Kay

Since the thread on the dullest places seems to be winding down/spooling out...I throw this one out for discussion. Given that most of us can't indulge in many luxurious and lovely travel places, what were the ones you chose and did they/did they not end up being worth the expense? <BR> <BR>For me, our stay in the Schloss Hotel and Villa Rheinfels, above St. Goar, on the west bank of the Rhine River, was an expensive delight (something like 350 DM a night). The hotel is attached to an ancient castle ruin with a tragic but romantic history. The hillsides down from the castle were steep and filled with grapevines. Our castle room was turreted and afforded a gorgeous view up and down the Rhine Valley. Our dinner in the expensive dining room was memorable, romantic, delicious and quirkily interesting, with a tableful of severely drunken Russians providing the singing entertainment. Worth every penny for the memories! Anyone else got any more spots that are really worth saving up for a splurge?

Kat

My husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary in a huge, Thames-view room on the 7th floor of the Savoy Hotel in London. Situated on the Thames where the river makes a lazy S as it winds through the city, the venerable Savoy fits comfortably within the category of 'outrageously expensive and worth every penny.' <BR> <BR>The windows were huge and, although double glassed, both sets opened outward to the most amazing views -- below our windows were the Victoria Embankment and Cleopatra's Needle; across the river was the National Theatre; up the river were Big Ben, the spires of the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey together with the bridges of Waterloo, Westminster, and Lambeth. In the other direction, more of the Victoria Embankment and Blackfriars Bridge. <BR> <BR>We breakfasted each morning of our 5-day stay in the room, smack in front of the windows and smeared jam all over our faces as we aimed the toast (more or less) at our mouths. The first night, my husband shook me awake at 2:30am saying urgently, 'You have to get up and come see this!" After stumbling to the window, I gasped with surprised delight -- the river, which had been busy all day with tourist boats and some barges and tugboats, was still and serene. The air seemed crystalline and precise, the light from scores of old-fashioned street lamps on the bridges and along the banks reflected gauzily in the water. I was undone and transformed! I'll never forget the magic of that night which permeated our stay in London. <BR> <BR>A final note on an enjoyable oddity -- the showers at the Savoy feature the largest shower heads I've ever seen. Standing under its gentle gush of warm water is simply sublime. Between the view and the shower, I expect we didn't get around town as much as we might have. Guess we'll just have to go back! <BR> <BR>Thanks, Kay, for prompting this post -- the writing of which reinforces the magic!

Bob Brown

<BR>I guess expense is relative to what one has in one's pocket. I vote for the trip up to the Jungfraujoch and the walk along the snow track to the Moenchsjochhuette (hut on the slope of the Monk Peak) for pure amazement at being in a glacial world and the incredible views over the mountains of the Berner Oberland. <BR>

s.fowler

Oh Kay! What a *nice* thread to start. [and one that is sure to have us in reverie as we choose So much for work....] <BR> <BR>Two experiences come to mind... <BR>One: the dining room on the Vistafjord right after she was purchased by Cunard. The food and wine and company were excellent, but the service! I was sick part of the time [a cruise hazard it seems] and our waiter,Antonio, pampered me outrageously. He would automatically bring a dozen steamed shrimp-in-the-shell to me at dinner. I had to shell them, but then he brought a finger bowl and after I 'dipped' he dried my fingers on a towel! It embarassed my parents, but Antonio and I had fun <BR> <BR>Second: This summer at the SAS/Radisson Palais Hotel in Vienna. I was staying there, rather than further down the food chain, because I had a complex itinerary and I needed accurate service. Well by my second "pass" through [I had 4 in all] I was being addressed by name and by the third the room I liked had been saved for me. They handled the details accurately and with great courtesy. The hotel itself is made from two "palais'" that have been joined. It is elegant, yet comfortable. It will be a while before I can stay there again but *sigh* it was a nice experience! <BR> <BR>I know this doesn't compare to Kay or Kat's descriptions, but they *were* very expensive and worth every penny.

Kerry

Our biggest extravagance is also one of our best memories. <BR> <BR>Our family of four had been staying in an apartment on the shores of Lake Como that we chose from a brochure at home -BIG MISTAKE. The place was the size of a shoebox, filthy and cold. Even though we had pre-paid for a week we left after 4 days as everyone was miserable. We drove into Florence and at the first hotel I saw I left husband and children in the car and went to enquire about a room. <BR> <BR>As soon as I entered the foyer I knew this was no ordinary hotel but went to the desk to enquire about a room that could accommodate 4 - unusual in Europe. After some humming and arhing the man behind the desk said he had one room for one night only at a cost of approx $350 US. This was twice what I wanted to pay but because of our rotten week previously I said yes and went back to the car and told my husband that was it and we were staying there for the night. <BR> <BR>We were then shown to our room. It turned out to be the penthouse suite of the Hotel Excelsior! Separate rooms for us and the kids, TWO marble bathrooms a magnificant living area all furnished with the most exquisite antiques and a wrap around balcony big enough for 100 people that overlooked the Arno and Ponte Vecchio on one side and the Duomo on the other. Even the luggage room was bigger than the whole apartment we had just left. After the clerk left the room and we picked our chins up off the floor we all fell about laughing. The next morning as we were preparing to leave the same man I had spoken to the day before called me over to the desk and said that the party who had booked the suite had been delayed and we could have it for one more night at the same price. It was like winning the lottery. I guess he figured our $350 a night was better than nothing for the two days the suite was vacant between millionaire guests. It was the most memorable two days of our whole holiday. We felt like millionaires. <BR> <BR>From memory the price on the back of the door was something like $2,500 a night. <BR>Oh to be able to travel like that all the time!

Kerry

Our biggest extravagance is also one of our best memories. <BR> <BR>Our family of four had been staying in an apartment on the shores of Lake Como that we chose from a brochure at home -BIG MISTAKE. The place was the size of a shoebox, filthy and cold. Even though we had pre-paid for a week we left after 4 days as everyone was miserable. We drove into Florence and at the first hotel I saw I left husband and children in the car and went to enquire about a room. <BR> <BR>As soon as I entered the foyer I knew this was no ordinary hotel but went to the desk to enquire about a room that could accommodate 4 - unusual in Europe. After some humming and arhing the man behind the desk said he had one room for one night only at a cost of approx $350 US. This was twice what I wanted to pay but because of our rotten week previously I said yes and went back to the car and told my husband that was it and we were staying there for the night. <BR> <BR>We were then shown to our room. It turned out to be the penthouse suite of the Hotel Excelsior! Separate rooms for us and the kids, TWO marble bathrooms a magnificant living area all furnished with the most exquisite antiques and a wrap around balcony big enough for 100 people that overlooked the Arno and Ponte Vecchio on one side and the Duomo on the other. Even the luggage room was bigger than the whole apartment we had just left. After the clerk left the room and we picked our chins up off the floor we all fell about laughing. The next morning as we were preparing to leave the same man I had spoken to the day before called me over to the desk and said that the party who had booked the suite had been delayed and we could have it for one more night at the same price. It was like winning the lottery. I guess he figured our $350 a night was better than nothing for the two days the suite was vacant between millionaire guests. It was the most memorable two days of our whole holiday. We felt like millionaires. <BR> <BR>From memory the price on the back of the door was something like $2,500 a night. <BR>Oh to be able to travel like that all the time!

Joanne

We take a big vacation every two years, and decided on Greece and Turkey last year. For one week of the trip, we chartered a sailboat with a captain. We decided that since we had never sailed before, we should hire a larger boat, so we hired a 40 foot boat that could sleep 6, even though there was only three of us on board. The charter company, GPSC (Greek Private Sailing Company), upgraded us to a 55 foot sailboat that could sleep 12 at no extra charge. Our captain was wonderful, discreet and respectful of our privacy. He quickly ascertained what type of people we are, and created a wonderful itinerary, stopping at isolated islands, and towns off the Peloppenesian coastline. We sailed to the bottom of Greece, Monemvassia, which was spectacular. He taught us to sail, but could have handled the boat himself. We'd have breakfast at dockside cafes, sail for the morning, stop for lunch and a swim on an island, sail some more, come into port in the afternoon, and explore the town or island. He introduced us to his friends in towns and took us to his favorite restaurants. This was the most relaxing trip ever, but the week cost about $5000. Of course, the minute we arrived in Istanbul, the relaxed feeling was totally gone amidst the frenetic traffic, noise and pollution. I'd strongly recommend chartering a sailboat.

Neal Sanders

On a business trip to Europe in 1980, I went through a grueling week of "if it's Tuesday afternoon this must be Brussels." At the end of the business portion of the trip, I arrived on a Friday evening in Geneva. I was very tired, but it was a city I was happy to be in, because my wife was flying over to join me for a week's vacation. The hotel I had chosen was the Hotel des Bergues, a Beaux Arts masterpiece that occupies a wonderful locale at the junction of the Rhone and Lac Leman. We planned to spend our first few days in Geneva before journeying on to London. <BR> <BR>It was a nice room I was taken to, but I had hoped for a better view. "Something where we can see the lake, the Jardin Anglais, the fountain, and the Pont du Mont Blanc," I explained to the reception desk. He said he would check, making no commitment. I said it was my wife's first visit to Switzerland, and it should be memorable. His back stiffened slightly with Swiss pride, and he began idly fingering an index file. "Price is no object," I said, finally. He arched an eyebrow. <BR> <BR>I stayed in the "nice" room that Friday night, but when I returned from the Geneva airport with my wife Saturday morning, we were shown to our new room: a top-floor suite, complete with a welcoming bouquet of flowers and an exquisite room service breakfast laid out for us. Below us lay exactly the view I had described to the reception desk, with the added plus of Mont Blanc as a backdrop. <BR> <BR>Many years later, the Hotel des Bergues and Geneva are permanently joined in my mind, and the memory of those three idyllic days is indelible. Yes, it was expensive (though less than I had feared), but was it worth every Swiss franc? Absolutely. <BR> <BR>And Kerry, your story about the Excelsior in Florence is wonderful! <BR>