BLANCHE DUBOIS may have relied on the kindness of strangers, but I don’t have enough vacation days to leave anything to chance. So a few times a year I pay more than I can afford for a faithful facsimile of affection at a hotel. Sometimes, but rarely, the experience transcends mere hospitality and I fall in love. I can count on one hand the hotels that wormed their way into my heart soon after I first arrived and began calling me back not long after I’d left. When that happens, I do the only thing that makes sense: I return again and again.
I have repaired several times to the jasmine-perfumed halls of Bangkok’s Mandarin Oriental hotel, where a butler named Rain once ensured I was dressed for the weather whenever I stepped from my room. And to Ireland’s Park Hotel Kenmare, where the flickering hearths cut County Kerry’s damp well into May and stepping into the lobby’s carefully curated confusion of antique furnishings always feels like a long-overdue embrace.
I’m not alone. Deborah DeMaria, a director of sales at Douglas Elliman, in New York, has stayed at the Hotel Villa Brunella on Capri at least a dozen times since she first visited with her family 18 years ago. “I don’t usually go back to places, because there are too many parts of the world I still want to see,” Ms. DeMaria said. “But there is no other hotel like it. The views of the Mediterranean are stunning, and there are always beautiful fresh flowers in the room. My daughter has had 12 birthdays there and the owner’s wife has always baked her a special cake for the occasion. We’re all attached to it. It is familiar. It is like home.”
Of course, the hotels we fall in love with are nothing like home, really, unless you’re a princess or a pasha or someone who has actually lived in a hotel, like the late Elaine Stritch, who might be finding heaven something of a letdown after having taken up residence at both London’s Savoy and New York’s Carlyle. What home delivers toast arranged on fine linen under a silver dome, or jams in jars imported from Lilliput? How many homes have pressed sheets, or towels and robes as soft and white and warm as eiderdown? Any good hotel can make you feel cared for, but the ones we truly fall for not only create the illusion that nothing untoward—no danger, no sadness, none of the manifold fears that bedevil us daily—could ever breach their walls, they’re actually a setting for the delightfully unpredictable.
“My husband, children and I have been going to Sandy Lane in Barbados for years,” said New York cardiologist Holly Andersen, who recently returned from a weeklong stay in March. “Nothing else quite measures up.” Dr. Andersen says she likes the easy proximity of the hotel’s seaside Green Monkey golf course and appreciates the familiarity of having the same caddies and seeing the same families year after year. But, she says, something beyond the sum of the parts keeps her going back. “This year, we were all in the outdoor common area listening to a group of musicians when my 18-year-old son stood up and asked me to dance. It was a completely unexpected moment. I know it would never have happened anywhere else.”
Kelly Wearstler
Interior designer
Long-term hotel love: The Ritz Paris. The hotel’s history, luxurious attention to detail and impeccable service truly impart such a sense of place. And the staff is super friendly and makes you feel like this legendary hotel is your own personal European pied-à-terre. I love the Bar Hemingway; you feel enveloped by the creative spirit of the artists of the past who made it their home. ritzparis.com
Unforgettable fling: It’s not exactly a hotel, but my family and I took a luxury sea voyage a couple of summers ago on the Alila Purnama in Indonesia. It is inspired by traditional phinisi-style trading ships. We sailed to Komodo Island with this incredible crew that provided everything you could ever want—amazing food and service, in-depth stories of the history, culture and surrounding nature. We had an onboard dive master and explored the waters scuba diving and surfing, all off the boat. alilahotels.com
Favorite childhood hotel: I grew up in South Carolina, and every year my family would go to the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. It was so grand and inspirational: the tall columns, the fountains, the cool floating staircase, the curvature of the original Morris Lapidus design—real old-school glamour. fontainebleau.com
Renée Fleming
Soprano, currently appearing on Broadway in “Carousel”
Long-term hotel love: The Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago. It has breathtaking views of Lake Michigan and the city, and the hotel itself is full of beautiful, surprising artworks. fourseasons.com
Unforgettable fling: Kasbah Tamadot, Richard Branson’s resort in Morocco. It’s a paradise, really, an oasis in the Atlas Mountains with stunning scenery, a spa, cooking classes and amazing food. I really just unwound, but I did take a mule tour of the countryside and Berber villages, which was lovely, especially when our guide invited us into his home for tea. virginlimitededition.com/en/kasbah-tamadot
Favorite childhood hotel: When I was about 9, my grandparents took me to Philadelphia, and we stayed at the Warwick Hotel. It was my first experience of a grand old hotel, and I was awed. I remember the marble, the chandeliers, even the tiles in the bathroom. That hotel and the Liberty Bell were Philadelphia to me for about the next 20 years. warwickrittenhouse.com
Lily Tomlin
Lily Tomlin, actress, currently appearing in the Netflix series “Grace & Frankie,” and performing in L.A. on April 27 at the comedy fundraiser “Wait Wait Don’t Kill Me,” benefiting the Voice For The Animals Foundation.
Long-term hotel love: In the old days—this was 40 years ago—I had favorite uptown and downtown hotels in New York. Uptown, I was crazy about both the Sherry-Netherland and The Plaza. And downtown I loved the Chelsea. Totally disparate vibes. The interesting part about the Chelsea [slated to reopen in 2019] is you’d lock the door when you went to bed at night, but no matter what room you stayed in, you’d wake up in the morning and your door would be ajar! I don’t know if it was thieves or just…interested folks. theplazany.com,
Unforgettable fling: There’s another New York hotel I stayed in while I was shooting [the TV series] “Damages.” It was in the old Covenant House and it looks like a ship. What is that called, dammit? Maritime! They had a great Japanese restaurant downstairs, and small rooms. themaritimehotel.com
Favorite childhood hotel: My mother and father were born in Kentucky, and I was born in Detroit. So we would drive to Kentucky every summer or so. My father always believed in “no stops allowed.” He would try to drive straight through. So we never stayed at a motel. That would be just the height of luxury.
Paul Feig
Producer of Netflix’s “The Joel McHale Show” and director of the forthcoming film “A Simple Favor” (Sept. 14)
Long-term hotel love: I love Claridge’s [in London]. It’s everything I want the world to be. The black-and-white tile when you walk in; the tea room; the beautiful deco Fumoir bar, Claridge’s Bar. I always dress up in suit and tie and when I walk down the master staircase into the lobby I feel like Scarlet O’Hara. It’s my entry into London life, which I love so much. claridges.co.uk
Unforgettable fling: When we made the movie “Spy” we stayed at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace in Budapest. It’s gorgeous, art nouveau. My wife and I stayed in a corner suite—our living room looked over the Chain Bridge and the Danube. They let us roll a big camera crane into the lobby, which was pretty amazing because it’s all inlaid tile. It’s the best-run hotel I’ve ever been in. fourseasons.com
Favorite childhood hotel: We used to drive from Michigan to Florida to visit my grandmother in the winter and we’d stop in Louisville, Ky., at what I think was a Holiday Inn. Half the hotel was this big glass terrarium, tropical inside, with an enormous pool and all these trees and a play area. I thought it was the most glamorous thing I’d ever seen in my life.
Donna Karan
Fashion designer, philanthropist and founder of the non-profit Urban Zen foundation
Long-term hotel love: Every room at COMO Shambhala Estate is unique, and the décor and nature outside provide a tranquil environment. Beyond the aesthetic, COMO Shambhala embodies holistic wellness, combining spirituality and inspiration through activities, different Eastern therapies and its food. It was the inspiration for what I do today at Urban Zen.” comohotels.com
Unforgettable fling: Nihi Sumba, also in Indonesia. It offers exquisite views of the Indian Ocean, yoga at dawn, sleek and modern wood décor paired with crisp white linens. And it gives back to the local community through projects such as clean water, medical clinics and lunches for school children.
Favorite childhood hotel: The Concord Resort Hotel in the Catskills. I have so many memories there. It was where I honeymooned with my first husband, Mark Karan. When we arrived, they were holding a beauty pageant at the pool and the winner got a free room. Mark entered me….We had to pay for our room. [The hotel closed in 1998].
Rob Marshall
Oscar-winning director of the forthcoming film “Mary Poppins Returns” (Dec. 25)
Long-term hotel love: It used to be called Isle de France, now it’s Cheval Blanc in St. Barth’s. It’s an intimate hotel right on the beach—pure heaven. You open the door and you’re on the sand. We just dream about it until we get to go back. It is the screen saver on my phone. , the hotel is currently closed for hurricane repairs and slated to reopen in the fall.
Unforgettable fling: The Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on the French Riviera. My partner John DeLuca and I were screening “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” at the Cannes Film Festival and Johnny Depp warned us that the French sometimes “boo”—so we were prepared. To our surprise and delight, the film received a standing ovation. That night we went back to the Hotel du Cap with Johnny, Penélope [Cruz] and others from the film to celebrate at the hotel’s Bellini Bar. We sat on the terrace until dawn and watched the sun come up over the Riviera. We’ve never been back, but I’ll never forget it. oetkercollection.com
Favorite childhood hotel: The Plaza in New York. My family couldn’t afford to stay there but I loved walking into the lobby and seeing all the chic guests and the famous Palm Court. For me, this was the hotel where Eloise lived, and it was easy to imagine Eloise with her turtle and pug running down the hallway causing havoc! theplazanyc.com
Kelli O’Hara
Singer and actress, performing in ”The King and I“ in London’s West End this summer
Long-term hotel love: I love the Carlyle Hotel in New York City. I worked a temp job in the booking office there during my first week of living in New York after college. I had never seen a place like that. Cut to a decade later, I’m staying in one of the suites with my newborn baby and husband, playing the Cafe Carlyle at night and taking walks in Central Park during the day. Also, the guest-room walls were, as the song goes, “a bright canary yellow” and made me “forget every cloud I’ve ever seen.” At least for a bit. rosewoodhotels.com
Unforgettable fling: My husband Greg and I went to London last fall for our anniversary and stayed at the Covent Garden Hotel. It had such gorgeous rooms, a wonderful cafe and a common room with fireplaces. One night, after a long day out, we found ourselves sitting by the fire, having a drink, eating ice cream and playing Scrabble. It felt like home…a fancy home. firmdalehotels.com
Favorite childhood hotel: The Meridian Plaza in Oklahoma City, Okla. It had a big indoor area with putt-putt golf and a swimming pool. That was all I needed.
John Sayles
Writer/director of, among other films, “Lone Star” and “Passion Fish”; currently working on his next western, “I Passed Away”
Long-term hotel love: The Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. And that’s not ‘cause it’s the greatest hotel in the world, it’s just the experiences that I’ve had there. The first time I stayed there, I had written a movie for John Frankenheimer, and the Japanese movie star Toshiro Mifune was in it. I had to go over to Japan and do some rewrites. Here’s how long ago this was: I realized my typewriter ribbon was shot. I went down to the lobby…it was a Sunday, and nobody could find a typewriter ribbon for an old-fashioned non-electric typewriter. But there were some Japanese Airlines employees, these two young women, sitting at the same desk as the check-in, with these two IBM Selectric typewriters in front of them. So I just went up and said “For Toshiro Mifune!” and took one away. They just smiled and bowed—they thought that was great—and I brought it back when I had to leave the country. imperialhotel.co.jp/e/tokyo
Unforgettable fling: I only stayed once at the Plaza Athénée in Paris, not too far from the Eiffel Tower, in 1980 or something. I was writing a movie for Steven Spielberg that he was producing. He was in Tunisia shooting “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and the director was working on “Conan the Barbarian” in Spain, and I was in Hoboken. So of course, to have a meeting, the logical place was Paris! The Athénée is such a classy place. Very fancy doormen, beautiful old bar, definitely an expense-account kind of place. What we used to call in the film business “O.P.M.”—Other People’s Money. But other than the flight and the hotel room, I was on my own nickel. I remember looking at the minibar, seeing the prices, walking about three blocks to a little shop and getting some things for myself to eat…and the dirty look I got from the concierge when I came into the hotel with a shopping bag from a grocery store. dorchestercollection.com
Favorite childhood hotel: I never stayed in a hotel until I hitchhiked in the late ’60s. And then they were places full of guys dying of alcoholism, and like, people with tuberculosis in the next room. I’d occasionally upgrade to a motel, but they were all just Howard Johnson’s.
Malin Akerman
Actress, currently appearing in the Showtime series “Billions”
Long-term hotel love: The Montage in Laguna Beach. It’s not too far from Los Angeles so you can visit for just one night and feel recharged. You can have your own bungalow suite with a view of the ocean, and it feels different from your typical hotel. montagehotels.com
Unforgettable fling: Ett Hem is a rustic-looking boutique hotel in Stockholm that has a family-style kitchen where you can have the cooks make you something anytime. It is like going to that friend’s house where the kitchen is fully stocked. etthem.se
Favorite childhood hotel: We didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up, but we used to take weekend trips to Wasaga Beach, north of Toronto, and would stay in cute little motels there. As a kid, I didn’t care that it wasn’t fancy because it was still an adventure.
Kevin Kwan
Author of “Crazy Rich Asians,” and the forthcoming novel, “Rich People Problems” (May 1).
Long-term hotel love: El Nido Pangulasian in the Philippines’ Palawan Islands. It’s one of the most unspoiled places in the world, protected by coral reefs with huge sea turtles and angelfish. The resort is all single villas, eco-conscious and built along the principles of sustainability, but they balance it with exquisite, simple luxury. elnidoresorts.com
Unforgettable fling: Ksar Char Bagh in Marrakech. A magnificent gate leads into this private guest palace. There are beautiful white alabaster and marble courtyards, fountains and reflecting pools. orange groves, an amazing spa and an Alain Ducasse-trained chef. It’s very low-key, not about flash, and done impeccably. ksarcharbagh.com
Favorite childhood hotel: The Shangri-La Singapore and the Peninsula in Hong Kong—it’s a tie. In the ’70s and early ’80s in Southeast Asia so much social life happened in hotel lobbies and restaurants. My parents entertained at the Shangri-La—bubbling green and pink drinks made with dry ice were in vogue. I have vivid memories of running through the lush gardens with friends. shangri-la.com,hongkong.peninsula.com
Judy Collins
Singer, embarking on a U.S. tour with Stephen Stills on May 2 in Eugene, Oreg.
Long-term hotel love: My husband and I went to Caneel Bay in St. John for two weeks every year for 37 years straight until the hurricane devastated the Caribbean. It was the most beautiful hotel because it’s in a national park with those Caribbean waters. We would swim with the tarpons and snorkel the reefs. It was very restorative to be there—it really saved my life. [Closed through 2018 due to hurricane damage.]
Unforgettable fling: I loved the George V in Paris. Out my window I could see the Eiffel Tower all lit up. I would enjoy my eggs Benedict in front of that view. And normally they don’t make soufflés, but I insisted.
Favorite childhood hotel: When I was young we moved from Los Angeles to Denver. In junior high or high school my friends and I did a version of “Little Red Riding Hood” all over town. I did the singing and my friends danced the part. One of the places we performed at was the Brown Palace Hotel. We met Tony Curtis there. He told us how wonderful we were. brownpalace.com
Karin Slaughter
Best-selling crime novelist and author of the forthcoming “Pieces of Her” (Aug. 21)
Long-term hotel love: The Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam. You feel like you’re in “old” Amsterdam, but there is a definite modern Dutch vibe to everything. The room I like best—there are two rooms I always book, one or the other, depending on whether some jerk has booked my favorite—looks into a courtyard that has a lot of greenery and flowers. waldorfastoria3.hilton.com
Unforgettable fling: The nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in is the Aman, in Venice. It is right on the Grand Canal. I got the suite that George Clooney honeymooned in. So my butt touched the toilet his butt touched—that is my claim to fame. aman.com
Favorite childhood hotel: Dad had a lot of condo properties in Panama City. So we would go down there for a week and go to the different properties and my Dad would fix ‘em. I would sit on the beach for an hour and get a third-degree burn and then just stay inside and read the rest of the time. That was my vacation.
Martine Assouline
Publisher
Long-term hotel love: The same family has owned La Colombe d’Or [in Provence] for generations. It is very private but never pretentious. The place is beautiful and full of sun, soul, and artistic spirit. la-colombe-dor.com
Unforgettable fling: Tawaraya Ryokan in Kyoto. One night [my husband] Prosper wanted a tempura dinner, so instead of serving us in our main room, the geishas asked us to follow them to the best tempura bar in Kyoto. It was a 20-minute walk from the ryokan, and the four of us were in kimonos and sandals in the street. 81 75-211-5566
Favorite childhood hotel: The Country Club in Lima, Peru, is a beautiful colonial hotel that represents the Limenian culture and society of the 1930s. I loved it even more after reading Alfredo Bryce Echenique’s novel “A World for Julius,” which follows the life of a typical aristocrat family of the 1960s and ‘70s. A jewel! I still go there with my mother and brother to have a pisco sour (the best in Lima) and to feel a certain ambiance of the past. countryclublimahotel.com
Susan Orlean
Author of the forthcoming book “The Library Book” (Oct. 16)
Long-term hotel love: Riad Larrousa in Fez, Morocco. A stunning historic building in the medina run by the chicest French innkeepers on the planet. Rose petals on the bed, lazy cats on the balcony, baguettes for breakfast, tagines for dinner...yes, it’s just as dreamy as that sounds. riad-laaroussa.com
Unforgettable Fling: The Four Seasons Resort in Chaing Mai, Thailand. Besides having the most beautiful spa I’ve ever seen, the hotel has a resident family of water buffaloes named Mr. and Mrs. Mud and Baby Sand, who walk the perimeter of the hotel each evening at sundown. I miss them. fourseaons.com
Favorite childhood hotel: I was a Howard Johnson’s partisan. It was partly the orange roof and partly the fried clams (containing almost no clams, but who cared?) and partly the strange inexplicable attachment children are capable of developing even to the most undistinguished sorts of places. I loved Howard Johnson’s deeply and would stay in one again in an instant.
David Rockwell
Architect and designer
Long-term hotel love: The Four Seasons Hotel Milano has become my home away from home during Salone del Mobile. I was initially drawn to the hotel’s architecture. Located in a 15th-century convent, the building has many of its original details, such as the cloistered courtyard. Today, it is a wonderful refuge from the bustle of the furniture fair, and the hotel’s incredible concierge service lures me back every time. fourseasons.com
Unforgettable fling: When I was in Tel Aviv earlier this year, I stayed at the Norman. It is a rare treat to stay in such a Modernist gem. The public spaces are filled with Bauhaus-influenced artwork by contemporary Israeli artists so you feel like you are spending time at home in an amazing private residence. thenorman.com
Favorite childhood hotel: When I was around 9 or 10 years old, my dad took my brothers and me to the Eden Roc hotel in Miami Beach. Morris Lapidus had a keen understanding of the emotional impact of set design. As a child, I remember entering the hotel’s lobby through a vestibule and being stunned by the big reveal of a drum-shaped sunken lounge in the center of the lobby. Needless to say, it was thrilling to restore the lobby lounge 50 years later when we transformed the property into Nobu Hotel Miami Beach. nobuedenroc.com
Phil Keoghan
Host of the CBS reality series, “The Amazing Race” and the next season of “National Geographic Explorer,” premiering this fall; author of “No Opportunity Wasted”
Long-term hotel love: The Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, Calif. I love the setting, the weather can be crazy and wild and the rooms are really interesting. postranchinn.com
Unforgettable fling: Lone Mountain Ranch, outside Yellowstone National Park in Montana. There are rustic cabins, no TV, a little coffee maker, cowboy blankets, a big wood log bed and an old-fashioned wood-burning stove, all preset so you just walk into the room and light it. The best part was an old-fashioned record player with a cool collection of old albums, including Willie Nelson and Sons of the Pioneers records. lonemountainranch.com
Favorite childhood hotel: Lord Nelson Beach Hotel on Dutchman’s Bay in Antigua. I lived in Antigua as a kid and my friends’ family owned it. We had the run of the hotel on the off-season, and Grandma Fuller would open up the kitchen and make us grilled cheese and French toast.
Veronica Miele Beard
Co-founder of fashion brand Veronica Beard
Long-term hotel love: There’s nothing like the Sunset Tower in L.A. They have homemade cookies bedside and Kiehl’s products in the shower. It is a divine hotel. sunsettowerhotel.com
Unforgettable fling: Grand-Hotel Du Cap-Ferrat [on the French Riviera] is the honeymoon hotel of the century. The infinity pool and the fabulous French food are beyond. The atmosphere there is like being in a James Bond movie. fourseasons.com
Favorite childhood hotel: Florida’s Disney’s Contemporary Resort was modern when I was a kid. That monorail is etched in my memory, and we’d take it straight to Space Mountain. The whole experience marks your childhood. disneyworld.disney.go.com
Plus: Highlights from Other Hotel Lovers
Robin Standefer
Co-founder of Roman and Williams interior design firm
Unforgettable fling: Hiiragiya in Kyoto. We traveled there on Christmas Eve and arrived, freezing, to the hottest matcha tea served by the most beautiful group of kimonoed staff. After a bath in a wooden tub in a Japanese cedar room and a long sleep, Stephen[need to ID Stephen] opened the shoji screen to find snow falling on a still-red maple with a bird on a branch. Totally surreal and dreamlike. hiiragiya.co.jp
André Fu
Architect
Long-term hotel love: Park Hyatt Tokyo. I first visited the property over 20 years ago, shortly after its launch, and returned multiple times. Its modernity and timeless quality have continued to inspire me. The bold proportions are visually powerful, yet there remains a strong sense of intimacy within the spaces, hyatt.com
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Director of “Me & Earl & The Dying Girl” and the forthcoming “The Current War”
Long-term hotel love: The Bowery Hotel in New York. They have a quiet little lobby, a kinda dark, living-roomy, Victorian-y kind of thing with little pockets of couches where you could be isolated and working on your own thing. It just always felt good to have a drink there at the end of a long, difficult work day. Or a few drinks. theboweryhotel.com
Aurelie Bidermann
Jewelry designer
Unforgettable fling: Lake Palace in Udaipur, India, is this magnificent place in the middle of a lake. I was in my late 20s when I visited. I’m not sure I would go back. I don’t want it to lose the magic I have in my memories. taj.tajhotels.com
Jimmy O. Yang
Actor currently appearing in HBO’s “Silicon Valley” and author of “How to American: An Immigrant’s Guide to Disappointing Your Parents”
Long-term hotel love: The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Boston. My big thing is beds. Mattresses. I’m just obsessed with mattresses. I went through, like, seven different mattresses in two years until I finally found the perfect mattress that I use at home. My dream is just to take my mattress to every hotel. But the Mandarin’s bed is really nice—it’s the right amount of soft. mandarinoriental.com
Max Winkler
Director of the films “Ceremony” and “Flower”
Favorite childhood hotel: The Regency hotel in New York. It’s on the Upper East Side. There was this unbelievable concierge…but he was more than that. He was kind of “the man” of the hotel, and his name was Mr. Veck. He used to make bird whistles and put spoons on his nose, which really impressed me.
Lizzie Fortunato
Jewelry designer
Unforgettable fling: The Six Senses in Con Dao, Vietnam, is in the middle of the South China Sea on a relatively deserted island, but the infinity pools, impeccable service, paddle boarding, sunsets and perfectly decorated beach bungalows made it one of the most memorable stays ever. sixsenses.com
—Edited from interviews by Margot Dougherty, Jennifer Fernandez and Rico Gagliano
Corrections & Amplifications
An earlier version of this article misidentified the concierge at the Regency hotel in New York as Mr. Beck. The concierge was Mr. Veck.
Appeared in the April 28, 2018, print edition as 'Hotels, A Love Story.'