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We at The Aficionados like to keep our fingers on the pulse of what’s new in the world of hotel openings, restorations and unveilings. From the snow-dusted Alps, to the windswept valleys of the Highlands, and within the tangle of cobbled streets from Niigata to Lisbon, we seek out the beauties that adorn these pages.
But when the jigsaw pieces do slot together, forming a happy synergy of style and imagination mixed with full-of-soul owners and heart-soaring locations, it’s like butter melting on hot toast and we’re filled with good vibes. Staying in at a hotel selected by The Aficionados should mean exactly that – being imbued with a sense of perfect symbiosis, whether that’s in a slate-topped cottage, a woodland design den or a bijou bolthole.
Where Japanese rice country meets French culinary rigour. Auberge Né is a one-suite eco design house and restaurant born entirely from the soils of Niigata.
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A restored Mallorquín estate set within olive groves and terraced hillsides of the Serra de Tramuntana; terracotta floors, honest materials and farm-led dining shape a quietly cultivated rural retreat.
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Ayiopetra is a design-led boutique hotel in Naxos, beside the 6th-century BC Temple of Demeter, blending Cycladic architecture, agricultural heritage and curated interiors into an adults-only retreat.
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Limewash, straw and timber headline at this patiently restored farmstead, where historic bones meet sharp design thinking and rural grit is distilled into a tight edit of quietly confident holiday apartments.
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Farmstead aesthetics slip seamlessly into bed with a contemporary cousin at this bucolic commune of guesthouse and creative venue space known collectively as the DENHARTEN.
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Architect crafted timber villas above the Arctic Circle, offering lake views, Nordic minimalism, Sámi heritage, private saunas and serene immersion in untouched Lapland wilderness.
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Amid the forests of the Bregenzerwald, wabi-sabi simplicity meets architectural clarity in a contemporary Austrian retreat shaped by timber, mountain light, ecological intelligence and the effortless poetry of sustainable design.
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Perched above Lake Walen, Hasenberg Lodge is a reawakened 1970s chalet by architects Michelle Corrodi and Roger Zogg — a soulful private-hire retreat where design, light and Alpine poise converge.
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Timber chalets in the Chiemgau Alps unite self-catering ease with Bavarian soul, sustainable craft and lake to peak adventure, set between Munich and Salzburg beside Chiemsee’s reeds, moorland and mountain light calm.
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A cultured Alpine refuge where design, art and nature converge beside Lake Schwarzsee. A poetic hideaway curated by the Witzmann brothers under the Tyrolean peaks, quietly spirited and deeply rooted.
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Set beneath the Hochkönig peaks, stieg’nhaus is Austria’s newest design hideaway. A modern Alpine retreat of soft luxury, sculptural calm and quiet hospitality shaped by light, craft and stillness.
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Hushed, intelligent design and a narrative of calm define this retreat. Wellness is ritual, food is slow and nature frames a conscious South Tyrolean art of living.
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Get the insider news and lowdown on what we've been up to, where we've been, and who we've met along the way. Be the first to discover new places and get the scoop on our favourites.