*This post is dedicated to the late Arthur Frommer, who passed away today. His travel guide books inspired me as a young traveler, and I still have several on my shelf, filled with my notes.
As I was reading several travel magazine articles about top hotels for 2025, I realized that I've been kind of gatekeeping some of my fave accommodations we've stayed at over the years. I've mentioned some of them here and there, but I thought that for anyone starting to plan trips for next year and beyond (I see you, long-term planners) that I'd get around to sharing.
This feels like a gratitude post. I feel so incredibly lucky to have spent time at the absolutely wonderful places below. I put a lot of thought & research into picking out accommodations to help make our family time more memorable. Some of them I had to save for, and some cost less than you'd think! There are so many fantastic places that I've loved for different reasons, and it was so hard to narrow it down to these, but they're all places I highly recommend!
Here they are in no particular order. It's a mix of hotels, bed & breakfasts, and home rentals. Most of them were to accommodate 4 people (the kids sometimes slept on pull-out couches, but sometimes got their own rooms.)
Seehotel Grüner Baum, Hallstatt, Austria.
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| This was our own private terrace |
Our terrace overlooking the lake is still the home screen to my cellphone. It's just that beautiful. This was one of our splurge hotels on a 5-week trip to Europe where we stayed mostly with friends. Hallstatt had long been on my wish list, and we stayed 2 nights in this glorious superior suite with the most spectacular view overlooking the water and the mountains. Arriving by boat made it even better! The bed was like sleeping on a cloud, the kids were comfortable sleeping on puffy duvets on a pull-out couch, and every afternoon they delivered cakes to our room to have at tea time! The chocolates and Nespresso machine were a nice touch too. We had a very good meal in the hotel restaurant one night, and the included breakfast buffet was very international, with large selections tailored to the guests from Asia. Apparently there's a small spa/wellness area you can use, but it must not have been there at the time of our trip. While we were there in the Summer, the photos of this area in Winter look amazing as well.
Travel tips: Arrive by boat from the train station if you can - it's even more beautiful to see the town from the water. Definitely book a waterside suite/room with a terrace. During the day, the town is really busy with daytrippers, but the early mornings and evenings are fairly empty and magical.
Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron, Salzburg, Austria
You might recognize this as the setting for The Sound of Music. This was a special stay for us, but after 2 days crammed into a tiny budget room near the train station, it was absolutely wonderful. There were 2 libraries on the grounds (one historic, and one more modern where we sat drinking tea & perusing books during a Summer rainstorm.) The breakfast and breakfast room were possibly the most beautiful we've ever experienced, and they lent out bicycles for riding around the countryside, which we did. The room was spacious and so grand.
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| The breakfast room |
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| One of the libraries |
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| Our room. The kids never complained about sleeping on pull-out couches. |
We loved our stay in Salzburg. I had booked us on the Sound of Music bicycle tour which was so much fun, plus a cooking class inside a cave at Edelweiss Cooking School, where we had dinner and made 2 traditional Austrian desserts. I have the most beautiful memories of that time together. I hope the kids do too.
Travel tips: Take time to explore the grounds, the libraries and any rooms open to the public. Take your time over breakfast. Borrow the bikes and bike through the countryside to the palace and the gardens.
Château Saint-Victor-la-Coste, Saint-Victor-la-Coste, France
You might have seen it in magazines like the cover of British Vogue, or all over Instagram. This is my Roman Empire. I think about going back all the time. I actually booked this leg of our trip around when Cottage 2 (for families) would be available! I've blogged about this magical place before, in this post. What is amazing to me, is that despite the fame of this little château, that once you walk through the door into the courtyard, it feels like a private, well-kept secret. It's so down to earth and breathtakingly beautiful at the same time. I think the fact that it is so small adds to the feeling of it being so personal. I had an emotional reaction to being there. The fresh croissants and breakfast put out for us every morning were dreamy. Costas & Alison have created something really special here, and the other guests were great to hang out with in the communal kitchen. It's like Costas said to me, "You did not choose the château. She chooses her guests."
Travel tips: Book early. Buy the local wine from the honor box and groceries from nearby (you get your own full-size fridge and use of the communal kitchen) and picnic by the pool. Walk to dinner at L'Industrie and eat under the plane trees at golden hour. Take the tour of the château, and let the owners direct you to the best wine cellars nearby.
Château de la Rivière, Fronsac, France
This a working vineyard with a small but stunning Bed & Breakfast operation. I wrote all about it in this blog post so be sure to read about it there. (Seriously, the photos are worth re-visiting!) Staying at a vineyard was hubby's idea, and it was brilliant. When I asked him which our of accommodations over the years was his favorite, this one immediately came to mind for him! This was where I turned 49. Also...they have air-conditioned rooms! 2022 was a very hot Summer so we especially appreciated any of our stays with ac.
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| In the evenings, the chateau is only open to the few guests of the property |
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| Sunset views over the pool & vines |
Travel tips: The innkeeper Nathalie has a list of recommendations for restaurants and vineyards to visit. Take her advice and book them right away! Le Bistrot Maritime in Liborne was delicious. The cellar tour that is included with the bed & breakfast stay is interesting. Visit Saint-Emilion for a day!
La Maison Bleue, Colmar, France
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| Our friends from Montpellier came to visit us at our house in Colmar |
Hotel de la Métropole, Montpellier, France.
Right downtown in Montpellier within walking distance of everything, this location can't be beat. It's a 4-star hotel, part of the Oceania Hotels group, has a pool and spa, beds like clouds, huge rooms and great amenities, including air conditioning. The included breakfast was beautifully laid out in a sunroom. The kids liked it so much they refused to leave their room that afternoon before dinner, while we took a walk around what is one of my favorite cities in France. I've written about our stay there before here on the blog. It was a quick stay to visit friends, but I'd definitely stay here again! It feels very luxe, but it costs less than the bland hotel off the highway we recently stayed at in Pennsylvania dropping off our daughter for college (I feel like this is my new comparison for hotel costs.)
Travel tip: You're closer to the Mediterranean than you think. Go to the beach!
Hotel Belleval, Paris, France.
It's not our cozy little apartment in Le Marais where we've always stayed, but the way prices in Paris have gone up in the past 15 years, this was reasonable. We were there about 2 weeks before the Olympics started, so the city was pretty crazy with preparations. Located in the 8th arrondissement, its just a quick walk to the Gare Saint-Lazare metro station, and near restaurants and shopping, but has all the feels of a Paris neighborhood, and is not touristy. Hubby and I stayed here just the 2 of us, as Julien was in Australia, and Charlotte in Germany. (That's what happens when you teach your kids to love to travel!) This hotel has a fresh vibe to it, really nice breakfast selections, a great exercise room and sauna, and the bathroom amenities include luxury brand Nuxe toiletries! I discovered my love of the Nuxe Rêve de Miel line there. I'm not often that girl, but I must have spent 40 minutes a day wrapped in the delicious robe giving myself spa treatments and skin care while Scott watched Euro Cup soccer matches.
Travel tip: Ask the front desk to start up the sauna for you early so it's warmed up by the time you get downstairs!
French Quarter Inn, Charleston, South Carolina
I can't say enough good things about this place. It felt like very single detail was perfectly considered. The sound-proofing was amazing - we had no idea there was a baby in the room next to us until we met the family at happy hour one night. At check-in we were greeted with champagne and snacks in the lobby. The included happy hour was so generous we pretty much considered it dinner before heading out in the evenings. The included breakfast buffet was beautifully presented and generous, and my friend even had salmon one morning. In the evenings, there was cookies & milk/tea service. The lobby had a beverage refrigerator, sweet tea and lemonade, waters, snacks, and fancy bowls of candy that changed daily. We pretty much only had to eat lunches out with all of the food the hotel provided. When we first entered our beautiful room to the sounds of classical music, we discovered a pillow menu, soft robes of course, gorgeous local toiletries, flat and sparkling mineral waters, and chocolates infused with various sleep-inducing flavors. The hotel also provides free bicycles to borrow, though we were perfectly positioned to walk everywhere but the beaches. When we did rent a car to visit the beaches & plantations, the hotel had a valet service. Really, the French Quarter Inn has thought of everything. I don't travel much in the US because it's so much more expensive here than in Europe, but I'll go back to stay here!
Travel tip: This one is generic, but tip housekeeping generously each day, and not just on the last day. I swear this earned us extra chocolates and mineral waters at turndown! (Housekeeping actually looked to see which of the kinds of mineral waters we had drunk, and replaced those same ones specifically. Attention to detail matters!)
Somerhill, Lyme Regis, England.
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| The view from our kitchen window |
You know the house is fancy when it has a name instead of an address! We rented this with friends through a local letting agency, Lyme Bay Holidays, and the house was located in Lyme Regis. We spent a week here, with daily walks into town. The house was an English dream on the Jurassic Coast. Meant to home a larger group, it had generously-sized rooms, a pool, sunroom, garden, and it filled me with happiness to be there. I know how cheesy that sounds. I could easily see myself living there, and we had a ridiculous moment where we stopped to ask someone for directions to Tesco, and it accidentally slipped out of my mouth in a somewhat terrible English accent that sent my family into absolute hysterics in the car. This was our 3rd week in the UK and my brain was already moving me there!
Travel tips: Don't drive into town - it's a nice walk through the park with views over Lyme Bay. Don't miss the Lyme Regis Museum. Go fossil hunting at the beaches, and on cliff walks. If you like fishing, go on one of the little mackerel boat trips at the harbor.
Sheepscombe House Bed & Breakfast, Snowshill, England
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| The view from our steps and Jake |
It's no exaggeration to say I'm obsessed with the Cotswolds, and this was a perfect bed & breakfast. We stayed in a small separate building, in a cozy studio over a garage, overlooking fields of sheep. We ate delicious breakfasts and played with Jake the springer spaniel. We walked to the pub for dinners in the sunshine and the kids played with the local kids. We explored Broadway Tower, Hidcote Gardens, and more. The local church was one of the filming locations for the Bridget Jones's Diary movies. It was just so lovely it's making me nostalgic.
Highlands Club, Fort Augustus, Scotland
Set in the highlands on Loch Ness, this one is a beauty! It's interesting because it kind of looks like Hogwarts, and has a history as a fort, a monastery, and an abbey, and sits right on the loch. They have self-catering apartments that they let, and we found a cute 2 bedroom that worked well for us. The Highlands Club has a unique pool setting in a chapel, plus sauna & steam room. There are cloisters, 20 acres of grounds, a giant chess game, and it's a quick walk to the small town. We spent a week with this as our home base for exploring the highlands, which was amazing, but there's not much to do in Fort Augustus. You can read my blog posts about it in Cloudy with a Chance of Haggis, and Cloudy with a Chance of Haggis Part II.
Travel tip: At least when we were there, there was no real grocery store. Stock up on food in other towns.
Kilconquhar Castle Estate, Kilconquhar, Scotland
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| The castle gate house that we called home |
We loved our 2-bedroom hotel apartment right in the center of Reykjavik! This is a 4-star hotel with 50 rooms, 10 apartments, and a restaurant that looked really nice & popular, though we didn't eat there. We were able to park on the street nearby, and walk to everything. The apartment was clean, comfortable, safe, and the front desk staff at the hotel were very helpful with anything I needed. It was nice that they offered not only hotel rooms, but apartments as well. I shared our adventures in a blog entry called Our Weekend Adventure in Iceland if you want to read more. We've been to Iceland twice, and I plan to visit again. I'd happily stay in one of the hotel rooms if we didn't need/want a whole apartment next time.
Travel tip: Buy wine at the duty free before you leave the airport to save a lot of money.
Hotel Antiche Figure in Venice, Italy
This is a small hotel located on the Grand Canal, across from the train station. I booked the deluxe junior suite with canal view for a girls trip with my daughter and our German exchange student. I wanted the ease of not having to carry our luggage very far as we were arriving by train, and departing by bus to the airport. The room was beautiful, had a balcony overlooking the canal, air conditioning, and a huge bathroom. In general, I find Italian beds to be too hard for me, but I slept well here. The hotel offered us complimentary cocktails upon arrival, candy, and a huge breakfast spread, which we could enjoy outside, in the breakfast room, or take up to our room. Like Hallstatt, Venice is really busy during the day, but by the time I was watching the sun set over the water, it was clearing out. The girls loved our room and after a very hot afternoon of walking for hours, they chose to stay in and enjoy the room. I've been to Venice twice now, and while I don't think I'll go back again, I'd stay here if I did.
Hôtel du Vieux-Québec, Quebec City, Canada
This historic hotel has a perfect location for walking through the city, guaranteed parking in the underground parking garage across the street, great service at the front desk, and even lets guest borrow reusable water bottles. I stayed there with a friend and booked the Comfort 2 Queen beds room with stone walls and a seating area. It was so comfortable and spacious! I wrote about our adventures at Winter Carnival on that trip, including our night at the Ice Hotel, here.
It was really hard to narrow down this list to 15. We've stayed at some absolutely wonderful places, but also at some that I couldn't leave fast enough.
I have a few honorable mentions that I couldn't fit in my top 15, but were pretty wonderful and I would go back.
The Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe, Vermont was wonderful when we stayed there around 25 years ago. It was expensive even back then, but I'd go again. I liked the cross country skiing.
Auchranie Resort, Brodick, Isle of Arran, Scotland is a gorgeous resort on Isle of Arran, where we went to visit the standing stones at Machrie Moor, and where Scott went on a distillery tour. We wished we'd had more time to take advantage of all of the activities they had for kids and families. We had time to visit the massive pool, and the kids play barn area, picnic on the lawn, but they also offered abseiling, archery, bikes, tours, and more. I'm shocked at how affordable this is.
My all-time favorite Bed & Breakfast, Friar's Glen, was located in Killarney National Park in Ireland, but Mary & John have just announced this past week that they've retired, and sold the property to the Ireland's National Parks & Wildlife Service.
Lastly, if I could find a link to share with you, I'd absolutely recommend the dreamy villa where we stayed with friends in Lucignano, Tuscany, Italy. It was owned by the family of an ambassador, and I think they only rented it out here and there to help with paying the upkeep on the place. I'll leave you with photos of the pool where we spent many hours.
Happy Travels. I'm open to any of your recommendations!
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