looking out the window...
 

what is the most beautiful, amazing, astounding, etc etc view that you've ever had from your hotel room?
i was thinking about this last night for some reason and i decided that for me it was the view of the Teton range from our room at the Spring Creek Ranch in Jackson, WY. so majestic it was surreal......
would like to hear what you would choose!

Same view from Jackson lake Lodge, and Diamond Head from the Sheraton Waikiki.

Well I have not been many places, but the best view I have ever had was Central Park from the Westin Essex House. I actually just returned from there this week-end, it was so beautiful from the 10th floor, I just sat in the chair at the window and looked in amazement.

M?6<y book a 1,2 or very rarely a 3-star hotel
when we were overseas.
So , w/that in mind. my husband was
making a caustic comment or two
in the rickety elevator on our way up in the Plaka (Athens) hotel I had chosen.

He opened the shutters and there
stood the Acropolis!. Wow...my
status was raised to clever ! Next
the view from our terrace in Crete
was almost as sublime!

In the Virgin Islands where the water is so clear I could look down from our 8th floor balcony and clearly see the stingrays swimming along.

That's a toughie, but I'd have to say it was from our 12th floor rented condo in Destin, FL overlooking the vast and emerald green waters, with an occasional, breathtaking afternoon thunderstorm rolling in, then quickly rolling back out. I must have 100 pictures! The best pic of them all was when my husband snuck out in the middle of the night and wrote "I Love You (special nickname)" in great big letters in the sand for me to see in the morning. That was probably the best view ever!

1. view from our balcony at the Carlton, Cannes...not the prettiest, but the most memorable for me.
2. little hotel in Eze, the south of France. Our bedroom faced east with sunrise, the Mediterranean and the room always smelled of flowers.
3. Top floor of the Hilton hotel on Sixth. My husband and I stayed in hospitality suite which was once Elizabeth Taylor and Nick Hilton's. View of Central Park on one side and down to Times Square the other. The windows were about 20 ft. high...fabulous.
4. As a child, the view of the mountains from our room at the Broadmoor hotel. Still can close my eyes and see that view.

LMF

I was thinking it would have to be some outdoor scenic type place like some previously mentioned, however.....

The view from a strip facing room on the 23rd floor in Mandalay Bay at night is pretty impressive.

View of the pitons on St. Lucia...it looks like a fake scene it was so perfect.

jvrab: You got a 10th floor room at Essex house on the park!! Great, I'm so glad to hear it. Glad you liked it there. Try it in October when the park is full of color- it's an even bigger "wow" then. How did you get upgraded, what time did you check in? (Didn't you use Priceline?) I have reservations there through the hotel for Memorial Day weekend w/my daughter, but also have Michelangelo reserved for same good price-- I'd take the view instead if I can possibly get it.

Best view: The wall to wall shooting stars (couldn't count them all even for 5 minutes, we lost track!) from the deck at Junipine resort in Oak Creek Canyon.

The view from the Kihei Surfside condos on Maui. The building curves toward the ocean so every room has a view: over the pool that sits on a massive, vivid green lawn that juts right up at sea level to the ocean crashing on the lava rocks. AND you have clear views of Lanai and Molokai, it was incredible.

Worst view? The "ocean view" from the Delano in South Beach, Miami. A sliver of ocean over mostly roof.

love
roxy

Not in the US and not a hotel room, but a room-to-let "B&B" in a private house on the island of Hvar in former Yugoslavia. We wound around some tiny streets, went into small house and up stairs to their "front" room. Opened the shutters and: There was a postcard view of the town wrapped around the harbor at dusk, with flickering lights of candles on cafe tables, picturesque Mediterranean houses stacked up the hill, fishing boats with nets drying, etc. -- all with the colors of the sunset reflected in the water.

I've had many but my absolute favorites would be:

1. View of the Alps from a little B&B in Fussen, Germany.
2. View of the terra cotta roof-tops in a small italian village
3. View of the town of Granollers, Spain from hotel on the hill.
4. View of Atlantic ocean from my tent on Assategue Island, MD
5. View of the pools at Bellagio from top floor suite.

I have lots of these stored away in my memory...perfect to pull up when stuck in traffic or on a boring flight somewhere. Can't really pick a favorite though.
Lake Como: sunrise over the hazy lake from Villa d'Este or from the little town of Bellagio across the lake.

Mediterranean views from cliffside perch of La Sirenuse in Portofino, Italy.

Hotel Schloss Fuschl (old castle outside Salzburg, Austria) perched at the end of Lake Fuschl, adjacent to the site where the Sound of Music was filmed.

Hawaii: many great views, probably the most memorable being from the Princeville Hotel across Hanalei Bay.

Expansive 180 degee views from balcony room at Villa San Michele perched high on a cliff above Florence, Italy, Duomo in the middle of the cityscape, rolling hills all around in the distance.

Dusk views from beachfront room at Cap Juluca in Anguilla of a perfect unoccupied white crescent beach, lapping waves, mountains of St. Martin across the sea with twinkling city lights of Marigot below them.

Sedona: waking up inside Boynton Canyon at Enchantment.

NYC: an upper floor room at the Four Seasons overlooking Central Park in the fall...green grass of the park with all the colors of the leaves intermixed, cityscape all around.

in the Aquitaine, at Les Sables D'Olonne, looking out our window at the beautiful beach with the golden sand when suddenly the most incredible parade passed by to announce the coming circus. The elephants actually did a dance as did a bear.

We've stayed in a lot of hotels, but there are three places that come to mind:

1.) The Edgewater Hotel in Seattle,WA with beautiful views of Elliott Bay. I loved sitting by the fireplace in the am wrapped in the robe, with my feet on the furry bear footstool watching the ferries glide back and forth.

2.) The Highland's Inn in Carmel, CA. The first time we stayed there our room was upgraded to some awesome suite with views from both picture windows of the ocean and waves dancing on the rocks below.

3.)The Columbia River Gorge Hotel in Hood River, OR. Beautiful views of the windsurfers dotting the water.

4.) Most recently, the view from our room at the Monterey Plaza Hotel in Monterey, CA. The tidepools were right below our room and you could see forever out to the ocean. The sea otters playing in the surf were an added bonus! ***kim***

From a room in a private home in Lungern, Switzerland (rented via Untours--great company to deal with), waking up to the cowbells as the cows moved into a meadow near the house.

Looking west down the hill into the valley that the town is situated in, seeing the church steeple at the south end of town, the narrow lake that runs through the town, and the waterfalls cascading down the Alpine mountainside on the west side of town--simply breathtaking...

A couple views come to mind:
1. View of Alps and Lake Konigsee from the Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden in Bavaria.
2. View of sunset over the Caribbean from villa atop Mahoe Bay in Virgin Gorda.
3. View of Alps from room in tiny hotel in Southern Switzerland.

So many to pick from, and its hard since each has its own special memory...but here a few I can think of off the top of my head.

1--Scotland...the Kildrummy Castle Hotel where our room overlooked the old ruins and it was winter and we watched the snow fall.

2--Venice...thats a nobrainer, lol!

3--Emerald Lake Lodge up in Canada...on our honeymoon years ago and we had a room overlooking the lake.

4--Not a hotel room...but waking up in a tent on a mountain and looking out and what we would conquer in a few hours:)

Mine is also from the Balkans -- a rented room in a private house in Ohrid, Macedonia overlooking the old town and the lake. In the evening it was mysterious -- in the morning the sun was dancing on the water.