Spring refreshes, go-deep wellness and a few glasses of wine for balance: Mr & Mrs Smith’s writers plan to take the seasonal turn meditatively across wellness retreats, a wine resort, coastal crashpad and chic city stays from Paris to Tulum. Read on to see where our editors are flying off to in March…
HEMLOCK NEVERSINK
Upstate New York
As March approaches, I feel it’s time to stop hibernating, and, in tune with spring’s spray of new greenery, invest in an all-natural refresh. If you feel the same, I’ve got the answer for you (or should I say, I’ve ‘goat’ the answer for you): the prophetically buoyant sounding, Upstate New York hideout, Hemlock Neversink. It sounds like a fantasy novel and the huge tract of greenery it sits on could easily be a setting for one. Plus guests pass the time in magical ways, such as hiking with goats — and maybe even baby kids — in animal-therapy sessions, taking lantern-lit nighttime nature walks and finding new and exciting ways to eat plucked-from-the-ground seasonal produce.
Don’t miss Even those who roll their eyes at New Age spirituality will embrace it here — March’s line-up of natural-dye workshops, tastings with a honey sommelier, and ‘Blisswaves’ (synth-led sound baths) are stylishly done. Chic credentials are further secured by a partnership with Brit brand Barbour, whose boots and coats can be borrowed or bought on-site; guests get an online discount too.
NÔMADE TULUM
Mexico
I haven’t set my intentions for March yet, but one will be a visit to Nômade Tulum, a wellness retreat where those seeking will be thrilled to find themselves. Here I’ll need to look beyond the woozier transformative effect of cocktails laced with tequila and coconut liqueur by the sand in the beach club, and do some serious inner excavation (after all, there’s a ‘soul reader’ on-site). Through having my runes read; spending time in the gratitude tent or temazcal; or mapping out my unique energy imprint — pausing to feel the pacifying effect of the jungly surroundings and dine on vibrant vegetarian cuisine and Japanese omakase — I’ll come home rested and reformed.
Don’t miss Temazcal ceremonies are said to be at their most effective during the full moon, which should take place in Tulum on 14 March. And a key aspect of the healing process here is music: the hotel frequently welcomes local DJs and artists to their restaurant and beach club — get a taste of what’s coming up by listening to the hotel’s Spotify playlists.
THE RANCH MALIBU
California
I happily accepted that a punishing A-lister fitness regime wasn’t for me, but The Ranch Malibu — where celebs such as Jessica Alba, Elle Macpherson and Patrick Dempsey come to shape up — could yet mould me into leading-lady material. Exercise and diet plans that begin weeks before you check-in, fully plant-based cuisine and teetotalling are never on my holiday checklist, but there’s a compassionate balance to The Ranch’s programme. Hikes that take your breath away are through California scenery that has the same effect; push-yourself exercises are followed by group hugs, and spells of foot soaks and massages; and eats such as raspberry oatmeal cookies and Vietnamese hot-pot, could make me a recurring guest, star or not.
Don’t miss A garden tour through not so much a garden as a regeneratively farmed Eden that sprawls over tree-furred mountains, produces 2,000 pounds of produce a month, and is home to chickens, Nubian and Nigerian dwarf goats, and thriving apiaries.
HOTEL HANA
Paris
I rarely pass up an opportunity to play the coquette, and a new-to-Smith stay in Paris — in the springtime, no less — feels serendipitous. Hotel Hana is quite the temptress herself, too — architect and designer Laura Gonzalez and fashion-forward entrepreneur Olivier Leone have taken inspiration from its setting, combining the French maximalism of Opéra Garnier with the elegant minimalist style found in Paris’s ‘Little Tokyo’ district. The result is kimono-esque silk upholstery, ukiyo-e screens and wabi-sabi ceramics alongside Rococo colours and service befitting bon viveurs.
Don’t miss Louvre Couture: Art and Fashion: Statement Pieces is the palatial gallery’s first ever style-focused exhibition, and its majestic mise en place showcases great, glittery and full-skirted looks — some inspired by the rarefied surrounds — from 45 fashion houses (Dior, Balenciaga, Schiaparelli, Iris Van Herpen…). And nature gets dressed up, too, as cherry trees blossom in the Tuileries.
Deputy Editor, Kate Weir
BAB AL SHAMS
Dubai
If you’re anything like me, it’s right around March you start to crave a change of scene. January is conquered with discipline, February can be toughed out, but March is for adventure and a glimpse of other worlds. You’ll get both in abundance at Bab Al Shams, a hotel that envelopes you in the spirit of old Arabia. It’s only 40 minutes from Dubai, in the Margham desert, but couldn’t feel more different in character. Here, any accumulation of winter woe or routine drudgery will vanish amid a whirl of Sufi and belly dancers, be expunged among the dunes on a camel trek, or extinguished by tales of djinns and princesses, recounted around a fire beneath the stars.
Don’t miss March brings some of the best weather to the Emirates — warm but not searing, making it the perfect time to get outdoors. In the desert, you’ll find ample opportunities for Land Rover safaris, ATV tours and private hot-air balloon rides over the waving dunes.
THE HOTEL PORTSMOUTH
New Hampshire
Where better to celebrate the arrival of spring than New England, whose very name rings with the promise of renewal. Set in its namesake city in New Hampshire, The Hotel Portsmouth should be your port of call, docked in a colonial-style house with interiors that riff off the Stars and Stripes and nod to the port city’s maritime past. Seafarers can make the most of the hotel’s proximity to the water, taking boat rides along the Piscataqua River or sailing to the Isles of Shoals; homebodies have bakeries, microbreweries and oyster-supping spots on the doorstep; and adventurers have lakes, forests and mountains within driving distance.
Don’t miss March is usually the first month of the year that you can trek New England’s coast without bundling up like the cast of The Revenant. Trace the rugged, rocky outcrops of Odiorne Point State Park or head north and hop the state line into Maine, where you can tackle the Cutts Island Trail.
Senior Associate Editor, Hamish Roy
MONASTIK LIVING IN ATHINA
Athens
Inside every writer are two wolves; a Proust-like recluse committed to a life of contemplative solitude, and a pleasure-seeking extrovert who longs to be amid the chaos of the world. Monastik Living in Athina is one of those rare places that caters to them both. Taking its name from the Greek word for ‘alone’, there’s plenty of room for navel-gazing meditations, with soothing colour palettes and Hellenic symmetry providing a cocooning antidote to the Classical city’s rugged profile and snappy pace. But you only need to draw open the curtains to glimpse the bustling life beyond. And who knows, if Proust had access to a rooftop jet pool with Acropolis views, In Search of Lost Time could have been a very different book…
Don’t miss Lace up; the Athens Half Marathon will turn the city’s ancient streets into a race track on 9 March. Or, for something at a slower pace, Kino Athens, an international, independent film festival, will host daily screenings across the city from the 1–9 March.
DAI GRÉSY
Piedmont
It’s around this time each year when I start pining for longer, warmer days. Oh, to leave the house without 46 layers! But this year, as dry Jan has rolled into dry March, there’s one thought looming much larger than usual. That thought, reader, is this: a large glass of wine, sipped slowly in the sun. More specifically, a full-bodied Barbaresco in the vine-gardlanded Piedmont countryside. And thanks to the Grésy family, who have been cultivating juicy Nebbiolo grapes for some 400 years, I can do exactly that. The family’s hilltop farmhouse-turned-guesthouse, Dai Grésy, has 11 elegant rooms (each with a view), a valley-gazing pool and a soul-southing spa, as well as the region’s pastoral pleasures (truffle-hunting, olive harvesting, plum picking…) at its door step.
Don’t miss Though the Alba Music Festival won’t begin until May, this month, they’re gearing up with a series of free-to-attend events taking place each Sunday at 11am in the city’s Sala Vittorio Riolfo. We particularly like the sound of this one, on 2 March; Jazz: the tale of a musical revolution through American history and society.
Associate Editor, Stephanie Gavan
And keep some space in the calendar for more new arrivals