The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Get away from it all in Europe’s hideaway hotels
From the wilds of Norway to the mountains of Greece, Aoife O’Riordain reveals the perfect places to seek out remoteness and reconnect with nature
It goes without saying that the pandemic has made us crave space, different surroundings and new experiences. Seeing what are ordinarily some of the world’s most heavily touristed areas without the crowds has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but the selfie-seekers are already returning to those places – and to their hotels.
Remote hotels offer something more. For a real sense of solitude, seek out the singular; those places that can amplify that longed-for feeling of detachment. With a unique sense of place, a remote hotel can deliver that hard-to-pin-down sense of a true escape, the chance to immerse ourselves in nature and experience a completely different scene.
The under-the-radar and off-the-beaten-track have never been more enticing, whether we are talking about a lonely lighthouse off the western coast of Sweden, the chance to reset body and mind at a wellness retreat in a flower-filled Bavarian valley, or finally taking the plunge into the crystalline waters of the Adriatic on a still-balmy autumn afternoon. You don’t need to travel halfway around the world to experience this feeling of escape, as there are many hidden havens in the midst of some of Europe’s most beautiful landscapes, from mountain to valley and coast to country – and you will find 15 of the best overleaf.
There is the chance to experience the elemental rawness of the Icelandic wilderness, or appreciate bountiful raw materials and local cuisine under the guiding hand of a lauded, three-Michelinstarred chef eager to reframe the simple pleasures of his native Swiss table for a new audience.
The common thread connecting these properties, at one with their natural surroundings, is that they all tap into a shared need to seek out quieter, more intimate moments away from the crowds. It could be just slowing down and taking the time to sit fireside and watch the sparks dance up into the inky Norwegian sky, a hike through a deserted valley in the Portuguese mountains, or simply breathing in the salty tang of Atlantic air on the western edge of Ireland. A true feeling of remoteness is not just about geography, it is also a state of mind – and all of these hotels will deliver that in spades.
CASA DE SAO LOURENÇO
Portugal
The views of the mountains and valleys dissolving into the horizon are just one of the draws of the Casa de Sao Lourenço, which perches at over 4,000ft in the Serra da Estrela National Park, one of Portugal’s less touristy regions. This 1940s pousada has been given a thoughtful makeover to create its 21 rooms and communal spaces. There is custom-made furniture and woollen fabrics woven at the local mill, also rescued by the hotel’s owners, as well as a spa, pool and more than 155 miles of trails to hike and bike from the hotel’s doorstep.
Doubles from £145 including breakfast (00351 275 249 730; casadesaolourenco.pt)
TORFHUS RETREAT
Iceland
With emerald-green turf roofs, the deceptively simple-looking log cabins that house Torfhus’s 25 rooms resemble an Icelandic Viking farm. Each one comes with its own basalt hot pool fed by Iceland’s famed geothermal waters. Snorkelling between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates at Silfra is just one novel activity, but at this time of year, guests can look skywards to glimpse the otherworldly northern lights.
Doubles from £510 including breakfast (00354 788 8868; torfhus.is)
GRAND FOREST METSOVO
Greece
Greece’s northwestern corner, a rugged wilderness dominated by the Pindus mountain range and roamed by brown bears and wolves, is one of the least visited parts of the country’s mainland. This is where you will find the Grand Forest Metsovo, set atop a
private mountain and surrounded by swishing black pine trees. Bike to the nearby Aoos Springs Lake, drink in the views from the infinity pool, hike the trails and go hunting with resident expert Katerina Nola for truffles, which are then cooked for lunch by a river.
Doubles from €140 (0030 265 60 290014; grand-forest.gr)
STORFJORD HOTEL
Norway
Storfjord Hotel feels like another universe, cradled in a secluded spot on the coast beyond Alesund, where forest and fjord mingle to spectacular effect. With just 30 rooms, it is rustic and relaxed with a back-to-nature vibe. Explore the jaw-slackening coastal landscape by kayak, boat, helicopter, on foot or by bicycle. There is also fishing and a wellness centre with the obligatory sauna, while a visit to a farm in nearby Glomset to learn about the local cuisine is a must-do, as is an aperitif in the hotel’s tepee in the woods.
Doubles from £152 including breakfast (0047 7027 49 22; storfjordhotel.com)
INIS MEAIN RESTAURANT & SUITES
Ireland
Inis Meain Restaurant & Suites teeters at the edge of Europe, set on one of the three Aran Islands surrounded by the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean in Galway Bay – even getting there feels like an adventure. The look of this single-storey hotel with five suites and a restaurant echoes the vernacular architecture and dry limestone walls that criss-cross the island’s interior. The views are mesmerising and Ruairi de Blacam’s superlative cooking is firmly rooted in the seasons and surrounding locale with freshly landed seafood and garden-grown vegetables.
Doubles from £460 including transfers, breakfast and lunch, minimum two-night stay (inismeain.com)
VILLA NAI 3.3
Croatia
Built into the slopes of a 500-year-old olive grove, the recently opened Villa Nai 3.3 feels secret and secluded, with just five rooms and three suites. It is the most luxurious place to stay on Dugi Otok, an island of empty beaches and virtually no crowds on the Dalmatian coast. The lapis-blue waters of the Adriatic stay warm well into October, while guests can roll up their sleeves for the annual olive harvest, which takes place on the property in late September and October.
Doubles from £614, not including breakfast (00385 591 300 5625; villanai.com)
PATER NOSTER LIGHTHOUSE
Sweden
The wave-bashed Pater Noster Lighthouse has been guiding seafarers to safety for centuries, but now offers the kind of comfort that lighthouse-keepers of old could only have dreamed of. This lonely outpost in an archipelago off the west coast of Sweden has been transformed into a nine-bedroom hotel whose decor is shot through with a serious dose of style. Settings don’t come any more spectacular than the tiny, windblown and wild Hamneskar island, with mesmerising waves and endless horizons of the North Sea. Climb the 105ft lighthouse for far-reaching views and savour the splendid isolation a stay here brings – there’s even a luxurious Dux bed for a night under the stars. Doubles from £520, full board (0046 73 324 7704; paternoster.se)
SAN LUIS HOTEL
Italy
You would never guess what lies beyond the unassuming gates when you arrive at the entrance to the San Luis Hotel, set high in the Avelengo Plateau in the Italian South Tyrol. What greets guests is a charming cluster of chalets and treehouses, surrounded by an Alpine meadow and forest around a glacier mint-clear lake, with views of the Dolomites’ jagged peaks beyond. The look here is rustic yet refined, with wooden chalets at the water’s edge and treehouses poking up through the spruce and larch forest. Days here mean luxuriating in the tranquil surroundings, eating and hiking the myriad mountain trails.
Doubles from £563 full board, minimum three-night stay (0039 0473 279 570; sanluis-hotel.com)
LE REFUGE DE SOLAISE
France
You will need a head for heights at France’s loftiest hotel, Le Refuge de Solaise, accessible only by cable car from Val d’Isere. At a dizzying elevation of 8,370ft, this disused cable car station was transformed into a high-altitude hostelry with 34 rooms, apartments and a stylish dormitory sleeping up to 14, two restaurants and a spa with an indoor swimming pool. When the lifts shut for the evening, guests have the sunrise and sunsets over the Alpine peaks all to themselves and in ski season, the privilege of being one of the first on the slopes.
Doubles from £367 including breakfast (0033 4 588 300 90; lerefuge-valdisere.com)
LA DONAIRA
Spain
Guests arriving at La Donaira, surrounded by 1,700 acres of Andalucian countryside, have to leave their car in the village of El Gastor and are taken by shuttle for the remaining three miles. The vast estate is a tableau of fields, olive groves, oak forest, vineyards and orchards and is also home to 70 Lusitano horses. Seven boho-chic bedrooms and two yurts are framed by fragrant gardens. Dinners are conducted familystyle, there is yoga, meditation, a natural swimming pool and guests can tour the farm, explore on horseback, on foot or by bike but rarely stray beyond its boundaries.
Doubles from £614, all inclusive (0034 680 654 454; ladonaira.com)
HOTEL BLAESENBORG
Denmark
The privately owned, 380-acre island of Vejro, in the waters of Smalandsfarvand, is the backdrop for the 11-room Hotel Blaesenborg. The island has a resolutely sustainable slant, generating its own electricity and meeting its own water and heating needs. Most of the land is given over to organic farming and the Skipperly restaurant, which doubles up as Verjo’s farm shop and bar, also promotes the farm-to-table ethos. Doubles from £275 including breakfast (0045 632 05920; vejro.dk)
MEZI PLUTKY Czech Republic
The Moravian-Silesian region to the east of the Czech Republic is a bucolic landscape of forests, wild flower meadows and valleys in the dramatic shadow of the Beskydy Mountains. “Mezi plutky” comes from the Czech for “between the fences” and you will know you have slipped somewhere special, such is the sense of tranquillity at this 200-year-old farmhouse with four
rooms just outside the village of Celadna. Lovingly restored by its architect owners, contemporary pieces of furniture sit alongside ancient beams to give a feeling of quiet luxury.
Doubles from £133 including breakfast (00 420 606 924 232; meziplutky.cz)
DAS KRANZBACH
Germany
The only way to get to Das Kranzbach is via a private toll road that wends its way through a steep valley in the Bavarian Alps. The Arts and Crafts house has a romantic setting in the middle of a meadow with views of Germany’s highest peak, the Zugspitze. Wellness is now the buzzword at this adults-only retreat with a large contemporary spa and endless outdoor activities, including a yoga platform in the forest and a meditation house set in a spruce grove designed by celebrated architect Kengo Kuma. Doubles from £367 per night, half board (0049 88 239 280 00; daskranzbach.de)
VILA PLANINKA
Slovenia
The lighthouse keepers of old could only have dreamed of this kind of comfort
Slovenia is arguably one of Europe’s most underrated scenic show-stoppers and it’s all about the views at Vila Planinka, in the Jezersko Valley close to the border with Austria. With just 23 rooms, there’s a sophisticated mountain vibe – think strings of light bulbs festooning outdoor spaces and blazing fires indoors. Go back to basics hiking forest trails and discovering the emeraldgreen lakes and sheep-dotted pastures of this under-the-radar region.
Doubles from £221 including breakfast (00386 425 59754; vilaplaninka.com)
CASA CAMINADA
Switzerland
The fairy-tale castle of Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau, an out-of-the-way spot in Graubüden and officially the smallest city in the world, is firmly on the foodie map thanks to its three Michelin-starred restaurant displaying the stellar skills of chef Andreas Caminada. His most recent venture, Casa Caminada, is a simpler affair but equally worth the trip. This 10-room inn, set in tastefully transformed stable buildings opposite the castle, now houses a bakery, shop and more casual restaurant whose concept is rooted in the Swiss culinary traditions of its Grisons locale with dishes such as dumplings called “capuns” and dried pear ravioli.
Doubles from £157 including breakfast (0041 816 32 3050; casacaminada.com)
Aoife O’Riordain
Overseas travel is currently subject to restrictions. See page 5