Sunset+201810

STAY

Libraries to check out

and into

You can tell a lot about people

by the titles they display in their

living rooms. The same can be

said for these hotels lining their

shelves with literary treasures.

At Portland’s new luxury stay The

Porter (from $269 ; theporter

hotel.com ), a statement wall

of classics is a focal point for the

subdued lobby; the bookish atmo-

sphere is enhanced by leather

lounge chairs and vintage news-

print wallpaper. Meanwhile, in

Mexico City’s Little Tokyo, mini-

malist serenity awaits at Ryo

Kan (from $150 ; ryokan.mx ), a

Japanese-influenced hotel that

opened in May. Here, a sunken

ground-level retreat stocks city

guides and art books amid the

contemporary ceramic vases.

In bustling West Hollywood , The

Farmer’s Daughter Hotel (from

$237 ; farmersdaughterhotel.

com ) pulls off a homey nook

thanks to a tiny canary yellow ,

birdhouse-like lending library

(take one, leave one) out front.

And back up north in Portland, a

recent renovation of the Heath-

man Hotel (from $180 ; heath

manhotel.com ) upgraded one of

the West’s most exclusive hotel

libraries with floor-to-ceiling

bookcases that show off more

than 3,000 signed editions from

previous guests , including Mar-

garet Atwood and Jimmy Carter.

STROLL

Poetry in the tropics

“On the last day of the world I would want to plant a tree,” goes

W.S. Merwin’s poem “Place.” It’s more than mere sentiment. Over

the past 40 years , the now 91-year-old former U.S. Poet Laureate

has planted more than 3,000 palms on his Maui estate in the town

of—no joke—Haiku. On The Merwin Conservancy’s once-a-month

tour s (merwinconservancy.org ), guides point out rare and unusual

species in the lush 19-acre tropical forest , pausing to read snippets

of Merwin’s poetry that help illuminate his life’s other great work.

• RYO KAN


• 
  

  THE PORTER

  
  

SUNSET ❖ OCTOBER 2018 27

TOP RIGHT: JOHN VALLS; FAR RIGHT, BOTTOM: GWEN ARKIN—COLOR STUDY SERIES