Nimb- Copenhagen, Denmark

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If you’re planning a trip to Copenhagen, don’t forget to include Tivoli in your itinerary. It is the place where kids and kids-at-heart come to enjoy the rides, take in the scenery or just to simply to stroll around. Regardless of what you decide to do in the park, it would be hard to miss Nimb Hotel with it’s gleaming white marble façade. Its many spires despite their Moorish influence, fit in well in Copenhagen also known as the “City of Spires.”

Originally built in 1909, it was renovated and re-opened in 2008 to guests as a five-star small luxury hotel. The hotel made it to Conde Nast’s Hot List in 2009 and Gold List in 2011.

Our trip landed us in the beginning of the Christmas season. The hotel’s contemporary and sleek lobby juxtaposes the rustic winter décor and the smell of freshly cut pine. This is a cornerstone of Nordic design; simple, functional with an awareness of location.

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If Disneyland has the Cinderella Palace, Tivoli has the Nimb Hotel, that you can actually stay in and be treated like royalty. The hotel staff’s attention to its guests was unparalleled. We were immediately shown to our room several hours earlier than our check-in time.

With only 17 rooms, you feel a certain sense of exclusiveness and intimacy with the hotel and Tivoli garden. Our footsteps filled the quiet hallway as we were being shown to our room. Each individually inspired room is decorated with Danish bespoke interiors. According to Rene Jasper Thomsen, Nimb’s creative designer, “At Nimb, most design elements are bespoke and therefore completely unique, which suffuses Nimb with a special kind of magic,”

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Room #2 is a deluxe guestroom. It features this charming four-post bed. A Geismer duvet, covered by intricately embroidered fabric, keeps you cozy in the chilly Copenhagen evening. Or if you wish to stay up later in the evening, an antique study table is at your service.

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Rounding things out, were a sizable bathroom warmed by a heated floor and a spacious sitting area with bird’s-eye views of Tivoli Garden.

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Nimb’s hotel bar, Baren, serves a wide array of drinks from cocktails to grappa to hot cider. The pine-floored ballroom is uniquely embellished with pastel-colored doors and delicately adorned Christmas trees and wreaths. Guaranteed to spark a conversation are the avant-garde sketches on the walls, the beautiful embossed ceilings and the magnificent crystal chandeliers. After a couple drinks, it is nice to listen to the soothing sounds of the grand piano in one of the plush armchairs and sofas. The bar atmosphere is warm and friendly; wonderful for socializing or unwinding after a long day in the city.

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A smaller yet another beautiful common area within the hotel is the Rotunda. Its metallic silver wallpaper elegantly gilded by illustrations of tree branches seem to have come straight out of a fairytale book. It’s no surprise that this captivating element of the room has continuously drawn the crowd’s attention.

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It's okay to break out into spontaneous Christmas caroling when walking around the hotel. Everything is so festive and harkens back to simpler candle lit times. I remember actually wanting a rocking horse when I was a kid; we can only imagine what kind of 3-D printed contraptions our own children will be wishing for!

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Like when we were kids, we couldn’t sleep either. Because just down the stairs and outside, a wintery wonderland beckoned. After bundling up like Ralphie and Randy Parker we were ready to see Tivoli’s Christmas Market!

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Katikies- Santorini, Greece

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Katikies is the crown jewel in the cluster of bleached white resorts and mansions that line the caldera of Santorini. Located in the most photogenic and relaxed area of Santorini, the hotel provides you with a getaway from the getaway in Oia. A favorite of romantics and honeymooners Katikies' abundance of inifinity pools and outside areas will make you feel like you are the only ones enjoying this secluded paradise. The friendly staff are always there but are never obtrusive and make every guest feel like they are the most important guest staying on the property.

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From the Junior Suite's private patio enjoy an unobstructed view of the caledera and it's cinematic palette of white, blue and emerald. The hotel's attentive and agile staff will expertly navigate the rooftops and walls to deliver a delicious meal while you enjoy the view.

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All the rooms are clean, crisp and contemporary. Minimally decorated but elegantly appointed. A Junior Suite or higher will often have a seperate loft and the high ceilings give an impression of airyness making you feel like you are in the clouds.

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A Honeymoon Suite will give you total privacy with your own deck and personal tanning bed. Not to mention your own spa.

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More spacious and offering views from the wealth of windows, this suite is the ultimate hideout. Be prepared to be pampered and luxuriate to the point that you will not want to go home ever again.

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The islands Mediterranean climate provide the perfect weather to day-dream at night with warm balmy wind. You can find shelter in the hotel's cave pool.

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Staying in and Όνειρα γλυκά seem to be appropriate in this blissful haven that is Katikies.

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Saint James Paris- Paris, France

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Saint James Paris, part of the exclusive Saint James Club, is a château turned luxury boutique hotel located in the nicely residential 16th arrondissement. The château is steps away from the metro. In either direction, a 20-minute walk will get you to the Trocadéro or Arc de Triomphe. But, there are enough interesting details to keep you here your whole stay.

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The interiors have been decorated by Bambi Sloan. Known to be the "dream maker", she's taken queues from the château's history that includes Napoleon III furniture, animal print, and classic black and white contrasts. All of these apparent as you walk in its grand lobby with the 14-meter high chandelier that she calls "Chaos of Lights."

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Even if the dining room is darkly painted it is brightly lit by the huge portrait windows looking out at the hot air balloon in the garden.

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In contrast, the library is dimly lit. A bar has been added to the original library that still has over 12,000 books. Leather chairs on leopard-print carpet are nestled in the volumes of leather-bound books. After you've had your night cap here, it's time to get some rest in one of its 48 suites.

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Room 201 is a Junior Suite. On the first floor you will find a spacious sitting room and study both luxuriously decorated in modern materials with an old world spin. The carpet looks like wood parquet flooring and pillows covered with portraits of nobility adorn the sofa.

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Up the spiral stair case is a soft and fluffy bed in a room wall-papered in fabric with ancient Greek scenes to provide inspiration for you adventurous dreamers.

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Dreaming or strolling, a rainy night in Paris is good for either.

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Saint James Paris

43 Avenue Bugeaud

75116 Paris, France

+33 1 44 05 81 81