Thanks to my job I travel a lot, and sometimes I get to stay in amazing hotels… like eighteen or nineteen stars structures.
I don’t feel guilty to say that I love enjoying some luxury from time to time.
I travel a lot for business, but also for leisure. I stay at surf houses, guest houses, rooms with shared bathroom, and Airbnb.
And this is also a luxury. It is not a material luxury, but a human luxury.
A couple of days ago I was thinking about luxury in general, which sometimes turns into slavery and excessive reverence.
Sometimes when I have found myself in some amazing super-crazy-thousand-stars-hotels and I was annoyed by all those people asking me if “Everything was OK” every five minutes.
“Can I help you?”.
It would be helpful if you stopped stressing me.
This is not luxury, this is minding people’s business. Material luxury is equal to an impeccable service offered by impeccable people who are willing to meet all your needs. People who are people, not machines. But is not always like it.
Last week I went to Jesolo for a couple of days. I have picked a two stars hotel featuring comfortable couches in the reception hall, basic rooms, small bathrooms and some pretty tacky paintings hanging on the wall.
As soon as I got there I spoke to the manager; we started talking about the weather and about the touristic season, and then we ended up talking about old signs and small shops.
“Are there any old signs around?”
“I don’t know darling, I grew up here but I have never paid attention to it!”
The next day that same gentleman told me that he went for a walk with his father to find some old signs around, but he couldn’t find any.
Then he introduced me to his dog, which ran away a few days ago and scared everyone. I also met his mother, who makes breakfasts at the hotel – a very basic breakfast, but still very important to enhance that sense of comfort and coziness.
The same happens at the surf house. There I experience the luxury of meeting people who share my same interests; people who come from different countries and who feed my soul.
I am not a camping kind of girl, I need a mattress and some quiet (I always book a single or double room at the surf house), but I can totally stay at one star hotels.
I think having the chance to enjoy some delicious breakfasts in such an incredible environment, along with people who are happy to help you and to talk to you, eating bread and jam and being surrounded by smiles and strangers who are about to become new friends is just priceless.
Here I am at Hotel Cristina. Two stars. The light is not the best but it has such an amazing atmosphere. This is the real luxury.
Nightgown: Sans Tabù
Picture: Esplorimentale
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