TOP SHELF HOTELS
Top Shelf Hotels - Luxury Travel Magazine
 | |||||
Top Shelf Hotels | |||||
| By: Celeste Moure, Issue 33 - Summer 2008 | |||||
| (The Library Hotel - Koh Samui, Thailand) | |||||
| MOST OF US LOVE READING ABOUT PARADISE LOCATIONS, BUT WHAT ABOUT READING IN ONE? SOME HOTELS PROVIDE A GOOD BOOK FOR SUMMER READING, AS WELL AS A BEACH. | |||||
| “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library,” said the celebrated Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. If his vision of paradise includes curling up with a good book on powdery white beaches, a young beautiful staff attending to your every whim, tantalising gourmet dishes served al fresco and jaw dropping views of a calm turquoise sea, he might have been talking about not just any library, but Thailand’s new Library Hotel. Located in Koh Samui’s happening Chaweng Beach, this chic boutique property is the brainchild of a young Thai businessman named Kosemtham Sornsong, who took it upon himself to convert an inherited piece of oceanfront land into one of the island’s most stunning resorts. Discreetly scattered among lush vegetation are 26 minimalist suite/studio bungalows surrounded by old-growth trees that were spared the developer’s bulldozers. Preserving as much as possible of the natural beach landscape was a main priority, says Sornsong, while the library concept was inspired by the ubiquitous presence of holidaymakers – at the beach, on a hammock, on a lounge chair – always relaxing with the perfect reading material. Happiness, as he puts it, is not so complicated. The story of Koh Samui itself is one that is slowly being rewritten. Found on Chinese Ming dynasty maps dating back more than 500 years, Koh Samui was settled long before that, and inhabited mostly by fishermen. It was not until the 1970s that it became a popular vacation spot, especially for backpackers and hippies. Thanks to the recent arrival of lavish resorts, sumptuous spas and designer boutique hotels like The Library, today Koh Samui is being reinvented as a luxury getaway for the jetset crowd. Upon checking in at The Library you are greeted in the lobby area – cheekily named ‘Content’ – by the gorgeous librarians, er, staff who promptly offer a welcome drink and help plan whatever Activities you might be interested in. Though there’s a lot to do on Koh Samui, from diving to bungee jumping, visiting a butterfly garden and the 12- metre-tall Wat Phra Yai Buddha statue, you may never want to leave your hotel once you are settled in. Interiors are finished in a simple but elegant minimalist style – think platform beds, pretty flower arrangements of chrysanthemums, lilies and orchids on traditional and contemporary vases, Buddhist statues on wooden pedestals, and vibrant splashes of colour for the sofas and lounge chairs. The more spacious suites on the ground level feature Jacuzzi bathrooms, rain showers and separate open-air living areas with wooden shutters for enjoying the sea breeze. The slightly smaller Studios on the upper floors have the benefit of pretty balconies with sea views. Rooms are called pages, as in ‘I’m staying in Page 11’, and all come equipped with a writing desk and computer - perfect for banging out that bestseller or short story you always wanted to write. Stroll down a wooden walkway through a perfectly manicured garden and you arrive at the common areas: the beachfront restaurant (The Page), the exercise room (The Fit), and the stunning red-tiled swimming pool. The actual library is a study on minimalist white-on-white elegance. Here, the walls, floors and furniture are all painted white. The computers, of course, are white iMacs. Instead of the smell of musty old tomes, your senses at this library are awakened by splashes of colour from the beautifully photographed and illustrated covers of books, CDs and DVDs, all of which are perfectly stacked on white floor-to-ceiling shelves and displayed on the walls like works of art. Scattered on the grounds outside are white sculptures of human-size forms spread out on benches and on the grass, always with a book in hand. A Roman philosopher once said that if you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. But don’t forget to look up from your novel once in a while, or you’ll risk missing the technicolour show the sky puts on every evening as the sun sets, and the clouds turn from cerulean to fuchsia and lavender. | |||||
| Details: | |||||
| The Library, Koh Samui: www.thelibrary.co.th | |||||
| Other hotel suggestions for book lovers: The Library Hotel: Even before setting foot inside this unique hotel, guests are greeted with quotes from famous literary figures inscribed on the sidewalks. Crammed with more than 6,000 handpicked books and organized according to the Dewey decimal system, rooms are furnished by themes based on topics like Botany, Fairy Tales, Erotic Literature and Eastern Religion. American sex psychologist Dr. Ruth curated the art and books in the Love Room, while designer Vera Wang weighed in on the Fashion Room. Don’t miss the complimentary wine-and-cheese gatherings hosted every evening in the Reading Room. If you can’t find the reading material you’re looking for, the famed New York Public Library is a nearby. www.libraryhotel.com | |||||
| Little Dix Bay: Guests checking into this Virgin Gorda Rosewood Resort are treated to a book menu, called Hot Type, which features a selection of new fiction and non-fiction works by the world’s most prominent authors including John Updike, Stephen King, and others. Reading menus are also available at sister properties Caneel Bay, Jumby Bay and Las Ventanas Al Paradiso. www.littledixbay.com | |||||
| The Algonquin: Once upon a time literary greats needed a place to gossip and to wax poetic. For the likes of Dorothy Parker and Alexander Woollcott, the Round Table Room and the lobby of the Algonquin became just that place in the 1920s. Today, the rooms may feel on the small side but the beautifully carved and upholstered furniture uphold the hotel’s Jazz Age grandeur. www.algonquinhotel.com | |||||
| Booklovers B&B: Wellington author Jane Tolerton turned her quaint Mount Victoria villa into a lovely B&B where every nook and cranny is stacked with books. Furnished with comfy sofas, writing desks and other antiques, the bright rooms are perfect for enjoying a leisurely read after exploring the city. And because she doesn’t believe in leaving a book half finished, she might even let you take a borrowed book home with you. www.booklovers.co.nz | |||||
| Amangani: The only Amanresorts property in the United States is located within a 1,000-acre wildlife sanctuary just outside the posh ski town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Browse through the resort’s impressive library featuring books on Native American culture, local flora and fauna and the area’s two national parks, Yellowstone and Grand Teton before heading out with a safari guide to track moose, black bears, wolves and elk. www.amanresorts.com | |||||
|
