Gold List 2015: Hotels That Feel Like Home
Courtesy Ett HemEtt Hem, Stockholm
Ett Hem (“A Home” in Swedish) is a 1910 townhouse in Stockholm that feels like a friend’s beautiful city residence—a friend with exquisite design sense, that is. English interiors star Ilse Crawford did all of the rooms, while Ulf Nordfiell—Sweden’s top landscape architect—created the garden. If you spring for the huge duplex room, you’ll get your very own tiled stove and dining area, should you feel like throwing a dinner party one night.—Maria Shollenbarger
Courtesy Le SirenuseLe Sirenuse, Positano
Le Sirenuse, in Positano on the Amalfi Coast, is the rare world-class property that manages to be at once patrician and utterly un-stuffy. Maybe it feels like a home because it was one—the original villa has been in the Sersale family for centuries. The Piranesi etchings and museum-quality antiques in the former chapel are family heirlooms, and the black-and-white photos in the spa chronicle the owner’s lifelong wanderlust.—Pilar Guzmán
Ballymaloe House, Co. Cork
As she’s done for half a century, the 91-year-old doyenne of Irish cooking, Myrtle Allen, oversees a Sunday dinner buffet for guests staying at Ballymaloe House, her country manse turned hotel in bucolic East Cork. The spread represents the best of the revolution in Irish food culture that she continues to inspire. Platters of tiny Dublin Bay prawns, cockles, and sea urchins compete for space with rare roast beef, raw-milk cheeses, brown soda bread, and salads of wild pennywort, garlic flowers, and watercress so fine they resemble clover. And there’s nary a boiled potato in sight.—David Prior
Lafayette House, New York
Lafayette House is an almost perfect Manhattan townhouse experience. You get your own front door key, and the rooms are like small apartments. There’s no traditional room service or concierge, no restaurant, and no gym. But it’s beautifully furnished and the ceilings are high, and for anyone (like me) who appreciates not having to walk through a lobby and who loves having a living room, a fireplace, and complete privacy, it’s perfection.—Gabe Doppelt
Metohi Kindelis, Chania (Crete)
I’ve never been able to resist the gourmet charms of Metohi Kindelis, an oasis just outside the small city of Chania on Crete. Consisting of three spacious apartments within a 17th-century farm built of centuries-old stone, the property is surrounded by lush organic orchards. The fridge is always stocked with stuff you’d have at home (only better), like fresh eggs, homemade marmalade, and just-picked avocados and oranges, while the enthusiastic manager, along with a local food historian and an archaeologist, organizes special history-themed meals under a canopy of jasmine.—Gisela Ina Williams
Courtesy Oberoi UdaivilasOberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur
If you’re deathly ill, there are worse places to be than the Oberoi Udaivilas in Udaipur, India. When I was there, bedridden, the nurturing staff sent up fresh grog (a lemon, ginger, honey, and pepper cold remedy) every hour, unprompted.—Hanya Yanagihara
Courtesy Travaasa HanaTravaasa Hana
I grew up going to the Travaasa Hana (formerly known as the Hotel Hana Maui) when it was a family run property. They even had a photo board in the lobby showing how everyone that worked there was pretty much related. It's still an amazing, romantic spot, especially if you reserve one of the Sea Ranch cottages that look out over the crashing surf. The spa is also a little slice of heaven.—Stephen Orr