Brought to you by
As the Irish playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw wisely observed, “the great advantage of a hotel is that it is a refuge from home life.” Often far beyond a place to rest weary bones (unless you’re kipping at a roadside Travelodge), hotels are places to indulge your most specific fantasies. Some people seek gilded luxury – palaces of gastronomy housing more Michelin stars than lift buttons, a concierge more attentive than most family members, and a full roster of activities. Others want the opposite: a refuge far up a mountain where you’re entirely off-grid and eat whatever grows or grazes on the doorstep. We’ve picked our favourite stays as seasoned hotel sleepers – everything from transformed 19th-century Parisian townhouses to rustic Tuscan retreats and the odd staycation bolthole closer to home.
Monteverdi Tuscany
Italy
Monteverdi poggio rotondo bedroom
Tuscany isn’t exactly short on good-looking hotels. Monteverdi, though, plays in a different league. Perched in a restored medieval hamlet high above the Val d’Orcia, it feels less like a check-in and more like being absorbed into the rhythms of a tiny, impossibly well-designed village. Rooms are threaded along cobbled lanes in classic albergo diffuso fashion, thick stone walls and old beams paired with clean-lined Italian furniture and just-so lighting. Beneath the village, a grown-up spa in pale travertine hums with steam and silence, while the kitchens turn out hyper-seasonal, hyper-local plates, backed up by a fully fledged culinary academy. Factor in a deconsecrated church doubling as a concert hall, rotating art on the walls and those widescreen Val d’Orcia views, and Monteverdi stops being simply a place to sleep. It becomes Tuscany, sharply edited and turned up to ten – without losing soul.
From £723 per night; monteverdituscany.com
Zafiro Palace Alcudia
Mallorca
Main pool at Zafiro Palace
Zafiro Palace Alcudia, a Palace Collection hotel in Port d’Alcúdia, is a family-focused resort a short walk from picturesque Alcudia Beach. Set on an expansive property with 369 spacious suites, the hotel strikes a balance between resort scale and boutique sensibility – clean lines, soothing interiors, and a modern Mediterranean aesthetic throughout. Children are well catered for, with a dedicated Kids’ Club running from morning to evening, alongside a Splash & Pirate boat pool and giant Wet Bubble pool. Dining is anchored by Zafiro’s All Inclusive Redefined® concept – a more flexible take on all-inclusive that spans five restaurants, each with a dedicated kids’ menu, so everyone is happy. Alcudia Beach itself is hard to fault: white sand, clear water, and the option of a Llaut excursion aboard a traditional Mallorcan vessel, taking in swimming and snorkelling along the way.
From £225 per night; zafirohotels.com
Hotel Lancaster
France
Visite 30 spa at Hotel Lancaster
Slip past the Champs-Élysées crowds, and you’ll find Hotel Lancaster hiding in plain sight: a 19th-century townhouse that behaves like a private residence and just happens to have five stars. It leans into low-key glamour – parquet floors, Baccarat sparkle and marble fireplaces looping around a courtyard that feels stolen from someone’s very elegant aunt. The history comes with a spotlight: once a high-society home and later a 1920s bolthole for the beautiful and the famous, it hosted everyone from Clark Gable to Elizabeth Taylor, with Marlene Dietrich moving in for three years. Downstairs, the CopperBay-run bar shakes up bright, Mediterranean-tilted cocktails and clever signatures that feel more like a neighbourhood secret than a hotel lounge, especially when they spill into the courtyard on warm nights. Hotel Lancaster is the perfect antidote to the thrum of Paris.
From £550 per night; hotel-lancaster.com
Eriro
Austria
Eriro exterior
Alex Molling
If your idea of a perfect hotel involves being holed up in the middle of nowhere with nothing but cows for witnesses, Eriro more than ticks the box. Perched in the dramatic Zugspitze mountains of Austria, this dinky nine-bedroom mountain inn is reachable only by cable car, which neatly removes you from civilisation and the stresses of modern life. The biggest draw of Eriro is what it doesn’t have. Expect a phone-free stay devoted to walking, eating, sleeping and soaking in onsen. Strip away the distracting, chaotic plaque of everyday life and what’s left is pure, unfiltered relaxation at altitude. When you’re not stargazing under pollution-free skies, hike up to the turquoise glacial lake Sebensee and load up on kaiserschmarrn in a nearby mountain hut. Back at the hotel, Eriro’s restaurant is hyper-local (and hyper-delicious), sourcing all produce from within 100 miles.
From £1,315 per night; eriro.at
Casa Bonavita
Malta
Founders Christopher and Suzanne Sharp
Once a centuries-old family home in Attard, this 17-bedroom house has been painstakingly restored over five years into a bucolic hotel framed by Mediterranean gardens – and the chicest place to sleep on the island in 2026. The work of Christopher and Suzanne Sharp, founders of The Rug Company, it marks their first move into hospitality, informed by design flair honed over decades and a deep attachment to Malta shaped by Suzanne’s own childhood here. Having actually lived in the house themselves, the couple retained the original kitchen as a morning gathering spot – fresh-squeezed oranges from the garden, coffee, Maltese pastries warm from the oven – ensuring the place never quite shakes the feeling that you’re a houseguest rather than a paying one. Attard sits among Malta’s historic Three Villages, 20 minutes from Valletta and a short drive from the walled city of Mdina.
From £342 per night; casabonavita.com
Ballymaloe House hotel
Ireland
Ballymaloe House Hotel
Ballymaloe House Hotel is a family-owned countryside haven in Cork, Ireland, renowned for farm-to-table dining, elegant guestrooms, and exemplary Irish hospitality. Set on 300 acres, the hotel offers a peaceful escape from urban life. The 32 guestrooms, located in the main house and the courtyard, are individually designed and offer a blend of refined comfort and timeless charm. The dining experience unfolds across seven dining rooms, with menus showcasing seasonal produce grown in the walled garden and on the farm, or sourced from trusted local producers, reflecting a strong commitment to long-term sustainability. Guests can enjoy a range of on-site activities, including walks, cycling, tennis, croquet, outdoor swimming, and the woodland sauna. Complimentary daily guided tours explore Ballymaloe’s history, biodiversity, the walled garden, and the wine cellar.
From £305 per night; ballymaloe.ie
