FAST FORWARD! Hotels may be closed, but that can’t stop us longing to be making out travel plans once again. So as part of our ‘Fast Forward’ series, we’re looking back to the hotels, restaurants and destinations that we’ll be booking just as soon as we possibly can.
If there’s one thing we learn from the culture it’s that EVERYTHING can be classed as ‘Instagrammable’. Plug the term into our own magazine search engine and it’ll pull up Instagrammable terraces and Instagrammable hotels, Instagrammable bars and, perhaps least congruously but most intriguing, Instagrammable loos.
So against this backdrop, ‘Instagrammable Hotel Staircases’ doesn’t sound too silly after all. Sure, if feels like a reach, but Instagram is awash with all manner of online narcissists posing on hotel stairways and what they, and you, need is a resource to tell them which stair wells to frequent for those sweet sweet dopamine hitting ‘likes’.
St Pancras Renaissance Hotel
This staircase really does get around, one moment they’re in Batman then next they’re basically the star of Wannabe (to be fair, they probably made more impact than Posh Spice in that video), welcome to the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel staircase!
One moment they’re in Batman then next they’re basically the star of Wannabe...
The grand staircase at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel London really is extraordinary, a Victorian gothic masterpiece beneath a cathedral-esque vaulted ceilings.
And it’s normally full of Insta-snappers scuttling up and down them uploading their #nofilter shots to the ‘gram.
Where: Euston Road, Kings Cross, NW1 2QR
Website: www.stpancrasrenaissance.com
The Martinique, New York
There’s an eerie, almost ethereal quality to the stunning marble staircase at the Martinique.
Snailing its way down 18 storeys (19 if you count storeys like the Americans do (ie wrong)), the beautiful staircase is the focal point of the Martinique New York on Broadway.
The French Renaissance style hotel was designed by Henry Hardenberg, the creator of the original Waldorf Astoria (of salad fame) and the staircase is a must-snap. Plus, the hotel’s just by the Empire State Building, so your Instagram’s going to be kept busy.
Where: 49 W 32nd St, New York, NY 10001, USA
Website: www.themartinique.com
Saint James Paris
Before there were the three terminals of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, there was the balloon airfield that Saint James Paris is built upon.
The luxury hotel, reopening in Spring 2021 after a covid remodelling, references this heritage in the balloon themed wallpaper that adorns the walls of its stunning staircase.
The neoclassical mansion in the heart of the Rive Droite, just a stone’s throw from the Arc de Triomphe and the Trocadéro, remains a tranquil hideaway for visitors and locals alike.
The Relais & Châteaux seal of approval makes this one of France’s most eminent visits, and the staircase is the pièce de résistance.
Grace Hotel, Santorini
Turning what was a snag into one of its greatest assets, Grace Hotel on the Greek island of Santorini rules the staircases.
Clinging to the side of a steep cliff, the hotel has no option but to send gusts up a labyrinth of steps, but the meandering stairs are one of the hotel’s greatest draws.
The hotel really is a Greek legend (or should that be un-mythable?)...
Mysteriously twisting and turning, passing the hotel’s private pools, not to mention the Insta friendly infinity pool (one of the best in the world), the hotel really is a Greek legend (or should that be un-mythable?)
Kimpton Hotel Monaco, Washington DC
Washington DC is where it’s at right now! And we’re not talking political intrigue or Presidential happenings, but staircases.
Which is thanks to the Kimpton Hotel Monaco. Set in the old General Post Office, the setting could not be more impressive.
Self described as a ‘National Monument Hotel’, Washington’s Kimpton Hotel Monaco is a stone’s throw from the Capitol (but don’t, we’ve seen where that ends) or a short walk from the White house.
And its historic spiral staircase beneath its famous rotunda are gloriously Instagrammable.
Where: 700 F St NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA
Website: www.monaco-dc.com
Hotel Bristol Palace, Genoa
This staircase earned its way onto this list fifty years ago as it was the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller Vertigo
And it’s easy to understand why. The elliptical spiral staircase at this Genoese hotel is truly a wonder to behold and is the centrepiece of one of Italy’s most iconic hotels.
Famous for it’s lavish parties during the Belle Epoque period (it was also the German high command headquarters during the second world war) the hotel has a rich history and looks incredible too.
Where: Via XX Settembre, 35 – 16121 Genoa, Italia
Website: www.hotelbristolpalace.it
We don’t for a second want to suggest that this list is definitive or couldn’t be improved on, so if you’ve visited a hotel with a truly iconic staircase, or you own or represent a hotel that deserves to be on this list, please email me at [email protected]…
