All of the hotels I stayed at in 2024
I slept in a lot of beds! Here are my thoughts on all 20 hotels I stayed at this year
This year was a travel whirlwind for me. I got married, went on my honeymoon, discovered some truly stunning places, made memories with friends near and far, and spent a lot of time in hotels. It was… a lot. I spent 62 of my nights in a bed that wasn’t my own, and honestly it took a toll on me. Here’s to fewer, high quality trips in 2025!
As a travel advisor, I am a very harsh critic of the places I stay. To me, a hotel should offer you a chance to escape the ordinary. You should feel transported to a truly special place, where every detail is curated to elevate your experience — unbelievable service, complimentary mini bar items, fluffy robes and slippers, and that unexplainable magic of waking up in a space that's both new and inviting.
An excellent hotel stands out by balancing luxury and thoughtfulness. It's not just about beautifully curated interiors or high-end amenities, but how the space makes you feel. Staff who remember your name, a bed that feels like a cloud, and thoughtful touches like fresh flowers or a handwritten note can make all the difference. The best hotels create a sense of home, but with an added layer of indulgence and care that you might not even know you needed. It's the way every element comes together seamlessly to make you feel truly pampered and understood.
With that said, here’s how I approached rating this year’s hotels:
Explaining the rating categories
The Excellent - Hotels I would absolutely stay in over again, and wouldn’t hesitate to book clients in. These are hotels I haven’t shut up about. They had comfortable beds, excellent service, and special touches that made them really stand out, whether it was over-the-top mini bar situations or welcome gifts upon arrival. These were the hotels I felt pampered at!
The Good - Hotels that I enjoyed and would probably stay in again, but am not dying to go back to soon. If I went to the same city/location, I’d likely try another place first. I’d book clients in these hotels if I thought they’d be a good fit, because I do see their value.
The Disappointing - Hotels I wouldn’t return to and wouldn’t book for clients. Either the experience was super bland stacked against my expectations, the hotel was way too $$$ for what it was, or the rooms were dated and cramped.
Some Notes:
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Although I typically plan all of our vacations, for our honeymoon to Africa, I used luxury travel company &Beyond. The last thing I wanted to worry about while planning a wedding of my own was planning an incredible honeymoon. Since I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to travel planning, it felt like it would be too much pressure! Working with &Beyond was… a learning experience. I wouldn’t do it again, and I sadly wouldn’t recommend them. We were not presented options for hotels, which I would have liked, considering a lot of them fell flat for us. We were just told where we could stay and those recommendations felt final. There were a few hits, but mostly misses. I will say that the one &Beyond property we were booked at was the best on the trip, but they chose to put us in properties they didn’t own for the rest of the stay, which was weird. This definitely affected the hotel ratings below, and I’ll asterisk anything that they booked us in.
The Excellent
Careyes, Mexico
I might be biased, since I got married here! Although technically not a hotel it functions like one — each room is a private residence that you can rent by the night. They have on-site restaurants, pools, beaches, etc. You can also rent casitas and villas. The only thing they don’t do is room service.
You can’t go wrong with wherever you choose to stay — my husband and I stayed in a casita, our family stayed in the club residences (the “hotel” rooms), and I had friends pool together to rent villas for the weekend. Everyone agreed that this place is more than special. The scenery is unparalleled, the houses are gorgeous, the staff is over-the-top attentive, and the value is insane. Everywhere you turn, there’s natural beauty, and the design of the rooms and casitas highlights this natural beauty instead of distracting from it. I will be back for obvious reasons!
Hôtel Les Roches Blanches, Cassis
We visited Cassis for our anniversary and loved this spot. We were welcomed by extremely gracious staff who upgraded us to a lovely room with an incredible view. The hotel breakfast was insane (esp the croissants), it was conveniently located and easy to walk to town and to the hikes we did, and the beds were more than comfortable. The view from the pool is unbelievable.
The reviews on Google are mixed, but I can honestly say that every staff member we encountered was super friendly, and we enjoyed every minute we spent on property.
Lion Sands Ivory Lodge, South Africa*
This was a stop on our honeymoon, and this was definitely in the top 5 nicest hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in. We had the view of elephants drinking from the river, right behind our plunge pool! The staff was welcoming, kind, and went above and beyond to welcome us for the special occasion.
The room was massive, very private, and came stocked with everything we could possibly need. When we came back from game drives at night, we were greeted by a wood burning fire in our fireplace that our private butler prepared for us.
&Beyond Benguerra, Mozambique*
Another honeymoon stop! This place was SO special. The only way to arrive to the island is by helicopter, and the view is absolutely stunning. On arrival, we were welcomed with delicious granitas to cool down, and then we were whisked away to the most beautiful room I’ve ever seen by our private butler.
The meals were fantastic, and breakfast was waiting for us on the patio by our private pool when we woke up in the morning. But what stood out to me the most was the romantic private castaway picnic they set up for us at the end of the island. We were completely alone for 3 hours and got to explore the dunes and run around and it was absolutely magical.
Unfortunately, we had to cut our stay short because I was going through some health issues, but they were more than helpful and understanding assisting with our early departure.
The Standard, Ibiza
I only took a single photo of our room while we were staying here, but it happens to be a compromising photo of Mark dancing in a full glitter ensemble pre-going out so I won’t be sharing it. That said, we really enjoyed the location of this hotel — it perfectly positioned us for going out, exploring many beaches, and being in the heart of downtown. The rooftop pool was great for post-going-out R&R, and the food was excellent.
The beds were fantastic, they had a great minibar selection, and the included breakfast was solid.
The Dewberry, Charleston
Our friends got married here, and this was such a charming property. I was so impressed by how the hotel ran all of the wedding events, and the bed was so comfortable to crash in after hours of dancing the night away. The robes were unbelievable, the rooftop was fantastic, and they had some killer chocolate chip cookies on the lobby menu, served with warm milk.
Hotel Nantipa, Costa Rica
This was our second time staying at Nantipa after a fantastic stay pre-covid, and it didn’t disappoint. When we were arrived, they instantly thanked us for coming back (apparently we were some of the first guests to stay here!), and they wrote us such a cute card/provided us with a dessert to celebrate our return.
The rooms here, specifically the plunge pool rooms, are fantastic. They are so private, and you’re fully immersed in nature. I made a bird friend who visited every day! Minibar snacks were free, turn down service was great. My only complaint about the hotel is that the food isn’t amazing, but luckily great restaurants are within walking distance.
The Good
Andaz Condesa, Mexico City
We stayed here because we got the room on Hyatt points through Chase (12k points a night, a STEAL). I was pleasantly surprised! If I weren’t booking with points, I probably wouldn’t stay here, as CDMX has some truly special boutique hotels, but this really did the job for us. It was centrally located, had extremely comfortable beds, and had a cute lobby.
Emiliano Rio, Brazil
When we went to Rio this year, I booked the Emiliano because I wanted to stay somewhere that had a pool with a view. After extensive research, the consensus seemed to be that the Emiliano had the best and least crowded pool situation. It absolutely delivered, and made the stay totally worth it.
The brigadeiro chocolate cake we received in the room upon check-in (it was my birthday) was the best welcome amenity I’ve ever recieved. We scarfed down the whole thing instantly, and I think about it at least once a month. If you ever stay at the Emiliano, tell them it’s your birthday and that you need this cake!
My one complaint was that our room was super small and looked out into an alleyway. It felt dark, and the ceilings were rather low. When I return to Rio, I am dying to check out the Fasano and the Belmond, so I probably wouldn’t stay here again, but I wouldn’t hesitate to send a client here if they were looking for a very quiet, less busy hotel with a stunning pool/sauna facilities with a view.
Casa San Agustín, Cartagena
It was my second time visiting Cartagena, and I wanted to stay somewhere fancy, considering the first time I came with a friend, we stayed in an $80/night Airbnb (no shade though, it was cute and had a hammock on the porch). Casa San Augustin was a beautiful respite in a city that we found extremely hot and chaotic (it was 100 degrees the entire time we were there). I was shocked over how busy the city had gotten with tourism post-covid. We were super-users of Casa San Augustin’s gorgeous pool, and the rooms were very nice. Breakfast and poolside ceviche was delicious, but we were deeply disappointed by the hotel restaurant, Alma, despite its acclaim. However, overall service at the hotel was fantastic.
My problem with the hotel was the overall value — it felt like they were charging way too much for what they were providing, especially for being in Cartagena. That said, I would definitely send clients here, as I feel like it’s truly the best option in Cartagena… perhaps this review is more about how I feel about the city rather than the stay I had here.
Six Senses, Ibiza
I had a hard time categorizing this one… The property itself was unbelievably stunning, and the rooms were MASSIVE and gorgeous. Food was great, but the service was sometimes lacking. On one hand, within 10 minutes of arrival, the valet guy hit a truck while parking our car. The staff was super responsive and took care of it with the rental agency immediately, but all of our other interactions with the hotel staff felt very slow, stilted, and not special.
My biggest issues here were that the rooms were not very private (our balcony overlooked the pool, where tons of families with screaming kids spent their day) and the fact that the hotel is so isolated from everything else on the island. If you have the desire to explore, you’ll be stuck in a car for at least 30-40 minutes to get anywhere. This is the perfect spot for couples and families looking to really park themselves in one location and relax, but ultimately for someone like me who loves to explore, I felt cut off from the rest of Ibiza.
Leeu House, South Africa*
This was a stop on our honeymoon. The room was massive, the staff incredible, and the wood burning fireplace in the room got heavy use from us. However, after visiting neighboring hotel/farm Babylonstoren on a wine tour, I fell in love with that property, and my desire to stay there is absolutely out of control. It absolutely blew me away with its lush grounds and design. It didn’t seem busy with guests at all, and I wish &Beyond had told us about it! I would definitely send people there, and I’ve also heard rave reviews from friends.
Pendry West Hollywood, Los Angeles
We had to visit California for work stuff and a funeral, and chose to stay here because we wanted to mix things up, and because we haven’t found an LA hotel that we reliably love. Rooms were great, the staff was welcoming and wonderful, the bathrobes were divine, and the rooftop pool was nice. Food was delicious. But it didn’t cause sparks for me, so I think I’d rather explore other hotels before returning.
Piaule, Katskill
This was a solo trip I very uncharacteristically booked at the last possible second, just 24 hours before check-in. My mental and physical health haven’t been the greatest recently, and I wanted to treat myself to 48 hours in nature, outside of the city.
What was amazing was the spa with the yoga studio, thermal pools, and sauna. What wasn’t amazing is that they didn’t have anyone attending to the spa, and they had a sign up saying the pool was closed. Thankfully, my masseuse told me the sign was just for health department optics, and I could use it, but I don’t think a single other guest got the message, because I was the only one to use it. The whole point of Piaule is the spa, so I’d be upset had I not found out.
While the nature and the property is gorgeous, Piaule is absolutely not worth the value. The cabins were cute but definitely not luxury. The one option on property for dinner was a pre-fixe menu, which gives you a starter, entree, and dessert. Without alcohol and with tip, the bill was $200… just for me! And the food was so unremarkable. I think I’d go to Wildflower Farms (for a very special occasion) or Inness before returning here.
The Disappointing
Las Islas, Colombia
This place photographs beautifully and the nature is unparalleled, but the service and hospitality is horrendous, especially considering it’s $500+ a night in a remote part of Colombia. I was nervous booking this as the online reviews were very mixed, and now I see why. The beds were flimsy mattresses on the floor with no bedframes, and since the rooms are huts that weren’t properly sealed, it meant the bed was always damp to the touch.
We stayed on Isleta, their private island, which sounded romantic in theory, but the dining options over there were terrible, the pool area wasn’t that great (no food service), and one of the boat taxi drivers got us SOAKED nightly on the way to dinner at the main property by driving aggressively and slamming into waves. We started wearing towels over us to prevent getting truly drenched. We noticed that the other drivers didn't drive this way, just the night guy, even when the water was as flat as glass he found a way to drive recklessly enough to get everyone on board soaked and toss us around completely.
Other things to note: The wifi here was non-existent. We couldn’t even check email. None of the staff spoke English, which I was expecting and definitely wasn’t bothered by, but you need to be fluent in Spanish to communicate with staff members here. I had to call about our A/C not working, and although I am somewhat conversationally proficient, I had issues describing what was wrong with the unit.
Almanac, Barcelona
This hotel was so unmemorable that I don’t have a single photo from my stay. What I do remember is that the rooms were small, it was extremely overpriced, and the ambiance felt bland and blah.
One&Only, Cape Town*
Another stop on our honeymoon. I will say that the rooms were gorgeous and very spacious, but the rest of the hotel felt like an uninspiring liminal space in a touristy area. The only real place we could walk to was Time Out Market. Nothing was compelling or cool, all of the hotel restaurants were dead, and it felt like we were the youngest (and only) people staying there. I wasn’t blown away, at all. I’m dying to check out Cape View Hotel next time, since it’s right on the water.
Victoria Falls River Lodge, Zimbabwe*
Another honeymoon stop. We wanted to visit Victoria Falls badly after we were blown away in Iguazu, and unfortunately we hated this hotel. The rooms weren’t insulated at all (think cracks between the floorboards) and it got down to 35 degrees at night. The blankets were threadbare. The food was terrible, the bathroom was dingy and splintery as hell, there was truly nothing to do here except go on river cruises, and they did nothing to acknowledge we were on our honeymoon, except promise us a really special romantic surprise on the last night, which turned out to be drinks with the rest of the hotel guests? I was so confused from start to finish, and it sadly felt like such a waste of time and money.
The Saxon Hotel, Johannesburg*
I have no photos of this hotel — we were only here for one night between Zimbabwe and Mozambique on our honeymoon. What I will say was that the staff was lovely and assisted me in getting to a beautiful private hospital during a medical emergency. I won’t forget their kindness in a time of great stress. That said, the rooms looked like they had been last updated in 1989 and I got maybe 3 hours of sleep in the extremely uncomfortable bed.
Hotel Gecko and Beach Club, Formentera
We went on a friend trip to Ibiza and Formentera, and we decided to stay here. There was nothing wrong with it, but again, it didn’t really deliver on value, from my perspective. Rooms were TINY. Food was just fine. I’d sooner check out Dunas if I come back to Formentera.
Hyatt Regency, Newport Beach
We were in Orange County for a funeral, and wanted to stay somewhere that wasn’t $1000 a night. The OC is so overpriced as is, and we weren’t coming to enjoy ourselves. What I will say about this place is that it provided comic relief during a tough weekend — there was a Catholic convention here, and all of the women walking around gossiping in their habits (yes, gossip!) made unbelievable people watching. We also managed to enjoy the hot tub, although I think we scarred the clearly religious family sitting next to us with our talk of psilocybin use. That said, rooms here are still $500/night for what is a motel experience with $40/day parking. California is crazy, man.
With all that said, I am so grateful for all of the adventures we got to go on this year. Brazil was incredible! We rented a house in Fire Island for a week and fell in love! We got married in paradise! We took an amazing family trip to visit friends in Montana!
Although I learned many lessons this year, I can’t help but walk away from 2024 with an immense feeling of gratitude — for the ability to explore, my job, and friends and family I got to share so many special moments with, both in NYC and around the world.
xx,
Bella
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Love, love, loved this post! Such great inspo <3
Loved this post. So many South American locations, it’s on our list for this year 🤞🏻
A healthy and happy new year to you 🤍