CHECKING IN
Our favourite hotel stays.
1 HOTEL EIFFEL BLOMET
You’ll feel like you’re staying in an elegant 1930s pied-à-terre at this recently renovated 15th-arrondissement hotel, just a short walk from Parc Georges-Brassens’ gardens. Linger in the comfy art deco lobby, where you can pour yourself a flute of bubbly from the honour bar. NUMBER OF ROOMS 87. WHAT WE LOVED Taking a dip in the 14-m tiled swimming pool, hidden away under the inner courtyard, before schvitzing in the sauna and kicking back on a couch in the hammam. ROOM TO BOOK Suites have tiny but charming terraces that look out over the Parisian rooftops and the namesake landmark.
2 THE PENINSULA BEIJING BEIJING
The city’s original five-star property went allsuite in 2017, making its Goldfish Lane rooms the largest in town. The $160-million reno also added luxe materials throughout, like Chinese jade and the same han bai yu white marble found in the Forbidden City. NUMBER OF ROOMS 230. WHAT WE LOVED Dining on black truffle–steamed riceflour rolls at the downstairs Cantonese restaurant Huang Ting, decked out with carved antique wood furniture. ROOM PERKS Indulge in Valrhona chocolate concoctions by French pastry chef Frédéric Moreau. Pro tip: Wrap a thick chocolate medallion in the room’s shower cap to take it home.
3 MAUNA KEA BEACH HOTEL ISLAND OF HAWAII
In 1960, Mauna Kea was just a gleam in financier Laurance S. Rockefeller’s eye as he flew over Kauna’oa Bay. Five years later, the property (that became an Autograph Collection Hotel in 2015) opened, with an 18-hole golf course. Get on the greens early before grabbing Kona coffee from Copper Bar Café. NUMBER OF ROOMS 252. WHAT WE LOVED Shaking the sand from our shorts with a private hula lesson from aloha ambassador Adelaide Healani Kimitete-Ah Mow. CULTURE FIX Navigate the more than 1,000 pieces of original art on the grounds with the resort’s new podcast, which gives the lowdown on pieces like the 12thcentury pink granite Buddha.
4 PACIFIC SANDS BEACH RESORT TOFINO, BRITISH COLUMBIA
On Vancouver Island’s Cox Bay, this hotel upped its surf-friendly status in 2017 by adding 43 new ocean-facing suites. NUMBER OF ROOMS 120. WHAT WE LOVED Being a sand dollar’s throw from the beach and hearing the roaring Pacific, even with our patio doors closed. WALK TO the beach’s south end for a rainforest hike that wraps at Cox Bay Lookout. The 400-metre climb is worth it for the sweeping ocean views at the top. ORDER the ling cod tacos from on-site Surfside Grill – the second Tofino outpost from Wildside Grill chef Jesse Blake and commercial fisherman Jeff Mikus – during an alfresco sunset dinner.