DON’T MISS FRENCH BLISS
Le Couvent d’Hérépian, Languedoc Roussillon, France
Elegantly chic, wonderfully quiet, but not bank-breaking – it’s not often that
you get that combination. But that’s what’s on offer at this converted
convent with 13 suites in Languedoc Roussillon. Rooms are from £78 a night,
yet they look as if they’d cost double that. The hotel, which has just
completed its soft opening, has a laid-back atmosphere, with a small bar
serving local wines and tapas.
Details: 00 33 4 67 11 87 15, www.couventherepian.com.
From £78 B&B.
AND FEEL ALL RIGHT . . .
Bob Marley Resort, Nassau, Bahamas You’re invited to “embrace the
feeling of One Love” by Rita Marley, Bob’s wife, at a five-star hotel
opening in March at Marley’s former holiday home. The 16 suites are named
after Bob’s songs, including Kinky Reggae, Satisfy My Soul and Positive
Vibrations (all a little risqué sounding, perhaps). There is nightly reggae
and fans can peruse rare Marley photos in a mini-museum. There’s also a spa
to leave a “deep sense of renewal and peace”.
Details: www.marleyresort.com.
From £250.
NICE CARBON FOOTPRINT
Carbon Hotel, Genk, Belgium
The Carbon may sound odd but it will in fact be a highly stylish hotel with a
“wellness experience” spa in the fun city of Genk. The unusual hotel name
comes from the owners’ decision to dedicate the design to “a very special
element because it plays a dominant role in the chemistry of life”. Perhaps
just a little bit pretentious – but a lot of fun. Opens April.
Details: www.carbonhotel.com.
From about £87.
INCAS AND IPODS
La Casona Inkaterra, Cusco, Peru
This 11-room boutique hotel is in a colonial manor with a courtyard, right by
the Museum of PreColumbian Art in Cusco, the main gateway town for Machu
Picchu’s Inca ruins. Rooms have heated floors – it gets chilly at 3,400m
(11,152ft) – wireless internet, iPod stations and “colonial chic”
furnishing. Opens next month.
Details: 0800 4587506, www.inkaterra.com.
From £300, B&B.
INDIAN OCEAN VIEWS
Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia
Bali is back this year with tour operators saying that bookings are going
strong after several slow years following the terrorist bombings in 2002.
Alila Villas Uluwatu will be a stunning new resort on a clifftop overlooking
the ocean. The hotel, opening in the summer, is already attracting attention
for its design and the owners claim that it is “environmentally
sustainable”. Each villa has its own pool, garden and terrace.
Details: www.alilahotels.com.
Rates not set.
GREEN WITH CONTENT
El Silencio Lodge & Spa, Costa Rica
If you want to go truly green in 2008, look no farther than El Silencio, set
in 500 acres of tropical jungle in what must be one of the planet’s greenest
spots. The idea behind the hotel is to “hush daily stress and let the sounds
of nature bloom”. There are 16 suites with hot tubs, terraces and views of
the emerald hills. Hiking, kayaking, “canopy zip-lining” and yoga are
available. Just opened.
Details: www.elsilenciolodge.com.
From £105pp, full-board. Journey Latin America (020-8747 8315, www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk)
offers packages.
MAKE AN ENTRANCE (IF YOU DARE)
Six Senses Hideaway Zighy Bay, Oman
Gimmick? Probably. Unusual? Definitely. Worth a try? Depends how brave you
are. This five-star retreat in Oman, due to open “early” this year, offers
guests the chance to paraglide (attached to a professional) to reception
from a mountain. Alternatively you can arrive by speedboat or – how terribly
dull – simply drive in. The hotel has 82 “pool villas”, a mile-long beach
and a dramatic mountain-top restaurant.
Details: www.sixsenses.com.
Premier Holidays (0844 4937542, www.premierholidays.co.uk)
has four-night stays, with flights included, from £1,303pp.
GET DIRTY... HAVE FUN
Tierra Atacama Hotel & Spa, Chile
The owners of this stylish hotel, just opened on the edge of the Atacama
desert, say that it is “the place to visit” in 2008. Well, they would, but
the Atacama is stunning and each room has a terrace with views of Lican-
cabur volcano. There are hikes, a large pool and a spa using volcanic mud.
One of the hotel’s mottos is: “Get dirty. Get clean. Get rested. Have fun.
Be happy.” Why not?
Details: www.tierraatacama.com.
From £148, B&B.
HAVE A BIT ON THE (OTHER) SIDE
The Other Side, Neiden, Norway
For something completely different, try this hip hotel in the north of Norway.
Not only is the Other Side touted as one of the most exciting hotels by the
trendy Design Hotels group (www.designhotels.com), it’s also a great place
to see the Northern Lights. The hotel consists of a dozen houses with
“architecture and building layout [based] on the traditions of the local
Sámi people, completed with Shamanism and a sense of other-worldly magic”.
Opens March.
Details: www.theotherside.no.
From £162.
JUST £59,000 A WEEK
The Lodge, Verbier, Switzerland
Yes, it’s in Verbier, the popular ski resort, but Richard Branson hopes that
this latest swishy addition to his Virgin Limited Edition places to stay
will attract guests year round. But it’s not cheap. In the winter, hire of
the nine- room Lodge, which sleeps 18, is all that’s available – at
£35,250-£59,000 a week. However, in summer a week’s stay is a trifling
£2,600- £3,300 a room. There’s a pool, gym, massage room... and a headache
when you get the bill. Opens tomorrow.
Details: 0800 716919, www.virgin.com/limitededition.
MIAMI BEACH MEETS MORECAMBE
Midland Hotel, Morecambe, Lancashire
Noël Coward, Laurence Olivier and Coco Chanel all stayed at this Art Deco gem
– and you can, too, when it reopens after a £7 million restoration in May.
The Midland fell into disrepair in the 1990s and closed in 1998. In stepped
developers Urban Splash, partly funded by public money, to revive the
44-room hotel, a Grade II listed building built in 1933. There will be a
seafood restaurant, a sauna, and a terrace serving drinks.
Details: 01524 424000, www.midlandmorecambe.co.uk.
Rates not set.
WHAT’LL YOU DO WHEN YOU GET LONELY . . .
Layla Hotel, Liverpool
Liverpool has already had a string of openings in the run-up to becoming
European Capital of Culture 2008: Hope Street Hotel, 62 Castle Street,
Malmaison and a funky Radisson SAS. A Beatles-themed hotel called Hard Days
Night is due to open next month (www.harddaysnighthotel.com
), but the most exciting new Liverpool hotel is the Layla, set in a late
Victorian former council building overlooking the Mersey. It will have a
spa, a “fine dining restaurant” and a brasserie. There will be 86 rooms and
26 suites. Opens September.
Details: www.bespokehotels.com.
From £145.
CHIC AT HALF THE PRICE
ABode Manchester
Malmaison and Hotel du Vin have a new nationwide contender in the chic
four-star hotel market. ABode Manchester, opening this spring, will be the
fourth in the funky, fun and good-value ABode chain. The chain was created
by Andrew Brownsword (who owns the Bath Priory) and Michael Caines, the
two-star Miche- lin chef, who oversees food. Rooms are either “comfortable”,
“enviable”, or “fabulous”.
Details: www.abodehotels.co.uk.
From £125.
HOTEL WITHOUT ROOMS
The Vincent, Southport, Lancashire
Billed as “the North West’s most exciting new hotel”, the Vincent, opening in
April, will be a (very) far cry from your traditional British seaside hotel.
Minimalist rooms with chocolate browns, Andy Warhol prints and chandeliers
look as if they belong in a Manhattan hideaway. Though perhaps the word
“rooms” is not quite right. “The guestrooms are cool and stylish – in fact
we’re not calling them ‘bedrooms’ at all,” says the website. Instead, they
are V-Resi-dences and V-Penthouses.
Details: www.thevincenthotel.com.
From £140.
SLEEP LIKE A MONK
The Augustine, Prague, Czech Republic
Views of Prague castle and the Wallerstein gardens are just two of the
attractions of the Augustine, the latest hotel in the Rocco Forte
collection, due to open in the summer. As well as a great location, this
101-room hotel combines design touches by Olga Polizzi – Rocco Forte’s
sister – with the Baroque features of an old Augustine monastery, including
cloistered terraces. There’s a health and fitness centre, a restaurant and a
bar in a hall with stucco cupids peering down.
Details: www.roccofortecollection.com.
Rates not set.
WHERE VANITY’S FAIR
Vain Boutique Hotel, Buenos Aires, Argentina
If you’re feeling vain, you’ll probably think this boutique hotel is just for
you. The Vain Boutique Hotel, up and running this month, is unselfconscious
about being just a little bit indulgent. “We consider modesty a good
quality, but everyone needs a touch of vanity once in a while. Unleash your
vain side at Vain!” says the website blurb. The 15 rooms are minimalist,
funky, high-tech, and have plenty of mirrors.
Details: 00 54 11 4776 8246, www.vainuniverse.com.
From £75.
LOVELY LOBSTERS
Beyaz Yunus, Olu Deniz, Turkey
The name of this cute, just-opened hotel in the beautiful resort of Olu Deniz
means “white dolphin”. It’s home to one of the best seafood restaurants in
Turkey, known for its great lobster dishes. Each suite has a private terrace
with a hot tub overlooking the sea, and there’s a spa and an infinity pool.
Stays are half-board; meals can be taken on the terraces.
Details: 00 90 252 617 0765, www.beyazyunus.com.
Exclusive Escapes (020-8605 3500, www.exclusiveescapes.co.uk)
offers one-week packages from £1,050pp.
WHERE TO HAVE A BALL
Marriott Twickenham
Rugby nuts who enjoy a beer after England matches at Twickenham will be able
to slump into bed in this hotel being built in the south stand. When it
opens in October there will be 156 rooms and six suites with views of the
pitch. There will be a health centre with a pool and a gym. Marriott points
out that the hotel will attract more than rugby fans, with Hampton Court
Palace, Kew Gardens and walks along the Thames all close by.
Details: 020-8744 0346, www.marriott.com.
Doubles from £120.
TOWNSHIP TOURISM TAKES OFF
Holiday Inn, Soweto, South Africa
Soweto has an international hotel to add to its handful of B&Bs – putting
overnight stays in the former township firmly on the tourist map. The hotel,
on Walter Sisulu Square, has 48 rooms and two “luxurious” suites. There’s
also a “hip, jazz-inspired restaurant to complement Soweto’s growing
reputation as a centre for nightlife and culture”. Just opened.
Details: 0870 4009670, www.ihg.com.
From £105, B&B.
DYNAMIC, URBAN CHIC
ohtel, Wellington, New Zealand
Anyone who likes to drop their aitch-es will enjoy this ten-room boutique
hotel opening in February. The owners want to create a style hotel to rival
those designed by Phillipe Starck and Ian Schrager: “a dynamic, hip
accommodation [that’s] urban chic”. Rooms are high-tech – high-speed
internet connections, lap-top-sized safes, underfloor heating in bathrooms,
“body jet” showers – and decorated in warm reds and golds. The Te Papa
national museum of New Zealand is a short walk away.
Details: www.ohtel.com. From £196.
All prices are for a double room excluding breakfast, unless otherwise
stated.
