This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Top City Hotels
TOKYO There are literally hundreds of cities I’d like to visit in 2018, but we need to focus (and prioritise!) and the Gurus have great reasons why this is the year to visit each one of their recommendations. First up they suggest Tokyo which is hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and the Olympics in 2020, so everyone is about to see how magically varied this city is, with its incredible marrying of the very ancient and the frontier of newness. So we should get in before the crowds. Where to Stay? In Tokyo the Gurus like the Conrad, sleek and luxurious with Lost in Translation views and an award winning restaurant, it’s close to the Tsukiji fish markets – which is useful as you really need to hit the fish markets early. Rooms start from around £330 per night, but it’s worth it.
MALTA They recommend Malta’s Valletta for almost the opposite reason: in 2018 it will be the European Capital of Culture, but because it holds the title for a year, and there are events going on the whole time, they don’t think it will feel crowded. Where to Stay? The Valletta Suites, a haven for anyone with a keen eye for design, where luxury blends seamlessly with historic charm and period features. Rooms start from around £115 per night.
OSLO The Gurus are also recommending Oslo in 2018. The Scandi capitals have been very popular with travellers over the last few years, and Scandinavian culture is chic right now, but Oslo has been overlooked by many. Well this year it’s pulling out the stops as its incredible Opera House celebrates its 10th anniversary and its King and Queen celebrate 50 years of marriage. Where to Stay? Everyone wants to stay at The Thief on Thief island, the epitome of a great design hotel with original art by Warhol, Anthony Gormley and Julian Opie, dramatic public spaces and waterfront views. Rooms start from around £220 per night.
Where to go for Half term?
BELFAST For half term, the Hotel Gurus think Belfast’s new Titanic Quarter makes this city hard to beat. Plus it’s right by the epically impressive Giant’s Causeway. Where to Stay? If you want to be in the centre of Belfast for half term try to book into The Bullitt – a designer property with contemporary, and quirky, interiors and plenty of art. Rooms start from around £120.
SIFNOS 2018 might also be the year to head for Sifnos in the Cyclades; quiet and enchanting, this island is under the radar as far as the group goes, but benefits from the sunshine and rugged beauty of the region. Plus the food is amazing. Where to Stay? Sifnos is a wonderful escape, and the Petali Village Hotel is the retreat to match it, with eleven rooms and not a corner cut anywhere. The Gurus love it, and its restaurant.
PORTO And speaking of food, we’d also like to point you in the direction of Porto. The food markets are colourful, the ancient winding streets unusual and charming, and the atmosphere is relaxed, friendly and very ‘Portuguese’, rather than ‘European’. The metro makes it easy to get around, and just mooching through the city reveals pleasure after pleasure. Where to Stay? In Porto (for half term), try the six room Casa do Conto, a beautifully renovated 19th-century bourgeois home, in central Porto with sleek concrete interiors marrying vintage furnishings with bold design features. They also have generous public spaces. Rooms start from around £95 per night.
Top Easter Hotspots
SEVILLE It’s the improvement of traffic conditions in Seville which have helped this city make the list this year – and I agree, the new bike paths and tramways have made a huge difference. They’re also hosting the 31st European Film Awards and celebrating the life and work of local star, painter Bartolome Esteban Murillo. Where to Stay? In Seville we favour the boutique Casa No 7, owned and run by the aristocratic Don Gonzalo del Rio and exquisitely furnished with antiques, while still remaining light, airy and modern. There are just six rooms starting from around £240 per night.
ITALY is always incredible at Easter, and in 2018 you could be exploring the Emilia Romagna region of northern Italy, which runs all the way across to the Adriatic. Obviously the food is a huge draw but apparently the countryside out Tuscany’s Tuscany! Where to Stay? The Albergo Capello a traditional, 19th Century hotel with seven romantic rooms on Ravenna’s traffic-free streets close to the basilica. Rooms start from around £100 per night.
If you fancy a sunny Easter then what about CRETE? Spring starts earlier in Crete than it does in the rest of the Med., and you can expect eight hours of sunshine over the Minoan, Venetian and Ottoman treasures, beautiful beaches and atmospheric centres. Where to Stay? The Monastery Boutique Hotel. You guessed it, it’s a converted monastery! There are just six rooms arranged around the courtyard, but they’re surprisingly modern, as well as monastically minimalist. Rooms start from around £140 per night.
Top Summer destinations
PORTUGAL When it comes to summer, you might like to consider Portugal’s Alentejo region, which borders both Spain and the Algarve, and offers the same sun and sand, but in larger, more empty proportions – and its rural interior is likened to “Tuscany before everyone knew about it”. There are charming white towns where nothing has changed for decades, megalithic monuments, vineyards, and, for the moment, not many visitors. Where to Stay? The Alentejo’s Sublime Comporta in the tranquil and beautiful fishing village of Comporta, is a heavenly retreat right on the Atlantic Ocean. There are just 14 rooms starting from around £160 per night.
SLOVENIA If the beach isn’t essential to your summer plans, or if you love an active break, the Gurus recommend Slovenia’s Lake Bled. It looks like the opening plate of a fairytale with its background of the Julian Alps, and you can sail, kayak, swim, raft, canyon, dive, bike – you name it – in, on and around its waters. Where to Stay? The Grand Hotel Toplice is a Lake Bled favourite: it’s the oldest hotel on the lake and has a private beach and its own thermal springs which feed into their indoor pool. Rooms start from around £125 per night.
BAHAMAS It might be worth considering a more distant summer break and one where what you spend will contribute to the quality of life of the residents. That could mean any number of places, but this year it applies to the beautiful Caribbean, rocked by hurricanes during 2017, and heavily reliant on our tourist dollars. It might be too early to book some of the worst affected areas, but The Bahamas were just north of the hurricane’s path, so there was damage but not total destruction. Staying on one of the 700 islands and atolls here allows you to visit some of the more devastated regions, but also to enjoy the newly formed beaches and the topical surroundings. Where to Stay? Probably best known for its themed hotels, there are a lot of very reasonable, very nice, places to stay, The Orange Hill Beach Inn, in Nassau, being one of them. Converted, in a very Caribbean style, from a beachfront orange plantation there are 33 rooms, which start from around £110 per night.
Journey to the Other Side of the World
GREAT BARRIER REEF This year lots of travel experts are telling us Patagonia and the rest of Chile are places to go, but we say “The Great Barrier Reef needs you!” In the same way your travel money will contribute to rebuilding the Caribbean, you can also help fund the conservation of the reef, which has suffered back-to-back coral bleaching events. Vast swathes of the reef are now white-as-bone, which looks incredible but is bad, but there’s also still plenty of healthy reef left – for now. Where to Stay? If you’re going to travel round the world then then treat yourself to private island accommodation at One&Only Hayman Island, an atoll about five miles by three, right on the edge of the reef. Rooms start from just under £400 per night.
QUITO If you are keen on South America then why not try Quito? It sits in the Andes, between two active volcanoes, but despite the challenging, but beautiful, location, it’s got the largest colonial old town in Latin America, and possibly the best preserved. 40 years ago it became UNESCO’s very first World Heritage City and there are events on this year to mark the anniversary. Where to Stay? The Hotel Plaza Grande, a five star hotel lodged deep in the heart of the historic city centre, loved for its traditional architecture, fantastic cuisine and live opera. Rooms start from £345 per night.
Lots more fabulous recommendations where these came from – check out Hotel Guru’s other informative articles on worldwide travel destinations here