JetSetMeister

GET A ROOM: ABODE OF THE WEEK

It’s Cinco de Mayo today, which means margaritas and party sombreros for many festive Americans. South of the border, today is remembered as Mexico’s victory day over the French in the Battle of Puebla. Say hola to La Purificadora, a boutique hotel in Puebla, two hours outside of Mexico City.

The hotel building used to house a factory where water was purified for ice - hence the name, the purifier. While the hotel still sports some of the original stone walls, these days La Purificadora is a trendy hotspot with a modern aesthetic and a club-like vibe after dark. Its striking glass pool with a view of Puebla’s colonial buildings in the background blend old and new. Floor to ceiling windows and glass closets in the 26 rooms add to the airy feel. Reviews say that service is lacking, but with the music and margaritas flowing, you may not care. Enjoy the fiesta.

¡Salud!

GET A ROOM: ABODE OF THE WEEK

“At night it is so quiet that you begin to hear the stars.” -Benedict Allen, Harper’s Abroad

Swoon. In honor of Earth day, please welcome the environmentally sensitive, electricity-free Adrère Amellal Oasis. The name is Berber for “white mountain,” and at times it’s hard to tell where the mountain ends and the resort begins. With a tagline like “A Place out of Time,” you know you’re not only off the clock, but off the grid.

Indeed, this eco-friendly retreat seems to have stepped out of time. Alexander the Great journeyed here in 331 BC seeking answers from the renowned oracle of Amun. Located a nine-hour drive from Cairo at Egypt’s Siwa Oasis, the hotel’s design (it’s made out of Earth) blends in with its desert surroundings. The 40 hand-built rooms are all unique and dressed with furnishings crafted by skilled Berber artisans. With no electricity, the rooms are lit only with beeswax candles and light from the stars.

Sand dunes stretch on forever. Salt lakes beckon from the sun.

And those desert stars, in the vast, encompassing silence, sing.

GET A ROOM: ABODE OF THE WEEK

Rubbing noses with giraffes during breakfast? Yes please. I’ve been drooling over Giraffe Manor since I saw it mentioned by Airfare Watchdog a few weeks ago. Is this place everyone’s dream? Or just mine? Gah, I ache just looking at the photos. Who needs a pony when you can have a giraffe?

Yes, you have to go to Kenya. But hello! You can’t put a price on hugging a giraffe.

GET A ROOM: ABODE OF THE WEEK

Quirky Chic: the only thing more playful than a treehouse is a tree hotel. This is serious fun- you can sleep in the woods among deer and moose at the Treehotel in the Lapland region in northern Sweden. Each mini-treehouse was designed by a different architect and throws you out of the box into your own lofted bird’s nest or spaceship. I’m digging the MirrorCube- the outside is made of mirrors that reflect the forest around it. Scandinavian, stylish, AND stealth! When you’re not ice fishing, you can learn about the local Sami people with a reindeer herder named…Lars. Yes, it’s all true.

It’s not much notice, but in the event that you’ve fallen in love with Treehotel like I have and are ready to run away to Lapland, Jetsetter is featuring a discounted rate of $245 (sleeping in trees ain’t cheap!) that ends today. If you’re not signed up with Jetsetter (different hotels on sale each week), here’s a free referral link.

GET A ROOM: ABODE OF THE WEEK

I’ve been stumbling across drool-worthy villas, hotels, and castles lately and thought I’d share the goods rather than just drool all over myself. If there’s a place you’d kill to rest your head, share it with me and I just might share it with the world Internet. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, it just has to make you drool.

I haven’t been to the Middle East yet but when I do, the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort will be on my dream list of places to stay. Private beach backed by desert landscape, check. Stunning Arabian design, check. 82 degree weather in March, check.

If it’s anything like the other Shangri-Las, and from the looks of it, it is(!), then I’ll see you in a looong while.