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Jess M
@jessmQuietly nice hotels, hand-picked. I used to do hotel PR — now I just pick places I'd actually book.
Cliffside villas, quiet side of BaliAlila Villas Uluwatu
Bali · stayed
I went thinking I’d be over the cliffside-villa thing. Lives up to the photos. Plunge pool, jungle drop, staff who name your coffee order by day two. Pricey. Earned it.
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stayedCasa Polanco
Mexico City · stayed
Polanco if you want CDMX without the Roma hostel chaos. Casa Polanco's a converted 1940s mansion — proper rooms, proper bathtub, breakfast you actually look forward to. Walk to Pujol if you can get a res.
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stayedHotel Esencia
Riviera Maya · stayed
Stayed three nights, didn’t leave the property once. It’s a private estate the family lived in before opening it to guests, which you can feel — every staff member knows your name, the food at the restaurant is unreasonable, the beach has like twenty other people max.
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stayedOne Hundred Shoreditch
London · stayed
Took over the old Ace London building, kept the bones, added a rooftop bar that’s actually good. Standard rooms are tight — book the Loft if budget allows. Coffee in the lobby is the real one. Walk to Brick Lane in eight minutes.
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would bookAce Hotel Kyoto
Kyoto · would book
Haven’t stayed yet — going in October. But I’ve been to four Aces and the photos of this one (Kengo Kuma + Commune Design, traditional machiya bones) are the most committed-to-the-bit of any Ace I’ve seen. Saving for the trip; will report back.
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savedCasa Bonay
Barcelona · saved
Saved this one after a friend stayed in March. The rooftop bar is open to non-guests but the actual hotel side is tight — 67 rooms, neoclassical building, breakfast in the courtyard. Eixample puts you 10 min walk from everything that matters.
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savedMagna Pars Suites Milano
Milan · saved
Saved after fashion-week friends raved. Old perfume factory in Tortona, every suite is themed around a scent — bizarre on paper, works in person. Walking distance to Navigli for a normal dinner, fifteen-min Uber to the Duomo.
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