My 10 Favorite Hotels
I travel often.
Between Paris, London, Miami, Los Angeles, Beirut, Tel Aviv, and the Mediterranean islands, I have learned to look at hotels the way I look at architecture.
Beyond comfort.
Beyond service.
Beyond trend.
What interests me is the soul of a place.
A hotel is never just a building.
It is an intention. A rhythm. A point of view.
Some of the places I love are discreet and deeply rooted in history.
Others are more designed, more expressive, almost manifesto-like in their attitude.
Geographically, they make no sense together.
Emotionally, they are perfectly coherent.
They all know who they are.
Places with Soul
Discreet. Elegant. Rooted in history.
1. Chateau Marmont – Los Angeles
More myth than hotel.
Perched above Sunset Boulevard, Château Marmont embodies a certain idea of Hollywood: secretive, refined, untouchable by trends.
I admire its restraint.
Its refusal to perform.
Its almost European sense of privacy.
The corridors are hushed. The suites feel lived in.
It protects its guests.
This is not a hotel trying to impress you.
It allows you to disappear.
2. Albergo Hotel – Beirut
An Ottoman townhouse transformed into a refined urban refuge.
Albergo carries a quiet nobility. High ceilings, handcrafted details, a rooftop overlooking the city.
It reflects Beirut itself: complex, resilient, deeply cultural.
Nothing is loud here.
Everything feels considered.
It is not about trend.
It is about character.
3. Hotel Montefiore – Tel Aviv
A 12-room jewel box.
Hotel Montefiore understands scale and rhythm.
A vibrant restaurant on the ground floor. Intimate rooms upstairs.
There is Mediterranean sensuality combined with cosmopolitan precision.
Small, but powerful.
Discreet, but unforgettable.
4. Villa Brunella – Capri
Capri is often dramatic.
Villa Brunella is romantic.
Suspended above the sea, it plays with light, vegetation, and time.
What moves me most is its dialogue with the landscape.
Architecture here is not dominating nature — it is framing it.
5. La Raya – Panarea
Minimal. Insular. Almost radical.
La Raya reduces hospitality to essentials: white walls, stone, sea, silence.
Design steps back. Atmosphere takes over.
It is a lesson in subtraction.
6. Dar Rhizlane – Marrakech
A former riad turned intimate palace.
Dar Rhizlane envelops you — lush gardens, shaded patios, filtered light.
What I value here is intimacy.
You are in Marrakech, but removed from its chaos.
It is sensual without being theatrical.
7. Cuixmala – Mexico
Cuixmala is not just a hotel. It is a vision.
Set between jungle and ocean, it merges architecture, ecology, and scale in a way that feels both cinematic and deeply grounded.
There is generosity in the proportions.
A dialogue between nature and structure.
It reminds me that true luxury is space — and silence.
Designed. Expressive. Contemporary Energy.
8. The Standard, High Line – New York
The Standard High Line is unapologetic.
It understands urban energy.
It embraces visibility instead of discretion.
Glass, views, nightlife, culture — it is a social stage.
What I appreciate is its clarity.
It knows it is part of the city’s pulse.
It is architecture as attitude.
9. Chiltern Firehouse – London
An old fire station turned into one of London’s most magnetic addresses.
Chiltern Firehouse balances heritage and contemporary glamour effortlessly.
There is warmth in the materials.
A sensual, almost cinematic atmosphere.
It attracts creative industries, fashion, media — yet remains intimate.
It is a perfect example of adaptive reuse done with personality.
10. The Standard, Miami – Miami
If the New York Standard is urban and vertical, Miami is horizontal and playful.
The Standard Miami understands leisure culture.
Pastel tones, water, wellness, sunlight.
It does not try to be timeless.
It embraces being contemporary.
It is relaxed, confident, social.
Why This Mix Makes Sense
At first glance, these hotels do not belong together.
Islands and megacities.
Historic palaces and glass towers.
Monastic minimalism and nightlife energy.
But the coherence is not geographical.
It is philosophical.
Each of these places has a strong identity.
None of them feel generic.
None of them were designed to please everyone.
They take a position.
As an architect and artistic director, I am drawn to spaces that carry intention.
Spaces that understand atmosphere as much as layout.
Emotion as much as function.
A hotel should never feel interchangeable.
It should feel inevitable.
That, to me, is the true definition of hospitality.
—
Benjamin Liatoud