THE WORLD HOTEL NOTEBOOK16 entries in this edition ↗
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Urban addresses

City hotels with a specific relationship to the neighbourhood around them.

7 FILES IN THIS GUIDE
THE PROPERTYTHE USEFUL DISTINCTION
01
The Silo
Cape Town / South Africa

The Silo

Converted grain silo · 28 rooms & suites

A useful reference for readers interested in adaptive reuse: the hotel retains an industrial identity while changing the purpose of the building. Its waterfront position also keeps the city, rather than a remote landscape, central to the experience.

Read the accommodation notes +

The Silo occupies the upper floors of a former grain-storage building at the V&A Waterfront, above Zeitz MOCAA. The industrial shell and expanded geometric windows make the building as significant as the rooms inside.

The operator lists 28 individually decorated rooms and suites. Colour, contemporary African art and differing layouts give the interiors a more individual character than a uniform room inventory. The museum below is a separate cultural attraction, not a gallery contained within each hotel floor.

Official source ↗
02
Capella Bangkok
Bangkok / Thailand

Capella Bangkok

Riverside hotel · Rooms, suites & villas

The interesting comparison is between urban access and a river-oriented setting. The water is a working part of Bangkok, not an isolated resort lagoon. Room, suite and villa categories express different degrees of separation within that shared setting.

Read the accommodation notes +

Capella Bangkok faces the Chao Phraya River. Its low-rise form offers a useful contrast to the high-rise city hotel: the river sits close to the accommodation rather than far below a tower.

The 101-key property includes several accommodation formats. Its riverside villas have private courtyard entrances, making them a distinct part of the inventory rather than simply larger versions of a standard room.

Official source ↗
03
The Dolder Grand
Zurich / Switzerland

The Dolder Grand

City resort · 175 rooms & suites

The scale of the spa and the hillside location explain the operator’s description of the property as a city resort. It offers a different model from a small urban address designed mainly as a base for walking around a neighbourhood.

Read the accommodation notes +

The Dolder Grand opened in 1899 as a hotel and health retreat. Its position on the Adlisberg places it between the city and a greener hillside setting, rather than directly in Zurich’s street-level centre.

The property lists 175 rooms and suites and a 4,000-square-metre spa. An art collection of more than 100 works is part of the hotel’s public identity, alongside its accommodation and restaurants.

Official source ↗
04
Encore Boston Harbor
Everett, Massachusetts / United States

Encore Boston Harbor

Urban resort · Rooms & suites

The casino is inside the Encore Boston Harbor resort. The hotel is in Everett, so the Boston name should be read as metropolitan context rather than an exact downtown location.

Read the accommodation notes +

Encore Boston Harbor combines a hotel tower with dining, spa and casino facilities in one resort. The harbour setting distinguishes it from a compact hotel inserted into a downtown street block.

The accommodation includes rooms and suites, with specifically named harbour-view categories. A view designation belongs to the selected category; it is not an identical feature of every room in the building.

Official source ↗
05
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
Atlantic City / United States

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa

Hotel resort · Rooms & suites

The casino is part of the Borgata complex. Dining and entertainment are also part of the resort, giving it an internal network of public spaces beyond the guest-room floors.

Read the accommodation notes +

Borgata is a hotel, casino and spa complex in Atlantic City. Its Marina District setting provides a different context from a hotel directly on the city’s Boardwalk.

The resort website distinguishes Borgata accommodation from MGM Tower at Borgata. They belong to the wider destination, but tower identity and room descriptions should not be treated as interchangeable.

Official source ↗
06
Conrad Las Vegas at Resorts World
Las Vegas / United States

Conrad Las Vegas at Resorts World

Hotel within a resort · Rooms & suites

The casino is inside Resorts World Las Vegas and is part of the shared resort context. This profile separates the Conrad accommodation identity from the facilities of the larger development.

Read the accommodation notes +

Conrad Las Vegas is part of Resorts World Las Vegas. The name identifies one hotel offering within the complex rather than the entirety of Resorts World.

The accommodation has its own rooms and suites, while the wider property provides dining and entertainment spaces. Comparing hotel brands within the same resort is a different exercise from comparing two separate addresses.

Official source ↗
07
Solaire Resort Entertainment City
Parañaque / Philippines

Solaire Resort Entertainment City

Integrated resort · Rooms & suites

The casino is inside the Entertainment City resort. Dining, theatre and other public facilities make the property a larger destination than its accommodation buildings alone.

Read the accommodation notes +

Solaire Resort Entertainment City occupies a resort site in Metro Manila’s Entertainment City. The location is part of the hotel’s identity and distinguishes it from the separately named Solaire Resort North.

The accommodation includes suites with separate living and dining areas. The published Sky Suite, for example, is a specific category with an extensive interior layout, not a description of the standard room inventory.

Official source ↗
COMPARE THE FORMAT, NOT JUST THE NAME

Room categories and facilities can differ within a single resort. Each hotel file separates the property’s setting, accommodation and wider context.

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