Sleeping around: 10 great places to stay here and abroad

By Tom Uhlenbrock St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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We did the legwork in 2008 so you could get a leg up on picking a place to vacation.

Starting at the top of the world, here are 10 great places to stay, from cozy cabins to lofty towers, with a sharecropper's shack thrown in for good measure.

1 Spitsbergen Hotel, Longyearbyen, Norway

This town of 2,000 is the closest permanent settlement to the North Pole. In winter, you can ride snowmobiles and dog sleds and climb in ice caves under glaciers. In summer, the birds return, and more than 170 species of plants and flowers decorate the tundra. Rooms start at $360 a night. Go to www.svalbard.net and click on the Union Jack.

2 The Jamaica Inn, a classic, family owned resort in Ocho Rios

The place has changed little since Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller honeymooned there in 1950. Winston Churchill also was among its celebrity guests. All 47 suites have stunning views of the turquoise Caribbean.

Winter rates start at $550 a room. Visit www.jamaicainn.com.

3 Skyline View Cabins, Alto Pass, Ill.

The two wood cabins are duplexes that sit side by side. The beauty is the location, in the midst of the 10 wineries on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail. The back porches look out onto the surrounding Shawnee National Forest.

The two-bedroom upper level rents for $120 Mondays through Thursdays, $140 on weekends. See www.skyline viewcabins.com.

4 Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago

With 92 stories, the Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago is the city's second tallest, after the Sears Tower. Sitting on the Chicago River, the hotel has sweeping views from its 339 rooms and suites. Sixteen, the hotel's restaurant, has 30-foot-tall curving windows with eye-level views of the tops of the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower next door.

Winter rates start at $295 a night. Visit www.trump chicagohotel.com.

5 Hermannhof Haus Wineries Hermann, Mo.

Banker Jim Dierberg wants to create a Napa-style destination in Hermann on the Missouri River. He's on the right track with his Hermannhof Haus Wineries, six vintage stone "wine houses" relocated to a hillside looking over the quaint German town. The wine houses have 20 suites for nightly rental.

Winter rates in the wine houses are $126 to $277. Go to www.hermannhof.com.

6 Tiamo, South Andros Island, Bahamas

Tiamo has no cars, no streets and no shops, and is accessible only by boat. The 11 bungalows are in elevated, screened buildings hidden from view by foliage. You may not see another guest until you show up for cocktail hour in the main lodge.

High-season rates are $415 a night, a person, which includes meals. Visit www.tiamoresorts.com.

7 Kelly Place B&B, Cortez, Colo.

From the front porch of Kelly Place B&B in the red-rock country near Cortez, you can see an ancient Anasazi ruin in the cliff across the arroyo. A 10-minute hike takes you into the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, which has more than 5,000 recorded archaeological sites.

Nightly rates range from $100 for one night to $73 for four or more. Go to www.kellyplace.com.

8 Shack Up Inn, Clarksdale, Miss.

Clarksdale is the epicenter of the Delta blues, and a good base from which to tour the museums, nightclubs and juke joints.

Shacks rent for $75 to $90 on weekend nights. See www.shackupinn.com.

9 The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.

A bastion of Southern hospitality, the white buildings of The Greenbrier sprawl over 6,500 acres near White Sulphur Springs, looking like a small town. Twenty-six presidents have visited the hotel, along with DuPonts, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and Kennedys. The strangest chapter in its storied history came after the Cold War, when a secret bunker was built under the hotel to house Congress in case of nuclear attack. You can tour it for $30.

Weekend rates start at $339. See www.greenbrier.com.

10 Bitter End Yacht Club, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

You don't have to sail to enjoy the Bitter End's beaches or stay in its hillside cottages. You can partake in seaside massages, champagne and dinner cruises, snorkeling and diving trips and excursions to the wondrous rock formations of The Baths, a national park at the water's edge.

Bitter End is $880 a night in the high season. Go to www.beyc.com.