Welcome Beyond: Beach + Jungle

The irony of me having a hotel blog is that I dislike 99% of all hotels. When I scour through the lists of "the world's best hotels," I tend to feel numb and disinterested. Should I be excited about the newly opened Shangri-la in Sydney? It's another office building hotel that looks just like every other nice-enough, high-rise hotel. Fancysterile rooms with an airplane-like hum and 8 bajillion TV stations.

This is why I freaked out when I discovered the exceptionally curated boutique hotel web portal, Welcome Beyond. Started by two Berlin-based brothers, they state on the website that their mission is to, "Hand-pick places that we feel are truly original. Many reflect their owners’ passion for distinctive architecture and design. Some border on quirky (and may have crossed over the line). Several are quite posh. And a few are downright rustic. But what all of our properties have in common is that they’re exclusive – in the best sense of the word. Each is singular, memorable and definitely worth writing home about."

I've highlighted some of my favorites on their site. Note that not all of the hotels they feature are huts, tree houses, and yurts. That's just me.

So as not to overwhelm, here are my favorite beach and jungle locations. I'll put the tents and yurts into a separate post.

Uxua Casa Hotel in Bahia, Brazil



Elsewhere... in Goa, India


Chole Mjini in Mafia Island, Tanzania




Canopy Tower in Greater Panama City, Panama



Villas de Trancoso in Bahia, Brazil

All photos from Welcome Beyond

Stay tuned for tents and yurts!

A Collective Table

Back in 2009, my homie Tannaz and I went on a short trip to Panama. One of the many highlights was spending a few nights at the isolated island hotel, Al Natural Resort in Bocas del Toro.


Each night, at 7pm, a bell rang signaling all 20 or so guests to gather at the main hut.


The space was transformed from a sandy hut into a proper dining room with candles, music and a beautifully set table. After an island cocktail at the bar, everyone sat down to a 3-course meal made by the resort's owner/chef.

All these strangers sitting down to a meal together was at first awkward, but soon the wine was flowing, and everyone was chatting away. The first night, Tannaz and I mostly talked to a German couple with very impressive travel street cred. The next night we bonded with a young French couple on their honeymoon. When the man learned Tannaz works at Dreamworks, he got so excited, he started quoting in a thick French accent all of his favorite Shrek lines. Sound super annoying? It was not. He had us both cackling with laughter.

I can blabber on about rugs and plants and bathroom products for my dream hotel, but the most important thing to me is experience. Making guests feel welcome and at ease socially is everything a small hotel should aspire to do. Really, it's everything. Was my bed at Al Natural the most comfortable I've ever slept in? Probably not. But who cares when the whole place felt like a warm hug.



So here's the idea. My LA hotelito will have a weekly guest dinner.

The reality is that it's different to travel to a sleepy island resort than it is to travel to Los Angeles. Visitors here have people and places to see. But what if the weekly guest dinner actually made the hotel a destination? Every Thursday night (or whatever) we could have a rotating local chef feature food made from Silver Lake gardens. With a few spots reserved for locals, this silly notion that LA is an isolated, lonely city would be thrown out the window.

As with any dinner party, you're always at risk of getting stuck next to some annoying whiner who brings down the whole vibe. But often a kind of magic is born around a collective table of strangers sharing food and wine.

p.s. I will be dressed like this.