These hotels have the hottest clubs—for readers
As I take in the final words of Jenny Xie’s Holding Pattern, I exhale with the sort of grin that only comes from a satisfying read. Emerging from the pages, I reenter the real world—or a version of it, anyway, as I’m lounging by the pool at Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic. I’m craving two things immediately: a discussion about what I’ve just read, and another book. Fortunately, both are within easy reach through the Apple Vacations Pages in Paradise program, which launched in January, bringing the Belletrist Book Club right into the hotel with Poolside Pages Happy Hours and a curated lobby library from Penguin Random House.
Catching up on reading lists has long been a staple vacation activity, but hotels are now delving deeper by forging partnerships with book clubs. As Belletrist cofounders Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss tell me via email, “We go through books on vacation quickly, so to have a dependable selection of new reads to choose from and not have to worry about fitting them in our suitcase is a game-changer.” For them, the collaboration is about “actually putting the books into people’s hands when they are on vacation.”
They’re not the only ones doing so: Last fall, Reese Witherspoon’s Reese’s Book Club teamed up with Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. Caroline Godden, Sheraton’s senior director of brand management, explains that the program kicked off with a series of lobby library pop-ups, and it has already expanded to include monthly book clubs for travelers and locals at select properties. “These meetups go beyond the pages,” Godden says, “creating moments of shared discovery and connection in the heart of our hotel lobbies.”
In 2021, Graduate Hotels partnered with Silent Book Club—in which literary types gather to read their own books quietly—for “introvert happy hours.” Silent Book Club cofounder Guinevere de la Mare says that attendees appreciate Graduate’s collegiate vibe: “comfy couches, a fireplace, a wall of bookshelves, and a bar, of course.” What’s more, she adds, “Hotels, by design, are a home away from home.”
Boutique properties are finding their mark, too. The Bookhouse Hotel in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, opened in an old bookstore last November, with four guest rooms and more than 5,000 books. In March, the hotel expanded its members-only book club to the public. “People crave community,” says co-owner Stephanie Olenik. “It’s nice to have an actual book in your hand—there is something magical and special about it.”
