The Euro Star(s)

This past weekend, I stayed in a nice hotel in Boston for my husband’s 15-year college reunion — a rare trip out of Brooklyn now that we have an almost two-year-old keeping us fairly tethered to home…or more accurately, off a plane. It was a friendly reminder of how much I love a good hotel, and got me thinking about some of the best ones I’ve stayed at to date.

Design is my first checkbox when researching a place to stay. A genuinely well-designed hotel that also delivers on service and comfort is harder to find than you’d think — I’ve stayed at plenty of nice places that missed the mark on one or the other. Hotels are one of the few categories where I actually think you need a personal recommendation. A million good reviews online will only get you so far; the one that counts comes from someone who actually put in the time there.

Consider me that person today. Below, a short roundup of my favorite design-forward hotels in Europe from the past few years — all strong on interiors and ambiance, but also on service, food and overall experience. If design is your number one checkbox too, give these a second look for your next Euro trip.

We stayed here on our way back from our honeymoon in Italy — only two nights, but I can easily say I enjoyed it more than most hotels I've spent a week in. The space was refreshed a few years back by Dimorestudio, the Italian cult-favorite firm beloved by the design set. It's designed in muted pinks, greens, silks, velvets and lots of gold fringe. The studio describes the space as "Retropolitan": an interior design combo of historical references and just enough whimsy to keep it from feeling too overdone. Think: extremely lively, lounge-y, colorful lobby spaces and rooms that feel like you're staying in someone's very chic Italian villa. It draws the Salone del Mobile crowd for a reason. The negronis at Gerry's Bar are top notch.

Also a honeymoon stay and my favorite hotel I’ve ever stayed in. I think many who’ve had the privilege to stay here (it’s $$$) would agree with me. The hotel overlooks Lake Como, so you couldn’t really ask for a better view. The building facade and interior design in general leans very Art Nouveau — the moldings, the grand chandeliers, the pastel palette — but somehow manages to feel warm and approachable rather than overly stuffy like other hotels in the area, which is a very challenging design feat in my humble opinion. The colors and fabric choices do a lot of the work to make hotel Tremezzo feel immediately disarming; everything is gorgeous, but nothing feels too precious. Can’t go wrong with the negronis or the food either. It’s heaven on earth…peak la dolce vita.

A beachy, whitewashed resort sitting right on the Comporta rice fields, which is one of the cooler natural environments I've ever come across. Quinta is the kind of place where you can watch the best sunset you've ever seen from the resort deck and still feel like you've landed somewhere most people haven't found yet. The design is rustic-bohemian: rattan furniture, earthy fabrics, everything organic-feeling in a way that reads extremely relaxed and very Comporta-coded. Comporta gets called the "Hamptons of Portugal" a lot, and while the aesthetic somewhat tracks, the food, the wine and the (actually European) people-watching are in a completely different league.

I'm still a Soho House member solely because of the ability to stay in the international houses, which I do for two reasons: the design is consistent across locations, and the price is sometimes up to half of what a comparable hotel would run. The European houses are better than the US ones across the board, but Amsterdam is by far my favorite. It's housed in a 1930s former trading office — limestone and granite exterior, genuinely interesting Art Deco bones — and the interiors feel more site-specific than most Soho Houses I've been in...maybe because it's one of the older houses, back when Soho House actually did a good job catering to its clientele. The design team clearly took the Amsterdam brief seriously: a lot of the furniture is antique, sourced from markets in Holland, which gives the whole space an eclectic, collected feel rather than the more formula-forward Soho House approach you sometimes get. Canal views from the top floor lounge are not to be missed.

A quick rundown of things I <3 right now.

1. Hotel Vermelho — I didn’t stay here so left it out of the main guide, but if you’re going to Comporta, a day trip to Melides for lunch at Hotel Vermelho is a non-negotiable. Designed by Christian Louboutin, it has some of the most stunning interiors I’ve ever seen. A design lover’s dream.

2. KULE All Over Stripe Tote — There is no better travel tote. Canvas so it holds its shape whether it’s getting thrown in a trunk or shoved in an overhead. Sneaky spacious.

3. Kallmeyer Brunch Bag in Jeans Blue Suede — Have had my eye on this bag for a while. The brand just dropped this blue suede colorway with the pre-fall collection and it’s going straight to my wishlist.

4. Vintage Pucci Scarf — Eyeing as a head scarf to accessorize summer outfits. I’m not really a scarf-over-pants kinda girl…but I could be convinced.

5. La Ligne Cropped Colby Pant — I bought the crepe beige Colby Pants and immediately had to hem them. The short life chose me. Of course the brand dropped a cropped version a week later. Loving these in a crisp white for summer.