Why not change things up this year with a boutique hotel for your vacation? More and more travelers (even professionals) are choosing boutique hotels for a customized stay in an intimate environment.
Travels, as we all know, are the perfect occasion to discover and experience new things more than just a chance to relax. Beyond luxury, authenticity seems to be the way to win over new customers with smaller locations and a close-knit feeling. So if you’re looking to avoid those mega hotels and international chains that are all the same, check out our 5 favorite boutique hotels!
33 rooms facing the sea in Crete make Ammos — pictured below — one of the coolest places to stay on the island, with countless returning visitors (read: openings for reservations are hard to come by). Thanks to Nikos Tsepetis, the hotel’s manager, and Elisa Manola, who curated the welcoming interiors, fabulous local food is presented in front of the sandy beaches just meters away.
Among the main attractions of this boutique hotel is the heated pool, where you can grab a cocktail, or the jasmine garden around which the rooms are nestled.
In Tavira, in the middle of the Algarve, a true Portuguese home has been converted into a boutique hotel, maintaining the local flavor. Thanks to the vegetable garden and plots of lavender, rosemary, and olives, the restaurant Cozinha is never short of fresh ingredients to serve.
La Fazenda enjoys 10 hectares of greenery through which to discover shaded and silent trails. Pamper yourself with a massage or yoga courses, or get lost in the Vinyl Library open to visitors. The boutique hotel has also just opened the Master Suite, where you can sprawl out across all 90 square meters.
Mas Vivent, is a true gem tucked away in the natural park of Albera in Catalonia. A former factory — pictured below — it’s surrounded by neat geometries of vineyards, olive groves, and oaks. Each room has been uniquely decorated, although there’s a clear tendency towards wood and neutral colors. This is the ideal place for long bike rides or walks down to the beach, and if you’d like, an exploration of the nearby Sant Pere de Rodes monastery.
The C(o)rniche is the hotel curated, like the rest of the Techoueyres Group, by Phillipe Starck, who’s a friend of the owner, William Techoueyres. The former hunting lodge — pictured below — is located in Arcachon, within a natural dune, sitting on the Atlantic and facing a pine forest.
The interiors were maintained in a dark wood alongside original frescoes, while Murano lamps by Aristide Najean were added to the environment. As the name signals, the Starck Salon is in pure Philippe Starck style: light-colored wood is paired with beige leather in front of an enormous fireplace, perfect to fight the strong Atlantic winds — which are adored by kite and windsurfers.
Even Italy has fallen under the spell of the boutique hotel, as seen in Ca' P’a, a private home. The villa, located in Praiano, between Amalfi and Positano, is a restored fisherman’s house overlooking the sea. A gorgeous retreat from the world, this slice of paradise boasts a series of platforms to bathe in the sun or go for a dip in the water.
There’s also a garden and orchard, which supply fresh ingredients to the kitchen, and a pool in case the sea is too rough. Simple interiors are inspired by yesteryear, by those who have lived their entire lives by the sea.
Opening photo: THE POOL OF THE C(O)RNICHE BOUTIQUE HOTEL, DESIGNED BY PHILIPPE STARCK AT ARCACHON ON THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
