2009 Top Five - Hotels I stay in a lot of hotels, some because I have to, and some because I choose to but I have long had a fascination with them. These were my Top Five hotels that I stayed in last year:

1. The Mansion on Peachtree, Atlanta
From the stable of my favourite hotel group. Easily the best place I stayed last year. An elegant building, huge rooms and flawless service. The oil painting posing as a flat screen television took me a while to work out, but we didn't want to leave. Highly recommended to anyone staying in Buckhead, Atlanta.
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2. The Standard, Los Angeles
Busy ultra trendy hotel in downtown LA. Half of me loved it, the grey hair and paunch thought it was noisy and over the top. A great roof top bar sits atop this old Standard Oil building. Reasonably priced too.
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3. Inn of the Anasazi, Santa Fe
Another from the Rosewood collection, and to be fair not one of it's finest but it's still a charming hotel superbly situated steps away from Santa Fe's main plaza with a warm and cozy atmosphere. Our stay was enhanced by the personal service of Sean, a Bermudian who worked the front desk.
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4. Gild Hall, NYC
After lots of searching for a good and reasonably priced financial district New York City hotel I got recommended one in the summer and have stayed in the Gild Hall three times recently. It's quiet, efficient and modern with a lively bar and a good restaurant.
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5. Fontainebleau, Miami
I definitely wasn't captivated by the staff and the quality of service in this South Beach behemoth but we were there not long after it opened in February. Reviews still appear mixed but nevertheless one cannot ignore the imposing resort that has replaced Morris Lapidus' original design.
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