The Curation: Volume 14

The big Scandinavia hotel list, a Spanish summer cultural calendar, simple & splendid affordable off-the-grid hotels, 7 itineraries to/from Bordeaux & Menorca, rentals in France and Italy...

If anyone has a way to hack the Substack system to make more space, do let me know. I’ve just reached my limit, but I wasn’t quite done yet. At least there’s Sunday’s free edition to pick up where my mind left off.

Luckily, I got to all the big stuff before the dreaded purple “near email length limit” notice. The things in question: a big update to the Scandinavia hotel list, tripled from the original form. It’s so good, it gave me an incredible Nordic itch that now I must scratch. Then, the Spanish summer culture calendar – the main festivals (not music) to know and potentially plan a trip around. Next, we go a bit off the grid and into the grit with four simple but spectacularly beautiful hotels that mostly start under $120/night. Rentals return this week, in the form of two in Provence (one leaning Jacquemus, the other LoveShackFancy), one interior designer dream in the Tuscan countryside, and a grand palace in Veneto, Italy. Of course, there are itineraries – 7-ish of them, centered around direct flights to/from Bordeaux, France and Menorca, Spain. They lead you to places like Morocco, Liguria, and a calm Croatian bay. They’re diverse, different strokes for different folks. Lastly, we land on links - summer steals and splurges. Fun!

The Updated Scandinavia Hotel List

This is a big update. Only 39 hotels the last time, and I’ve leveled way up since. This is the curation of the 120 most special hotels in Scandinavia. 59 hotels in Sweden, 26 in Denmark, 23 in Norway, 12 in Finland. Scandinavian summer is calling my name loud and cannot be ignored. But then, I must return in winter for hygge and the Northern Lights. What’s so lovely is that most of the hotels with an asterisk (my personal top choices) are affordable luxury properties.

I went to the Mariana Trench of research for this – it’s something I’ve found missing or lacking elsewhere and wanted to deliver a truly valuable curation.

Next week, The Netherlands hotel list. Unless that gets subscriber-vetoed, in which case please put your requests in the comments!