Corinna B's World: Hotel-Belle Goes To Jordan

I love scrolling around travel blogs,

getting great ideas of places to go, things to do, people to see.

One that I really love is Hotel Belle.

Annie Fitzsimmons is a travel writer with a passion for hotels.

Her blog takes you inside all kinds of interesting places to stay,

and I love it for for it's personal tone - it feels like Annie

is chatting to you about her experiences rather than

giving you some completely un-animated review.

When you cruise her blog make sure you read her About Me section.

She is nothing if not fascinating.

Today's Saturday blog re-post is about Annie's trip to Jordan.

I have tons of friends from Jordan,

so it is high on my list of places to go.

Enjoy!

Intercontinental Aqaba at the Red Sea

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

This photo above gives you the best look at where the Intercontinental Aqaba at the Red Sea in Jordan sits, right on the bright blue waters of the Red Sea and nestled in between two hotels under construction and the Kempinski Red Sea.

Aqaba & the Red Sea is where Jordanians go to vacation, akin to the beach towns of Florida or California-the royal family has a home here and as beautiful Queen Rania says, "If you want to cool down, you can take a dip in the Red Sea, diving coral reefs and old wrecks."

I liked visiting the Red Sea, though it's definitely a place where you come to kick back and get your tan on. There's not a great downtown or restaurant scene, so your hotel choice is very important. The Intercontinental has beautiful public spaces, a fun pool area, nice if slightly chaotic restaurants and you can easily access the water. I took a boat tour and dove in to swim-very salty but if you come here, you have to leave saying you swam in the Red Sea!

The rooms are nice though not unique, and I'd recommend booking one with a full water view. My room had a partial water view and seeing the massive, empty hotel being constructed next door was a little odd. I definitely didn't lounge on the balcony to catch the warm nighttime breeze with that eery view!