You can almost smell the pumpkin spice as September comes into play, but it’s not cosy-sweater season just yet. The sun has extended its stay in Europe, while further-flung destinations limber up for peak season. This month, join the Smith team as they sip vermouth in Mexico, tuck into Newfoundland’s fresh Arctic char, find cosy comforts in the Highlands and (cold) plunge into holistic wellness in Palm Springs.
Terra Palm Springs
California, US
Don’t choose between self-care and self-indulgence on your time off — at dreamily laidback Terra Palm Springs they muddle together as beautifully as the tequila, lime and marine collagen in the hotel’s signature ‘Terra-rita’ cocktail. More precisely, an oxymoronic ‘wellness cocktail’, ideal for someone like me with many an abortive detox in their wake. Holistic healing does come first here: rooms have cold plunges and spa tubs, and days spent in the Himalayan salt sauna or rain room can be enhanced with add-on juice cleanses and red-light masks (Smith guests get one day’s free use of the latter). But, like a naughty friend, Terra also guides you to the Cali comfort food of Workshop Kitchen across the road or to sundowners with views of the San Jacinto mountains.
Don’t miss One of many celebrations of Palm Springs’s LGBTQ+ community (Terra itself was a welcoming hideaway for ‘bears’ back in the day). From 24–28 September, The Dinah isn’t just the desert city’s largest lesbian, queer and non-binary music festival, but the largest gathering of its kind in the world.
Kate Weir, Deputy Editor
Mira Earth Studios
Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico
Think ‘Mexico’ and perhaps Frida Kahlo’s colour-saturated works, rainbow towns garlanded with papel picados, or serapes in highlighter stripes come to mind. But deep in Baja California’s wine country, Mira Earth Studios shows that the country’s design brilliance is also evident in horchata-hued minimalism. The hotel’s rammed-earth walls and roofs sprouting native plants make it almost imperceptible from above (you can take a helicopter ride to prove it), but there’s local colour aplenty, from touring the local cellars and bodegas, to horseback explorations or sampling the house-made vermouths, wine-based spirits and pineapple daiquiris. And suites are far from spartan with private Jacuzzis and infrared saunas.
Don’t miss Some vine-to-wine action. September is prime grape-picking season in Valle de Guadalupe and you can help with harvesting, treading and tasting, of course, at El Cielo Resort, just a 20-minute drive away.
KW
Warblers at Trinity
Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada
In Newfoundland and Labrador, September is a sweet spot when the days are still long enough, the weather remains clement, the crowds have dispersed and the landscape is poised for its fall costume change. A brand-new beachfront bolthole is adding to our sugar-high: when I wrote the profile for Warblers at Trinity recently, I was struck at how upscale the specs are for each of its newbuild houses. The kitchens are chef-standard; the interiors are thoughtfully curated; and the space in both two-bedroom Sunrise and three-bedroom house, First Flight, is cleverly arranged as much for socialising as squirrelling away, with reading nooks and fire-warmed porches. Warblers has its own beach and jetty, too, but it’s hiking that’s likely to dominate days here, with starred tracks including the Skerwink Trail.
Don’t miss The Bonavista Bienniale runs until 14 September and includes art trails featuring a number of contributing venues around Port Rexton and Trinity.
Kate Pettifer, Senior Content Editor
Vione Paros
Greece
Paros has a special place in my heart. My first trip to the island was when my younger sister got married there in 2012, and I’ve tagged along with her to her husband’s family home there ever since. Over the years, the island has changed a lot, gradually becoming chi-chi-er than ever, though it’s always had a more cosmopolitan feel than some of its sleepier Cycladic neighbours.
With its rise in popularity has come lots of development, and a new hotel for this summer was Vione Paros. This harmonious hideaway is on the north-east coast, within walking distance of the village of Ampelas (and its beach clubs and restaurants) and a short drive from picturesque port town Naousa, where the levels of chi-chi peak.
Don’t miss September might be the new August, but if you’re lucky, the island will be quieter (and a little cooler). Dance with fishermen over shots of souma at the Festival of Trata (a trata is a traditional fishing boat),, celebrated in island capital Parikia in early September. Or join the islanders as they observe the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, in the villages of Ageria and Aliki on the 14th.
Caroline Lewis, Senior Associate Editor
Cristine Bedfor Málaga
Spain
Her name might sound decidedly English, but Cristine Bedfor Málaga is as Iberian as they come. This is the follow-up to the Menorcan edition, which debuted on Balearic shores in 2021 (there’s another outpost in Seville, too). The owner — who, alas, isn’t called Cristine — has impeccable taste and is well versed in the art of flea-market-treasure unearthing. So, it’s great news that she’s transplanted her brocante chic over to the mainland. For her next maximalist mission, she’s restored a 19th-century mansion in the historic heart of Málaga, with the help of design studio Marta de la Rica.
Don’t miss The school-holiday crowds will have dispersed a little by September in time for the traditional events that take place this month. These include niche days dedicated to the raisin and the almond, both staples of Málaga’s cuisine — Día de la Pasa is marked in the town of El Borge on the third Sunday of September; Día de la Almendra is celebrated on the 28th.
CL
Dornoch Station
Scottish Highlands, UK
September often has one last heatwave left in it, and as someone who spends most of August itching to dust off the chunky knits and get Carole King’s Where You Lead blasting, I tend to favour cooler climates over one last stint in the sun. For me, there’s no calmer a place for watching the colours turn than the Scottish Highlands. And Dornoch Station, a few miles off the NC500 in Sutherland, is the embodiment of that rosy-cheeked kind of cosiness. With firth-fringed beaches, trails that ribbon the region’s scenic landscapes, and direct access to Dornoch’s famous links, there are outdoor pursuits aplenty. But its charms continue when you return: chefs spin seasonal bounty into elevated classics, drams warm the chills away and grand rooms bring evenings to a cosseting close.
Don’t miss The artisan-filled markets that set up shop nearby most weekends, or the Dornoch Pipe Band Parade playing their final pibroch of the season on the 13th.
Ellie Nelson, Content Writer and Editor
Hotel Certosa di Maggiano
Siena, Italy
With Madonna recently celebrating her 67th birthday in Siena — watching the city’s historic Palio horse race with a two-foot-tall Labubu cake — naturally, I’m inclined to book the first flight out to Tuscany to follow in our lady’s footsteps. But that’s not the only reason, since I’ve had my sights set on Hotel Certosa di Maggiano, a revamped 14th-century monastery on the fringes of the Renaissance city. Though the hotel’s monastic origins shape its spirit, its creative soul stems from its time as the home of artist Anna Ricordati, who hosted glamorous gatherings for cinematic stars like Monica Vitti and Alberto Sordi throughout the Seventies. Today, you’ll find a lantern-strewn bar, a rose-pink pool terrace and fragrant lemon grove primed for alfresco lunches. Like a prayer, I’m hoping someone may just take me there.
Don’t miss Visit Siena’s mediaeval cathedral anytime in September to catch a special uncovering of the original floor, a remarkable marble mosaic inlay and graffito masterpiece that speaks to the region’s legacy of artistic excellence.
Stephanie Gavan, Associate Editor
Keep some space in your calendar for our other new arrivals