Hotels We Love: Bedside Reading

Where you stay can speak volumes about you and your literary tastes. Whether you want to walk into the world of your favorite tome, discover where it was set or written, or just be surrounded by reams of good books, there are plenty of page-turning properties out there.

Novel
Join the book club and try the 25-room Spencer Hotel, at the Chautauqua Institution (Chatauqua, N.Y.; 800-398-1306; $165+), a center for the performing and literary arts in western New York State. Each room at the boutique hotel pays homage -- and feature works by -- a renowned author, from Dorothy Parker to Pablo Neruda.

On the dramatic Oregon coast, rooms are divided into Classics, Best Sellers, and Novels at the Sylvia Beach Hotel (267 N.W. Cliff St., Newport, Ore.; 541-265-5428; $70+). There are no televisions or phones in rooms at this eccentric inn near Yaquina Head Lighthouse, but where else can you spend a night with Gertrude Stein, Virginia Woolf, or Oscar Wilde?

Inside the Story
Walk into your favorite chapter at The Hobbit Motel (Woodbyn, Otorohanga, New Zealand; +64-7-878-6666; $100+). Two self-contained units sleep six in hobbit holes carved into the hillside, complete with kitchens for cooking up first and second breakfasts.

If you'd prefer your accommodation to be more of a protagonist, The Stanley Hotel (Estes Park, Colo.; 800-976-1377; $250+), built in 1909, actually inspired Stephen King to write The Shining. The miniseries was filmed on site, but for the classic horror experience, you'll have to check in to Timberline Lodge (Mount Hood, Ore.; 800-547-1406; $105+), used for exterior shots for the movie.

For a more Disney-fied take on terror, you'll think you've lost the plot completely at House of Dracula (Polana Brasov, Romania; +4-0372-689-800), where fake turrets and towers loom over a cartoonish vampire-themed exterior. Rooms are surprisingly cheerful.

The Last Chapter
For hotels with rich literary histories, head to London, New York, and Paris. Pay homage to the wit of Dorothy Parker and her quick quipping cronies at The Algonguin (59 W. 44th Street, N.Y.; 212-840-6800; $309+), see the site of Oscar Wilde's 1895 arrest at The Cadogan (75 Sloane Street, London; +44-20-7235-7141; $285+), or overnight where Camus, Sartre, Joyce, and Garc?a M?rquez checked in, Hotel Pont Royal (7 rue de Montalembert, Paris; +33-1-4284-7000; $240+).

Curl Up With a Book
There are a few hotels where words really count. Library Hotel, New York (299 Madison Ave., N.Y.; 212-983-4500; $255+) organizes its floors and rooms according to the Dewey Decimal System. Ten floors, each with their own category -- from Social Sciences to the Arts -- house guests in luxurious rooms with their own subcategories. Opt for the Erotic Fiction room or the Fairytale, depending on your inclination.

The Nines (525 S.W. Morrison, Portland, Ore.; 503-222-9996; $169+) perches on the top nine floors of a historic building and offers an impressively stocked library, courtesy of nearby bookstore Mecca, Powell's. It's the perfect place to turn over a new leaf and catch up on your reading.

MORE HOTELS WE LOVE
Hotels We Love: Allergy-friendly Hotels
Hotels We Love: Island Idylls
Hotels We Love: Urban Escapes
Hotels We Love: Unusual Accommodations
Hotels We Love: Green is the New Black
Hotels We Love: Top Ten Eco-friendly Hotels
Hotels We Love: Chic and Cheerful Budget Boutique Hotels
Hotels We Love: Stay in Style
Hotels We Love: Hotels with Altitude
Hotels We Love: Overnight Parking
Hotels We Love: Hotels with a past