in Review for Best Hotels, 10 Best Restaurants and the Best & Worst of Aviation. It’s that time again, so as 2017 winds to a close, I’m reflecting on the past 12 months in travel. Today I am revisiting the 10 best hotel experiences I had in 2017. Many of these were new or importantly renovated properties, but some were time tested classics - what they all had in common was that I stayed and critically experienced their charms firsthand. There’s a lot of noise out there covering the hotel space, including lots of “previews” by people who have never actually been, so to help give passionate travelers the very best info, in the past few years I launched two other Forbes.com resources to make it easier to find critical info, the Hotel Test Drives and Hotels I Love columns. Hotel Test Drives focuses on new and smaller market properties, while only the best of the world’s best hotels make the highest bar, my Hotels I Love column, which was reorganized into a more convenient users’ guide last year.