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Having been stripped back to their bare architectural bones, these designer restoration hotels have their roots in heritage, modernism and heart. Often discovered in an often ruinous state, these salvaged beauties are a testament to the owners' dreams and vision - turning them into a unique genre of cool design dens.
It takes a curatorial eye and a great deal of patience, money and passion for turning a derelict building into your dream hotel. Yet rather than trying to "re-create history", which frankly never really works, these icons have bravely opted for the purest, modernist interior notes. The "look" always comes with a statement of clear design, form, function and calculated simplicity with sleek interior combos of old & modern that are a dramatic and added wow factor of creative discipline.
Mesmerhaus, once the sexton’s home, is today a wonderful style chameleon of ornate exteriors and simplistic elegant interiors. The effect is of refined originality, a heritage house reduced to its essence through a calming language of decorative stillness.
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Set against the forested Beskydy (Beskids) range in the Carpathian Mountains, this 200-year-old designer hideaway fosters modern Czech country living whilst giving heritage a hug, decked in whites, linens and twisted rafters.
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Built as an ‘alqueria’ (an Arabic farmhouse) in the 12th century during Mallorca’s Arab rule, which then became a Jesuit monastery in the 18th century, the house and grounds were in ruins; the estate utterly overgrown.
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As the property neared finishing, Fabio took the decision to keep the garden wild and naturally indigenous – where the boundaries between garden and rural countryside were blurred.
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Created within a former Augustinian cloister and chapel, Hotel August in the Flemish city of Antwerp was designed by one of Belgium's most acclaimed architects, interior designers, and product designers, Vincent Van Duysen.
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An aged former Convent, the history and heritage of this house has been lovingly exposed to play host to modern furnishings and a chilled vibe right in the heart of old town Pienza.
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Taking their cues from the pomegranate tree fresco, you’ll find accents of sage-green, terracotta and ochre scattered on cushions – the only colour against a sea of grey, black and beige.
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Birch and smoked oak hug the thick walls and capture the house’s DNA from the days as a farmhouse barn. Once a resplendent Renaissance home to the Bishop and favoured lodgings for the merchant traders heading along the Romanesque Via Claudia Augusta.
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The Hirschen "Young since 1755", is a love pot of heritage, wellness, art, culture, food and style – a Wunderkammer of familiar nostalgia reframed for the nomads who seek roots and prefer to sleep with history.
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With a handful of rooms, suites and studios to opt for, it is tough to know which one to fall in love with - they each have a distinct identity and are all infectiously gorgeous.
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Unapologetically vivid, this preferred pad of intellect and creativity is awash in Art Nouveau flamboyance tamed with clever 1950s-inspired design interventions. A stylishly cool home of the arts, brushed with boldness.
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Whilst most people wisely steer clear of a crumbling abandoned building, others, thankfully, are drawn to them like a bee to nectar and instantly fall in love - for they can see a future and a purpose.
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A fabulously humble basecamp of good design for kindreds of style, Brücke 49 is a collection of rooms, suites, studios and apartments in the high-in-the-mountains creative enclave, Vals.
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Built into the original Medieval town walls of Hall, this former guilders’ house of traditional Tirol style has stood here for well over half a century with records dating back to 1450. Today, behind the rose petal façade, lies the small Kontor Boutiquehotel.
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Restored within a former monastery, this fabulous design hotel and foodie hotspot brings together the stone mason, blacksmith and wood worker with the artisan makers.
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Sleep under medieval frescoes, sweep down labyrinthine corridors, lord it up on the lofty ramparts or stroll through the Mediterranean garden, admiring the ivy-clad castle backdrop.
Hushed luxury greets this solid stone casa in its cubic form, topped with terracotta tiles, reconfigured for sophisticates that like to tap into Italy’s pervading dolce far niente culture.
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This reclusive stopover will give you reason to pause and take in the stillness of your environment while revelling in the perfectly blended alchemy of Scottish and Scandinavian style.
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Gail and Miles Curley know the power of their greenery-filled outdoor setting in the urban hub of Lisbon. In fact, it was the garden that they first fell in love with – a wild untamed space that they knew would translate as chilled, all-natural exclusivity in a buzzy city that never sleeps.
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The edgy contrast of an aged coaching inn where artsy installations lend an air of east-side gallery – this is a cradle of the arts and style where a bold, contemporary curatorial scene is flanked by twisted beams and heritage-thick walls.
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The fabulous boutique Hotel Julien, with its mansion-house pedigree in the heartlands of old-town Antwerp, is a self-confessed curator of the arts, designer pieces, antiques and mid-century furnishings, which adorn the handsome salons and rooms in comfy elegance.
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A tiny weathered Scottish farmhouse plays host to Scandinavian contemporary design and Scottish crafted pieces from the Highlands - an irresistible combo of old and new, heritage meets the design - affectionately known as the 'Scandi-Scot'.
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The perfect amalgamation of old and new, Benedikta breathes fresh life into Vorarlberg heritage traditions in this smoothly crafted private-hire house originally built in 1836, located in the sleepy village of Vandans clasped by the wildflower-strewn valley of Montafon, west Austria.
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Bijou refuges crafted deep in the countryside or clinging to the wild coastline, these hideaways bring style to their natural location.
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We love finding a patch of really good design production, architecture and style. When executed well, it's like walking into a fantastic novel.
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Peer into the treasure pot of one-off brands, rarity and inherited blueprints - each throwing a punch at blandness as the incubators of curiosity, originality and legacy.
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Get clued up on our natural ALPINE TRAVEL EDIT - cool dens and mountain porn pair with living with heart, this is the Alps as we love it.
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