Hotel Raya, Panarea, Italy

I have lost far too many hours over the past few months looking at Internet photos of coastal Italian hotels.  Never before has the pull to travel to this iconic part of the world been stronger for me.  When I came across Hotel Raya I first spent an hour devouring every photograph on their site and then had the urge to email the hotel link to 30 people I know.  But then I thought, hey I once had a blog just for this purpose!  So here we go, back from the dark side, to share the dreamiest looking hotel I've seen in ages.

Hotel Raya is located on the Aeolian island of Panarea, located just north of where the boot of Italy looks like it's kicking a rock.  The hotel sprawls across a hill with 30 main rooms, all with large terraces, and 7 additional suites spread between 2 buildings.  On the highest terrace they serve rustic Sicilian cuisine each night.  Oh, and there is a geothermal pool!

Anyway, stop reading and just look at the photos already. (All from the hotel's website.)

 

Coqui Coqui, Tulum, Mexico

Coqui Coqui is a small, 5-room boutique hotel on the beach in Tulum, Mexico.  It started with one room, a small shop and a perfumerie, and then slowly grew, adding one room at a time, making the space feel organic and as ancient as the ruins.  For our honeymoon, this could not have been a better choice.  As far as I'm concerned, 5 rooms is the perfectly sized hotel.  With so few rooms it's possible to talk to the people who work there.  Our experience would never have been as great without Bruno, a chatty Argentinean musician whose enthusiastic addition of dulce de leche to our daily breakfast spread of fruit and bread felt like five star honeymoon treatment.  

I believe these photos do a thorough job of illustrating why the Coqui Coqui experience was such a dream, but it is worth mentioning that the whole place smells unbelievable. The mix of ocean air, sand and perfumes made of coconut and eucalyptus evoke a deep, almost visceral, feeling of relaxation.   When I arrived home I was legitimately sad to throw my clothes in the washing machine and part with the last remnants of Coqui Coqui. 

p.s. For once, this post features only photos I took.  Would really love to do more of this.

    

Chumba Eco-Lodge, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Hello there!  I'm back, and as promised, I will be trying to update more frequently this month.  My wedding and honeymoon were a dream, and a proper Let's Stay Here honeymoon post is in the works.  In the meantime, let's talk about Zanzibar.  

Despite years of living on the African continent, I never made it south of the Sahara. (Did you know that intra-African flights are absurdly expensive?)  But now that I'm working on this project, there is a distinct possibility that I might actually get to go.  Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous island region of Tanzania, seems like a fascinating cultural distillation of the centuries of intermixing of African, Arab, Indian, Persian, Chinese, Dutch, Portuguese, and British traders.  Indian Ocean traders were really the O.G. multi-culties, am I right?

The Chumbe Island Coral Park is a privately-owned nature reserve and the Chumba Eco-lodge on the island aims to have zero impact on the environment.  I appreciate the simplicity of this lodge and the bold use of African fabrics.  I love staying in hotels like this.  As far as I'm concerned, it really isn't a vacation unless you have to throw your toilet paper in the trash.  

p.s. I'd love to check out this restaurant while there.

Photos from the Chumba Island Coral Park website.