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My List: Five favourite hotels with waterfront views

Story by Mary Gostelow

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Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Monaco Rooms in this wedding cake-like palace look out on the blue Mediterranean and multimillion dollar yachts in the harbour.

Hotel du Vin, Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom Catch the rowing action on the river from the upper-floor front-facing rooms of this new hotel, converted from a 200-year-old brewery.

The Point, Saranac Lake, New York The Boathouse, one of 11 detached villas here, is just that, and your suite, with its white-canopied four-poster bed, is right above the dock for the resort’s own fleet of boats.

Pan Pacific Vancouver, British Columbia This gleaming white hotel built over the water feels more like a giant cruise ship, and there might indeed be one at the adjacent terminal.

Park Hyatt Sydney, Australia Wake up to a view of commuter ferries criss-crossing the harbour between the North Shore and Circular Quay.

Copenhagen, Denmark
A few minutes walk from the terminal brings you to Hilton Copenhagen Airport’s 12-floor open atrium decorated with stunning modern Danish art. A favourite room is number 1235, which has a large library of art books and access to the club lounge, with its very Danish pale wood and modern fireplace. There’s also a 24-hour gym and pool, as well as complimentary bicycles to explore the lanes along the shore. GM is Allan Agerholm.
www.hilton.com

Ravello, Italy
The newly restored Hotel Caruso (formerly Pensione Belvedere, opened in 1893 by Pantaleone Caruso) is now an Orient-Express hotel. Nearly all of the 54 rooms have views over the Gulf of Salerno, and 15 have private gardens. Favourites are 301, a junior suite with its own private pool, and 42, with columns dating back to the 11th century. Guests can enjoy a heated outdoor infinity pool, tennis and a free boat shuttle to Amalfi and Positano. GM is Giampaolo Ottazzi.
www.hotelcaruso.com

Society Islands, French Polynesia
Le Taha’a Private Island & Spa has 60 bamboo-and-thatch villas, 48 of which are “overwater.” Numbers 28 or 29 are the most secluded, but all have private decks with direct access to the clear lagoon that’s alive with exotic fish (which you can also see through your glass-topped coffee table). The resort also offers sandy beaches, tennis and a choice of restaurants built into the treetops. GM is François Laustriat.
www.letahaa.com

Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Less than an hour from Dubai, Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa is a sand-coloured desert fort that opened in late 2004. The 115 adobe-style rooms are adorned with local woodwork and metal lights, and the sunken bathtubs are surrounded by hand-stencilled walls. Make time for the spa and dinner in the open-air Al Hadheerah Desert Restaurant, with oriental carpets on the sand and a whole lamb on the spit. GM is Abdin Nasralla.
www.babalshams.com

Shanghai, China
The 578-room Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai has lots of marble and art, including the seven-metre-high glass sculpture in the main lobby. Reserve ahead for a city tour in the ostrich skin-lined sidecar of one of the hotel’s powerful motorbikes, built to replicate the 1938 Chang Jiang 750cc, itself a copy of that year’s BMW R71. Regulars like south-facing bedrooms on club floors, with access to the 43rd-floor lounge. GM is Mark DeCocinis.
www.ritzcarlton.com

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Mary Gostelow is one of the world’s top authorities on luxury hotels and the editor-in-chief of the Wow Traveler newsletter for elite travellers. You can reach her by writing to mgostelow@enroutemag.net or visiting www.wowtraveler.net.

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