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| Hacienda Benazuza | | Esbelli House | | Nilaya | | Rogner Bad Hotel and Spa | |
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Hacienda Benazuza Virgende la Nieves 41800 Sanlúcar la Mayor Seville Spain
Double rooms cost about £170 per night +7% tax. Just 10 minutes from the heart of Seville by helicopter (that`s no joke there is a helipad), or 20km by car, lies this fabulous hotel which was a bull ranch in the 19th century and belonged to kings and counts for centuries before that. The public areas are splendid, with Moroccan rugs and sumptuous furniture. The bedrooms are huge with four poster beds. The bathrooms are opulent with thick huge towels and plenty of marble. The gardens are spectacular and rival those of Seville`s Alcázar. They include rose gardens, lavender gardens, Moorish water gardens, orange orchards and olive groves. The swimming pool is heavenly: three square pools, one shaded, one sunny and one with seating fed by a waterfall are connected by channels deep enough to swim down. Male guests have to wear a jacket and tie in the dining rooms, but you can have wonderful room service complete with a properly laid dining room table. The food is great with a Maghreb influence - so lots of pistachio nuts, honey, mint and cardamom. The hotel feels very private thanks to its many courtyards and patios, some of which are simply white-washed, others are filled with terracotta plants and towering palms. For reservations call: +34 5 570 33 44 or fax: +34 5 570 3410 |
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Esbelli House Cappadocia Turkey
Double rooms £50-60 per night Family heirlooms can be found all over Esbelli House, which is run more as a home than a hotel by its owner Suha Ersoz. Originally a series of cave houses, the hotel has just seven simply furnished bedrooms and stairs carved out of the fossilised rock. Nearby is the quiet and authentic Turkish village of Urgup, but equally interesting are the freak rock formations which surround the hotel - they`re the result of volcanic explosions three million years ago. For more information call Savile Row Tours & Travel +44 171 625 3001 |
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Nilaya Arpora Goa £130-200 per night including breakfast and dinner This romantic haven, set in a hillside overlooking the sea, has 40 acres of grounds. It was built six years ago by husband and wife team Hari Ajmani and Claude Derain, both interior designers. It has just 11 double rooms all themed on the sun, stars, moon or sky. The food is a superb mixture of East and West, cooked by a French chef. Relaxation is the order of the day: no TVs or faxes can be found here. For more information, contact Western and Oriental Travel (tel: +44 171 221 8677) |
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Rogner Bad Hotel and Spa Blumau Austria Double rooms cost £75-115 The extraordinary architecture of this 271-room Austrian spa hotel may appeal more to children than adults with its wavy lines, garish colours and randomly placed windows. However it is the perfect place for `taking the waters` in the form of thermal baths, mineral waters and cures. Designed by the `organic` architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, parts of the hotel are underground, the floors are sometimes uneven and the roofs are covered in grass. Apart from its strange ethos, the rooms are spacious, with natural fabrics and unvarnished wood. For reservations call +43 3383 5100. |
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