The exterior view of Whatley Manor, a luxury hotel located in the Cotswolds
Looking for a short early spring break in Europe? Look no further than these gems: Whatley Manor in Britain’s Cotswolds, the Ca’ del Dio on Venice’s waterfront, and the Westin Valencia, in a historic building in the heart of the city
Whatley Manor
The Cotswolds in England have become the most fashionable country retreat in the world. This is partly because of it’s history and natural beauty, and partly it’s location, which is just far enough from London to feel remote but not so far that you get bored driving there in your Range Rover from your home in Notting Hill.
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The cosy yet decadent lounge reception at Whatley Manor
But the Cotswolds are much more than just the patch of land between Chipping Norton and Broadway, in which the most frequently spotted wildlife has been become art collectors and beauty influencers from West London.
These hills, valleys and forested plateaux actually stretch in an arc southward for 100 miles towards that other emerging fashionable countryside zone of Somerset.
And it is towards the southern sweep of the Cotswolds arc that we find Whatley Manor. Five minute’s drive from the astonishingly lovely town of Malmesbury with its 900 year old abbey, you approach the Manor along an appropriately long driveway surrounded by gardens and fields.
A view of the stately gardens at Whatley Manor
A wooden drawbridge-style door swings open automatically to lead you into a courtyard where you are met by friendly staff unloading your luggage from your two-seater (we recommend Aston Martin or possibly a Morgan) before parking it out of sight at the side.
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This stately house is located on a ridge, and on the other side a pretty formal garden gives way to a field which in turn drops down to a river, with more fields and forests rising on the riverbank.
A bedroom suite at Whatley Manor
Views are enormously important in any countryside experience and we are continually amazed at the number of country hotels that don’t manage to provide one. But you haven’t experienced this properly until you head to the outdoor hydrotherapy pool, situated in a private spa area with its own garden on the valley side of the hotel.
While you get pummelled by water jets on a starry evening, you are treated to a view of planets, stars and the dark outlines of the hillside and valley opposite. This is a truly unique experience and it is worth the visit for this alone.
The spa area also contains a series of rooms of varying temperatures, so you can go from cool to warm to hot and back again: good for the soul, and certainly stimulating an appetite.
The understated and intimate Michelin-star Dining Room at Whatley Manor
On our first night we dined in the Michelin-starred Dining Room restaurant, an excellently crafted experience which began with cocktails and “yesterday’s bread” – an utterly delicious secret concoction – in the big, accommodating lobby bar area. This was followed by a taster in the show kitchen, chatting to the chefs while watching the brigade of fellow members putting together dinner. Then, a tasting menu in which each ingredient shone, while being enhanced by the technique and skill of the chef: a far more subtle feat than just combining ingredients and sauces. This was soft power at its best.
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That kind of food is wasted if you do it every night, and on our second day we stayed in the lobby area and had an equally superb casual meal of grilled fish, steamed vegetables and some superb English wines.
Guests are offered a tasting menu which highlights each ingredient – in this case, rhubarb – while being enhanced by the technique and skill of the chef
Our room looked out onto the beautifully tended gardens, river and woodland: a suite, with a living room and bedroom separated by a bathroom whose windowside bath probably had the best of view of all. The decor is a modern take on traditional – minimalist walls with little decoration, no chintz, no carpets, an extremely high-quality bed as benefits this hotels Swiss ownership, and a feeling of craft throughout. Too minimal? Some might prefer rugs underfoot and more art on the walls, but nobody can doubt the quality of this endeavour.
As new country house hotels have opened in the Cotswolds, so they have become increasingly hectic and crowded due to the region’s popularity. Whatley Manor feels truly grown up, sophisticated, professionally run, and offers a big and beautiful oasis of tranquillity.
The airy lobby of the 5-star Westin Valencia Hotel
Westin Valencia
Can a city break to a vibrant southern European metropolis also be tranquil? It certainly seemed the case arriving at the Westin Valencia. The hotel is built into the stone walls of a former factory, low rise but with significant feeling, beautifully transformed with a light and airy atrium lobby area, and a stunning courtyard studded with orange trees with tables scattered throughout. Get a room facing the courtyard and you are in complete privacy and peace; our room faced outwards and had a big terrace on which you could spend long afternoons sunbathing.
‘Get a room facing the courtyard and you are in complete privacy and peace’
But that would be a shame as there is so much else to do – even within the hotel itself. The award-winning bar, high ceilinged but perfectly lit and atmospheric, is a place to try adventurous cocktails including some legendary creations made with seafood, and also some excellent more traditional drinks – we enjoyed a Negroni and champagne cocktail.
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We find breakfast is often a test of hotels’ gastronomic intentions and ability. Do they simply stick some stuff on a buffet and hope people enjoy it? In the Westin’s case, breakfast is in a big and light high-ceilinged room looking out onto the courtyard where you can eat in the warmer months.
The living room of the Westin Valencia’s Royal Suite
The buffet was vast and plentiful, as you would expect, but also extremely skilfully put together with high-quality ingredients. Freshly sliced and seasoned salmon, avocado that came with its own salad and garnishes rather than simply dumped on a plate, a huge array of bread, fruits, vegetables…
The best of American generosity and service in a beautifully restored historic building in the heart of one of Europe’s most interesting and vibrant cities? You’d better believe it.
The unassuming exterior of Ca’ di Dio hotel, by the Arsenale water bus stop
Ca’ di Dio, Venice
Is there a best location in Venice? The locals and experienced visitors would certainly say so: probably halfway down the grand canal where you have a vista of the stunning palazzo facing you and easy access to all the city’s brilliance.
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But other icons are also available. Most would probably agree that your ideal place to stay needs to be on the water – it’s a little disappointing being in Venice and having a view of the street.
Ca’ di Dio contains hints of its history as a 15th-century monastery
A visitor needs both history and a view, and for us the location of the Ca’ di Dio hotel is quite astonishing. Alight from your water taxi at the Arsenale water bus stop and your Google Maps tells you are right in front of your hotel. Your eyes, however, may wish to differ.
There are no hotel signs or frontages, nothing at all except a beautiful building many hundreds of years old with odd-shaped windows, facing the water. Look a little more closely, though, and you notice a couple of discreet wooden tables outside the doorway. This is indeed Ca’ di Dio, a converted 15th century monastery.
‘A visitor needs both history and a view’
Walk in, and there is nothing remotely monastic about the style and luxury that greets you in the reception area, with its vaulted ceilings and very 21st century contemporary furniture. We were given a quick tour – the bar is in one wing and the two wings are separated by a tranquil and grassy courtyard bordered by one of the hotel’s restaurants, and our room was in the other wing, the original monastery building.
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Our suite had a perfectly round window, like a porthole, through which one could peer at the locals and tourists ambling along the waterfront, by the lagoon, with the view extending to the various churches, palaces and buildings on outlying islands.
‘The suite, despite its ancient providence, is contemporary and chic’
The changing of the view in the different lights of day, dusk and night was mesmerising, as was the way it changed from blue sky and sunshine to a typically Venetian mist one evening. The suite, despite its ancient providence, is contemporary and chic. There was a cocktail bar, a bathroom straight out of the design fair with a freestanding tub and view both sides, out across the lagoon and the back across the courtyard.
Italian breakfasts, even in luxury hotels, can be little disappointing: it’s as if the culture which is so invested in food at lunch and dinner and times in between just views ‘la colazione’ as an opportunity for some espresso, saltless white bread, a piece of fruit and boiled egg.
Horticulture in the gardens of Ca’ di Dio, where herbs and fresh produce are grown
The alternative in some modern luxury hotels is the full American spread which is not exactly local., But this was a tribute to the imagination and determination of the hotel’s chef – more on whom, later. One entire section was given to home-made cakes and pastries, made fresh every day, not just a token selection but a pastry shop worth of chocolate cakes, fruit tarts, and elaborate pastries and everything in between. Loved it.
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The restaurant VERO at Ca’ di Dio is run by Luigi Lionetti, who just won the award for Italy’s greatest chef under 30
But breakfast was just a precursor to dinner – separated of course by a day wandering around Venice. The Dio’s location is refreshing after staying in any hotel crammed in the centre of the narrow laned tourist district. Here, people wander slowly along the wide waterfront towards the Giardini; meanwhile just to one side of the hotel is the access waterway to the grand gates of the Arsenale, once the world’s biggest naval dockyard and the source of the city state’s power hundreds of years ago. You can still feel it now. But back to dinner, which was precursed by a cocktail one of the little tables discreetly placed outside on the promenade.
The restaurant, VERO, is run by Luigi Lionetti, who has just won the award for Italy’s greatest chef under 30. And this was evident in the precision and passion of his cuisine. Lionetti agreed to give us a sneak peek of his kitchen afterwards: certainly, a man on a mission, to judge not just by his creativity and control, but by his age and ambition.
A main meal at the hotel’s restaurant VERO
Ca’ del Dio is an original and hard to classify creation (it opened during the pandemic) on the Venice hotel scene. A stylish, sophisticated, boutique villa, informal and without the weight of the classic luxury hotels, but just as chic, and big enough to have two restaurants, a big courtyard and the sense of being operated by a professional group. The only problem is we think it’s going to be booked out months in advance during the summer and attractions like architecture and art biennale. Book now to avoid disappointment.
