Well, hello yellow! A dose of the color of sunshine, lemons, daffodils, and happy face emojis, is just what the doctor ordered as we emerge from our pandemic hibernation, start hitting the road, and reacclimate to being out in the world of people again. These seven hotels harness the hue’s energy to become guaranteed bright spots of any vacation.
The Dive Motel (Nashville, TN)
4 Stars | Website | Nashville International Airport
23 | 1 swimming pool; Pet friendly; Bar | 1
Johnny Cash Museum; Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum; Oakwood Park
Yellow and disco fevers collide in this groovy Nashville getaway’s honeymoon suite featuring side-by-side soakers, shag carpet, fuzzy duvet, and a party switch that engages music and mirrorballs.
Casa Palopo (Lake Atitlán, Guatemala)
3 Stars | Website | La Aurora Airport
9 | 2 swimming pools; Fitness center; Free WiFi | 1
Reserva Natural Atitlán; Estadio Los Tablones; Canchas Deportivas Santiago
In the hills above Lake Atitlán, the San Francisco room’s muted laguna wall accentuates the custom wood bedframe and draws the eye to yellow moments in the handwoven Mayan textiles at Guatemala’s only Relais & Chateaux member.
Saguaro Palm Springs (Palm Springs, CA)
3 Stars | Website | Palm Springs International Airport
245 | 1 swimming pool; Fitness center; Spa | 2
San Jacinto Mountain; Moorten Botanical Garden; Palm Springs Air Museum
This colorful complex in the California Desert is far from mellow yellow with loud pool umbrellas, cabanas, room decor, the carport, and metal landscape dividers.
Rowland House (Aurora, NY)
4 Stars | Website | Greater Rochester International Airport
8 | Free WiFi; Spa; Fitness center | 1
Buttonwood Grove Winery; Cayuga Lake Wine Trail; Knapp Winery
Room 10 captures the whimsy of housewares brand MacKenzie-Childs, the Inns’ neighbor in New York’s Finger Lakes region, with hand-painted dot-and-decal walls in a cheerful shade that matches the throw pillows and the reading nook lamp.
Hotel Magdalena (Austin, TX)
4 Stars | Website | Austin-Bergstrom Intl. Airport (AUS)
89 | 1 swimming pool; Pet friendly; Room service | 1
O Henry Museum; Austin Museum of Art; Nicholas Dawson Park
Strike gold in Austin at Bunkhouse’s newest (fall ’20) and largest (89 units) boutique where ensuite bathrooms shine with custom Spanish tile. The South Congress stunner takes design cues from local swimming holes and ‘70s lake life.
7132 House of Architects (Vals, Switzerland)
4 Stars | Website | Locarno Airport
73 | 1 swimming pool; Pet friendly; Spa | 4
San Bernardino Pass; Vals-Gadastatt Ski Lift; Glarr Ski Lift
After a day of skiing/hiking the Grisons and a soak in the four-star Swiss hotel’s thermal baths, clean up in a free-standing canary shower bubble, literally the centerpiece of Thom Mayne’s vision that also wows with Vals quartzite-clad walls.
Hotel Barrière Le Carl Gustaf (St. Barthélemy)
5 Stars | Website | Gustaf III Airport
23 | Beachfront; Private Beach area; Bar | 2
Shell Beach; St Jean Beach; Gouverneur Beach
It takes something special to pull focus from St. Barth’s Shell Beach and the Caribbean’s blue. Enter the bungalows’ flaxen botanical-print headboards, lemony shiplap, and bumblebee-striped ottomans and chaises.
