Why would you go on holiday just to feel like you are at home? It’s a reasonable question, yet an increasing number of stressed-out travellers are seeking out places to stay that are undoubtedly sleek but manage to evoke that warm, comforting feeling of being at home – the stillness, the privacy, an atmosphere that encourages you to spread out, find a quiet corner or wander into the kitchen and help yourself to treats from the fridge. Hotels are plugging into this trend by focusing on cosy common areas, connecting with their building’s history or even doing away with traditional payment methods. Here, we round up hotels that capture that elusive feeling of total relaxation, from a quietly elegant riad in Marrakech to a deluxe one-room concept hotel in Tokyo. It’s time to make yourself at home.
Ett Hem
Stockholm, Sweden
Ett Hem translates as ‘a home’ and everything about this stylish townhouse is designed to encourage guests to relax, from the hotel’s bespoke scent that greets you on arrival to the cosy Ilse Crawford-designed common areas, which are full of inviting velvet sofas with books and magazines artfully strewn about. The kitchen is the heart and soul of the place and feels like a cosy country home, complete with a rustic wooden communal table, a freshly baked sponge cake on the shelf and biscuits in glass jars – all free for guests to snack on. Dinner here is a delight, you get the chefs’ lively banter, plus the noise from the pots and pans all mixed with music.
From
£
313
per night
Rates provided by
Mr & Mrs Smith
Asbury Ocean Club
Asbury Park, New Jersey, United States
Asbury Park, the former home of Bruce Springsteen, is a beach resort town on the up. This recent arrival, the first five-star boutique hotel on the Jersey Shore, offers sleek
Hamptons-style luxury but with a vibe that is decidedly unstuffy. There is no formal check-in; guests are instead met at the front door and soon handed a glass of champagne. Don’t expect a designated restaurant either; food and drink is served everywhere – in the drawing room, on the pool deck, or-in room. No money changes hands on site and guests are not asked to sign anything (payment details are all collected in advance), the aim being to create the atmosphere and impression of a welcoming, super-deluxe beach house, rather than a transactional hotel.
Hamptons-style luxury but with a vibe that is decidedly unstuffy. There is no formal check-in; guests are instead met at the front door and soon handed a glass of champagne. Don’t expect a designated restaurant either; food and drink is served everywhere – in the drawing room, on the pool deck, or-in room. No money changes hands on site and guests are not asked to sign anything (payment details are all collected in advance), the aim being to create the atmosphere and impression of a welcoming, super-deluxe beach house, rather than a transactional hotel.
From
£
242
per night
La Donaira
Montecorto, Andalucia, Spain
Rusticity reigns at this homely finca hotel, with just nine individually designed rooms, situated on the site of a biodynamic farm in the mountains of Andalucía. The service is laid-back but on point – you feel more like you’re staying at a friend’s home. The lovely Nicky is happy to whip you up any type of eggs you want for breakfast and then chat to you while you eat, and kind-eyed maitre’d Bienvenidos will pour you even kinder glasses of wine from the 90-strong cellar, which features La Donaira’s own bottles. The spa is beautiful, its freshwater pool framed by windows that look out across the valley (plus it’s open 24 hours a day, meaning you can easily time yourself to be in the pool for sunrise or sunset).
From
£
473
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
Riad de Tarabel
Marrakech, Morocco
Many Riads in Marrakech evoke a homely feel with their cosy nooks and much-appreciated quietness, but Riad de Tarabel might be one of the most pleasingly private. Upon arrival, guests are given a mobile phone to contact staff whenever they might need a round of briouts (filo pastry filled with vegetables or cheese), iced mint tea, or chilled glass of Moroccan wine. You just need to mention where you are camped out: top spots include the corner of the rooftop, next to the plunge pool. Meals can be organised anywhere in the riad and guests are welcome to wander into the kitchen to see what is going on. The 10-room property can also be hired out exclusively for the ultimate home-away-from-home experience.
From
£
180
per night
Rates provided by
Mr & Mrs Smith
Primero Primera
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
The 30-room Primero Primera, in Barcelona’s exclusive and totally untouristy Tres Torres neighbourhood, offers guests an intimate glimpse at upscale city living. With painstaking attention to detail, every inch of this hotel resembles a postcard-perfect family home (which it once was). Mismatched leather and textile sofa chairs are dressed with overstuffed pillows and moody lighting abounds, while vintage framed photos of the formerly residing Catalan family rest atop a crackling fireplace. The equally homey restaurant adds to the mix with chintzy floral wallpaper and fine china tableware. No two rooms are decorated exactly alike, further reinforcing the opulent home-style feel.
From
£
173
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
Batty Langley’s
Spitalfields, London, England
This Georgian dream of a hotel, set on a cobbled street in Spitalfields, is an antidote to beige modernity and trades on its idiosyncratic character. Buzz to enter the soft pale-carpeted lobby and immediately you feel as if you have opened the door into a rather elegant past. Take tea in the pretty courtyard, hole up in the library or fix yourself a drink from the honesty bar. All rooms are individually styled and hotel trappings (television, speakers, safe etc) are hidden away in antique wardrobes or behind mirrors. Breakfast, served to your room on huge wooden trays, is a civilised spread of smoked salmon bagels, bacon sandwiches, fresh pastries and good coffee.
From
£
158
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
Atemporal
Miraflores, Lima, Peru
A small and stylish hotel in a quiet corner of the residential district of Miraflores. Nine rooms means service is very personalised and staff are on hand until late to make a pot of tea, with small cakes and savoury snacks provided throughout the day. The Atemporal name derives from a theme employed throughout the hotel, which imagines the house to be the home of a well-travelled photographer – as suggested by artistic monochrome photos in the rooms and retro posters, art books and objets d’art on the landing. Uniquely, Atemporal makes a new Mini Cooper and two bikes available for guests to use at their convenience.
From
£
201
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
Le Sirenuse
Positano, Amalfi Coast, Italy
In 1953, John Steinbeck described the Sirenuse as ‘an old family house converted into a first class hotel, spotless and cool’ and the description still holds today. The lovely old villa (now extended into adjacent buildings), painted deep ox-blood red with white trim, was once the private seaside residence of the aristocratic Sersale family, and it still has that sort of feel in spite of being super-chic and sophisticated. Rooms are stuffed with an eclectic collection of museum-quality antiques and paintings, contemporary art and curios all to a background of dazzling white paintwork and glorious hand-made Vietri-tiled floors. Exceptional facilities go hand-in-hand with exquisite service and a superb cliffside setting a short sashay from the centre of Positano.
From
£
1,171
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
São Lourenço do Barrocal
Monsaraz, Alentejo, Portugal
This long, low-lying, white-washed farmhouse with outhouses and barns has been transformed into a collection of luxuriously contemporary lodgings, an hour and a half away from Lisbon. The impressive interiors were done by Lisbon designers Anahory Almeida, who wove together a mixture of ancient manuscripts, old photographs and local curiosities, tracked down vintage furniture to restore, and commissioned rugs in soft blues and greens for the bedrooms. There are bicycles and horses to ride across the extensive farm, within which are 16 Neolithic dolmens. The swimming pool is set in the meadows, while a shop sells wine and olive oil from the estate as well as local pottery, throws and rugs.
From
£
402
per night
Rates provided by
Booking.com
Trunk (House)
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Trunk (House) is a former geisha house converted into a modern-day ‘creative salon’ – aka a one-bedroom haven packed with contemporary design, modern art, stylish butlers and even deluxe karaoke in the ‘world’s smallest disco’. The interior is a balanced mesh of old and new. Downstairs, there’s a long oak dining table overlooking a traditional Japanese garden and an open-plan kitchen where private chefs rustle up meals. Upstairs, beneath high exposed wooden beams, there are sliding windows with rooftop views, a tatami mat area with a sunken hearth for tea ceremonies and a minimal double bedroom and bathroom. The space may feel more deluxe home than conventional hotel – but the service is undoubtedly five-star, with guests are normally outnumbered by staff.
From
£
4,771
per night
Contributions by Emma Beaumont, Jessica Benavides Canepa, Jade Conroy, Jonna Dagliden Hunt, Danielle Demetriou, Paula Hardy, Chris Moss, Jane Mulkerrins & Nicky Swallow
This article was originally published by Telegraph.co.uk. Read the original article here.