EU hotels that are fit for a celebration
HOTELS on Europe’s festival circuit come in a range of styles, from party-centric to serene retreat. Some even create their own festivals devoted to food, literature or music, and others offer easy access to destination events nearby. The following new, improved or event-staging hotels welcome guests to celebrate.
Salzburg, Austria
Hotel Stein
Music is in the air throughout the year in Salzburg, but especially in summer with the Salzburg Festival, July 20-August 30. Additionally, this year’s Whitsun Festival, held May 18-21, will celebrate composer Gioachino Rossini, who died 150 years ago. On the Salzach River, walking distance to the festival district, the 56-room Hotel Stein has just reopened after a two-year renovation, adding a restaurant to its popular rooftop bar. Although the hotel traces its roots to a 14th-century inn, its new décor mixes modern furniture with Venetian glass lamps and mural-size black and white photography.
Taplow, England
Cliveden House
Built in the 17th century as a gift from the Duke of Buckingham to his mistress, Cliveden House has seen plenty of drama, including the scandalous Profumo Affair in 1961 when a British war secretary became involved with the mistress of a Russian spy. Now operated as a 38-room hotel set on 150 hectares about 50 kilometres west of London, the estate generates its own intrigue, albeit of the bookish kind, with its Cliveden Literary Festival. Held September 29-30, the festival, themed to politics and history, continues the property’s tradition of holding literary salons for visiting writers, including past guests like George Bernard Shaw and Jonathan Swift.
Cabourg, France
Grand Hôtel Cabourg
Cabourg, on the Normandy coast of France, has its own Cannes moment each June with the Film Festival of Cabourg, which is devoted to romantic films. Running June 13-17, the festival, known to draw stars like Marion Cotillard, includes an outdoor venue projecting films at the beach. Between screenings, follow the celebrities to the classic Grand Hôtel Cabourg, a 1907-vintage landmark that hosts interviews with actors. Now part of the heritage- and design-focused MGallery by Sofitel collection, the 74-room hotel offers classes in making the madeleines that inspired Proust.
Mykonos, Greece
Katikies Mykonos
Among the Cyclades Islands in Greece, Mykonos has the reputation as the party place for beach clubs and annual events such as the gay festival Xlsior Mykonos (August 2229). But it’s also an island of religious fervour, displayed most publicly on Assumption Day, August 15, with a festival at the Monastery of Panagia Tourliani. The new Katikies Mykonos straddles both worlds, offering access to the club frenzy nearby and a retreat from it. Opening in June, the 35-room seaside hotel channels the marine world in blue and white décor and keeps the emphasis on the outdoors with two terrace-based restaurants and two swimming pools.
Amsterdam
Conscious Hotel Westerpark
Westergasfabriek combines the green space Westerpark and a former gas works into an indoor-outdoor cultural attraction that stages regular concerts and markets as well as big events like the musical Milkshake Festival ( July 2829). Earlier this spring, the new Conscious Hotel Westerpark opened in a grand building that once served as the plant offices between the factory and the park canal. Solely wind-powered, the sustainably built hotel features 89 spacious rooms, bike rentals and a restaurant with an aquaponic growing system serving organic food. Kildare, Ireland
K Club
The country estate K Club, a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, is its own destination, set on 220 hectares, about a 30-minute drive southwest of Dublin. On August 19, it will launch its first Taste of Kildare Festival. Taking place in its Victorian walled garden, the event will include cooking demonstrations, talks and a market featuring area restaurants. Apart from the festival, the 140-room hotel offers golf on a course that held the 2006 Ryder Cup, as well as falconry, fly fishing and horseback riding.
Urspelt, Luxembourg
Urspelt Castle
Established as a theatre festival in 1953 at the town châteaus, the Festival de Wiltz in the Ardennes region of northern Luxembourg has expanded to include dance, opera and musical performances each July. This year, from June 27-July 30, the lineup includes the Australian circus company Gravity & Other Myths, the singer Melody Gardot and the opera Don Quichotte. A 15minute drive from the festival grounds, the newly expanded Urspelt Castle offers 56 rooms, a spa and outdoor swimming pool in the Natural Park of Our, a rural region that is home to castles and hiking trails.
Sines, Portugal
The Nomad Pop-Up Hotel
Electronic, rap and hip-hop music fans will gather at Meo Sudoeste, August 7-11, in Zambujeira do Mar, a coastal town in Portugal’s southern Alentejo region. After catching DJs Harwell and Marshmello, and rapper Lil Pump, festivalgoers can crash at the limited-run Nomad Pop-Up Hotel, a temporary riverside tent village with bathroom facilities, including showers and a cellphone charging station. Tents sleep from four to five guests. Some are furnished, glamping style, with beds, tables and outdoor chairs; the cheapest come unfurnished. The mobile camp also pops up at other Portuguese music festivals.