Hotels Around the World – Adventures

by Julie Tetel Andresen | July 12, 2019 |

Title image for Hotels Around the World: the key card to my hotel room in Doha, Qatar

I evidently forgot to turn the card into the front desk. It now decorates my desk in Bucharest.

Travel tip: I have chosen an international hotel chain where I stay in big cities whenever possible. Oh, yeah – as you see from the title image card holder – I am now Elite. I admit it. It really is nice to get automatic room upgrades as well as free food and drink (which I’ve paid for one way or the other) throughout the day – alcohol only in the evening.

It might be fun for you to glimpse some of the interior experiences I’ve had in my Adventures traveling around the world.

Hotels Around the World: Nishinomiya, Japan

I am not a (complete) slave to the international chain. In Nishinomiya, for instance, I stayed at Yakko Ryokan where I’ve stayed before. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn. That means, you sleep on a futon on a tatami mat:

The room is small-ish but super clean and just fine, especially since I spent a month there:

Hanging on a peg by the sink is my yukata that I wore to the onsen. In a ryokan, you don’t have a tub or shower in your room. You use the communal bath:

I’m showing you the entrances only. Red for women. Blue for men. I went pretty much every day. Very relaxing

The view from my window shows that I stayed in a regular, non-touristy neighborhood:

Hotels Around the World: Seoul, Korea

For our lightning weekend in Seoul, we stayed at the Starz Hotel. Nice enough bed:

Still Life with Beer Bottle

The attraction was the balcony where we had breakfast both mornings.

The nighttime views were worth it:

Hotels Around the World: Shanghai, China

Gotta say: I loved my chain hotel upgrade in Shanghai:

View of the bedroom from the bathroom

I almost didn’t want to leave the room. When I did, I went upstairs to the Executive Lounge for breakfast and dinner. Here’s a fraction of the breakfast spread:

I have stayed at this chain quite a lot in the US. The usual breakfast buffet doesn’t compare. Of course, it wouldn’t. The views from the Executive Lounge added to the experience.

Hotels Around the World: Bagan, Myanmar

Aureum Palace Hotel and Resort has a beautiful lobby.

The hotel complex consists of individual villas with traditional flair. The entry has carved doors that open onto a secluded entryway:

Seating area:

The bed is comfortable:

And the bathroom is generous. I’m standing with my back to the shower area. The toilet is in a separate room:

The back patio is lovely. Everything in the hotel complex is arranged for privacy.

I got an aerial view of the hotel grounds from a nearby tower. Nice!

The Ayeyarwady River is on the horizon

The Aureum Palace also has a spa which I enjoyed on several evenings.

Hotels Around the World: Inle Lake, Myanmar

Now for a Novotel, a French chain. You arrive by boat and find yourself in the midst of a floating lotus garden:

The room is spacious:

Here is where I knew I was in a French environment. Look at the drapes. They swoon luxuriously against the floor.

The bathroom has it goin’ on:

Hotels Around the World: Others

First stop on this trip was Seattle, then there are also Singapore and Dubai where I stayed in the chain. Nice but generic, so not worth photographing. Same for the Sule Shangri-la Hotel in Yangon, Myanmar, which is not in the chain.

The Sule Shangri-la does have Executive Lounge with a view of the Shwedagon Pagoda.