The exterior of the Castillo Hotel Son Vida, compete with turret

In the third part of our luxury travel views column from the Autumn/Winter 2022 issue, LUX’s Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai checks in at the Castillo Hotel Son Vida, Mallorca

On any luxury visit to Mallorca to date, you might have expected to spend your time in a villa or hotel deep in the countryside or on a secluded coastline, or amid some of the most delightful and unique experiences in the world.

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As I arrived at Castillo Hotel Son Vida, it became clear that here was a different luxury experience. The hotel, originally a 13th-century castle, is on a hilltop overlooking the bay and city of Palma. Day or night, the views from its huge terraces are mesmerising and, while the hotel is located at the forest edge, with a large outdoor pool, it is only 10 minutes to Palma itself – more of which, later. The arrival is as grand as you might expect in a development of an original estate once owned by one of the great Mallorcan families. The hall leads to a dining room where paintings depict classical scenes.

A grand dining space at the hotel

My room was everything you might expect in a grand Mediterranean hotel, only bigger. There are excellent hotels on Mediterranean islands where guests can feel constrained by the size of the building and rooms, dictated by a lack of space in the location. This had more of a French Riviera feel. Open the windows and there is a balcony with a view across the terrace to the city below and the bay and mountains beyond. Dinner on the terrace was sea bass baked in salt crust with local vegetables, with some floral sparkling wine from Catalonia – and that view. Almost as impressive was the breakfast, which focused on Mallorcan flatbreads and local jams.

The huge main terrace, which overlooks the bay

You could spend your visit lazing by the pool, playing golf next door (this is one of the best courses in Spain) and enjoying the tranquillity (the hotel is 16+). But it would be a shame not to take advantage of the unique location and visit Palma itself. I combined a walk around the quite magnificent and recently refurbished cathedral with tapas in the old town and an after-dinner drink in the Santa Catalina area, just as it was getting lively. In revitalising Palma, the authorities are driving a far more upmarket type of tourism than is associated with some of the island’s beach resorts. Palma’s old town is all about gastronomy and sitting on terraces enjoying an Aperol spritz or a glass of Mallorcan
white wine. It felt like discovering Barcelona’s little sister.

Read more: Luxury Travel Views: Four Seasons Napa Valley, California

At evening’s end it’s just 10 minutes by taxi back to Son Vida, where you can decide whether to chill amid medieval surroundings next day, take another excursion into town or visit a beach. That, and the pleasantly high standards offered by this Luxury Collection hotel, make it very much a destination as Mallorca becomes a haven for upscale travellers.

Find out more: marriott.com/pmilc-castillo-hotel-son-vida

This article first appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2022/23 issue of LUX

The Lygon Arms in the Cotswolds dates back to 14th century

A couple of unspoilt Cotswolds rural idylls from the 14th and 17th centuries, a rare luxury hotel in Champagne with a touch of the contemporary, and the best place to stay in medieval Heidelberg, LUX recommends four historic country hotels to visit post-lockdown

The Lygon Arms, Cotswolds

THE LOCATION

Broadway is a Cotswold village straight out of central casting. This includes the tourists wandering down the exquisite High Street lined with low buildings of local stone, with the Cotswold Hills rising beyond. The colour palette of nature and history is a perfect sand yellow/deep English green.

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THE ARRIVAL

The Lygon Arms looks like a combination of coaching inn and hotel. You expect a ruddy-faced local, fresh out of the local country estate, to appear and help you with your bags, and that is exactly what we got. Parts of the structure of the hotel date back to the 14th century, and the feeling of a cosy history, lovingly recreated by its current owners, is all around you.

The Lygon Bar and Grill

THE STAY

Our room, the Charles I suite with a four-poster bed, was swathed in Tudor dark wood. We ate dinner in the courtyard at the Lygon Bar and Grill: the grilled chicken with chestnut mushrooms and tarragon was highly satisfying. The achievement of The Lygon Arms? To offer true history, nicely updated with casual contemporary service and simple high-quality food.

ANYTHING ELSE?

A 20-minute walk from the end of the High Street and up a hillside takes you to the Broadway Tower, from where you can view the invading Welsh armies swarming across the Severn River Valley. Behind the tower stretch the sweeping green uplands of the Cotswolds proper, with exquisite nature walks.

Book your stay: lygonarmshotel.co.uk

Le25bis is the first of its kind in Épernay

Le 25bis by Leclerc Briant, Champagne

THE LOCATION

It’s long been a matter of bemusement that you can spend your day being serenaded by a major champagne house in Épernay and then find yourself in a disappointing, generic hotel. Le 25bis, owned by a champagne house and refurbished in a luxurious modern style, promises to change that.

Read more: Driving from Alsace-Lorraine to Lake Constance

THE ARRIVAL

There is nothing quite like driving along the avenue de Champagne which radiates from the town centre. Le 25bis is fronted by a delightful courtyard with a few tables and as you walk to the reception desk, you walk past a couple enjoying a champagne tasting, a perfect scene setter.

THE STAY

Le 25bis belongs to a well regarded boutique champagne house, Leclerc-Briant, which has a shop at the front of the house. After a long day of visiting champagne houses, there’s nothing quite like tasting the champagne made by your hotel. There are only five rooms, which are huge and have clearly been refurbished with little regard for budget, with pale contemporary furnishings with antique twists, aesthetic floral arrangements, intricate wallpapers and beautiful vintage-style (but very modern) bathrooms.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Make time to visit the Leclerc Briant house itself, and when buying from the shop at the hotel (our preferred cuvée was the eponymous entry-level cuvée, and the rosé was also delicious) make sure you buy in magnum. It is always better.

Book your stay: le25bis.com

Lords of the Manor is located in Upper Slaughter, a pretty hamlet in the Cotswolds

Lords of the Manor, Cotswolds

THE LOCATION

If The Lygon Arms is in the low Cotswolds, Lords of the Manor is in the high Cotswolds. To get there, you wind slowly through Lower Slaughter (probably Britain’s prettiest village, and that’s saying something), past an estate and into the hamlet of Upper Slaughter. Down a drive, there is a manor house with gardens dropping to a lake, and meadows and woods beyond. This view hasn’t changed much since Shakespeare’s time.

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THE ARRIVAL

Walking into the wood-lined great hall feels like arriving at a friend’s country house. You are taken to your room up a suitably creaking staircase. Ours looked out over the drive, lawn and lake, and was decorated in lavish country house style. All around was silence.

The bar at Lords of the Manor

THE STAY

Crunching through the grounds you feel like there is nothing more you would need from your English country estate. A walk across a little wooden bridge leads to a path alongside a stream taking you to Lower Slaughter, where you can slake the thirst in an inn. The dining experience at Lords of the Manor is very proper and British: venison and foie gras pithivier with creamed butternut squash and brandy sauce.

ANYTHING ELSE?

You could explore the many sites of this glorious region, but we wager you’ll stroll from the hotel on the secluded walks, and chill out on the hotel’s terrace with a glass of champagne, looking at the grounds, and do nothing else.

Book your stay: lordsofthemanor.com

Grand Hotel Europäischer Hof is Heidelberg’s only five-star hotel

Grand Hotel Europäischer Hof, Heidelberg

THE LOCATION

Heidelberg, one of the world’s oldest university towns, lies at the edge of the Rhine river plain at the point at which it rises up sharply into the mountains of the northern Black Forest. It’s one of Europe’s prettiest towns, and also infused with a feeling of intellectual history – and current intellectual power.

Read more: How Hublot’s collaborations are changing the face of luxury

THE ARRIVAL

The hotel, the city’s only five-star property, is located on the edge of the old town, making it easy to get to when arriving by car or train. The family-owned luxury property is big and relatively modern. You turn into a grand driveway and are greeted by a uniformed doorman, and taken up some steps into the reception hall that leads to a jazz bar on the left and around the corner into a U-shape into a formal restaurant, the Kurfürstenstube.

THE STAY

The hotel is grand and generously proportioned, as was our Executive Suite, which was light and airy with high ceilings, baroque-style furnishing in creams and beiges and rustic golds. While parts of the hotel are old, much of it has been built recently, including the large spa area. You will inevitably use the hotel as a base for visiting Heidelberg and beyond.

ANYTHING ELSE?

The hotel’s delightful concierge’s recommendations are now ours: the Kulturbrauerei, a centuries-old dining hallcum-beer hall with hearty, meaty cuisine and its own beer; and a walk down from the Königstuhl mountain, reached by a funicular.

Book your stay: europaeischerhof.com

Note: All reviews were carried out prior to the global lockdown

This article was originally published in the Summer 2020 Issue.

Sea Nettle jelly fish might appear calm and graceful, but their tentacles are covered in stinging cells used for hunting. Image: screenshot from Monterey Bay Aquarium’s live jelly cam

We’ve found a new form of meditation: watching the graceful drift of Monterey Bay Aquarium’s jelly fish via a live underwater cam

Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California is a non-profit aquarium famous for its conservation efforts and protection of rare marine animals. Like most places, the aquarium is currently closed to the public, but thankfully, the live cams are still up and running, giving isolated audiences across the globe a real-time view of their underwater environments, resident sharks, penguins, birds and jelly fish.

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Image: screenshot from Monterey Bay Aquarium’s live jelly cam

Our personal favourite is the live stream of the sea nettle jellies, whose bodies expand and drift mesmerisingly through the water to a soundtrack of ambient music. We recommend tuning in daily (via YouTube) as a form of easy relaxation. If you’re looking for a more structured meditation, the aquarium also offers a variety of guided videos featuring the moon jellies, kelp forest and open sea.

Watch this space: our upcoming Summer Issue features an interview with Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Executive Director and conservation legend Julie Packard. 

Find out more: montereybayaquarium.org

Photograph by Mattia Aquila

Launching our new insider guide feature, Italian designer Alberta Ferretti reveals her favourite spots in her hometown Cattolica – as well as a few from further afield. 

My favourite view…

The view of the sea from my town, especially from above, gives me energy; it recharges, relaxes and regenerates me. Gazing at the horizon leaves me with a sense of freedom, which inspires me to follow my imagination. Living in a city by the sea gives me a freedom of thought, an openness to travelling and visiting other places, observing and studying other cultures. From this, my collections are born, the sense of lightness that I bring to my fashion: the lines and volume of the clothing, as well as the colours and fabrics.

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Dining spots to die for…

Wherever there is an open terrace overlooking a beautiful landscape: at the sea, in the mountains, in the city. The terrace of the Gente di Mare restaurant in Cattolica, where you can watch the bay. The tables in front of the large windows of the Hakkasan restaurant in Shanghai, when the Bund shines with sensual lighting.

Where I escape to…

San Bartolo Nature Park [just south of Cattolica].

I am at one with nature in…

My home! I am fortunate to live in a house built in a mature park. Our relationship with nature
is fundamental and I get to experience it daily. Every season changes the shapes, the colours, the smells – from the flowering of the trees and the lawn to the movement of the animals that populate it. For me they are sounds and images that mark time as a melody and make it an enchanted place. New York’s Central Park also fascinates me with its many private corners with wonderful villas and shelters.

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The perfect weekend brunch is…

Wherever there are my favourite local dishes, such us tagliolini with cuttlefish ink salmon and cream of ricotta acidified with lime.

Worth a detour…

Montegridolfo, a small village in the mountains nearby, with a palace that I renovated together with my brother Massimo in the 1990s. The village has a lot of history.

LUX met Alberta Ferretti during the presentation of her Resort 2020 collection at Monte Carlo Fashion Week. View the brand’s collections: albertaferretti.com

This article was originally published in the Autumn 19 Issue.

The Abama overlooks the volcanic island of Gomera

LUX steps into a different universe of tranquillity, colour and cuisine at The Ritz-Carlton Abama resort in Tenerife, a short hop from western Europe

Stepping out of your room into a kaleidoscope washed by warm salty air is a delicious feeling. The kaleidoscope was the lavishly planted sea of flowers in multilayered, terraced tropical gardens around the villa where we were staying. A short stroll along the path took us past even more plants, trees and flowers of every conceivable colour, which rose first past several organically shaped pools and then onto the terrace where breakfast was served.

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The Ritz-Carlton Abama is located on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean and a volcanic island opposite. During breakfast time, this island was always covered in a mysterious, horror-movie murk, almost indistinguishable from the light-blue sky around it. The sun rises slowly in equatorial zones, and even though the morning air had a hint of chill in it, due to the coldness of the sea currents, we were indeed in an equatorial zone off the coast of Africa. The Canary Islands may have become host, in part, to unglamorous mass tourism recently, but they first came into Western awareness as a hive of distinctive species and ecosystems.

The villas are set in lush gardens

The days soon took on a familiar rhythm. Adjacent to the breakfast terrace, a 50-metre pool, curvaceous and irregular, is boarded by rows of sun lounges with a view down over the gardens to the sea. As the sun became stronger, we moved down to the beach, where a seafood and grill restaurant was washed by calling breezes and salty air. There is cliff jumping from either side of the bay where the long, sandy beach is located, and in the next bay you can jump from black volcanic rock to black volcanic rock admiring great schools of crabs, blue and orange, living in the twilight zone beneath them, between land and ocean.

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Swimming in the clear sea, sheltered by a breakwater, involved being accompanied by fish – sometimes individuals, sometimes in shoals, occasionally monochrome, usually in an array of colours to match and even outdo their plant-based counterparts on land, with fluorescent blues and oranges all the vogue.

If we had not had the energy in the morning, an early-evening game at the tennis centre based around perfect clay courts next to the (celebrated) golf course was a way of adding to the exercise quotient, before either moving to one of the restaurants, or dining on room service on our own terrace overlooking treetops, banana plantations, the ocean and the volcanic island of Gomera. In the evening, this was lit up in pinks and greens, and strung by lights from its occasional roads, just visible from our vantage point 20 miles away across the water.

Abama’s main pool – one of seven at the resort

Fine dining is not often associated with the Canary Islands, something the original creators of Abama sought to change when building this resort. Unusually for an island in the Atlantic, 1,000 miles from the southern tip of Spain, it has Michelin-starred restaurants and an array of other dining spots with specialised cuisines and, often, spectacular views.

The most notable is Kabuki, a Japanese restaurant high above the resort and the 18- hole championship golf course. The whole resort is built on a steep volcanic slope, meaning the view down from Kabuki to the gardens, plantations, swimming pools and the sea is particularly captivating at dusk. Aperitifs are served on the terrace, and inside, the restaurant serves a celebrated blend of local and Japanese cuisine. The flame-seared fish nigiri is easily the most memorable thing on the menu.

At the other end of the resort, although by no means at the other end of the scale, El Mirador is an eagle’s nest atop cliffs that plunge down to the ocean. From the tables you can hear the sea crashing against the rocks far below and smell the ocean spray. Appropriately, El Mirador serves grilled fish and seafood, and is also celebrated for Spanish cuisine from a different part of the country: black rice paella. Like a number of the restaurants in the resort, it also serves a mean bowl of Canarian potatoes, which maximise on intense, nutty taste, accompanied by red and green chilli sauces.

The kitchen and terrace at El Mirado

The cascade of colours at sunset at El Mirador is a match for any oceanside location in the world, and a fitting end to a day that began with the kaleidoscope of flowers outside the villas. The villas themselves are the most secluded category of accommodation in a resort that is bigger than it may seem, so well blended is it with its natural context. We had a seaview suite, including a large living room, huge bedroom and two balconies, which should be plenty for any couple. It can be combined with an adjoining (equally large) bedroom for a family area big enough to match many people’s homes. Interior décor is all cool stone and tiles, with equally large bathrooms to match. And that fabulous morning cascade of colour as soon as you draw the curtain, or open the door.

One-bedroom suites in villas at The Ritz-Carlton Abama Tenerife start from €615, plus tax. Find out more: ritzcarlton.com/abama

This article was originally published in the Autumn 19 Issue.

The impressive facade of The Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath

English country house hotels are wonderful, but it can be a challenge to get to them from the capital; and they can be teeming with families at weekends. LUX Managing Editor Serena Hamilton experiences the best of both worlds with a midweek break to the Royal Crescent, a hotel in the historic city of Bath with a country feel – and just over an hour in a first class carriage from London’s Paddington Station (and the Heathrow Express train)

Finding a hotel that’s not a million miles from London for a mid-week break isn’t as easy you’d think. Whilst there are a lot of beautiful hotels in the UK, many of them are hidden deep in the countryside so that when you arrive at the train station you still have to travel to get there, which is a big deal when you’re only going away for a couple of nights.

The Taittinger Spa Garden is just one of the few outdoor relaxation spaces at the hotel

The Royal Crescent is located right in the heart of Bath – from door to door it took us just over two hours. Spread across two tall, columned Georgian townhouses, the hotel is immediately striking and hides a beautiful, pristine garden dotted with statues and benches tucked into secluded corners – perfect for long, lazy afternoons reading in the low dappled sunlight. The buildings themselves are steeped in history and much has been done to preserve the ancient grandeur; think sweeping staircases, classical busts, antique furnishings, chandeliers, and exquisite oil paintings.

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We stayed in one of the spacious Master Bedrooms which featured a huge marble bathroom, and its own elegantly decorated living area, which was especially useful as we needed to do some work, but with staggering views over the city, it was a very pleasant and relaxing place to do so. We loved the bright interiors, which felt decadent and luxurious without being stuffy or overdone.

The award-winning Dower House Restaurant

Dinner at The Dower House restaurant was a real treat with tables overlooking the leafy gardens or the choice to dine alfresco on warm evenings.The roasted stone bass with crispy wild mushroom, confit pink fir, brown shrimp, pistachio paste and crumb comes highly recommended as does the slow cooked duck egg to start. We were very impressed by the charming sommelier Jean-Marc Leitao who expertly guided us through the wine list. The Montagu Bar also serves food and has a lovely laid-back atmosphere. Perhaps seduced by the nostalgia of the surrounding old-age glamour, we chose prawn cocktail as one of our small plates, which turned out to be one of our favourite dishes during the stay.

Read more: andBeyond CEO Joss Kent on creating luxury in the wilderness

The Relaxation Pool at The Spa & Bathhouse

The Spa & Bath House is one of the hotel’s big draws. Located opposite the main hotel, across the courtyard and gardens, it feels like an escape its own right. The main communal area includes a  12-metre indoor relaxation pool, a vitality pool with massage jets, sauna and steam room. The Royal Crescent Signature Spa Treatment, known as the ‘Hero’, was a real highlight targeting the back, face and scalp. Afterwards, guests tend to relax in the tranquil Taittinger Spa Garden where you can order drinks, snacks, afternoon tea and of course, champagne.

Whilst the hotel is extremely conveniently located – a short walk from most of the heritage sites and shopping areas – it still manages to feel secluded and serene. We returned to London, after only two nights, feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and better equipped for the week ahead.

Rates start from £330 per night (approx. $450/ €400). Book your mid-week getaway: royalcrescent.co.uk