blonde.travel

blonde.travel selection

Lodgings Worth Travelling For

Grand hotel, tented camp, or working farm — anywhere the roof has a story.

Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina in Bogotá The Patagonian landscape around EOLO Strawberry Hill’s infinity pool above Jamaica’s Blue Mountains at sunset

Stories of place and hospitality

These are not anonymous room reports. They are stories from Olga’s journeys, shaped by architecture, landscape, food, and the people who made each stay memorable.

International Commerce Centre rising above West Kowloon and Victoria Harbour. Photograph courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong.Hong KongThe Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong: Breakfast Above Victoria HarbourA harbour-facing stay in the world’s then-highest hotel, with an exceptional Hong Kong breakfast, West Kowloon’s weather-proof advantages, and a personal walk through Goldfish Street.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Silver Airstream trailers tucked among redwoods at AutoCamp Russian RiverGuerneville, CaliforniaAutoCamp Russian River: An Airstream Among the RedwoodsAn Airstream among the redwoods, remembered through compact design, campfire cooking, Russian River mornings, Fort Ross, and a Benovia wine tasting.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → The Art Nouveau façade of Four Seasons Gresham Palace Budapest in warm late-day light above Széchenyi Square. Photograph: Four Seasons.Budapest, HungaryFour Seasons Gresham Palace Budapest: Behind the Peacock GatesAn Art Nouveau palace at the foot of the Chain Bridge, remembered through a Danube-view room, peacock breakfast, MÚZSA, KOLLÁZS, and Budapest’s art and opera.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → The Edgewater Hotel stands on pilings above Elliott Bay, with its red E sign and the Space Needle behind.Seattle, USAThe Edgewater Hotel, Seattle: the city beyond workSeattle’s only hotel built directly over the water, remembered across two stays through its Beatles history, open Elliott Bay windows, Pike Place mornings, and seafood at Six Seven.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Aerial view of Zanzibar White Sand villas and gardens beside a strip of white beachPaje, ZanzibarZanzibar White Sand: the private side of PajeTwo nights in a beachfront villa on Paje Beach, with a private pool, rooftop sunrise, a Swahili cooking class, garden bicycles, and the Indian Ocean beyond.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Olga sits in the private plunge pool of a Victoria Falls River Lodge tented suite, looking across the Zambezi River.Victoria Falls, ZimbabweVictoria Falls River Lodge: the quieter life of the ZambeziOne night inside Zambezi National Park, thirty minutes from the international airport, with a tented suite beside the Zambezi, wildlife around camp, and the world’s greatest curtain of falling water downstream.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → A whitewashed Casas del XVI house with a wooden door opens directly onto a street in Santo Domingo’s Colonial City.Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicCasas del XVI: behind the doors of old Santo DomingoTwo stays inside a collection of restored houses in Santo Domingo’s Colonial City, from Casa del Pozo and breakfast beside the old well to the city beyond the door.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Olga stands beside the rooftop pool at The Ritz-Carlton Santiago as sunset colours the glass roof and city skyline.Santiago, ChileThe Ritz-Carlton Santiago: a glass roof above El GolfMy stay at The Ritz-Carlton Santiago, from its glass-roofed pool and Club Lounge to an Estró dinner and the revealing contrast between El Golf and the historic centre.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Olga sits with a glass of sparkling wine on the Four Seasons Sultanahmet roof terrace, with Hagia Sophia behind her at sunset.Istanbul, TürkiyeFour Seasons Sultanahmet: Istanbul’s old prison, remade for celebrationA July celebration inside Istanbul’s former Sultanahmet prison, remembered through its courtyard, Turkish breakfast, and a rooftop level with Hagia Sophia.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Wide aerial view of Babylonstoren farm buildings and gardens surrounded by vineyards in the Cape Winelands.Cape Winelands, South AfricaBabylonstoren: a working farm stay in the Cape WinelandsSeveral days on a working Cape farm, with a cottage under the oaks, breakfast from the garden, estate wine, bicycles, and sunset above the vineyards.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Olga stands on her balcony at The Oberoi Amarvilas, looking toward the Taj Mahal beyond the gardens.Agra, IndiaThe Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra: my stay beside the Taj MahalA Taj-facing birthday stay shaped by Mughal-inspired gardens, Indian dinners, in-room mehendi, and a buggy to the gates before sunrise.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → My husband looking across the Masai Mara from inside our canvas tent at Entim Camp.Masai Mara, KenyaEntim Camp: My Birthday Beside the Mara RiverA birthday stay beside the Mara River, with hippos below the tent, coffee at dawn, generous food, and a balloon flight on November 6.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → The central cedar rises above Monasterio’s arcaded courtyard and geometric flower beds in CuscoCusco, PeruMonasterio in Cusco, a Belmond hotelA former monastery in old Cusco, remembered through cloisters, altitude, breakfast, and the anticipation of a birthday at Machu Picchu.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Olga sitting inside a canvas tent at Scarabeo Camp in Agafay, with tea, strawberries, woven rugs, and the camp outsideAgafay, MoroccoScarabeo Camp in Agafay: three quiet nights after MarrakechThree nights in Agafay after Marrakech, with canvas tents, open hills, candlelit dinners, a clay oven, and evenings around the fire.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina in BogotáBogotá, ColombiaFour Seasons Hotel Casa MedinaA first-person stay inside one of Bogotá’s most characterful historic buildings, where carved wood, stone fireplaces, and warm service define the mood.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → The Patagonian landscape around EOLOPatagonia, ArgentinaEOLO: The Spirit of PatagoniaA remote lodge between El Calafate and Perito Moreno Glacier, remembered through silence, sweeping steppe, horseback rides, and windows framing the horizon.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Amandari’s infinity pool overlooking Ubud’s rice terracesUbud, BaliAmandari: Hospitality from the Heart of BaliOlga’s full story of Amandari: its village-inspired architecture, a suite above the Ayung Valley, Balinese hospitality, the spa, and a remarkable cooking class.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Vineyards and the Andes at Atamisque in MendozaMendoza, ArgentinaAtamisque Lodge: Where Tranquility Is Part of the LandscapeA quiet lodge among Uco Valley vineyards, with the Andes on the horizon, evenings by the fire, horseback rides, orchard cherries, and wine from the estate.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Wooden cottages among birch trees and deep snow at North Adventures Kamchatka in low winter sunlightParatunka, KamchatkaNorth Adventures Kamchatka by Russo‑Balt HotelsA wooden cottage in deep Kamchatka snow, with a real fireplace, heated floors, a private thermal pool, and winter days below the volcanoes.First stayed in , last updated Read the story → Strawberry Hill’s infinity pool above Jamaica’s Blue Mountains at sunsetBlue Mountains, JamaicaStrawberry Hill: Jamaican Luxury with CharacterA mountaintop stay remembered through winding roads, quiet cottages, Chris Blackwell’s music history, and an extraordinary sunset above Kingston.First stayed in , last updated Read the story →

A personal collection, growing slowly

Every story begins with a real stay and my own photographs. Historical experiences keep their original context, while I revisit practical property details from time to time. Every place remains in the selection because I believe it is a timeless hospitality classic.