Great finds in travel around the world
Three Getaway Destinations – to do absolutely nothing for a while
If, like me, you want some time off, without even having to run to a spa appointment.
Room at the Cape Grace Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa
CAPE GRACE HOTEL, Cape Town, South Africa
You’re in a quiet, luxe-comfortable room with views of Cape Town harbor. The spa is upstairs. But downstairs is Bascule, an excellent bar featuring more types of whiskey than you ever imagined — at least 400 at any given time. Order one (or two) to sip in your room while contemplating the yachts docked below. Ready to sit down and read, but finished your last book on the plane? They’ve stocked the room with several, in your native language. After reading for a while, when you’re ready to put down the book, you find one more small thing just where you need it: a Cape Grace Hotel bookmark.
The Inn at Little Washington
INN AT LITTLE WASHINGTON, Virginia
After an amazing meal, stroll to your room which is through the garden, or just upstairs. Get into your robe and collapse into an armchair. Pick up the book that happens to be lying on the table next to your elbow, and it’s your favorite childhood classic. Later, before turning out the light, pour yourself a taste of port from the bedside bottle they’ve set out for you. Sweet dreams…
Meadowood
MEADOWOOD NAPA VALLEY
It’s late afternoon and you’ve just arrived at your room. Before trotting down to the spa. swimming pool or dinner, maybe there’s time to stretch out on the couch and read a few pages of an escapist novel, or a bit of Napa history from the book you borrowed off the shelf by the wine tasting at check-in. The setting sun slants into your eyes. You close them and realize the air has cooled in end-of-day Northern California. You reach out, and there’s an afghan at your fingertips. You pull it over, sighing contentedly.
HOTEL CHEVAL, low-key luxury in Paso Robles, which happens to be a great wine destination. Right off the main square, you’re at the hotel in half a block. If you’re not ready to retire, grab a bottle and a few glasses and relax by the outdoor fire, cozy year-round in California’s cool night air. The next morning, feel pampered when you discover the customizable breakfast basket left outside your door.
HOTEL SAN ROCCO, a small, very welcoming hotel with an incredibly fine restaurant in a tiny town in the wine-oriented region of northwest Istria (Croatia) Stay upstairs, enjoy the pool or spa if you have time.
Mas Passamaner,a boutique hotel and spa with a high-end style restaurant,out in the Tarragona countryside near the wine regions of Priorat and Montsant in Spain, just about in the middle of nowhere.
Poggio Etrusco, a farmhouse-style B&B owned by very knowledgeable cookbook author Pamela Sheldon Johns, in the Tuscan countryside near Montepulciano, Italy Apartments or a room. Breakfast outside your door in the morning, or with other guests in the main house. Pool in the summer. Quiet year-round. Daily info about everywhere in Italy, food-wise, from Pamela.
Domaine des Grands Devers – a friendly, basic B&B and winery in Haute Provence, France, with a winery run by four brothers of a famous wine-making family. A small and wonderful find on a little lane amidst fields and vineyards.
