2009-10-07

New hotel alert: Francophile-friendly escapes and Antipodean art forms

This month, we took to the autoroutes of fabulous France on our bicycles to cherry-pick the best boutique hotels this land can offer. We also called in on Australia and New Zealand for a hefty-mileaged detour…

In Paris, we unearthed Hidden Hotel, an organic-only hideaway where mattresses are made from coconuts and synthetic fibres are nowhere to be seen, right by the Arc de Triomphe.

capestel

Down on the glistening shores of the Riviera, a Russian prince has kindly given up his former residence in the name of stylish stays - Cap Estel in Èze-bord-de-Mer is an exclusive royal retreat.

The lavender-lined roads of Provence revealed a bounty of boutique retreats to reward our travels - including La Maison sur la Sorgue, an exotic home filled with souvenirs from across the world, Le Mas de la Rose, a 17th-century stone farmhouse in the hills, and Le Couvent des Minimes, a restored convent in Mane. Over in Languedoc-Roussillon, we pedalled up to the pearly gates of Domaine de Verchant – a butter-yellow mansion on its own wine-producing estate.

le-mas-de-la-rose1

Head to Château de Saint Paterne in Normandy for a stately stay in your own castle (almost). In Poitou-Charentes, we’ve found Le Logis de Pugâty, a fortified mediaeval manor. And in the grassy fields of Champagne-Ardennes, we found Chez Odette, a fabled farmhouse given a modern makeover.

Our Asia-Pacific hotel-hunting team has not been idle, either. They’ve found Hapuku Lodge – a set of treehouses with mountain and sea views in New Zealand’s top whale-watching town, Kaikoura. In Australia’s Barossa Valley, there’s The Louise, a vine-lined hillside hideaway. Then there’s Limes Hotel, Brisbane’s buzziest designer den, and the Priory Country Lodge, a rural retreat in Tasmania’s Scottish-inspired Central Highlands. On Lord Howe Island, 700km from Sydney, there’s luxury, lagoon-facing Capella Lodge. And on the shores of Ningaloo Reef, Sal Salis lets you sleep in safari-styled mega-tents with your own hammock strung up outside.