Park Hotel Vitznau, Switzerland

Park Hotel Vitznau,
Lucerne, Switzerland

©Michelle Chaplow

Alvear Palace,
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Raffles Beijing Hotel

Raffles Hotel,
Beijing, China

©Michelle Chaplow - World clock Premier Palace Hotel Kiev Ukraine

Premier Palace Hotel,
Kiev

The Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong 5 star luxury hotel

The Peninsula Hotel,
Hong Kong, China

©Michelle Chaplow - Pool, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Bangkok

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel,
Bangkok, Thailand

©Michelle Chaplow - Napa River Inn

Napa River Inn,
California, USA

©Michelle Chaplow - San Francisco Fairmont Hotel

Fairmont Hotel,
San Francisco, USA

©Michelle Chaplow - Dromoland Castle

Dromoland Castle Hotel,
Clare, Ireland

©Michelle Chaplow - Raffles Hotel Singapore

Raffles Hotel,
Singapore

©Michelle Chaplow - The Metropole Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam

The Metropole Hotel,
Hanoi, Vietnam

©Michelle Chaplow - The Waldorf Hotel, London, England

The Waldorf Hotel,
London, England

©Michelle Chaplow - Gran Hotel La Florida, Barcelona, Spain.

Hotel La Florida,
Barcelona, Spain

©Michelle Chaplow - The Dolder Grand Zurich

The Dolder Grand,
Zurich, Switzerland

Sacher Hotel,
Vienna, Austria

Page to Hotel Essence

My favourite hotels in the world

As a travel photographer, hotels are a fundamental part of the journeying experience. Michelle averages 100 plus hotel nights per year and this section has been created to share a selection of her personal recommendations for hotels around the world. Whilst on assignment, a hotel provides a travel photographer with a base from which to explore the country and a secure storage space for equipment. It’s the mobile office, the refuelling zone, the meeting point and if you’re really lucky, there may even be time to indulge in the pool or the Spa. The reality of following the light and photographic deadlines however, often means this isn’t the case. A good hotel can be the primary inspiration for a photographer as they embark on their project, the place from which ideas evolve for imagery. A travel photographer’s hotel is essentially the gateway to photographically documenting a destination.