How To: Shortcut to finding a too-hip hotel

I’ve done my share of traveling over the years, and whether on a fat cat corporate expense account or a threadbare backpacker’s budget, I’ve always put forth the extra effort to find that one-of-a-kind spot to lay my head. A couple years back, I Googled “funky boutique hotel” while looking for a spot in Sao Paulo and stumbled upon the Design Hotels’ website. I can’t speak to the screening process they use while hand-selecting which properties make the grade, but I will attest to the end result. Their collection now encompasses over 150 hotels in forty different countries, and while I’ve only stayed in two of them, I’ve drooled over many more. None is more one-of-a-kind than the aptly named Hotel Unique in Sao Paulo, which to this day remains THE single most exceptional hotel I’ve stayed at anywhere, but be assured that each property is picked to stand above. Based in funky Berlin, the Design Hotels website is not merely skin deep, serving a thought-through mix of hipster aesthetics and function, with everything from the best designer clothing store in Helsinki to heads-up of the approaching Ibiza Medieval Festival. They’ve even culled their collection of top-drawer digs into a beautiful coffee table book. Of course you can also make reservations via the site, but the real appeal is the guarantee that you won’t be disappointed by any of the hotels on offer. More recently I used their site to find the industrial chic Hotel Basico in Playa del Carmen for a group getaway with a crew of DJ buddies, and recommended Design Hotels to a friend in need of the perfect honeymoon spot. I knew they’d deliver.