La Valise Tulum, Mexico
LMOST razed to the ground in a fire in 2020, this 11-room boutique in the former fishing village of Tulum has risen from the ashes looking better than ever. Lapped by azure Caribbean water on Mexico’s Riviera Maya, it’s perfect for modern castaways reluctant to part with their creature comforts, but content to roam barefoot to breakfast. The heartbeat is an open-sided sitting room, dressed with biscuit-hued sofas, potted plants and distressed copper coffee tables laden with leatherbound tomes.
Despite the hotel’s raw beauty (you can walk straight off the beach into the dining room), nothing has been left to chance. The interior design and accessories have been lovingly curated by designer Roberto Ayala —the visionary behind La Valise’s three sister properties. There’s a sense of place, especially in my 1,000sq ft master suite, constructed out of indigenous materials and topped by a soaring, 23ft-high palapa roof. The outdoor shower is stuccoed with resin tapped from the native chukum tree; floors swathed in locally made woven rugs. A wicker bench is bookended by two wicker jaguar heads—the animal was worshipped by the Aztecs and Mayans for its hunting prowess and temples were built in its honour.
Spend your days lounging under the Mexican sun on squishy daybeds and tasselled hammocks, listening to the tinkling sounds of the numerous water features and surrounding bird life. Sarah Freeman From £503 per night, including breakfast (00 13 05 999 1540; www.lavalisetulum. com)
JUVET might feel remote—think valleys, big rivers, vivid green and glassy fjords —but it’s surprisingly accessible, an easy two-hour drive from Alesund Airport. The faint roar of a waterfall greets you on arrival.
The hotel is both a working farm and the latest in experimental accommodation, a century-old barn that has been ingeniously renovated. A hay loft has morphed into a snug, outdoor seating area, the pigsty into a kitchen and the cow byre into a dining and breakfast room with communal tables. I managed to procure a seat next to a charming Norwegian-swedish couple who did their best to educate me on all things Scandi.
Acclaimed Oslo-based architects Jensen & Skodvin designed the gorgeous, sleek, chalet-style bedrooms—seek out room two, which hovers over an ice-blue river. The cosy spa, built into the grassy hillside, offers close-up river views, too. Nature is the best decoration—instead of art, huge, floor-to-ceiling windows look out onto an ever-changing landscape and there’s little in the way of trinkets to distract you.
The best time to visit is late spring, when the rivers swell, the mountain tops are still capped in snow and some flowers are starting to emerge (lupins, dandelions, wild garlic). Early autumn is also attractive and there’s an abundant harvest (pears, plums, pumpkins). The hotel is closed from December to March, but there’s a good mix of activities throughout the rest of the year, including hiking and river rafting. And you must visit Alesund Town—destroyed by fire in 1904 and rebuilt in a remarkably consistent Art Nouveau style. Daniel Pembrey From £160 a night (www.juvet.com). Visit www.visitalesund.com for more information on the wider area. KLM and SAS fly to Alesund from London via other cities; other airlines fly direct to Oslo, a seven-hour drive from the hotel.