#boutique-hotels

#boutique-hotels

Puerto Rico's boutique hotels are the island's best storytellers. Small, locally owned properties can shape a trip in ways chains cannot. In Old San Juan, they occupy vibrant streets where pastel-colored facades meet cobblestones, letting guests wander from museums and galleries to independent shops without ever leaving the neighborhood.

That is one of several conclusions you're likely to draw after reading an article by Sheila Yasmin Marikar recently published in Air Mail. Marikar takes the reader into the world of small boutique hotels, the sort of establishment that attracts travelers looking for properties with an independent streak and a unique approach to doing business. The challenge here, though, is figuring out where that line exists, as some iconoclastic companies have acquired massive corporate parents over the years.

Park City, Utah, isn't just a ski town-it's a full-blown mountain playground that delivers year-round adventure, world-class dining, and a healthy dose of Hollywood glam every January. But whether you're carving Deer Valley's legendary slopes, catching a Sundance screening, fly-fishing in alpine streams, or just here for the mountain air and Main Street's buzzy aprés scene, where you stay matters.

I look out from my sunlounger, flanked by a wall of dazzling fuchsia bougainvillea and surrounded by combed sand the colour of flour. In the salty breeze the sweet smell of freshly baked croissants drifts across from the nearby veranda, where giant passion fruits and fine slices of mango and papaya are being laid out for breakfast. On the immaculately mowed lawns below, a waiter is taking down fairy lights, strung between palm trees for last night's seafood barbecue.

Bunkhouse Hotels presents their new Houston locale, Hotel Saint Augustine, named after Saint Augustine, the patron saint of printing because of his extensive writings on and early dissemination of the catholic faith.

Part of the Cayuga Collection of sustainable luxury hotels in Central America, Jicaro Island Lodge is a luxe, private island hideaway surrounded by the serene waters of Lake Nicaragua. Among volcano-studded landscapes coated in forests, the island's nine casitas just as easily welcome adrenaline seekers eyeing water sports and hiking trails as they do those looking to spend long, lazy days floating in the infinity pool or balancing in a hammock, book in hand.

I visit Porto at least once every year, and never tire of wandering its pretty streets or marvelling at the azulejo-adorned architecture. Like many, I make a beeline for the majestic Dom Luis I bridge every time I arrive - stretching across the Douro river and an emblem of the city, it's my walking connection to Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto 's often overlooked neighbour.

Every hotel on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveller journalist who knows the destination and has stayed at that property. When choosing hotels, our editors consider both luxury properties and boutique and lesser-known boltholes that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We're always looking for beautiful design, a great location and warm service - as well as serious sustainability credentials. We update this list regularly as new hotels open and existing ones evolve.

Bookended by Central Park to the north and The Battery historic park to the south, the districts of Midtown and Lower Manhattan contain much of the city that visitors want to experience. There are the New York icons - the Empire State Building, Broadway, Grand Central - made familiar through their appearances on screen over the decades. And there are the smaller details that take up just as much space in the memory: the hot dog sellers on street corners, the blaring horns of yellow taxis

Guadalajara challenges its moniker, Mexico's second city, with a wellspring of the dazzling culture that has put this country on the top of so many international traveler's lists. The brassy fanfare of mariachi music was first played in the region's rural reaches and popularized in Guadalajara's handsome plazas. Before it became a worldwide food trend, birria was a staple in the city's holes-in-the-wall.

In 2014, Ian Schrager was living at 40 Bond and working with Herzog & de Meuron to build his "tough lux" boutique condo - think concrete floors and sharp lines - at 215 Christye. So perhaps it came as a surprise when the nightlife impresario turned hotelier bought a fussy Westchester estate for $4.9 million. But then again, he had reason to want a retreat: The Studio 54 founder had leapt to a career inventing and perfecting the boutique hotel with his buddy Philip Starck.

Just 15 minutes from downtown Charlottesville, Crossroads Inn has been in continuous operation since 1820, though accommodations are more luxurious than they would have been two centuries ago. A charming spot with porch rockers, a fire pit, and a small flock of chickens, it's part of the larger property of Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards, right next door. Another place with a past is the Clifton, a modern boutique hotel originally built for Thomas Jefferson's daughter and her family.

The revamped 50-room property offers a blend of historic and modern with a cozy wood-paneled lobby, elegant pool, central garden and two dining venues. Located in the center of town, it joins the iconic Ojai Valley Inn. Founded in 1923, this is the area's most well-known lodging, a luxury resort set across 220-acres of landscaped lawns, with a world-class golf course, award-winning spa, and four dining concepts.

A hamlet of restored rural buildings in the Ortolo valley in Corsica reopened in June as A Mandria di Murtoli. Guests can stay in a former sheepfold, stable or barn, or one of five rooms in the main house. Three of the smaller properties have private pools, all rooms have terraces and there is a big shared pool. The buildings have been refurbished by Corsican craftspeople in a minimalist Mediterranean style, using local materials.

A few years ago, a round-up of hotels in Athens as extensive and luxurious as the one our editors have curated below would have been almost unthinkable. While the Greek capital has long been a city-break destination for history buffs and sunshine seekers, it's only recently that Athens hotels have caught up with the appetite for long weekends and shoulder-season trips from a chic, jet-setting crew.

Top 5 Can't Miss The capital of Texas, Austin is a bustling metropolis that attracts everyone from tech giants to wannabe Willie Nelsons. It's known as the Live Music Capital of the World, and every night of the week, you'll find crooners belting out tunes at ramshackle dive bars and world-class theaters. Whatever genre you're into, you'll find it in Austin.

Berkson emphasizes that the travel industry, particularly boutique hotels, has transformed, showcasing a deeper appreciation for experiences and personal touches in hospitality.