CAPE COCONUT
7 most memorable hotel stays around the world
After some years of traveling, I thought it would be cool to pick out the 7 most memorable hotel stays I’ve had so far!
Because it’s just so hard to put these in any order of remarkability, I’m gonna go for the easy way out and put them alphabetically :)
And so we begin with Ecuador!
1. ECUADOR // ANTIZANA
I lived and studied in the capital, Quito, for three months. Every weekend I made the most of it and went exploring this magnificent country! One of those trips was an overnight horseback tour in Antizana with some fellow students.
After a long but thrilling day riding in the Andes mountains till our bums had turned fifty shades of blue, we made an overnight stop at this little shack in the middle of nowhere with beds made of hay. Without any electricity or running water, but with plenty of fun!
It was such a great night! Together with our guide we made spaghetti on this makeshift stove and dined by candlelight. After sleeping like a log from all the excitement I woke up early to watch the sun come up over the Andes mountains… it was absolutely breathtaking.
2. GUATEMALA // LAKE ATITLÁN
One of the most spectacular views I’ve ever had from a hotel room was in Guatemala. We had our own private tiny house with big windows overlooking the magnificent Lake Atitlán. Waking up with a view like that… I was and still am lost for words!
The immense Lake Atitlán, enclosed by volcanoes, is such a mythical place and this hotel stay definitely made it even more memorable! Besides the stunning panoramas we also loved the aromatic wild gardens surrounding the hotel, an alluring and enormous jungle of greenery and flowers with criss-cross paths leading up to several viewpoints.
3. INDIA // KERALA
When traveling through beautiful but hectic India we made a welcome and tranquil overnight stop at a coffee and spices plantation in Kerala.
The hotel we stayed at had this giant treehouse that could easily pass for Peter Pan’s treehouse in Neverland! Okay, maybe a bit more luxurious, but still :)
You would think that in the middle of nowhere it would be silent at night, but there were sounds coming from the surrounding jungle everywhere! And on top of that, monkeys were playing tag on our roof… it was a very remarkable night!
The little sleep we got was easily compensated by a rich cup of coffee straight from the plantation!
4. ITALY // LE GRAZIE
Less luxurious than the Indian treehouse, but still very memorable was the time we slept in the back of our car during a road trip across Italy.
We were on quite a tight budget (read: spending it all on food…), so we didn’t go to a camping area. Instead we chose a nice parking spot with a direct view at the stunning harbour of Le Grazie.
Sleeping in the back of the car didn’t go as smoothly as we had expected. It was very cramped, the cardboards we used to cover up the windows kept falling upon us, and I woke up in the middle of the night because my leg was hurting as it had apparently been stuck in the same position for too long.
But besides all this, there is something quite special about waking up, opening your car door to the view of a charming Italian harbour, walking a few wobbly steps and taking a morning shower on the beach! :)
5. MOROCCO // MARRAKECH
Another extraordinary stay was in Marrakech. We had booked this lovely hotel right in the city center, and when we arrived the owner said we could also choose to stay in a Berber tent on the roof of the hotel. Of course we would!
The inside of the tent was such a fluorescent blue color scheme, you either had to squint of wear sunglasses when entering. There was an “en suite” shower/toilet area and even a private terrace! I admit… the photos aren’t that great, but we were just too excited from of staying at this cool place ;) !
6. MEXICO // BOCA DEL CIELO
While we were backpacking through Central America we made quite a detour from our route in Mexico and went all the way to this small fishing village called Boca del Cielo (meaning: mouth of heaven). Why? you might ask? Well… we wanted to see baby sea turtles!
As usual we hadn’t booked a hotel yet, so we crossed a small lake (kinda like a backwater) to get to the little village and look for a place to stay. We were immediately welcomed by this sweet lady who showed us around her hotel. It was rather… basic, and then I’m still being euphemistic :)
But we looked around and thought “when do you ever have the opportunity to sleep in what looks like a cowshed by the coast in the middle of nowhere in Mexico?” – Now! Was the answer, and so we stayed and slept on what looked like a box spring but was actually pure concrete. And we had a refreshing “shower” with a bucket of water taken from what I think was once a cow trough.
And it became one of the funniest nights of our whole trip, with the bonus of a beautiful and almost private beach, and baby sea turtles in the morning :) !
7. ZAMBIA // SOUTH LUANGWA NATIONAL PARK
And last but certainly not least there was the time we went on safari in Zambia and stayed in tents! There were no fences or gates so animals could run free through our camp. And they did :) During the night we could hear monkey, lions, hippos, hyenas and even elephants walking past our tents!
One morning we woke up and there was an elephant standing in front of our tent, it was such an extraordinary sight! He had probably been the one scratching his back against the thatched roof over our tent, giving us quite a fright! It seemed as if the whole think was going to collapse, but apparently he was careful enough not to destroy his favorite scratching pole :)
After bidding the elephant a pleasant morning we took a shower under the trees with a spectacular view over the adjacent river, where I spotted his buddy walking along the river bed. Yes, quite memorable I must say!
We’re very curious to know which one you would choose or what your most memorable hotel stay was! Let us know by commenting on this post below, thanks :) !