32 DEPARTURES TRAVEL ON
32 DEPARTURES TRAVEL ON THE HORIZON Clockwise from right; outside the new Como Le Montrachet; the immaculate pool area at Les Haute Mers; inside a suite at the Hôtel De Verdun 1882 as The Maybourne Riviera (maybourneriviera.com), a sister hotel to Claridge’s inspired by the modernist spirit of Eileen Gray’s E-1027 villa nearby. Orchestrated by Paddy McKillen, the 69-room white-and-glass new build by Jean-Michel Wilmotte brings together world-class talent in art, interiors and gastronomy. Inland in the Luberon, the dynamos behind Les Roches Rouges (beaumier.com) are busy with two major redesigns for May, both with pared-back modern-rustic interiors by Parisian design studio Maisonjaune. The 30- room Capelongue overlooks the hilltop village of Bonnieux, while Le Galinier, a villa housing nine rooms, suites and apartments, is in Lourmarin. Meanwhile, Grasse-based perfumery Fragonard has chosen the cultural hub of Arles for its first B&B and boutique, La Maison Fragonard (fragonard. com). Renovated and restyled by Renzo Wieder and the Saint-Lazare design studio (formerly Be-Poles), its six rooms – eclectically furnished with antiques and one-offs – are just steps from the Roman amphitheatre and only a little further from Frank Gehry’s new tower at the Luma Arles arts centre. The East Montrachet and Como are both leaders in their fields, so the advent of the wine estate and wellness retreat Como Le Montrachet (comohotels.com) in Burgundy is doubly exciting. Due to open from late this year, the spa retreat in Puligny-Montrachet will have 31 “sanctuaries” spread across four 18th-century buildings, all designed by Milan-based Paola Navone. In Lyon, the three-star Hôtel De Verdun 1882 (hoteldeverdun1882.com) combines a rich history with an upmarket location in the Charité Ainay district. Renovated by Studio Olivier Guyot and refurbished by inveterate travellers and bargain-hunters Isabelle and Gilles Moynier, the 30 room-hotel is now as poetic as it is elegant – and the Moyniers are peerless guides to the antiques and vintage stores on their doorstep. The West The Château de Brindos outside Biarritz is a 1930s-built Hispano-Moorish confection with a sparkling history inspired by its “enchanted” lake – when the moon is full, legend has it, white-veiled figures emerge from the water lilies and dance. Following a renovation by Millésime (millesimecollection.com), it’s due to resurface in April with 29 rooms, some floating on the lake. Thirty kilometres off the Vendée coast, the 24sq km Île d’Yeu has remained under the radar, not least because it’s only a 45-minute ferry crossing from Fromentine on the Vendée coast. In mid-April, however, the Caillou Bleu reopened as Les Hautes Mers, a 17-room hotel from the same note-perfect collection as the Torre Vella in Menorca, Domaine de Fontenille in the Luberon and Domaine de Primard west of Paris (lesdomainesdefontenille. com), drawing fresh attention to the island’s native flora and whitewashed houses, not to mention its 33 beaches. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: MARTIN MORRELL, FRANCOIS MARINE, KAREL BALAS CREDIT GOES HERE CREDIT GOES HERE
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