Hotel Rooms With Charm, Off the Radar

Aix-en-Provence, France
La Maison d'Aix

This four-room hideaway is the kind you might wish for in every tourist-worthy town. Though it is in the heart of the historic center, it is small enough to feel as if you are at a chic friend's home. Its rooms, impeccably designed by the owner, the architect Laura Juhen, feature comfortable soaking tubs, huge windows, and interiors that are the perfect mix of contemporary and Provençal. Step outside your door and you'll find amenities like a hammam, hot tub and small spa in the former wine cellar. And add in the quintessential French breakfast: freshly baked bread and delicate croissants, perfectly ripe fruit, local cheese, daily squeezed juice and a café au lait. The honor code policy only adds to the feeling of being left alone — in the very best way — but being pampered, too. Doubles from 320 euros, or $400 at $1.26 to the euro; 25, rue du 4 Septembre, (33-4) 42-53-78-95, lamaisondaix.com. ONDINE COHANE

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Das Kranzbach

Perched over a private toll road originally created for King Ludwig II's royal hunting lodge, this 131-room complex is surrounded by thick pine forests just outside the popular Bavarian Alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The property, centered around a British Arts and Crafts-style stone mansion built during the turn of the 20th century by a British heiress for her artist friends, has gotten new life in the last five years, with several new buildings. Now it is a contemporary spa retreat with interiors by the British designer Ilse Crawford, who incorporated a provocative mix of Dutch design furniture with Studio Job papier-mâché chandeliers, floating George Nelson lanterns, silver patterned wallpaper and purple velvet armchairs. But wherever you might be — eating dinner in the welcoming restaurant or getting cozy in the hotel's stand-alone treehouse suite — you never lose sight of your natural surroundings. Almost every room has enormous windows with the awesome view of the encircling jagged peaks of the nearby mountains. Double rooms start at 136 euros a person, including breakfast, light lunch, tea and dinner; (49-8823) 928-000, daskranzbach.de. GISELA WILLIAMS

Istanbul
Witt

When the former investment banker Tuncel Toprak dreamed up this passion project more than five years ago, he smartly turned to another local upstart, the innovative design team Autoban, for design expertise. The team created 18 loftlike contemporary suites with kitchenettes using a bold global palette of materials: bathrooms of gray Italian marble, walls of mirrored French tile and laser-cut floral motif headboard panels. Just as chic as the interiors is the hotel's location: far from the tourist crowds in the cozy neighborhood of Cihangir, the West Village of Istanbul. The Witt isn't a hotel or an apartment; it's the cool Istanbul pied-à-terre you've always wanted, with a Turkish breakfast spread and casual, friendly service included. And if you book one of the back suites on the top two floors, you'll also have a mesmerizing view of minarets and the Bosporus. Rates are from 169 to 389 euros; Defterdar Yokusu No. 26, (90-212) 293-1500, wittistanbul.com. GISELA WILLIAMS

London
Number Sixteen

The Firmdale group, helmed by its owners, the designers Kit and Tim Kemp, is known for the luxury service and upscale amenities that its properties (like the Covent Garden, also in London, and Crosby Street in New York) all have in common. But Number Sixteen represents a different sort of British hospitality, a more discreet, cozy and make-yourself-at-home kind, with an honesty bar, tree-filled garden and roaring fireplace in the chic but comfortable drawing room. The rooms are charming, linked through three landmark Victorian town houses with exemplary beds. That it is set in South Kensington, a chic neighborhood with a mix of residences and shops and close to many museums adds to the appeal. Doubles from £185, or $292 at $1.58 to the pound; 16 Sumner Place, (44-207) 589-5232, firmdalehotels.com. ONDINE COHANE

Malmagen, Sweden
Fjallnas

In 1882 an intrepid entrepreneur, Jonas Aslund, built Fjallnas, one of Sweden's first mountain hotels. It soon became the wilderness retreat of choice for Sweden's and Norway's royal circle, but over the years sank into disrepair and neglect. Now, another entrepreneur, the former financier Lars Bertmar and his wife, Christina, have reinvented the resort for a new generation using a team of architects and talents that include the Iranian-born interior designer Shideh Shaygan. The result is a balance of rustic and luxury. Old folk-style buildings now have clean, modern interiors, and the lodge — an expansive wood barnlike building — looks like something out of a Wes Anderson film, with a menacing stuffed bear at the entrance, lots of old books in the library and a restaurant lined with windows that look out on the picture-perfect mountain lake rimmed with old crooked trees. The interiors — with details like Missoni towels, arrangements of vintage ceramic vases in the rooms, natural wood saunas at the spa — reflect the sensibility. It's the ideal retreat to return to after the long hikes, dog sledding adventures or cross-country skiing trips at this end-of-the-world destination in the wild Swedish highlands. Rates start at 325 euros a night, including breakfast and a daily guided mountain excursion; (46-684) 23030, fjallnasreserve.com. GISELA WILLIAMS

Oletta, Corsica
U Palazzu Serenu

Much like Corsica itself, this secluded nine-room property above the Gulf of St. Florent remains a well-kept insider's secret. It is also clearly a labor of love. The owner, the former rose magnate Georges Barthes, filled it with art from the likes of Anish Kapoor, and well-thought-out design details like huge beds with soft linens, pale stone bathrooms with large tubs and plenty of counter space, and floor-to-ceiling windows, some looking straight to the sea. (Opt for one of the rooms on the second floor.) A destination restaurant that features the seafood for which the island is famous (and an excellent truffle tasting menu in the fall) and a little lap pool are other notable amenities. The resort is a great launchpad for exploring the wild beaches of Cap Corse and the well-known town of St. Florent. Corsica has its share of more formal hotels and farm-style properties, but U Palazzu brings new intimacy and new style to one of the most gorgeous islands in Europe. Doubles from 190 euros; Lieu-dit Paganacce, (33-4) 9538-3939, upalazzuserenu.com. ONDINE COHANE

Puglia, Italy
Il Convento di Santa Maria di Costantinopoli

This former convent turned small retreat defines hidden gem. There is no Web site or local phone number. Its entrance is behind imposing doors in a small Pugliese village. Once you enter the cloistered courtyard, you feel as if you are off the map, in a rarefied world that has its own rhythms. That difference is this place's great charm — it is the kind of intimate and unapologetically eccentric place with real character that is a dying breed in an age of corporate resort chains. The eight-room property is filled with the fine antiques and books of its owners — Alistair McAlpine, the former treasurer of the Conservative party under Margaret Thatcher, and his wife, Athena, who are avid art collectors. The gardens are home to rare plants and cactuses, and breakfast and other meals are based on seasonal and local ingredients, served in an informal but romantic atmosphere. And it is only a short drive to treasures like Lecce and Otranto. Doubles from 350 euros, including breakfast, lunch, wine and laundry service; Via Convento, Marittima di Diso, (44-7736) 362-328. ONDINE COHANE

Zafferana Etnea, Sicily
Monaci delle Terre Nere

The new Monaci delle Terre Nere, whose six rooms are housed in and around a beautiful red villa that was once part of a noble's family's estate, provides views of Mount Etna and the Mediterranean, along with a network of trails crossing 40 acres of organic farmland. These fields are the source of much of its kitchen's delicious ingredients, including its olive oil. The owners, Guido Alessandro Coffa and Ada Calabrese, spent years restoring the place, creating a mix of modern interiors within a 17th-century landmark that is especially striking in the two suites and common areas where you can relax with a glass of wine. And the secluded property makes a great base from which to explore the up-and-coming Etna region, from the red hot wine scene (try the Etna Rosso from Girolamo Russo) to lost-in-time villages to the volcano on Mount Etna itself. Doubles from 160 euros; Via Monaci, 39-095-708-3638, monacidelleterrenere.it. ONDINE COHANE

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Hotel Rooms With Charm, Off the Radar

Dengan url

http://travelwisatawan.blogspot.com/2012/10/hotel-rooms-with-charm-off-radar.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Hotel Rooms With Charm, Off the Radar

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Hotel Rooms With Charm, Off the Radar

sebagai sumbernya