JANUARY 2018 SINCE 1979

SPECIAL EDITION: GRAND AWARDS The best of another unforgettable year of travel A

IN 2017, Andrew Harper editors flew more than125,000 miles, visited 16 countries and stayed in close to 150 hotels. The highlights of the year are reflected in this special magazine edition of The Hideaway Report.

Each January, we have the pleasure of recalling our travel experiences over the previous 12 months and drawing attention to a number of particularly memorable hotels and resorts. To be considered for our annual Grand Awards, properties must be relatively small in size, possess strong personalities and demonstrate a consistent devotion to personal service. In addition, we have singled out some of the most outstanding hotel staff and best hotel amenities, as well as the most interesting restaurants and unforgettable travel experiences.

Once, sophisticated hideaways existed chiefly in North America and Western Europe. But today superior levels of comfort, stylish design, polished service and refined cuisine can be found on every continent. In the coming year, we will continue our enviable task of circling the globe in order to seek out the very best that the world of travel has to offer. CONTENTS

GRAND AWARDS

HIDEAWAY OF THE YEAR — VILLA LA COSTE Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, France 4

LE PETIT NICE Marseille, France 6

HÔTEL LES ROCHES ROUGE Saint-Raphaël, France 7

CHÂTEAU DE LA TREYNE Lacave, France 8

DOMAINE DE MANVILLE Les Baux-de-Provence, France 9

WEISSENHAUS GRAND VILLAGE RESORT Weissenhaus, Germany 10 CHÂTEAU DE LA TREYNE: LIONEL LOURDEL / GETTY IMAGES

VALVERDE HOTEL Lisbon, Portugal 11 |

DRAGSHOLM SLOT Hørve, Denmark 12

HENNE KIRKEBY KRO Henne, Denmark 13

SOLSTRAND HOTEL & BAD Os, Norway 14

HOTEL UNION ØYE Øye, Norway 15

THE DEVONSHIRE ARMS HOTEL & SPA Bolton Abbey, England 16

ALILA JABAL AKHDAR Nizwa, Oman 17 ARNAUD NICOLAS: ANNE-EMMANUELLE THION | THE WHITBY HOTEL New York, New York, United States 18

HOTEL EMMA San Antonio, Texas, United States 19

THE INN AT NEWPORT RANCH Fort Bragg, California, United States 20

SINGLETHREAD FARMS Healdsburg, California, United States 21

HOTEL B Lima, Peru 22

EXPLORA VALLE SAGRADO Urubamba, Peru 23

LAS ALCOBAS Mexico City, Mexico 24

CHILENO BAY RESORT Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 25

ON THE COVER

Seawater swimming pool, next to the Mediterranean, Hôtel Les Roches Rouge, Saint-Raphaël, France

PHOTO BY BENOIT LINERO SALT PANS,SALT POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE AND ASPARAGUS: PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER

Andrew Harper editors travel anonymously and pay full rate for all lodging, meals and related expenses. Since the launch of Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report in 1979, the featured hotels and restaurants have been selected on a completely independent basis. For comments and inquiries concerning The Hideaway Report, please email [email protected]. Clockwise from top: Inca salt pans above the Sacred Valley, Peru; Chileno Bay Resort, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Château de la Treyne, Lacave, France; kitchen of Arnaud Nicolas, Paris, France; view from Point Arena Lighthouse, Northern California; and white asparagus at Marchal, Copenhagen, Denmark CHÂTEAU DE LA TREYNE: LIONEL LOURDEL / GETTY IMAGES | ARNAUD NICOLAS: ANNE-EMMANUELLE THION |

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

RESTAURANTS OF THE YEAR 26

HOSPITALITY AWARDS 32

BEST AMENITIES 34

HOTEL STANDOUTS 38

BEST TRAVEL EXPERIENCES 40

INDELIBLE MEMORIES OF 2017 44

WHERE TO GO IN 2018 48

SALT PANS,SALT POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE AND ASPARAGUS: PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER MORE AT ANDREWHARPER.COM

Disappointments of the Year, Most Memorable Wine Tastings, Best Bar, Favorite Shops and more places to go in 2018 A HIDEAWAY OF THE YEAR

VILLA LA COSTE Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, Provence, France

VILLA LA COSTE is the most talked about new hotel in streamlined contemporary furniture, including plush sofas France. And it’s absolutely spectacular. Built on a hillside and armchairs. Every suite comes with a large teak table overlooking a 600-acre Provençal estate owned by Irish and chairs, plus book-filled walnut étagères. Four-poster businessman Patrick McKillen, the hotel’s 28 suites are beds are hung with gauzy curtains and made up with the housed within individual stone-faced villas, set along a highest-quality linens. Baths feature soaking tubs carved shady jasmine-planted lane. On arrival, you’ll spot a huge from blocks of Vietnamese marble, walk-in rainfall showers bronze-and-steel spider by the late French artist Louise and double vanities. Supremely private and comfortable, Bourgeois, the first evidence of McKillen’s passion for these accommodations are a tour de force of low-key, chic, contemporary art. Since he purchased the property in 2002, contemporary design. he and his wife have acquired one of the most impressive The property offers two other restaurants: a grill by collections of modern art and sculpture in France. famed Argentine barbecue master Francis Mallmann and a HAUGHTON RICHARD The main hotel building, which houses a bar, a library, café serving contemporary Provençal dishes. In addition to a spa and the Louison restaurant — where three-star chef an “art walk,” to view the McKillens’ sculpture collection, Gérald Passédat of Marseille is the consulting chef — has wine tastings and tours of the estate’s cellars are available. a Fernand Léger tapestry on the wall. The young staff Although located only a 30-minute drive from Aix-en- members are efficient and cordial. All of the accommodations Provence, Villa La Coste is a self-contained property and have private gardens and large balconies; some also have one that merits an extended stay. private plunge pools. Their interiors are furnished with

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 4 GRAND AWARDS 2018 RICHARD HAUGHTON RICHARD

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 5 GRAND AWARDS 2018 A GRAND AWARD WINNERS

LE PETIT NICE Marseille, France

LE PETIT NICE occupies a small white villa on a craggy Passédat is one of the world’s finest fish cooks, so at lunch spit at the southern edge of Marseille. Having been we opted for his 10-course tasting menu. In addition to the family-owned and -run for a century, it has a relaxed, stunning quality of the fish and shellfish, what we most easygoing atmosphere. Many of its 16 comfortable guest appreciated was the deceptive simplicity of his cooking.

accommodations have views of the Mediterranean. Our Every dish dazzled with marine freshness, and the garnishes BENOITLINERO room was painted vanilla and furnished with contemporary never overwhelmed the natural flavors. Le Petit Nice is a HAUGHTON RICHARD pieces. What we liked best, though, was the private terrace small, quiet place with a distinctive personality, sublime overlooking the sea. Owner and three-star chef Gérald food and a lovely seaside pool.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 6 GRAND AWARDS 2018 HÔTEL LES ROCHES ROUGE Saint-Raphaël, France

THIS CLIFFSIDE HOTEL was originally built in the late seaview suite, with its large private balcony. That night, 1950s but was recently given a comprehensive makeover. we ordered room service via an easy-to-use in-room tablet, On arrival, we enjoyed a meal of barigoule (artichokes which allowed us to track our order in real time. The hotel braised in white wine), and steamed cod with local organic has a tree-shaded garden with hammocks that invite a lazy

BENOITLINERO vegetables and garlic mayonnaise on the shaded terrace afternoon with a book. Diving and snorkeling outings with RICHARD HAUGHTON RICHARD of the main restaurant. Since the hotel is just a few yards local experts, plus paddle boarding, kayaking and cooking from the sea, the views were superb, including a great classes, are available. sweep of blue topaz Mediterranean. We instantly loved our

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 7 GRAND AWARDS 2018 CHÂTEAU DE LA TREYNE Lacave, France

THE ROMANTIC Château de la Treyne is perched on the in red silk damask and an Aubusson tapestry. In summer, edge of a limestone bluff high above the Dordogne river. it is also possible to dine on the broad terrace overlooking Surrounded by almost 300 acres of formal gardens and the river. We had an apéritif there each evening as the sun forest, its central tower dates from the 14th century, but set. Our palatial junior suite, Louis XIII, also overlooked most of the 17-room hotel was built some three centuries the river and came with parquet floors and Fortuny-like later. The most spectacular space is the Louis XIII salon, fabric covering the walls. Ever-present management and

home to the château’s Michelin-starred restaurant, with a well-trained, friendly staff ensured that our stay was a ROOM AND BATH: CAMILLE MOIRENC EXTERIOR: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER coffered ceiling, a massive wood mantelpiece, walls paneled pleasure from start to finish. EXTERIOR AND ROOM: PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 8 GRAND AWARDS 2018 DOMAINE DE MANVILLE Les Baux-de-Provence, France

THE 30-ROOM and nine-villa Domaine de Manville was which often combine faux antiques and floral prints in a created from a group of 18th-century farm buildings on manner that has become a pastiche of itself. Amenities a 250-acre estate. The Bergerie (“sheep barn”) houses the include an 18-hole golf course and a superb spa. The fact reception and two restaurants. Most accommodations are that you can book a villa for the number of nights that located in two newly constructed wings. Our Junior Suite suits your itinerary is a blessing for anyone who doesn’t was spacious and comfortable, with a small private terrace have the time to rent a place for the usual minimum of a

ROOM AND BATH: CAMILLE MOIRENC overlooking the hotel’s enormous pool. Its modern décor week in high season. EXTERIOR: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER was a welcome change from traditional Provençal styles, EXTERIOR AND ROOM: PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 9 GRAND AWARDS 2018 WEISSENHAUS GRAND VILLAGE RESORT Weissenhaus, Germany

THE 62-ROOM Weissenhaus Grand Village Resort is located extraordinary spa complex. Having unpacked, we walked close to the Baltic coast of Schleswig-Holstein. A Hamburg down the allée leading from our room to the beach. Later, entrepreneur bought the property in 2005 and spent a vast we dined at the Michelin-starred Courtier, where a sliver sum to rebuild the historic estate. It reopened as a hotel of the Baltic was visible between the trees. My favorite in 2014. We booked one of the nine Deluxe Rooms with dish of the gorgeously presented meal was a fillet of wild

Terrace, which are located in the former gatehouse, dairy dorade in a bouillabaisse bisque with shrimp, mussels and ALLOWED LIVING ROOM: and bakery. The château contains more guest rooms, plus foraged sea vegetables. When it came time to leave, our DRONE VIEW AND SPA: MICHAEL POLIZA a convenient tunnel to the Schlosstherme, the resort’s only thought was how we could find an excuse to return. ANDREW HARPER BY PHOTO STAIRCASE: ROOM: KLAUS LORKE NO LIMIT FOTODESIGN LIMIT NO LORKE KLAUS ROOM:

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 10 GRAND AWARDS 2018 VALVERDE HOTEL Lisbon, Portugal

THE 25-ROOM Valverde Hotel occupies a townhouse in library-like lounge just off the wood-paneled reception area, the middle of the grand Avenida da Liberdade, a broad, a sunken garden courtyard with a small swimming pool tree-shaded avenue lined with designer shops. Walking and hot tub, and a fine restaurant, Sítio. There I enjoyed in feels like coming home to your smart Lisbon apartment a dinner of Portuguese tapas, followed by sea bass over building. We had reserved one of the Junior Suites, all of squid-ink risotto with asparagus and saffron cream. The

ROOM: LIVING ALLOWED LIVING ROOM: which face the Avenida. The bedroom had a herringbone Valverde has purchased an adjacent building and plans to wood floor covered by an area rug and tan walls decorated expand in the coming years. In the meantime, however, it DRONE VIEW AND SPA: MICHAEL POLIZA STAIRCASE: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER BY PHOTO STAIRCASE: with etchings and abstract prints. Public spaces include a will delight those seeking a tranquil residential atmosphere. ROOM: KLAUS LORKE NO LIMIT FOTODESIGN LIMIT NO LORKE KLAUS ROOM:

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 11 GRAND AWARDS 2018 DRAGSHOLM SLOT Hørve, Denmark

THIS WELL-RUN and welcoming 34-room country house chapel, a library and numerous lounges. Dinner was served hotel is housed within a 13th-century castle. Today it boasts in a restaurant secluded behind three-foot-thick walls. With a Michelin-starred restaurant, Slotskøkkenet, run by chef a cooking style he describes as “nature conscious,” chef Claus Henriksen. Our room in the main castle building was Henriksen builds his menu around seasonal vegetables and spacious, with views over a formal garden. Attractively herbs. Our roast pork loin with kale and “Danish capers” furnished, it provided a four-poster Hästens bed (a Swedish (pickled elderflower berries) was predictably delicious. GARDEN: CLAUS STARUP manufacturer that makes some of the world’s best beds). Dragsholm Slot is one of those places that gets under your SCHOENNEMANN ANDERS The 800-year-old fortress has an austere but very beautiful skin very quickly.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 12 GRAND AWARDS 2018 A

HENNE KIRKEBY KRO Henne, Denmark

THE 12-ROOM Henne Kirkeby Kro (“kro” means “inn” in the Staldgården (The Stable). The three accommodations Danish) is located on the western coast of the Jutland that we preferred were the two Junior Suites in the original peninsula, approximately three hours from Copenhagen. inn and the Johannes Larsen Suite in The Hunting Lodge. This sturdy redbrick structure with a thatched roof dates Highlights of the superlative tasting menu that night were to 1790. Its English chef, Paul Cunningham, who has been a buttered crumpet with local lobster; turbot with leeks, cooking at the inn since 2012, won a second Michelin star brown butter and caviar; lamb with garlic and eggplant; GARDEN: CLAUS STARUP ANDERS SCHOENNEMANN ANDERS this year. Its rooms are divided between three buildings: and rhubarb from the hotel’s garden with ginger and the original inn, the Jægerhuset (The Hunting Lodge) and raw-milk ice cream.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 13 GRAND AWARDS 2018 SOLSTRAND HOTEL & BAD Os, Norway

THE SOLSTRAND is a collection of wooden buildings with and the Bjørnafjorden. Many details delighted, such as gingerbread-style fretwork on their eaves. On arrival, the porthole window over the dressing table. The hotel’s we spent time inspecting the photographs on the walls, spa — which includes an indoor swimming pool, sauna which told the hotel’s story. Opened in 1896 by Christian and hammam — is state-of-the-art. In the dining room, Michelsen, Norway’s first prime minister, the Solstrand we enjoyed an exceptional dinner of shellfish soup, grilled quickly became a place where affluent Bergen and Oslo salmon, and blueberry tart. The Solstrand is attractive and

families spent their vacations. Our suite in the south wing comfortable and has a gorgeous location, but ultimately EXTERIOR: SOLHEIMO EIRIK EXTERIOR AND ROOM: 62°NORD ROOM: AND EXTERIOR of the hotel came with glorious views over the gardens the best thing about the place is the superb staff. ROOM AND VIEW: BENT RENÈ SYNNEVÅG SCENERY: JUERGEN SCHONNOP / ADOBE STOCK ADOBE / SCHONNOP JUERGEN SCENERY:

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 14 GRAND AWARDS 2018 HOTEL UNION ØYE Øye, Norway

AT THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY, wealthy Europeans roast lamb was served by waitresses wearing traditional were in search of new destinations of great natural Norwegian dress. Afterward in the lounge, a member beauty, and in 1891 the Hotel Union Øye, set back from the of the staff recounted the history of the hotel, while Hjørundfjord, opened to cater to the demand. The hotel has guests examined such curiosities as one of Karen Blixen’s now been completely restored. Most of the accommodations hiking boots. A stay at the Hotel Union Øye is not just an have four-poster beds; none has a television or telephone, experience of magnificent scenery, but also a sepia-toned

EXTERIOR: SOLHEIMO EIRIK since the idea is to re-create the gentle rhythms of a more journey into the past. EXTERIOR AND ROOM: 62°NORD ROOM: AND EXTERIOR leisured age. A delicious dinner of scallop chowder and ROOM AND VIEW: BENT RENÈ SYNNEVÅG SCENERY: JUERGEN SCHONNOP / ADOBE STOCK ADOBE / SCHONNOP JUERGEN SCENERY:

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 15 GRAND AWARDS 2018 THE DEVONSHIRE ARMS HOTEL & SPA

Bolton Abbey, England

SITUATED BESIDE THE SCENIC River Wharfe, The Champagnes. The barman was charm personified, as Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa has been owned by the Dukes was the waiter who arrived with menus from the adjacent of Devonshire since 1753. The 40-room hotel comprises a Burlington Restaurant. The hotel’s talented young chef, 17th-century inn and a modern extension, which together Paul Leonard, places a premium on regional, seasonal enclose a formal garden. After relaxing in the tranquil and and foraged ingredients. The principal amenity is a spa, comfortable Herbert Royle Suite for a while, we headed housed within a former barn. The picturesque ruins of to the central lounge. There we found a huge silver cooler Bolton Priory, which were painted by J.M.W. Turner, are set atop a central table containing a variety of French close by. POOL AND ROOM: PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER EXTERIOR AND BATH: ALILA HOTELS & RESORTS ROOM AND EXTERIOR: PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 16 GRAND AWARDS 2018 ALILA JABAL AKHDAR

Nizwa, Oman

ON ARRIVAL, WE CAUGHT SIGHT of what appeared to be and a private terrace with one of the most spellbinding a traditional village, constructed from rough-hewn gray views we have ever seen from a hotel room. The restaurant stone, perched at the edge of a stupendous canyon. The Alila offers international-Arabic cuisine, and the property’s spa Jabal Akhdar resort is situated in the spectacular Al Hajar uses ingredients made from local roses, juniper berries mountain range, which runs for 300 miles across northern and Omani frankincense. The main activity at Alila Jabal Oman. Inside, the lobby turned out to be a tour de force of Akhdar is hiking, with walks ranging from gentle strolls interior design. Our splendid Jabal Terrace suite featured to demanding treks. This exceptional resort alone would heavy, studded Omani furniture; hand-painted wall motifs; have made our trip to the Middle East worthwhile. POOL AND ROOM: PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER EXTERIOR AND BATH: ALILA HOTELS & RESORTS ROOM AND EXTERIOR: PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 17 GRAND AWARDS 2018 THE WHITBY HOTEL New York, New York, United States

THE WHITBY HOTEL is a new boutique property with a Warehouse-style windows and doors lead to a sunny choice Midtown location, close to high-end shopping, the orangery. Service at the bar is crisp and matched by that Theater District and the Museum of Modern Art. Its 86 in the restaurant. Elsewhere, a comfortable, book-lined rooms, spread across 16 floors, have all been individually drawing room makes a tranquil retreat during the day or designed and are decorated with an astonishing range of an agreeable venue for an evening cocktail. Downstairs SIMON BROWN furniture, textiles and artwork. Downstairs, The Whitby we discovered a 130-seat screening room. New York has Bar & Restaurant is a colorful space with high ceilings, surprisingly few distinguished smaller hotels. The Whitby a 30-foot pewter bar top and upholstered banquettes. is a welcome addition. ROOM: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 18 GRAND AWARDS 2018 HOTEL EMMA San Antonio, Texas, United States

COMPLETED IN 1894, San Antonio’s Pearl Brewery building that has come to specialize in the repurposing of historic is an imposing brick structure, with a central tower and huge structures. The central public spaces are astonishingly arched windows. Today, as well as housing the Hotel Emma, dramatic, and in the lobby the brewery’s cast-iron tanks the former brewery has given its name to the surrounding and machinery remain in place. Hotel Emma is further gastronomic and retail neighborhood, at the northern distinguished by its restaurant, Supper, where chef John SIMON BROWN end of the River Walk, close to the San Antonio Museum Brand offers a seasonal menu of New American cuisine of Art. The building’s recent conversion was undertaken in an attractive bistro setting.

ROOM: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER by New York-based Roman and Williams, a design firm

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 19 GRAND AWARDS 2018 THE INN AT NEWPORT RANCH Fort Bragg, California, United States

THE INN AT NEWPORT RANCH lies just north of Fort dining table made from a single piece of solid redwood, a Bragg. Our accommodations were in Redwood House, which floor made with 30-inch-wide redwood planks and a huge contains the property’s three suites. Twenty-four redwood stone hearth. We returned in the morning for breakfast, ROOM: BRENDAN MCGUIGAN | trunks support the structure, starting from the lower level tucking into pillowy pancakes and bacon-wrapped eggs and rising up through the suites to the roof. Out on the cooked in muffin tins. The activity not to miss is the ATV

balcony we discovered a wooden soaking tub from which safari. During the course of a three-hour tour, we really ROOM: PICK AUBRIE it became our habit to sit and gaze at the night sky while came to appreciate the scope of the property, which sits on

listening to the sea. Back at the main inn we discovered a an uninterrupted mile of oceanfront bluffs. EXTERIOR: KOPIA BUSINESS IMAGES KITCHEN AND EXTERIOR: GARRETT ROWLAND

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 20 GRAND AWARDS 2018 BLUFF: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER SINGLETHREAD FARMS Healdsburg, California, United States

LOCATED A BLOCK AWAY from Healdsburg’s plaza and the 52-seat restaurant. With custom-woven screens and occupying a former post office, SingleThread Farms is a strategically placed flower arrangements, the room was ROOM: BRENDAN MCGUIGAN new five-room inn with an exceptional restaurant supplied a brilliant evocation of Japanese aesthetics. As was the | by a nearby five-acre farm. We had opted to take the inn’s procession of dishes on the superlative 11-course tasting only suite, a 700-square-foot contemporary space that menu. SingleThread is the fulfillment of a dream for owners

ROOM: PICK AUBRIE came with a wall of windows, a high beamed ceiling, Kyle and Katina Connaughton. It is extraordinary that this white brick walls, wooden floors and a lounge with a gas is the Connaughtons’ first solo venture.

EXTERIOR: KOPIA BUSINESS IMAGES fireplace. In the evening, we enjoyed a memorable meal in KITCHEN AND EXTERIOR: GARRETT ROWLAND

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 21 GRAND AWARDS 2018 BLUFF: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER HOTEL B Lima, Peru

HOTEL B IS LOCATED in the fashionable neighborhood bistro tables. The restaurant is under the supervision of of Barranco, which is home to many of Peru’s leading noted chef Oscar Velarde, whose menu combines Peruvian artists, musicians, designers and photographers. Housed and Mediterranean flavors. The 17 accommodations come within a white Belle Epoque mansion, it has clearly been in three categories. Four distinctive “Ateliers” surround a designed to provide a social center for the neighborhood. private lounge on the second floor and offer 16-foot ceilings. The high-ceilinged lobby, with its long sofas and modern- This is a stylish boutique property that will appeal to many INTERIORS: KMCEROINTERIORS: art collection, is flanked by a library adjoining a leafy people who don’t normally care for such places.

patio and an intimate dining room with round marble LOBBY: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 22 GRAND AWARDS 2018 EXPLORA VALLE SAGRADO Urubamba, Peru

THIS NEW ANDEAN LODGE is located 25 miles north of foot summit of Sahuasiray. The open-plan main lodge the Inca capital, Cusco. It aims to provide sophisticated contains a long and convivial bar, a library and a dramatic comfort in a wild area and to encourage guests to immerse dining room with a cathedral ceiling. Despite having a spa, themselves in nature. The design is austere but imaginative, housed within a nearby 17th-century hacienda, this is a with unvarnished wooden walls, stripped beams and resort where people come chiefly to engage in strenuous pillars, elevated walkways, vaulted ceilings and panoramic exercise. Although many of the activities are suitable for INTERIORS: KMCEROINTERIORS: windows. Our room was simple, elegant and light-filled. any moderately athletic person, some of the glacier hikes

LOBBY: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER Expansive windows looked out to the snowcapped 19,000- are demanding.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 23 GRAND AWARDS 2018 LAS ALCOBAS Mexico City, Mexico

POLANCO IS AN UPSCALE, walkable neighborhood with A wraparound terrace provided a view of the downtown gourmet restaurants, name-brand shops and high-end high-rises. Amenities include a small spa. There is no galleries. Set in a 1950s residential building, the 35-room swimming pool, but private yoga and Pilates classes Las Alcobas hotel is located on the main Avenida Presidente can be arranged. The property also offers two first-rate Masaryk. The stylish lobby has a black-marble floor, art by restaurants, including Dulce Patria, where well-known chef SIMON BROWN local painter Roberto Cortázar and an extraordinary spiral Martha Ortiz offers a constantly changing menu of refined rosewood staircase. Our Corner Suite was spacious, with Mexican cuisine. Las Alcobas is a sophisticated oasis, with a full-size living room featuring a double-sided fireplace. staff members who are unfailingly gracious and obliging. POOL: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 24 GRAND AWARDS 2018 CHILENO BAY RESORT Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

THIS NEW 60-ROOM, 32-villa Auberge property fronts main amenities are its restaurants. At TnT, a lunch-only one of the few swimmable beaches in Los Cabos. The venue between the pool and beach, our fresh sea bass heart of the resort is a group of three long infinity pools tacos were superb. The open-air space for breakfast and that cascade into one another. On either side of the pools dinner, COMAL, has a chic design and mesmerizing views the accommodations are housed within white two-story of the Sea of Cortez. The food was unfussy but thoughtfully SIMON BROWN buildings divided by desert gardens. Guest rooms all feel composed. Service never failed to be anything less than like junior suites and come with furnished terraces. Aside helpful and genuinely warm.

POOL: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER from the beautifully appointed spa, Chileno Bay’s other

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 25 GRAND AWARDS 2018 RESTAURANTS OF THE YEAR INTERNATIONAL

Caviar and scallops at LOCO RESTAURANT DOMESTIC: RAISFOTO / JESPER RAIS | ARNAUD NICOLAS: ANNE-EMMANUELLE THION

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 26 GRAND AWARDS 2018 Monkfish with edible flowers at Restaurant Domestic Boudin blanc truffé at Arnaud Nicolas

ARNAUD LOCO MADRIGAL RESTAURANT NICOLAS Lisbon, Portugal Panama City, Panama DOMESTIC Paris, France Aarhus, Denmark Chef Alexandre Silva is a Michelin-starred chef At his casually chic shop and celebrity in Portugal, having Andrés Madrigal is at the Tucked away in the lively restaurant on the Left Bank, won Portuguese television’s helm of this exceptional Latin Quarter of Aarhus, young chef Arnaud Nicolas Top Chef competition in restaurant in the historic Restaurant Domestic is is a man on a mission: He 2012. In late 2015 he opened Casco Viejo neighbor- one of the best new bistros wants the French to fall this stylish restaurant, hood. The contemporary in Denmark. The team of in love with charcuterie within walking distance of dining room, with original young, talented chefs has again, because these foods, the Olissippo Lapa Palace stone walls and colorful been awarded a Michelin in their industrially made hotel, and it has already modern art, serves Spanish- star for their excellent New supermarket versions, are earned a Michelin star for Mediterranean dishes that Nordic tasting menus. These now widely regarded as its hypermodern, hyper- employ regionally sourced change regularly and follow heavy, fatty and unhealthy. seasonal interpretation of ingredients. The menu the seasons but run to dishes His light and flavorful char- like oysters with cabbage in ESTAURANT DOMESTIC: RAISFOTO / JESPER RAIS Portuguese cuisine. Diners changes often, but our R

| cuterie, which includes choose either the full sautéed octopus coated in dashi broth, langoustines

dishes like quail-and-dried- menu with 18 “moments” a spicy red mojo glaze was with kohlrabi and burnt fruit pâté en croûte and what or a 14-course “Discover” excellent, while the cannel- cream, and pear poached in just may be the world’s best menu, as we did. Memorable loni stuffed with traditional kombucha tea with brown- headcheese, is superb. And dishes included a traditional ropa vieja (stewed beef) was sugar sauce. Service is so is the rest of the menu, chorizo sandwich inter- beautifully presented and friendly and relaxed but which runs to dishes like cod preted as a steamed bun, a topped with edible flower very professional. The with cuttlefish and celery strikingly beautiful shrimp petals. Though the staff wine list is spectacular and root cooked carbonara style, from Peniche topped with its spoke limited English, they includes numerous bottles or duck breast with a turnip- own electric-blue eggs, and were friendly and helpful. of natural wines (with no and-quince tart. 46 Avenue intensely flavored smoked Chef Madrigal’s talent for additives). Mejlgade 35B.

ARNAUD NICOLAS: ANNE-EMMANUELLE THION de la Bourdonnais (7e). Tel. duck breast with quince combining unexpected Tel. (45) 61-43-70-10. (33) 1-45-55-59-59. jam and savoy cabbage flavors, textures and aromas fried in goose fat. Rua dos makes for an epicurean Navegantes 53-B. Tel. (351) adventure. Avenida A. Tel. 21-395-1861. (507) 211-1956.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 27 GRAND AWARDS 2018 RESTAURANTS OF THE YEAR UNITED STATES JORDAN / RABBIT FOX HOLE PHOTO ARTISANAL: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER ANDREW BY PHOTO ARTISANAL:

Geoduck, grapefruit, lime and chickweed at Nomad.PDX

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 28 GRAND AWARDS 2018 From left: Triple lamb chop at The Grill, and dining room at Artisanal

NOMAD.PDX THE GRILL ARTISANAL SEVEN FISH Portland, Oregon New York, New York Banner Elk, North Carolina Key West, Florida

In February, chef Ryan Rich Torrisi and Mario Artisanal is set on the In 2016, this Key West Fox found a permanent Carbone, the chefs who run grounds of the Diamond classic moved into a strik- location for his molecular the trendsetting Major Food Creek Golf Club. A rustic ingly modern new home, gastronomy restaurant in Group, have opened a new barnlike structure features with sharp angles that Portland, and already it trifecta of restaurants in the a dining room with hard- stand in contrast to the enjoys a deserved repu- Seagram Building on Park wood beams, three-tiered dainty classic architecture tation. Its small Ash Bar Avenue (formerly home to chandeliers, a driftwood of the island’s nearby conch serves inexpensive à la the legendary Four Seasons). horse sculpture and an houses. A huge video screen carte dishes, and at tables While preserving the iconic open kitchen gleaming showing calming aquatic in the restaurant section, Philip Johnson interiors, with copper pots and pans. scenes dominates the inte- guests dine on a multicourse they repurposed the midcen- The boisterous bar area rior. The high caliber of tasting menu. At $135 per tury space into three new offers a menu of handcrafted the unpretentious comfort person, it’s one of the best establishments. THE GRILL, cocktails, but it was the food is unchanged. And the values for this sort of menu which caters to the same calm main dining area that quality of the local fish is anywhere in the world. power crowd who made the delighted us. The restaurant exemplary. If you like crab Some of the most beautiful Four Seasons their canteen, formed a partnership with cakes, you will be thrilled dishes we tried included is the best of this trio, with the nearby Springhouse by those here, which are JORDAN / RABBIT FOX HOLE PHOTO

ARTISANAL: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER ANDREW BY PHOTO ARTISANAL: surf clams with ribbons a couldn’t-be-anywhere- Farm a few years ago, and its crisp and plump and served of compressed cucumber, but-New-York atmosphere seasonal fruits, vegetables in a ginger-garlic sauce. brown butter crumbs, jala- created by a mix of corpo- and herbs are used in every The Thai curry snapper is peño foam and ice plant; rate and creative titans, dish. We loved our roasted- a specialty of the house, lutefisk-inspired salt-cured plus the occasional famous peach-and-heirloom-tomato with the impeccably fresh halibut in decadently rich face. The menu is a roster salad with Little Gem lettuce fish topped by a perfectly halibut cream with garlic of modern comfort food like and whipped burrata, while balanced curry. 921 Truman meringue chips; and red crab gumbo, roasted guinea the Maine lobster and crab Avenue. Tel. (305) 296-2777. wine-braised oxtail with hen with black truffles and “cocktail” with an avocado blackberries under a veil of a Madeira-boosted jus, lamb espuma was exceptional. Parmesan cheese with shiso chops brushed with curry 1290 Dobbins Road. Tel. (828) and magenta leaves. 575 oil, and lemon chiffon cake. 898-5395. NE 24th Avenue. Tel. (503) 99 East 52nd Street. Tel. (212) 206-4085. 375-9001.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 29 GRAND AWARDS 2018 HOTEL RESTAURANTS OF THE YEAR GEORGE V DINING ROOM: RICHARD MORAN |

Lobster carpaccio at Le Petit Nice LOUIS XIII SALON AND MARCHAL: PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 30 GRAND AWARDS 2018 Below: White asparagus with walnut Left: Squid with caviar and oysters at Marchal crust, morel duxelle and lemon sabayon Below: Wild venison, salsify, orange, cocoa nibs at Louis XIII Salon and watercress at George V Dining Room

LOUIS XIII SALON LE PETIT NICE MARCHAL GEORGE V Château de la Treyne, Le Petit Nice, Hotel d’Angleterre, DINING ROOM Lacave, France Marseille, France Copenhagen, Denmark Ashford Castle, Cong, Ireland King Louis XIII would surely Chef Gérald Passédat is In a food-mad city like have felt at home in this one of the world’s finest Copenhagen, a hotel restau- Ashford Castle has recently regal restaurant, with its fish cooks, and having just rant has to be truly excellent been restored at vast ceiling of deep octagonal celebrated the centenary of to attract diners who aren’t expense. On arrival, we coffers, a massive wood his family’s seaside Michelin hotel guests. The Michelin had high expectations of mantelpiece, walls paneled three-star restaurant in one-star Marchal succeeds the food; we were not disap- in silk damask and a wide Marseille, his cooking is thanks to a menu of sophis- pointed. George V Dining Aubusson tapestry. We had better than ever. During a ticated comfort food dishes Room is an elegant space a delicious candlelit dinner recent lunch at his 16-room by chef Andreas Bagh. The with a coffered ceiling and

GEORGE V DINING ROOM: RICHARD MORAN of white asparagus with a hotel, in a handsome dining lunch and dinner menus are glistening Waterford chan- | walnut crust, morel duxelle room overlooking the quite different, so if you dine deliers. During our stay, and lemon sabayon; flaw- Mediterranean, every dish at noon, look for the crayfish everything was delicious, lessly cooked local lamb dazzled with marine fresh- with consommé, agnolotti but standouts included a with multicolored carrots; ness. Passédat’s fascinating with mint and chorizo, and starter of wild pigeon with and a delicate dessert of sauces and garnishes never squid cooked with oysters sweet corn and foie gras, and mille-feuille topped with overwhelmed the natural and Champagne butter and a main course of Connemara vanilla custard and orange flavors of the fish and shell- topped with caviar. High- lamb with roasted château gelée. Our knowledgeable fish. We especially loved lights of the dinner menu potatoes, asparagus and and personable waiter a carpaccio of sea bream include roasted pigeon with a Paloise sauce. Cooked to also acted as sommelier, with bottarga and caviar, salted plum sauce; lobster pink perfection and carved recommending some fine sea anemone beignets with served two ways — the tail tableside, it was Irish lamb Cahors pairings, both red seaweed sauce, and sea bass with pumpkin, grapes and at its finest. Chef Philippe and white. Our dinner here in an aromatic bouillon ginger sauce, the claws with Farineau, who is French, was delicious and extremely of tomatoes and Mediter- Jerusalem artichokes, chest- places a great emphasis on local produce and ingredi- LOUIS XIII SALON AND MARCHAL: PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER romantic. La Treyne, Lacave. ranean herbs. Service was nuts, vanilla and lobster Tel. (33) 5-65-27-60-60. charming throughout the bisque — and baked Alaska ents. Cong, County Mayo. Tel. meal. Anse de Maldormé, flambée with lemon sorbet (353) 94-954-6003. Corniche JF Kennedy. Tel. and licorice ice cream. (33) 4-91-59-25-92. Kongens Nytorv 34. Tel. (45) 33-12-00-95.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 31 GRAND AWARDS 2018 HOSPITALITY AWARDS

CHEF OF THE YEAR: HOTEL MANAGER SOMMELIER OF THE YEAR: KYLE CONNAUGHTON OF THE YEAR: TORSTEN JUNKER SingleThread Farms, Healdsburg, California, YANN POTET Jacob’s Restaurant, Hamburg, Germany United States Château de Mercuès, Mercuès, France During our dinner at Jacob’s Restaurant in Kyle Connaughton has followed an inter- Like all top-notch general managers, the Hamburg’s Hotel Louis C. Jacob, sommelier esting culinary path, having spent years personable and engaging Yann Potet always Torsten Junker went beyond the call of duty cooking in Hokkaido at Michel Bras TOYA seemed to be around, and whenever he to ensure that our wine pairings matched the Japon. (Bras is also noted for his three-star spotted us, he greeted us by name. His love high level of the cuisine. We lamented the THE CONNAUGHTONS: ROMAN CHO Le Suquet in southern France.) On a trip to for the Château de Mercuès became clear lack of German reds available by the glass, ANN POTET: PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER Y |

Japan, British chef Heston Blumenthal met over the course of the private tour he gave and Junker proceeded to offer us access |

Connaughton and offered him a position at us of the on-site winery: He had in-depth to the entirety of the wine list. In addition, his three-star The Fat Duck near London. In knowledge of the hotel’s fascinating history upon learning of our fondness for fine 2011, he decided to open a place of his own and clearly enjoyed sharing it with us. During Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), he opened in Healdsburg. During our 11-course meal, a subsequent tasting, Potet also proved two. We ended up trying a fresh and spicy IMAGES SOL YDO JUNKER: TORSTEN there wasn’t a single dish that we did not find extremely knowledgeable about the wines Weingut Dreissigacker Weissburgunder as compelling. Among our favorites were the and the Cahors terroir in general. Had we well as a richer Franz Keller bottling that wild yellowtail with barrel-aged ponzu, Cara not known he was the general manager, we tasted positively Burgundian. Sheer delight. Cara orange, komatsuna (the greens of a would have guessed he was a sommelier. Junker knows his wines, and he knows how type of Japanese mustard) and saikyo miso; to make a dinner unforgettable. KYLE CONNAUGHTON: ERIC WOLFINGER and Japanese wagyu beef over eucalyptus EXPLORA VALLE SAGRADO KMCERO STAFF: with salsify, snow peas and burnt onion. It was a memorably sophisticated meal.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 32 GRAND AWARDS 2018

STAFF OF THE YEAR: OWNERS OF THE YEAR: EXPLORA VALLE SAGRADO KYLE AND KATINA Urubamba, Peru CONNAUGHTON It’s a cliché, but it SingleThread Farms, Healdsburg, California, “ During our blissful stay at the explora United States also happens to be group’s newest resort, the quality displayed by the young staff members that impressed SingleThread Farms opened in 2016, with true: Ultimately, us most was their boundless enthusiasm. Kyle Connaughton overseeing the kitchen Everyone we encountered gave the clear and his wife, Katina, running the attached it’s the people who HE CONNAUGHTONS: ROMAN CHO T impression that there was nowhere else five-room hotel, plus a nearby five-acre YANN POTET:YANN PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER

| provide the secret | in the world they would rather be. Each farm, as well as a rooftop garden with evening, the guides sat down with indi- microgreens, herbs and fruit trees. Their ingredient. vidual guests and went to endless trouble achievements are all the more impressive to explain all the activities that were on considering that neither of them had ever TORSTEN JUNKER: YDO SOL IMAGES SOL YDO JUNKER: TORSTEN offer. We went on two memorable Andean run a restaurant or an inn before. Today hikes. On the second excursion, I managed SingleThread Farms is an utterly excep- to acquire a painful blister. Rather than tional property. Like a Japanese ryokan — a being irritated, as he might well have been, classic inn that, at its best, embodies the our guide promptly produced ointment highest standards of hospitality and cuisine and moleskin, which together rescued the in a setting of sublime aesthetics — the KYLE CONNAUGHTON: ERIC WOLFINGER EXPLORA VALLE SAGRADO KMCERO STAFF: day. His professionalism and subsequent Connaughtons’ inn embodies the Japanese concern were exemplary. notion of omotenashi, a complete dedication to the art of receiving guests.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 33 GRAND AWARDS 2018 BEST AMENITIES

BEST POOL: BEST SPA: MOST GLAMOROUS BATH: ALILA JABAL AKHDAR WEISSENHAUS GRAND HOTEL EDEN Nizwa, Oman VILLAGE RESORT Rome, Italy Weissenhaus, Germany The main peacock-blue horizon pool at Rome’s venerable Hotel Eden opened in the Alila Jabal Akhdar resort (like those The extraordinary spa complex alone is April 2017 after a comprehensive renovation of the property’s two lavish private villas) worth the detour to this magnificent resort that has left it immaculate and gleaming. is unheated and comes into its own with on Germany’s Baltic coast. The cleverly Our Junior Suite was serene and supremely the onset of Oman’s summer heat. But designed Schlosstherme spa comprises comfortable. Its superbly appointed bath it is not the pool itself but the view from two historic brick buildings connected came with an entirely separate “wet” room it that is truly extraordinary. Located at by a sun-filled atrium, containing a café with both a rainfall shower and a huge an elevation of 7,000 feet in the Al Hajar and, on the other side of a double-sided soaking tub. The latter was carved from an Mountains, the hotel is surrounded by a fireplace, a hushed relaxation room. A immense block of white marble and deco- sun-scorched landscape of fissured hills, large fireplace also faces the swimming rated with a striking gold mosaic. Two sinks jagged cliffs and stark rocky ridges. And pool, divided by glass doors into indoor were set in another magnificent expanse of from the pool’s edge, an immense gorge and outdoor sections. Loungers surround marble, while white-marble boxes contained falls away thousands of feet to a hazy and the pool, both on the ground floor and in a tissues and miscellaneous amenities. The insubstantial horizon. The epic scale and gallery above. A clothing-optional section of lighting was perfectly balanced, and there drama of the scenery would not seem out the spa contains a steam room, two saunas was an abundance of thick white towels. of place in Utah or Arizona. and a chalet-inspired snow room for cooling A vase of white calla lilies and a generous off. I felt like a new man after a restorative supply of Bottega Veneta bath products hammam treatment, part of which I spent provided additional grace notes. lounging in a private steam room.

Villa horizon pool at Alila Jabal Akhdar in the Al Hajar Mountains of Oman ALILA HOTELS & RESORTS & ALILA HOTELS ALILA HOTELS & RESORTS like that. pools are abit horizon Some edge of world. might sail the off worried that they time of Columbus “ Sailors at the

NICOLAS DUMONT NICOLAS

Beach at the One&Only The Palm in Dubai, United Arab Emirates NICOLAS DUMONT to the Persian Gulf. Gulf. Persian to the translocated and entirety its in uprooted been has Manhattan Midtown if as seems it hand, in wine ofchilled glass umbrella, awhite beneath alounger on Relaxing world. the in building residential tallest the now is a1,417-foot 101, that tower Marina around clustered skyscrapers dizzying of forest its with district, Marina ofDubai’s backdrop futuristic the is remarkable beach the makes What sea. ofturquoise expanse acalm by lapped and deep and soft is sand white the as tell, can you that Not real. not is resort Palm The One&Only the at beach the so archipelago, artificial an is Jumeirah Palm Dubai, United Arab Emirates BEACH: BEST ONE&ONLYPALM THE

drinks. They were most refreshing. refreshing. most were They drinks. we dutifully accepted the complimentary tequila. In order to fully evaluate the service, shaken shots of watermelon juice and freshly offering pool, the beside lounging to everyone around waded He angle. rect floating white alarge by supported supplies cocktail and ofshakers aset him with water, the bringing enter sunglasses stylish sporting aman noticed we when pool adults-only the facing loungers in ourselves settled just We to had you. up swims bar the property, Auberge this at But new. nothing ofcourse, are, bars Swim-up Mexico Lucas, San Cabo Resort, Bay Chileno FLOATINGBARTENDER MOST UNIQUE AMENITY: - HOTEL STANDOUTS

BEST CITY HOTEL: THE WHITBY HOTEL New York, New York, United States

The first overseas venture of the London- based Firmdale Hotels group was the Crosby Street Hotel in SoHo, which opened in 2009. In 2017 it was joined by a sister property in Midtown, The Whitby, just off Fifth Avenue on West 56th Street. Firmdale hotels are Clockwise from top: Courtyard, The Crypt bar, and street entrance of Lord Crewe Arms distinguished by the joyful and carefree design of co-owner Kit Kemp, and The Whitby is no exception. The 86 rooms all feature MOST CHARMING COUNTRY HOTEL: LORD CREWE ARMS floor-to-ceiling mullioned windows, which Blanchland, England look out onto the cityscape and flood the Blanchland Abbey was founded in 1165 for a white-robed order of monks, who had come room with light. Each is individually deco- to this remote corner of northern England to live in prayer and contemplation. Today the rated, and the baths are large and luxurious. former abbot’s lodge is the Lord Crewe Arms, a 21-room hotel that also incorporates the The ground-floor bar and restaurant are village pub. The main hotel building comprises a succession of medieval rooms, with especially inviting, with playful décor as LORD CREWE ARMS AERIAL: LIGHTWAVE STUIDOS LTD beamed ceilings, stone-flagged floors, cavernous fireplaces and stone walls hung with well as crisp, friendly service. The Whitby bloodcurdling displays of axes, swords and spears. The accommodations are located in a is very much its own place, but it has all the number of adjacent cottages as well as the main house. In The Bishops Dining Room, chef attributes that make staying at a Firmdale Simon Hicks serves sustaining traditional fare. It being the appropriate season, I opted for hotel such a consistent pleasure. the roasted grouse with spiced red cabbage, which was truly memorable.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 38 GRAND AWARDS 2018 San Clemente Palace Kempinski, Venice, Italy

MOST FAMILY-FRIENDLY: MOST ROMANTIC: HOTEL WE MOST HATED SAN CLEMENTE PALACE THE SWAG TO LEAVE: THE INN KEMPINSKI Waynesville, North Carolina, United States AT NEWPORT RANCH Venice, Italy Fort Bragg, California, United States Located at an elevation of 5,000 feet, The The San Clemente Palace is located on a Swag is a mountaintop refuge that sits on Will Jackson, a self-described “Connecticut 17-acre private island in the Venetian Lagoon, 250 secluded acres and shares a boundary Yankee,” first built a vacation home and then 15 minutes by speedboat from San Marco. line with Great Smoky Mountains National began to dream of constructing an inn. He The property has recently been transformed Park. The 14 cozy and lovingly decorated bought up adjacent land as it became avail- by the Geneva-based Kempinski group. accommodations are hard to leave. And after able, creating a magnificent property with Nowadays the gardens are immaculate a hiking excursion, it is always a pleasure three miles of contiguous ridgetops and and the public areas sumptuous. Here, to return and relax in front of a roaring fire. redwood forests. The Inn at Newport Ranch family groups will find space and tranquility, The wonderfully homey lounge-library in the is entirely the result of his personal vision. a world away from the madding tourist Chestnut Lodge, the porch swings positioned In our suite, four triangular gables came crowds. Aside from a glamorous 65-foot for ideal sunset viewings and the candlelit together in a tour de force of carpentry,

LORD CREWE ARMS AERIAL: LIGHTWAVE STUIDOS LTD pool, the resort offers tennis courts, pitch- tables for two in the dining room all make and thick, bark-covered redwood columns and-putt golf, a three-mile-long jogging trail this property ideal for a romantic getaway. rose through the floor. The inn is neither and a kids’ club for children between the The Swag’s exceptional staff are consistently bed-and-breakfast, nor resort, nor hotel. But ages of four and 11. At the San Clemente charming and unfailingly attentive. it is one of the most distinctive, interesting Palace, children are actively welcome, not and comfortable places we have stayed at merely tolerated. in a very long while.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 39 GRAND AWARDS 2018 BEST TRAVEL EXPERIENCES SEALS: VARIO IMAGES GMBH & CO.KG / ALAMY STOCK |

BEST CRUISE: HURTIGRUTEN Western Norway

The Hurtigruten line was launched in 1893 but you can sign up for different sections Expedition Suites with picture windows,

to offer a daily passenger and freight- à la carte. Recently, we made an overnight double beds and private balconies, but HN

shipping service along Norway’s western journey from Bergen to Ålesund aboard the during the high season, these are reserved UE and northern coastline between Bergen 16,000-ton, 822-passenger MS Trollfjord. for people who book a longer cruise. Having and Kirkenes (a town close to the Finnish The beauty of this stretch of coastline is enjoyed the stunning scenery, we headed and Russian borders known for its views world-renowned, so people from all over to the dining room for an excellent dinner CHRISTIAN H of the Aurora Borealis). Recently, the the globe were embarking as we checked of smoked salmon, cod with mussels, company has been moving upmarket with in for our early-afternoon departure. Our and cheesecake. Our brief passage was

several new ships that are much more Arctic Superior cabin came with a large extremely memorable. Next time, we’ll sign BELMOND ANDEAN EXPLORER: RICHARD JAMES TAYLOR luxurious than the traditional ones. The porthole, twin beds and a small bath with up for an extended journey. classic round-trip voyage takes 12 days, a stall shower. The ship also offers larger

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 40 GRAND AWARDS 2018 BEST TRAIN JOURNEY: BELMOND ANDEAN EXPLORER Peru

Belmond is the world’s leading operator of luxury trains. May 2017 saw the debut of the Belmond Andean Explorer, which offers one- and two-night journeys from Cusco, first to Puno on Lake Titicaca and then to the southern city of Arequipa. The train has 24 cabins with private baths, two dining cars, an observation car, a spa car, SEALS: VARIO IMAGES GMBH & CO.KG / ALAMY STOCK

| a library, a cocktail lounge and a piano bar. The carriages date from the early 20th century, but they have been comprehen- sively modernized. After a delicious lunch of seared sea bass with Andean mint-scented broad beans, we headed to the open-air WILDLIFE EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR: HN section of the observation car, as the train

UE ascended through snow-dusted mountains KAYAKING OFF SAN JUAN ISLAND to the 14,150-foot La Raya Pass and then Washington, United States rumbled at a leisurely pace across the vast When our group of five first set out, banks of fog partially hid the steep bluffs of Washington CHRISTIAN H altiplano dotted with grazing llamas and state’s San Juan Island, and we could see only mysterious outlines in the silvery sunlight. alpacas. Each day, passengers can go on A lighthouse we passed looked positively haunted. Soon the fog cleared, and we spotted an excursion, but the real pleasure of the basking harbor seals and a sea otter in a thicket of kelp. A pod of harbor porpoises surfaced

BELMOND ANDEAN EXPLORER: RICHARD JAMES TAYLOR trip comes from watching the spectacular in the distance. Herons, oystercatchers, cormorants and harlequin ducks were everywhere. Andean landscape unfurl and chatting with At one point, we paused near a bluff to admire some Salish pictographs. As we inspected one’s fellow passengers, pisco sour in hand. the designs, a curious harbor seal pup surfaced nearby to inspect us.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 41 GRAND AWARDS 2018 Ålesund, Norway

BEST ITINERARY: “NORWAY BY LAND AND SEA” As we discovered on a recent journey, Norway is a superb land-and-sea destina- tion for independent travelers. Days 1, 2 and 3 — In Oslo at the Hotel Continental (three nights); Day 4 — Seven-hour rail journey from Oslo to Bergen via the scenic Bergen Railway; check into Det Hanseatiske Hotel (one night); Days 5 and 6 — Explore Bergen; ferry from Bergen to Os and the Solstrand Hotel (two nights); Day 7 — Return to Bergen

for the daylong “Norway in a Nutshell” tour, LESUND: KENSORRIE / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES Å From top: Views of Mount Veronica and the Inca terraces at Moray which involves three trains, a bus and a boat; | board Hurtigruten ship for an overnight MOST SPECTACULAR HIKE: SACRED VALLEY, PERU journey to Ålesund; Days 8 and 9 — Arrive in Ålesund and head for the Hotel Union Øye At the dramatic new explora Valle Sagrado and crevasses on the north face of Mount (two nights), via ferries from Solavågen to resort, hiking is the most popular activity. Veronica (19,334 feet). Soon, we came to Festøya and then Sæbø to Urke; Day 10 — On our first afternoon, we set out with our a plateau from where we could gaze down Ferry on the Geiranger fjord from Hellesylt guide through fields surrounding immemo- at the extraordinary circular Inca terraces to Geiranger and back; drive to the Storfjord rial ocher-colored villages, at an elevation of at Moray. After a picnic lunch of smoked Hotel in Skodje (one night); Days 11 and 12 around 11,500 feet. Eventually, we arrived trout and quinoa salad with lima beans, — Explore Ålesund and environs from the at a viewpoint from which we watched the we continued to descend, through the Brosundet Hotel (two nights); Day 13 — Fly

sun decline and the shadows deepen in the sleepy Spanish colonial town of Maras and from Ålesund back to Oslo and check into SACRED VALLEY: PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER Sacred Valley below. The following day, we the nearby Inca salt evaporation ponds, The Thief hotel (one night) on Tjuvholmen signed up for a 10-mile full-day hike. For the until, finally, we reached the banks of the (“Thief Island”); Day 14 — Return home. first two hours, we descended a winding Urubamba River. For a detailed itinerary, visit path with arresting views of the seracs AndrewHarper.com/go/Norway.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 42 GRAND AWARDS 2018 BEST DRIVING TOUR: DORDOGNE ROAD TRIP Usually road trips have a mixture of scenic stretches and unremarkable (or even ugly) sections. Our recent 13-day drive through the Dordogne and Lot valleys in southwestern France contained almost exclusively the former. The Dordogne is one of France’s most entrancing regions, with a cinematic beauty that seems almost too perfect to be real. Curving gracefully through a landscape of vineyards, pastures and orchards, the Dordogne River is often lined with steep hills and limestone bluffs riddled with caves. And on seemingly every convenient rise stands a château, sometimes alone, sometimes surrounded by a medieval village of golden stone. We also circled down to Cahors, a similarly gorgeous region immediately to the south, famous for its full-bodied red wines. Although these parts of France are relatively unknown in America, they are justifiably popular in Europe. For a detailed itinerary, visit AndrewHarper.com/go/Dordogne. LESUND: KENSORRIE / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES Å |

View from the Château de Mercuès, a recommended stay on our driving itinerary through the Dordogne SACRED VALLEY: PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 43 GRAND AWARDS 2018 INDELIBLE MEMORIES OF 2017

Inca ruins at Sacsayhuaman, Sacred Valley, Peru

ENCOUNTERING THE INCAS WE ARRIVED AT SACSAYHUAMAN when it opened at the most imposing stretch of wall is nearly 30 feet tall 7 a.m. and wandered onto the huge grass-covered plaza, and approximately a quarter of a mile long. The light was where the Inti Raymi winter solstice festival is still held rich and golden as we strolled across the plaza. Without every June, attended by tens of thousands of spectators. distraction or interruption, our imagination could vault We were entirely alone. The enormous Inca fortress and the intervening centuries, and, not for the first time, we ceremonial center stands at an elevation of 12,142 feet experienced an intense and familiar mixture of admiration overlooking Cusco. It was built of massive, irregular blocks and sadness: for the Incas’ extraordinary accomplishments of andesite, some of which weigh up to 200 tons. Today and their culture’s brutal demise. PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER CROUCHING SPIDER: RICHARD HAUGTON RICHARD SPIDER: CROUCHING CALIX MEUS INEBRIANS: ANDREW PATTMAN

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 44 GRAND AWARDS 2018 From top: Guggi’s Calix Meus Inebrians and Louise Bourgeois’ Crouching Spider at Château La Coste

THE “ART WALK” AT VILLA LA COSTE OVER THE COURSE of the past 13 years, Irish businessman Ando, in front of which is a reflecting pool with a sculpture Patrick McKillen has assembled one of the most spectacu- by Alexander Calder. From there, the walk incorporates lar collections of modern art in France on his 300-acre works by the late French sculptress Louise Bourgeois, Château La Coste property in Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade, Tom Shannon, Andy Goldsworthy, Richard Serra, Sean just north of Aix-en-Provence. The estate and its art are Scully and Frank Gehry, among others. Getting up close open to the public and are viewed during the course of a to works of this quality in such a glorious open-air setting two-hour self-guided walk. The visit begins at a striking is a powerful and unforgettable experience.

PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER modern pavilion designed by Japanese architect Tadao CROUCHING SPIDER: RICHARD HAUGTON RICHARD SPIDER: CROUCHING CALIX MEUS INEBRIANS: ANDREW PATTMAN

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 45 GRAND AWARDS 2018 BALTIC PHOTO COAST: BY ANDREW HARPER | From top: Seven Sisters waterfall on the Geirangerfjord, and the town of Geiranger at the end of the cruise

CRUISE ON THE GEIRANGERFJORD ON A MISTY AFTERNOON, we drove south through the dramatic in all of Norway. When the tape fell silent, the Norangsdal Valley in northern Norway to the little town beauty of this narrow body of water, flanked by plunging of Hellesylt. There we caught the ferry to Geiranger, a cliffs of emerald-green vegetation and overlooked by tiny magical hourlong journey along the Geirangerfjord, a farmhouses in impossibly remote or steep locations, left UNESCO World Heritage site. A recorded tape in English us dumbstruck. Among other world-renowned sights, the called our attention to the various scenic wonders along trip takes in the Knivsflå waterfalls and also passes close the fjord, which is widely considered to be the most to the sensational Brudesløret (“Bridal Veil”) falls. BOBCAT: DONYANEDOMAMBOBCAT: / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES WATERFALL: MMUENZL - FOTOLIA / ADOBE STOCK

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 46 GRAND AWARDS 2018 GEIRANGER: WWWDZUPINCOM / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES Clockwise from top left: Acquerello restaurant on the Venetian Lagoon, desert bobcat, and Strandkörbe (beach baskets) on the shores of the Baltic Sea

SUNSET IN THE BALTIC attempting to snatch the bird from the air. It was a close call, but the dove freed itself from the predator’s jaws and THE BOOTSHAUS RESTAURANT at Weissenhaus Grand flew off. The bobcat, no doubt annoyed that we had startled Village Resort in Germany has a fine Mediterranean- it midchase, vanished into the desert. inflected menu, but the real draw is its magical terrace overlooking the Baltic Sea. Because of the northerly lati- tude, the summer sunset lasted the entire duration of our SUNDAY LUNCH ON THE VENETIAN LAGOON meal, the sun lingering for more than an hour just above IT WAS A GLORIOUS spring day and Venice was doing its a bank of clouds. It dappled the mirrorlike sea with pink best to resemble Canaletto’s ideal. The sky was cloudless, flecks, making the blue-gray water resemble a vast, shim- the lagoon was glassy and by lunchtime the temperature BALTIC PHOTO COAST: BY ANDREW HARPER

| mering opal. I marveled at the extraordinary quality of the had rendered all but a cotton shirt superfluous. Out on light and had that wonderful sensation of feeling utterly San Clemente Island, far from the tourist hordes, all was

transported, both in space and time. serene. We decided to have lunch on the terrace of Acquerello, directly beneath the façade of the 12th-century Church A BOBCAT IN BAJA of San Clemente. Established at a table beneath a cream ON OUR EXCURSION into the unspoiled desert near Los umbrella, we ordered a bottle of chilled Prosecco and gazed Cabos, Baja California, we saw a surprising amount of across to the skyline of San Marco. Occasionally, a gleaming, wildlife from our vehicle, including roadrunners, blue- varnished motoscafo would slide past. The food was delicious, and-white scrub jays and desert iguanas. At one point, we the staff were charming, the setting was sublime and for rounded a bend and not 20 feet in front of us was a bobcat a while it seemed that we had been allowed to experience chasing a dove. Just as we spotted it, the bobcat leaped up, the closest that the world ever comes to perfection. BOBCAT: DONYANEDOMAMBOBCAT: / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES WATERFALL: MMUENZL - FOTOLIA / ADOBE STOCK

GEIRANGER: WWWDZUPINCOM / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 47 GRAND AWARDS 2018 Clockwise from top: Cheval Blanc Randheli resort in the Maldives, a silverback mountain gorilla near Bisate Lodge in Rwanda, and a jaguar in Pantanal, Brazil

WHERE TO GO IN 2018

TRAVEL IS NOW TRULY GLOBAL. Once, coverage of places well as Six Senses Krabey Island, I am eager to visit Shinta like the Maldives seemed rather self-indulgent. Today Mani Wild, a luxury lodge and private wildlife sanctuary resorts such as the Cheval Blanc Randheli have become created by renowned designer Bill Bensley. Wildlife, bucket list staples. Elsewhere in the Indian Ocean, specifically jaguars, is also the draw in the Pantanal, a Madagascar has turned up on my radar, chiefly because vast tropical wetland in southern Brazil. However, the of the new Miavana island resort. The country has long country of the moment in Latin America seems to be been famous for its lemurs, but now it appeals to more Bolivia, where adventure-travel options are becoming than just the hardy wildlife aficionado. People want to increasingly sophisticated. Getting off the beaten track in experience places that still seem out of sync with the 21st Europe is a little more tricky, but I’m told thatBucharest , century. Hence the sudden interest in remoter regions of capital of Romania, now has hotels that are potentially of Tanzania, such as the Ruaha National Park, as opposed to a Harper standard. Alas, a primary motivation for travel heavily touristed areas like the Serengeti. In neighboring now appears to be “See it before it’s gone,” which doubtless GORILLA: WILDERNESS SAFARIS / DANA ALLEN

Rwanda, Bisate Lodge provides a new base camp for gorilla accounts for the sudden popularity of trips to the Arctic. NANNINI MARCO FABRIZIO BLANC RANDHELI: CHEVAL safaris in the well-known Volcanoes National Park, while In July and August, it is possible to view polar bears at

the recently opened One&Only Nyungwe House offers Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge, located 500 miles inside JAGUAR: PEDRO HÉLDER COSTA DA PINHEIRO / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES chimpanzee viewing in an untouched area 130 miles to the the Arctic Circle on the shore of the Northwest Passage. south. The Asian country that is currently experiencing the Not a hideaway in the conventional sense, I concede, but most-rapid expansion of upscale tourism is Cambodia. As one that seems somehow in tune with the times.

THE HIDEAWAY REPORT 48 GRAND AWARDS 2018 CHEVAL BLANC RANDHELI: FABRIZIO MARCO NANNINI GORILLA: WILDERNESS SAFARIS / DANA ALLEN JAGUAR: PEDRO HÉLDER DA COSTA PINHEIRO / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES TRAVEL EXPERIENCES BE THIS YEAR? four-night stay. four-night hotels, valuing $1,110 on average per UPGRADES ROOM COMMITMENT DEPOSITS AND AIRLINE FEESCOMMITMENT MAY APPLY. SPA CREDITS Andrew enjoy members Harper    at Andrew Harper Travel to create: Reach out to the travel advisors WHAT WILL YOUR ANDREW HARPER

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