It’s normal to end a trip with a suitcase a little heavier than it was when you left. But of all the discoveries you’ve acquired, the stuff you really want to take home, particularly after checking out of a chic boutique hotel, tends to be harder to transport: maybe those sleek 1920s-inspired side tables or the thick velvet curtains with intricately braided trim or the handmade ceramics that feel like instant heirlooms. That’s why we talked with the designers responsible for the looks (and vibes) of seven of our favorite small hotels around the world about their childhood vacations, sunlight patterns, and city parks that inspired them to create spaces worth visiting. Plus, we recommend a few things that will bring the experience home.

Todos Santos Boutique Hotel in Baja California, Mexico

To recreate the moody, romantic interiors she dreamed up for the new 10-room Baja California Sur getaway, designer Alejandra Sarmiento Legorreta recommends sturdy walnut side tables, plush throw pillows, brass fixtures, and more." layout="wide" credit="Photos: Fernando Marroquin, courtesy Todos Santos Boutique Hotel; Tuomas A. Lehtinen/Getty Images (Hotel overlay texture); Fernando Marroquin, courtesy Oficina Sarmiento Legorreta (Sarmiento Legorreta); Kieran Stone/Getty Images (Marble); posteriori/Getty Images (Brick); Courtesy respective companies (products)" photoUserId=""/>

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Yowie Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Shannon Maldonado, the arbiter of cool behind the boutique hotel she opened above her buzzy design shop, lists some of the paint colors, fixtures, and furniture she picked to make the 13 guest rooms feel like “a cool friend’s apartment.”" layout="wide" credit="Photos: Courtesy Yowie (Maldonado and Yowie hotel); LAW Ho Ming/Getty Images (videotape); Dwell (archival issue of The Face); Courtesy respective companies (products)" photoUserId=""/>

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Hotel Château Royal in Berlin, Germany

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Curated by Julia Stevens

Top image by Felix Brueggemann, courtesy Château Royal Berlin

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Head back to the July/August 2024 issue homepage

Todos Santos Boutique Hotel in Baja California, Mexico

Apollo Palm Hotel in Athens, Greece

Trunk Hotel Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan

Rosemary Marrakech in Marrakech, Morocco

Posada Ayana in José Ignacio, Uruguay

Yowie Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Hotel Château Royal in Berlin, Germany

Appears In

Around the World in Seven Beds: Life With Art at Posada Ayana

Around the World in Seven Beds: How to Bring Hotel-Worthy Design Home