april-2012

ALL LUXURY HOTELS off er variations on a single fantasy, one in
which the beds are so er than our own, the food is be er than
we’re used to and everyone around us is almost alarmingly nice. At
their best, these places make us feel like monarchs, indulged and
coddled to within an inch of our humility. And the ones that create
this illusion most adeptly very o en tend to a ract actual royalty.
When Spain’s King Juan Carlos I stayed at the Grand Hotel
Excelsior in Floriana, Malta, he signed the guest book thanking
staff for the “grand service” (which, let’s face it, beats even the
gushiest TripAdvisor review). Although most visitors won’t receive
an honor guard salute upon arrival, they’ll still be able to waltz
through the regal lobby, climb the grand staircase and survey the
ancient clu er of Manoel Island while nibbling lovingly prepared
delicacies. Book the Presidential Suite, and you’ll have something
in common with Spanish royalty and Enrique Iglesias.
Set in California’s starkly beautiful Yosemite Valley, the
Ahwahnee Hotel—whose more unusual claim to fame may be
that it inspired the interior sets for The Shining—has a venerable
tradition of hosting royalty, including Queen Elizabeth II.
The hotel’s aesthetic is a study in castle-like elegance: exposed
STAY
Throne Rooms
Hotels that host royalty take pampering to the ultimate level
BY CHRIS WRIGHT
KING-SIZED The resplendent
Poseidonion Grand
Hotel, originally opened in
1914 and fully refurbished
in 2009, overlooks the
port of Dapia on the Greek
island of Spetses
beams, granite walls, roaring fires.
Decorum dictates that a possible
stay last year by newlyweds Prince
William and Kate Middleton cannot
be confi rmed, and yet, like the nightly
visitation of the ghost said to roam the
Ahwahnee’s halls, the gli ering couple’s visit persists as part of
the hotel’s mythology.
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud liked the Four Seasons brand
so much that he bought the company—or at least a chunk of it.
The Saudi royal is said to have a particularly so spot for the
Four Seasons Los Angeles. The hotel is set away from the commotion
of downtown, in a Beverly Hills suburb, providing the peace
and privacy Saudi billionaires require; the décor is unfl aggingly
exquisite. The scent of lilies fi lls the halls, wa ing behind you as
you make your way to the hotel’s signature restaurant, Culina,
where you just might spot a gentleman in a kaffi yeh mu ering
“buy” into his phone.
On the Greek isle of Spetses, the Poseidonion Grand Hotel
more than lives up to its billing as a “destination for high
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM • APRIL 2012 27