Hotel California

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IMG_4403Canon EOS 6D (44mm, f/9, 1/125 sec, ISO320)

How does it feel in paradise? I don’t know but I think this hotel comes close. If you travel a lot probably the last thing you associate with paradise is a hotel no matter the number of stars, no matter the full featured Toto toilet or the view. I’m not different. A hotel is just a place you have to be because you are away from home. The best possible thing is that I like it.

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 DSCF7975FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (14mm, f/8, 1/150 sec, ISO200)

How come I love this one?

First: The hotel is very small. There are just 8 bungalows a 3 rooms so it’s just 24 rooms in total. Second: Minimum age of guests is 21 years. No kids and no drunken teenagers. Third: The beautiful mid century architecture and the stylish interior. Fourth: You sit straight in the garden surrounded by flowers and hummingbirds. Especially the last point makes it truly special. It’s almost like home beside the fact that we have no hummingbirds. I will post some hummingbird shots later.

DSCF7977FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (14mm, f/9, 1/140 sec, ISO200)
 DSCF7984FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (14mm, f/8, 1/140 sec, ISO200)
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Not only the hotel is very beautiful but also it’s guests. At least the ones around the pool during daytime. We decided to use the pool after sunset. Night swimming! Our white bodies were glowing in the night! Right after the vacation I bought a home gym and started to work out. I will be back.

DSCF8002FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (35mm, f/1.4, 1/50 sec, ISO1000)
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The “night swimming” was great. It was still about 30 degrees Celsius and the water temperature was about the same. Day temperature was close to 40 degrees Celsius but the air was dry and that means it wasn’t as tough as it sounds. 30 degrees Celsius in Bangkok during the raining season are much worse. Or the 40 degrees that we had this summer in Austria. I prefer the dry heat of the desert.

The first picture was taken from the bed looking outside into the rising sun. We ordered breakfast that was delivered to our room. We wanted to eat outside among the hummingbirds but the morning sun was too hot and there was no shade.

We travelled California for 3 weeks and stayed on all types of motels and hotels. Some of them very basic (to put it gently) but this one was the best by far. “The Horizon” Palm Springs.

DSCF8017FUJIFILM X-Pro1 (14mm, f/10, 1/210 sec, ISO200)