I’ve been lucky enough to stay at some incredible places – some through work, some I thoroughly researched and some well, we just got lucky with.

Out of the places we’ve stayed I’ve been keeping a mental note of everywhere I’ve loved the most, mostly so that I can remember to return to them again but also to share with others, should they ever be visiting any of these cities/places.

There are a few options I’ve left off of this list because it’s been quite a while since I’ve stayed there and can’t be 100% sure whether they’ve changed a lot.

Also, I haven’t listed any cabins/campsites on here but I do have some fantastic ones I have stayed in across America while I was doing Trek America. The issue with that is, I didn’t organise them and have absolutely no idea what they were called! I do know that we stayed in many, many KOAs though and absolutely loved them.

So with all that in mind, here are my top 5 favourite places to stay:

Chateau Soucherie

Loire Valley, France

We visited here while on a ‘wine trip’ around various wineries in France – this one specifically is primarily a vineyard but also has rooms for guests. It’s absolutely stunning and everything about the accommodation is top notch. I mean, there’s even a dog who lives there and likes to wander over to guests (just in case you want to pet him/give him any of your food).

Whilst there we got a tour of the vineyard from the manager and of course, consumed A LOT of their wine; they give you a free bottle in your room but also operate an honour system with wine kept in the main fridge of the kitchen, where you just tell them how many bottles you’ve drank.

I actually still have a bottle of wine from them that I’ve been saving for a special occasion but nothing seems quite ‘special’ enough to drink it.

Sir Adam

Amsterdam, Netherlands

I was fortunate enough to stay here while on a work trip and am desperate to stay here again. It’s a super cool hotel located in the ‘ADAM’ tower, just a short boat ride (literally a few minutes) from the train station.

I got upgraded to a corner suite, which had huge windows with beautiful views across the city – it was so nice, that I left the curtains open all night so I could wake up to the incredible panoramic view.

Looking back on the trip I was very tired from work and couldn’t quite believe where I was. Everything about the hotel (to me at least) was perfect. The bed and bed linens were some of the most comfortable I’ve ever experienced, the shower was great and then there were so many small details; you could tell that someone had put a lot of thought into it. Things like a record player in your room, with a record library downstairs you could take records up to. As well as, themed lifts (the disco lift was my personal favourite).

In terms of amenities, there is a big communal bar downstairs, plus a super cool burger joint. Plus, a gym (which I didn’t have time to experience).

Every now and again I look up prices for a night or two there, and immediately remember why I’ve never personally returned… It’s pricey. Like, a couple of hundred pounds a night pricey. Which for me, is too much money to spend on one or two nights in a hotel – there are so many other things I could spend that on, including a full holiday away!

Saying that, I do keep an eye out for deals and would absolutely love to stay there again some time if they have anything that makes it somewhat affordable for me.

Oak Bay

Vancouver Island, Canada

My mum and I stayed here with my great Aunt while on a big Canadian trip. My great Aunt lives in Vancouver and so we all went together to the island for the day – we flew by sea plane into Victoria and then spent the day there.

We hadn’t really been sure which hotel/where to book and as we were booking so much accommodation for the trip at once, didn’t spend long amounts of time picking where to stay, so the fact that we managed to stay in this beautiful resort hotel was a bit of a miracle really.

It’s an old fashioned hotel with modern luxuries and simple touches that make a big difference. Things like a panel in the bathroom you can pull aside so you can still chat to whoever you’re sharing a room with (I imagine if you’re in the bath/brushing your teeth, not actually sitting on the toilet) and a fireplace.

There’s also a spa here, a few pools and a gym. Plus a fine dining restaurant. All of which have amazing views looking out across the bay.

Citizen M

Paris (Gare de Lyon), France but also worldwide

This one is slightly different to the others, in that I’m not sure I would choose to stay here with another person; it’s small but perfectly formed for single travellers and I absolutely loved that.

This is another place I visited on a work trip and fell in love with – all of the rooms are the same size with cool features which are ran via an iPad (the TV, lighting, radio etc). I love a bit of tech and was very excited to play with all the features (it can be boring on your own, ok).

Don’t worry that the rooms are quite small though, as there are large communal bars and restaurants that are really nice to hang out in. A bit like a designer hostel, I guess.

You can of course still stay here with someone else (they’re not single beds or anything) but personally I think it would be a bit cramped. It’s the perfect hotel to stay for a couple of nights on your own but you want a bit of luxury, say if you’re going to the airport the next day or something.

Ibsens 

Copenhagen, Denmark

I stayed here recently with two friends and we were blown away by how fun this hotel is. As with the other hotels, it was the small touches that made a big difference – happy hour (drinking in Copenhagen isn’t cheap ok), funny door hangers, stools in the bathroom so you can sit while doing your make up…

Plus, they are family run and have a lot of products on sale from local makers, which I think a lot of hotels would do well to start incorporating. It definitely has a family feel, with organised events like a ‘morning running club’ (I did not join this) and the option to visit the spa next door.

We weren’t expecting a lot as this was one of the cheaper, central hotels but it was everything we wanted and more. Also, as a group of three and so finding a triple room isn’t easy so I did kind of expect a small camp bed squashed into a double room, but actually, it was a proper single bed in quite a big room.

If I went back to Copenhagen I would definitely stay here myself and more than happily recommend this to everyone I know. We did so much on our trip and a lot of that was down to how well located this hotel was for us.

We didn’t eat here as we wanted to sample some local cafes, so I can’t comment on that but our time spent in the common areas downstairs for happy hour was great.