Perhaps you’ve seen the 1920s photo of Agatha Christie wearing Jazz Age swimwear on a beach in Hawaii posing beside a surfboard. For lovers of her cozy noir, it gives not just pause, but a sort of exultation. After all, haven’t many of us learned to surf on Waikiki Beach, albeit decades later, just like Agatha? Apparently, though — and who knew? — she was one of the first “western women” to stand on a surfboard in Hawaii. She’d already practiced the sport in South Africa, and by all accounts she was a lover of rough water when bathing at the English beaches of Torquay in her youth.
Not “just an author,” she toured around the world, surfing along the way. Of course, those of us who love her books already knew that she wove worldly tales — stories that unveil a moment in an exotic place with the flair and cunning of a carpet seller in Istanbul unfurling an ancient rug to point out the intricacies of its design. She spun amusements that made us long to walk in her character’s shoes — whether that meant Egypt or the tiny village of St. Mary Mead. Her perpetual travels informed her work and her life. On myriad trips, she traipsed to every corner of the globe from Italy to Florida to Africa to Australia. She wrote some of her books at hotels I’ve visited: Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, Yorkshire’s Old Swan Hotel or the Sofitel Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan.
For bibliophiles, holing into a hotel where a favorite author drew inspiration or wrote a book brings the story to life — or, even better, connects us more deeply to the writer. It bridges the gap between our imagination and something real, it imbues fiction with a whiff of reality. It’s like meeting the chef who made your Michelin-starred meal or seeing a painting you’ve admired only in books hanging on a museum wall. To help you combine your penchant for reading with travel, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite “literary” hotels on earth from Hotel d’ Angleterre in Copenhagen to newly opened The Longfellow in Portland Maine. Grab your favorite tome and check in.
Pera Palace Istanbul for Agatha Christie
Welcoming guests since 1892, Pera Palace Istanbul was built to serve the passengers of the romantic Orient Express when it rolled into town. More than a train depot, the lavishly appointed hotel was the first in Istanbul to have hot running water and electricity. Boasting a guest roster that includes Greta Garbo, Alfred Hitchcock, and Jacqueline Onassis (who all have rooms named for them), the hotel’s most beloved resident was Agatha Christie who purportedly wrote Murder on the Orient Express during her tenure. Guests today can book room 411, the Agatha Christie room, adorned in the mode of that bygone era, replete with a library of the author’s mysteries and a vintage typewriter.
Hotel d’Angleterre, Copenhagen for Hans Christian Andersen
Established in 1755, Hotel d’ Angleterre overlooks Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen’s living room-like plaza. With unparalleled luxury it welcomes guests today, much like it pampered one of the world’s most beloved storytellers, Hans Christian Andersen. The eccentric writer stayed at the hotel a plenitude of times over the years, beginning in 1860. His fear of fire meant he requested a ground-floor room, and he rarely missed a Christmas at the hotel. Today, the author of The Little Mermaid (among many others) has a suite named for him.
The Longfellow Portland Maine for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
From what now reigns as one of the nation’s best preserved Victorian neighborhoods, Longfellow grew up in Portland, penciling poems no doubt inspired by the locale. Lauded as a wellness hotel, located steps from Portland’s vibrant art district, The Longfellow, newly launched, features an ambiance meant to summon thoughts of those bygone literary salons popular in the 19th century. Channel your inner poet at in-room writing desks and via blank notebooks offered to guests. Five of Clubs, the hotel’s bar and lounge, references the five-man literary society founded by Longfellow, serves both classic bar libations, plus zero-proof and functional cocktails. Head there for a philosophical tete-a-tete.
Tivoli Palazzo Gaddi Florence for John Milton
Seventeenth-century poet John Milton took a grand tour of Europe in 1638. While in Florence, he found his sanctum at Palazzo Gaddi, where he was inspired to write his masterpiece epic poem, Paradise Lost. Today, the lavish retreat, now Tivoli Palazzo Gaddi, welcomes guests to its perfect location near the Duomo. Sip a libation as you journal details of your own Florentine adventure in the hotel’s Milton Bar. With a notable fireplace and library-like ambiance, the bar serves coffee, cocktails, wine, and light bites for lunch and dinner.
Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski Munich and Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin for Thomas Mann
Writers and readers flock to these two Kempinski hotels in Germany to pay tribute to Thomas Mann, one of the world’s most revered novelists, not to mention social critics. His ponderous storytelling embraced vivid symbology and delved deeply into psychology. Full of twists and uncomfortable complications, his tales brim with surprises and thoughtful conundrums. Mann frequently visited opulent Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, as did many of the literati elite of his era. We like to imagine him penning his thoughts in the hotel’s grand lobby. Additionally, he stayed at elegant Hotel Adlon in 1929 on his way to the Nobel Prize ceremony, where he garnered the Nobel Prize for Literature for his best known work The Buddenbrooks.
The Singular Santiago Chile for Pablo Neruda
One of the 20th century’s most striking poets, Neruda may be best known for his passionate, soul-stirring love poems. While at Hotel Crillon (now The Singular Santiago, but owned by the same family), Neruda, a Nobel Prize winner, wrote a poetic letter to Marta Colvin, now displayed proudly on property. Ideally positioned in historic Santiago, the stylish hotel proffers 62 rooms, a spa, rooftop bar, and well-equipped gym. Don’t miss a visit to nearby La Chascona, Neruda’s former residence in Barrio Bellavista.
GoldenEye Jamaica for Ian Fleming
James Bond fiends can easily imagine the spy romping around the spellbinding gardens that hold GoldenEye’s cottages, villas, and beach huts on Jamaica’s north coast. Little wonder. Bond creator Ian Fleming bought the beachside expanse, building and living in its fabulous Fleming Villa, which he designed himself. In residence, he wrote all 13 of his Bond novels. Now an ultra-exclusive enclave that ensures the ultimate in privacy, GoldenEye captivates with a hidden cove, an immaculate beach and lagoon, restaurants, and a spa.
Manoir Hovey Quebec for Louise Penny
Manoir Hovey, an exquisite Relais & Chateaux family-owned inn, edges a gleaming lake in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, hidden amid leafy woods. A hotel since 1950, it was built in 1899 as a Mount Vernon-inspired residence. Nostalgically soulful, Manoir Hovey retains a vintage spirit. Known for its gastronomy and cozy affability, it attracts guests who hanker to stay on property lingering over meals, playing board games in the parlor, partaking in watersports and winter activities in seasons, and indulging in its new spa. A favorite haunt of Canadian author Louise Penny who lives in a village nearby, Manoir Hovey acted as catalyst for the fictional Manoir Bellechasse in A Rule Against Murder, part of the popular Inspector Armand Gamache series. Guests will find the library and other common areas awash with Penny’s spectacular books. You won’t be able to resist these page turners by the fire.
The Pontchartain New Orleans for Tennessee Williams
“I don’t want realism, I want magic,” said Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. She would have found that enchantment at The Pontchartrain, a jewel box hotel in the Garden District. Originally constructed as an apartment building in 1927, it served as the erstwhile residence of engaging playwright Williams in the 1940s. Working and playing there, he composed A Streetcar Named Desire while in residence. Today, guests can sip cocktails in the Hot Tin Roof Top Bar, named for another Williams play, while they gaze at oak trees, draped in Spanish Moss, and contemplate magical days spent in The Big Easy.
Hôtel Belles Rives France for F Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald began writing Tender as the Night in a glamorous villa in Antibes overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. That villa eventually expanded to become a bijoux haven, Hôtel Belles Rives, with 43 Art Deco-infused guest rooms and suites. Many rooms, in fact, flaunt sublime terraces that seem to hover over the Mediterranean Sea. Stand on one, and you’ll see the sort of views that surely fueled the author, who took refuge here after momentous success with The Great Gatsby. Extravagant, but nevertheless laced with Cote d’ Azur’s timeless casual elegance, the hotel features a Michelin-starred restaurant, a spa, and a private beach, complete with pier. Book the Zelda Suite and tipple in the Fitzgerald Bar.
Feature image courtesy of Manoir Hovey
