Hotels with world-beating views
By Jim ByersTravel Editor

Luscious St. Lucia. Enchanted Arizona. And superb Slovenia.
The folks at forbes.com came up with a nice list the other day; a look at the hotels of the world with the best views. It’s completely subjective, of course, but it’s a pretty good list, and not at all USA-centric, as many travel lists tend to be. Here’s a look at what they came up with, along with a few thoughts of my own.
•Jade Mountain, St. Lucia - luscious hotel with incredible views of the Pitons; green-clad rock formations that jut out of the blue Caribbean. Often listed on lists such as these.
•Shangri-La, Paris - A relative newcomer, it’s said to have stunning views of the Eiffel Tower, the Seine and Les Invalides.
•Le Sirenuse, Positano, Italy - Another spot often found atop world’s best hotel lists. A beautiful part of the world, for sure.
•Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, Peru. Great views of, um, Machu Picchu.
•Salto Chico Lodge, Patagona, Chile. Another one I don’t know, but the view of a nearby lake and incredibly jagged mountain-tops look tremendous.
•Enchantment Resort, Sedona, Arizona. A lovely hotel in an area known for dramatic rock formations and, allegedly, one of those geo-magnetic places that bestow healing powers. Or something like that.
•Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong. A recent, towering addition to the Kowloon skyline with remarkable views over to the main island and the bustling harbour.
•Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Alberta. Enough said.
•One and Only Cape Town. Pretentious name, but nothing lame about the views of the city’s waterfront and picturesque Table Mountain.
•Blanket Bay Lodge, Glenorchy, New Zealand. Great views of Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables mountain range (which are featured on in Saturday’s Travel section in a story I wrote about Queenstown).
Like I said, it’s a good list, with representation from all over the world. I was surprised to see they didn’t have anything in the South Pacific, particularly Bora Bora or Moorea. But Tahiti does just fine in these lists most of the time, so what the hey.
The Park Hyatt in Sydney offers stunning views of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, and that’s a tough combination to beat. It’s also hard to top the views of Waikiki Beach and the Diamond Head volcano crater from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu and the views of Rome from the Hassler Hotel, high atop the Spanish Steps. I guess you could make a point in favour of any of the hotels with great views of Niagara Falls, as well.
Personally, my favourite unsung view would have to be from the Park Bled Hotel on Lake Bled in Slovenia. It’s not a fancy place, but the views out over a crazy-blue-green lake to the castle on the north shore and the small church, with towering, snow-clad alpine mountains in the distance, is one of the great delights of the world. I probably took 100 photos from my balcony in 10 minutes when I checked in a couple years ago.
They also make a great Bled cream cake, which has custard-like cream and vanilla and powdered sugar. Tremendous stuff and a legend in Slovenia.
Got any personal faves? Drop me a line at travel@thestar.ca and maybe pass along one of your own photos...