Debuting in December: chic chalets, rustic retreats and working wineries
Posted by Caroline on December 9th, 2009It may have been getting dark at 4.10pm but that hasn’t stopped us venturing out from our cosy comfort into the cold this Christmas. We’ve been searching Europe for its brightest boutique stars, calling in on France, Italy, Spain and the UK…
Just in time for the winter snows, allow us to introduce Les Servages d’Armelle, a contemporary-classic Alpine chalet with a straight-to-slope setting in Rhône-Alpes. Down on the southern shores, Le Saint Paul is a boutique hotel that’s sneaked its way into an elite artist’s colony, built on the ramparts of an old walled town.
In the Spanish Basque Country, we discovered Hotel Churrut, a rustically refined country house close to San Sebastián and the French Atlantic coast.
Over in Italy, we unearthed Il Salviatino, a made-over mediaeval villa in the hills above Florence, filled with museum-worthy frescoes and antiques. Over the hills, in the Maremman countryside of Tuscany, we stumbled upon Conti di San Bonifacio, a wine-making wonder with just a handful of rooms. More vinicultural pursuits lured us to Umbria, and Locanda Palazzone – a modernised Middle Ages manor set on a working farm and winery. Then there’s Palazzo Seneca, a 16th-century stone affair with a ravishing restaurant and spa. In Capri, JK opened a new place – JK Place Capri is a bright white luxury hideout with shore-side views and a sumptuous spa.
Up in Edinburgh, we watched as Hotel Missoni sashayed its way down the catwalks by the castle, to see if the Italian fashion house does hotels as well as it does dresses.
That’s it for 2009, but we’ll be kicking off your new-decade wanderlust in Smith style next month. Watch this space for some Roman retreats, an intimate Greek Island hideaway or two and a decadent canal-side dwelling in Manchester…
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