Favorite Hotels And Resorts

Guarda Golf Hotel & Residences

AS YOU MIGHT HAVE GUESSED from the name, Guarda Golf Hotel & Residences is more than just a hotel. With several private residences, spanning three di erent buildings, the lofty resort sits within the sphere of ultimate luxury and provides a vantage point for some of the most breathtaking golfi ng vistas in all of Europe. Having opened almost a decade ago, seven new luxury suite apartments have extended the hotel’s existing o er to a clientele that seeks the fi nest luxury, combining generous spaces and incredible service. The hotel’s capacity is raised to 23 bedrooms and junior suites within the main building and seven 225sqm suite apartments, each comprising three en-suite bedrooms, one living room with fi replace, a kitchen and a large balcony with views over the golf course and the Alps. The hotel has now doubled in size and the owner, Mrs Nati Felli, considers it to be of vital importance and her fi rst priority to conserve the warm, personalised touch traditionally experienced by the hotel’s numerous loyal guests. Among them was Sir Roger Moore, friend to the hotel since opening. Today, the hotel pays tribute to the legendary actor naming their 15-seat cinema, the “Sir Roger Moore Private Cinema”.

HIGH-ALTITUDE A jewel of Crans-Montana, the resort is situated in a region reputed for its quality of life, clean air and advantageous climate, with over 300 days of sunshine per year. The area is outstanding for both families and sport lovers, with its world-famous golf club, magnifi cent ski slopes and the beauty of the surrounding nature. “Your experience of perfect moments spent at the Guarda Golf Hotel & Residences, as well as the optimisation and the constant renewal of our facilities, products and services, are our fi rst priority,” explained the owners, Nati & Giancarlo Felli. “It was in this frame of mind that, in 2014, we started an ambitious extension project, with the construction of three additional buildings”. Located only two hours from Geneva and three from Zürich and Milan, the resort is easily accessible, within the heart of the Swiss Alps. For more information on Guarda Golf Hotel & Residences and its new extension, please visit the website.

Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa

THE SOUNDS OF CORKS POPPING WILL RESONATE through the air of northern France this summer, with the reopening of the Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa after a four-year top-to-toe renovation. Overlooking the villages of Champillon and Hautvillers amid the vineyards of Epernay in the heart of the Champagne-producing region, the 49-room boutique retreat has been refreshed by Reims-based architect Giovanni Pace, who has combined the original 19th century post house with a new wing built in the style of an amphitheatre, its white walls standing out against the green of the landscape. The spa element comes in the form of a 16,000 sq ft destination spa and wellness centre comprising nine treatment rooms, yoga studio, Turkish hamman, beauty studios and two swimming pools: indoor and out. Parisian beauty brand Biologique Recherche will provide signature treatments using its range of fragrance-free all natural products. At 1,150 sq ft, Suite Josephine is the grande dame of all the guestrooms, with a separate living room and bedroom that each boast sublime views over the Champagne valley. All rooms feature Hermès amenities, and all hotel guests will benefit from exclusive perks such as access to private Champagne houses and tastings with local producers. Book in at the right time of year and you can even help out with the harvest. Executive chef Jean-Denis Rieubland promises a contemporary twist on classic French gastronomy in the gourmet dining room, Le Royal, and more casual fare at Bellevue, which, as the name suggests, has spectacular views over the vineyards. Needless to say, the wine cellar and Champagne selection will be nothing short remarkable when the hotel reopens this month. Rooms from EUR 485 (US $563)

Palazzo Versace and Armani Hotels

Bling is still king in the Middle east, where Bulgari, Palazzo Versace and armani hotels all compete for the title of most extravagant luxury fashion branded hotel in dubai. But things are less ostentatious in the italian capital, where luxury brands maintain a low profile among the myriad hotels that pepper the city. a case in point is Fendi Private suites Roma, a small but perfectly formed collection of gorgeous boutique hotel rooms on the third floor of Fendi’s flagship store on Via dei Condotti. although it opened stealthily in 2016, the boutique bolthole remained mostly anonymous until joining small hotels of the World earlier this year. Formerly a 17th century aristocratic residence, Palazzo Fendi is situated in the heart of Rome’s historic centre, a short walk from the spanish steps and the trevi Fountain. the Fendi boutique takes up the first two floors of the building, while the second has been reserved as the Palazzo Privè – an ultra-exclusive shopping experience for the brand’s most important customers. seven exclusive suites on the third floor have been designed in elegant Fendi style, with italian materials such as Carrara and levanto marble, Fendi Casa furniture, black and white karl lagerfeld photographs on the walls and tomes covering the world of italian fashion lining the shelves. each of the suites is unique: some can be doubled up to create two-bedroom residences and some offer dual aspect views of Rome’s historic quarter. in-room iPads come loaded with seven walking tours, and all guests can embark on a private tour of the store plus priority reservations at Zuma, which occupies the top two floors of the palazzo.

Belmond Savute Elephant Lodge

Fresh From a top-to-toe redesign, Belmond savute elephant lodge will invite guests to take front row seats as the cycle of life plays out this summer, at a new eye-level viewing hide in front of the camp’s watering hole. the lodge’s location beside the savute Channel in Chobe national park makes it a popular transit point for local wildlife, with lions, elephants, cheetahs, hyenas and antelope gathering at the watering hole throughout the day. if you prefer to view your wildlife from a slightly greater distance, pull up a pew or a rattan chair on the vast open deck and gaze out across the plains, while sipping something cold and delicious from the new contemporary lounge and bar. newly imagined interiors of the 12 tented rooms and all the public spaces come courtesy of inga moore of muza lab, whose design credentials include the hotel alfonso Xii in spain, Kanuhura in the maldives and several other Belmond properties, amongst others. the suites retain a natural earthy feel, but bursts of colour add to the drama of the spectacular savannah setting. grand four-poster beds, rattan easy chairs and chunky writing desks invite guests to channel their inner david livingstone post-safari, and the lodge’s firepit is the place to swap stories as the sun dips below the horizon. all-inclusive rates start from Us $970 per person per night.

sources: Destinations of The World News, July 2018