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.

I usually get nice views, probably because I'm a budget traveler. =P~ So I always take a picture of the view out of my window. I did not realize that a window can reflect you like a mirror, and as I was alone in the room, and half-dressed out of the shower... Good I have the habit to look at my pictures before somebody else does! ((E))

What a great question. So many places come to mind, but immediately came the view from our room in Bellagio Italy looking across Lake Como at the beautiful little villages with snow capped Alps in the distance. Actually at the other Bellagio-worlds apart, but a great view overlooking the fountains etc. Another was from our room in Venice overlooking the lagoon and incredible buildings. I also loved the view in Rome from our room in the hotel Condotti - felt like a movie set watching the street scenes.

Our best views were not from hotel rooms but from our RV window. Most of those views could not be seen from any hotel or motel and there are so many to choose from!

Devils Tower at Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming.

Sandstone fins at Devils Campground at Arches National Park, Utah

Monument Valley Tribal Park Campground with it's 360 degree views from our campsite.

Fruita campground in Capitol Reef National Park with beautiful veiws of the area.

To name a few.

Utahtea

Aww, I guess I am fickle~
Over the rooftops of Paris on the Ille St Louis.
Across the garden and out onto Discovery Bay at sunrise in our villa in Jamaica.
A brief summer storm in Bermuda.
A weekend in the Plaza Hotel, many years ago, waking up to snow in the Park.
I am never sure if it is the view or the company that makes these scenes so special.

Not exactly from a hotel window, but...the double rainbow over Hilo from the deck of the cruise ship I was on in October. Magical!

My first glimpse of the Jungfrau from my hotel balcony in Wengen, Switzerland. WOW!

Oops .. I forgot one "stateside" -- In Sedona from the Orchard's Inn at L'Auberge de Sedona. They may have been in the lap of luxury down there by the river -- but we had the view :D

It was the 6th floor, enormous balcony over the town square of Vernazza, Italy. There was anything we couldn't see, it was basically a 360 degree view. Up the terraced mountains, across the rest of the town buildings' rooftops, straight down on the heart of the town,and of course, the harbor and blue blue sea.

I had to search for the answer to this question. I generally care not one bit about the view. Location, comfort and price are MUCH more important to me. I saw amazing views all over Hawaii but will never regret that none of them were from my hotel room.

I think there was a similar thread on the European board not too long ago.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but here are a few that come to mind:

La Cisterna, San Gimignano. We had a room on the top floor with one window overlooking the towers in town and another, with balcony, overlooking the Tuscan countryside. With a bottle of local wine in hand, it didn't matter that it was about 40F and drizzling.

Hotel Des Alpes, Luzern. Our room looked right out over the Reuss River, Kapelbrukke and Pilatus.

Hotel Bellavista, Menaggio, with a view across Lake Como to Bellagio and Varenna.

And finally, I once arrived at the Hyatt-UN Plaza in NYC at about 2am after a long flight delay. To my surprise, they put me in a huge corner suite on a high floor with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking lower Manhattan and to the east. Unfortunately, I had to check out at 7am to leave for my meeting; otherwise, I could have enjoyed that view (and the suite) all day long.

Well, I've had several great views. One in NYC at the Caryle, one on St. John looking over to St. Thomas, waking up in Los Cobos and watching the sun rise, but by far the best window view was at Blackberry Farms in the Smokey Mountains. We were there in May and a great thunderstorm came in. The colors of the clouds and the beauty of the mountains with the thunder and lighting will always remain with me.

I stayed in one of those two-story rooms at Sheraton Fallsview on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. A direct view of the horseshoe falls...WOW. That is the only hotel room view I've seen that can compare with the view from my apartment (of the Brooklyn Bridge).

Normally I don't pay the extra $$ to get a hotel room with a view because it never seems to be as good as they say. I mean, an "ocean view" room where you can only see the ocean if you go right up to the window, turn left and look between the buildings? Please.

View of the Alps from my room in Murren, Switzerland. Heaven!

Not a hotel room but outside my tent in Yosemite Valley.

Looking out onto a lake surrounded by mountains in the Salzkammergut from a guest house in Hallstat, Austria. The window boxes and down comforters improved the overall effect.

Looking out the window or standing on the balcony of Majestic View Lodge, Springdale, Utah, the views of Zion National Park get my vote.

Hong Kong Harbor from our room at the Regent Hong Kong (now an Intercontinental). We splurged for a harbor view room and were they right. Unlike most hotel rooms built lengthwise toward the windows, this one was wide the other way. The entire wall, floor to ceiling, about 30 feet long was all glass. When we opened the electrically drawn draperies we were literally suspended over the harbor in Kowloon looking toward "city". Amazing, I couldn't go to bed, just kept watching.

Two favorites so far...

1) View of the Bay of Naples from our room at the Bellevue Syrene Hotel in Sorrento. Especially early in the morning with the fog rolling over the water.

2) View of Salt Pond Bay from our Eco-Tent in St. John, USVI Beautiful at all times of day. Great sunrise!

a few spring immediately to mind:

the Matterhorn looming large, standing on my balcony in Zermatt.

a beautiful, rare, CAVU day in Mexico City, near sunset - you could see the mountains off in the distance. it was glorious.

throwing open my windows at dawn one morning in Normandy, drinking in the clear crisp air.

the Eiffel Tower at night...

more as I think of them...

what a beautiful post!

First one that comes to mind: A business trip up to San Francisco, where I got a corner room at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental on Nob Hill. I opened the curtains and there was the Bay Bridge. Twinkling city lights below, beyond. Full moon, clear sky, stars. Stunning.

Another one: My otherwise humdrum room at Harrah's in Las Vegas had an unbeatable view of Caesar's, and beyond, desert and mountains for miles and miles. Very cool.

Most recently, I had a lovely oceanview suite at the Cardozo in Miami Beach. Views of the beautiful Atlantic, and a handy way to see if it was beach day or not! And the room was nice too.

the pristine lagoon of Rangiroa Sauvage in French Polynesia which didn't have another soul on it from the window of my beach hut.

The view of acres and acres of vineyard as seen from the window of my castle turret in Laguardia Spain.