Places to stay
This month, we luxuriate in a world-leading Turkish resort, source the ideal Spanish city break, unwind in a pretty Provencal inn, live like a king in the Cotswolds and dine at a new gourmet retreat
Romance in Provence, contemporary Madrid, and an adult playground in Turkey
Regnum Carya Belek, Turkey A five-star grown-ups’ playground is the best way to describe Regnum Carya, set on the gorgeous Turquoise Coast. It’s been regularly featured in lists as one of the top hotels in the world since it opened in 2014, though perhaps the best indication of its quality are its clients: it hosted the 2015 G20 summit and the huge Turkish Airlines Golf Open is contracted to run there until 2019. Any hotel that can count Barack Obama and Tiger Woods as guests needs to have a certain level of class.
As at any fairground, once you’re through the megalithic gates, you needn’t leave. Whether it’s golf, spa, swimming, high ropes, fitness, wave machines or fooling around in a waterpark that makes your family’s holiday, this one-million-square-metre site has it all. Seven globe-spanning restaurants offer standout incarnations of national cuisines: Ottoman has local grills covered, Tramonto does Italian superbly, Chufang is an Eastern inspiration and Grill Do Brasil marks a fine Latin American churrascaria.
Rooms are outstanding by anyone’s standards, whether you’re an ex-American president or an ex-world champion golfer. The quantity of marble on show rivals the Sistine Chapel, and villas offer private pools, Miele kitchens and minibar stocks that beat most backbars. The best thing? The price. All is included, adding weight to the argument to never leave the resort’s walls. MS. Doubles from £335. 00 90 242 710 3434, regnumhotels.com
Tótem Madrid, Spain If interiors are your bag, be set to swoon over Madrid’s latest boutique hotel. Set in Salamanca, the city’s smartest neighbourhood, it occupies a discreet corner building with 64 rooms and suites set over five floors a few minutes’ walk from quality shops and restaurants. The colour palette is teal, dusky pink and soft yellow, extending into rooms that are flooded with natural light through huge east-facing windows. We’re not ones to bang on about stairwells, but the one here is something special. Anyone familiar with Penrose’s Impossible Staircase will struggle not to take up position in the corner with their camera and attempt to recreate the infinite image.
If you’re like us, the first thing to do on entering a hotel (after examining the linen, robes, slippers and toiletries, of course) is to take a seat at the bar. Crushed pink velvet armchairs line the space, complemented by potted palms that frame the bar and droop lackadaisically, adding to the chilled vibe. Well-made negronis take the edge off any journey, while excellent local wine comes chilled for around £3 a glass.
The hotel restaurant Hermosos y Malditos (the Spanish translation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Beautiful and Damned) will soon become one of the best in the city. While fine jamón Ibérico and manchego come as standard in this part of town, dishes here move things up a gear. Steak tartare with avocado and bone marrow is a delicious take on the classic and sea bass is paired with red cabbage for an interesting match. If you’re planning a city break to the Spanish capital, you’ve just found your base. MS. Doubles from £138. 0800 0482 314, slh.com/totem
HOSTELLERIE DE L’ABBAYE FRANCE
Alain Ducasse’s Provencal outpost was never going to be anything other than the last word in romance, but as you sip a cold pastis on the terrace, the extent of the hotel’s charm will still come as a surprise. Located in the shadow of a 12th-century abbey in the protected village of La Celle, this fine-dining restaurant also has ten rooms. Terracotta tile floors are covered with oriental rugs, while the Lucrèce de Barras Suite boasts a canopied bed. Our room pick is the Etiennette de Sault, which has French doors leading onto a garden with views over rolling lavender fields. Of course, the real draw is the food. Chef Nicolas Pierantoni puts his twist on classic plates, such as gnocchi filled with sweet almond and lemon juice mash. All the ingredients are grown on site or sourced from within 30km of the hotel. As dusk falls, the tables under the cypress trees are lit by lanterns, making a perfect spot for an apéritif. We recommend the La Comtesse, local sparkling wine with peach liqueur and grapefruit juice. IL. Doubles from £215. 00 33 4 9805 1414 abbaye-celle.com
THORNBURY CASTLE GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Stand on the drive of this extraordinary hotel and you’ll think you hear the hooves of ghostly horses echoing through the gatehouse. It was once owned by Henry
VIII and the mounting block where he heaved himself onto his unfortunate steed still stands by the oak door. Feast on modern British plates in what was once
Anne Boleyn’s bedroom, then take a turn around the walled garden with a glass of port before reclining on your four poster. The two-hour tour brings every twist of a thrilling history to life. IL. Doubles from £85. 01454 281 182, thornburycastle.co.uk
Gourmet bolthole
HURLEY HOUSE HOTEL, BERKSHIRE
‘No expense spared’ is the first thought that springs to mind when stepping inside Hurley House Hotel. Open for less than a year, it was built from scratch on the site of a derelict 18th-century pub and slots effortlessly into its sleek Home Counties surroundings.
Leather, granite and oak feature prominently in the bar and dining room, while the ten understated chic bedrooms are decked out with luxurious Lefroy Brooks bathroom fittings, monogrammed 1,000-thread bed linen and more Farrow & Ball than you can shake a paintbrush at.
The drawcard here, though, is chef Michael Chapman’s food. The menu from the former head chef of Michelinstarred Royal Oak at Paley Street is bursting with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. Start with burnt leeks, salt-baked celeriac, Berkswell cheese and foraged mushrooms, or Cornish brown crab with blood orange. Mains are faultless. Berkshire hogget comes with braised shoulder cannelloni, swede and carrots, while the Gressingham duck breast and confit leg croquette with heritage beetroots and hazelnuts will have you scraping the plate. Don’t deny yourself dessert – order the chocolate ganache with feuilletine and peanuts. AD. Doubles from £160. 01628 568 500, hurleyhouse.co.uk