New Boutique hotels
We stayed on Gallic ground this month and so French is the flavour as we travel from north west to south in search of stylish stays throughout France.
Washed up on the shores of southern Brittany, we found a cosy portside cabin in the sailing centre of La Trinité-sur-Mer. Across in Normandy, we hand-picked a laid-back and luxurious guesthouse in historic Honfleur.
Dropping in on Paris as we headed for the warm south, we discovered some extravagantly elegant serviced apartments with Eiffel views on Place de la Trocadéro.
Provence revealed Alain Ducasse’s heavenly hilltop hideaway, and a glorious golden villa perched on the edge of Aix’s old town.
We filled our pockets on the gold-lined shores of the Côte d’Azur, finding a majestic manor house in fragrant Grasse and a minimalist, modernist Riviera retreat in Cap d’Antibes. In St Tropez, we’ve welcomed a celebrity-filled spa by the seaside.
For good measure, we’ve cast an eye Stateside to keep up with the latest movements of UK boutique-hotel heroes, Firmdale – allow us to introduce their sparkly debut in New York.
Next month, we’ll be showing Italy some love with a few finds in Florence and one or two in Orvieto. And Francophiles don’t fear – we’ll be back with a chic chalet in Rhône-Alpes and a remastered water mill in Burgundy.
We've found 11 Smith-approved new arrivals
La Bastide de Moustiers
Provence, France
- Style
- Ducasse's enticing inn
- Setting
- Gorgeous Provençal gardens
La Bastide de Moustiers is Alain Ducasse’s hillside hideaway, and along with its obligatory wow-factor restaurant, the hotel showcases local craftsmanship,…
Bastide Saint Mathieu
Côte D'azur (east), France
- Style
- Rustic yet regal villa
- Setting
- Green, green Grasse
Lush gardens and fragrant countryside surround Bastide Saint Mathieu, a stately historic house with rural grandeur and classic French charm.
Cap d'Antibes Beach Hotel
Côte D'azur (east), France
- Style
- Minimalist modern marvel
- Setting
- Cream of the Cap
Top of the class for architecture and design, Cap d’Antibes Beach Hotel has as much glitter as the surrounding sea, with its polished glass and concrete…
Chez Odette
Champagne-Ardennes, France
- Style
- Mood-lit modern maisons
- Setting
- Forest-fringed Williers village
Snuggled in a green and grassy corner of northern France, on the cusp of Belgium, Chez Odette is a ravishingly restored restaurant with rooms in…
Crosby Street Hotel
New York, United States
- Style
- Witty Brit brilliance
- Setting
- Cobbled SoHo streets
Firmdale Hotels’ kitsch-but-classy English elegance at last extends beyond London, and includes a fabulous restaurant, sophisticated sitting rooms, and even…
