Design Travel

Enough with the snow! Every time I bundle up to walk to the post office or test my car’s all wheel drive capabilities to get out of my on-street parking space, I start dreaming of being somewhere other than Boston. Somewhere sunny and exotic…. and beautifully designed.

My favorite place to start is at Tablet Hotels. This site features a collection of hip, boutique hotels all over the globe with a focus on design. The emphasis is on an international more modern sensibility. One of the best aspects of the site is the wide range in price options. I have found some great reasonably priced hotels in Barcelona (Hotel Cram) and Paris (Hotel Therese) but I also come to Tablet to drool over the gorgeous tres cher options like Amanyara in Turks and Caicos. A girl can dream…

Amanyara, Turks and Caicos

If I am ready to plan a “real” vacation, I usually follow up the helpful reviews at Tablet with a few other sites. 

• I visit the hotel’s own site to view additional images and check pricing (although I usually find Tablet to have the best price)
• I do a search on TripAdvisor.com to check out reviews from other travellers. This can be very helpful… I was very excited about the very cool and inexpensive Hotel Deseo on the Playa del Carmen in Mexico until other travellers warned that the outdoor lounge in the middle of the hotel usually was going until 2am… not necessarily a deal breaker, but good to know if you are looking for seclusion and quiet.
• Another great site with good reviews is Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Alas Brad Pitt and Angelina did not write up the reviews here, but they are lively and fun and have a Brit (non-American) perspective which can be interesting.
• Design Hotels also has some overlap with Tablet and some other good options and reviews.

So pick up your mouse and start planning…. I’ll cover how to get there next time.