My favourite hotels of 2022
As we near the end of the year, I thought I’d put together a roundup of my favourite hotels that I discovered in 2022 for the first time. This year finally signalled the start of travelling abroad again as borders began to reopen, and I’m incredibly grateful for all of the places that I was able to travel to. Ranging from super luxe properties to boutique boltholes and contemporary cool properties, you can be assured that each of these hotels I’ve shared below is unique in design, has a delicious food offering (one of the most important things for me when staying somewhere), and a beautiful setting to feel like you’ve truly escaped the everyday. Make sure to add these to your 2023 holiday bucket list.
Sugar Beach Viceroy, St Lucia
Nestled between St Lucia’s famous volcanic Pitons, Sugar Beach is an all-inclusive luxury resort that you won’t want (or need) to leave as soon as you step foot inside the 100-acre estate. Occupying a former sugar plantation, whitewashed bedrooms are designed in a colonial style, and are either perched on the cliffside with dramatic views onto the ocean, or positioned mere steps away from Anse de Pitons beach, arguably the best stretch of sand on the entire island. With over four restaurants to dine at, a kid’s club to occupy the little ones, an incredible spa suspended in the jungle treetops, and a personal butler attending to your every need, you can be assured that you will be very well looked after here. This is the kind of resort to escape to when you want a taste of the tropics, and a holiday where you can just kick back and relax.
Read my full hotel review here.
Can Ferrereta, Mallorca
Arguably the chicest hotel on the island, Can Ferrereta is a hidden gem tucked away in Mallorca’s lesser-trodden Santanyi. Quietly unassuming from the outside, this 17th-century mansion has 32 bedrooms spread across the main house and gardens, each designed in neutral palettes and elegantly chic furnishings: think deep bathtubs and slick wrought-iron four posters. Alongside two restaurants, the hotel boasts a chic spa and outdoor pool where guests can lounge on sun beds in the warmer months and do absolutely nothing (pure bliss!). While the majority of British tourists might flock to the western side of the island, booking a stay at the elegantly luxe Can Ferrereta is well worth the detour.
Read my full hotel review here.
Soho House, Rome
In my opinion, one of Soho House’s best designed properties, Soho House Rome is located in the Italian capital’s lesser known, industrial neighbourhood of San Lorenzo. Bedrooms are generous in size, and have a cool, Mediterranean feel: you’ll find gleaming marble countertops, deep bathtubs, curved sofas and retro lamps in every individually designed room - along with Soho Houses’s signature Cowshed products and home made cookies. Alongside the rooftop pool and club spaces, check out the hotel’s Cecconi’s Terrazza, where you can dine on the best handmade pasta you’re likely to find at any Soho House property.
Reschio, Umbria
Undoubtedly one of Italy’s most exciting hotels, the Reschio estate sits on the Tuscan-Umbrian border, injecting refined Italian elegance into 1,500 hectares of Umbrian wilderness. Occupying a restored 11th-century castello, bedrooms here are impossibly slick, featuring four poster beds, gleaming marble bathrooms and fully stocked minibars - muted palettes of deep reds and blues, and impressive attention to detail is mirrored throughout the rest of the property. Guests can bike around the estate, lounge by the oval-shaped pool shaded by towering pine trees, ride horses in the equestrian centre, and dip in the Roman-style spa - enjoying the oasis of calm that is Reschio - before dining at either of the hotel’s two restaurants.
Read my full hotel review here.
Borgo Pignano, Tuscany
A sustainable hotel at its core, Borgo Pignano is a luxury eco-estate nestled on a Tuscan hilltop, offering sweeping views over the surrounding hills - any other sign of life is many miles below. Encompassing a hamlet of stonewashed buildings, bedrooms are each individually designed, featuring original frescoes and antique furniture, and sit within the main villa or its surrounding buildings. Besides lounging by the pool (dramatically cut into the cliffside where an ancient limestone quarry used to be), guests can spend their time here foraging in the gardens, painting, and tasting wine - before dining on exquisite Tuscan fare in the evenings.
Read my full hotel review here.
Sao Lourenco do Barrocal, Portugal
Potentially Portugal’s most exciting boutique hotel, Sao Lourenco do Barrocal is a 200 year old, family-run estate in the relatively untouched region of Alentejo. Boasting its own vineyards and working farm nestled within 780 hectares of wilderness, you’ll find stripped back but elegantly luxurious bedrooms spread across whitewashed cottages covered in ivy and shaded by bougainvillea. Days here are spent biking through fields of wildflowers, lounging by the pool, or being pampered in the Susanne Kaufmann spa, before feasting on delicious farm-to-table Portugese fare. You’ll find yourself quite literally separated from the rest of the world and wishing you could stay forever.
Read my full hotel review here.
The Pig at Harlyn Bay, Cornwall
One of the more recent Pigs in the litter, the Pig Hotel at Harlyn Bay is potentially my favourite of the bunch, and located on a dramatically scenic cliffside in Cornwall. Roll up to the grey stone farmhouse and dust your boots on the flagstones in the entranceway before stepping inside, where you’ll find yourself instantly greeted by The Pig’s signature warmth. Gothic features and moody corners are cheerfully offset by The Pig’s classically kitsch velvet sofas and shabby-chic vintage rugs. Imagine you’re in an episode of Poldark and curl up with a hot chocolate by the fire - and come the summer months, dine at The Lobster Shed, the hotel’s seafood restaurant located just a few minutes’ walk from the cliffs.
The Hoxton Hotel, Barcelona
The Hoxton’s first Spanish transplant is located in Barcelona’s artsy Poblenou district, and much like the rest of the hotel brand’s properties, you can expect contemporary-cool design and all round good vibes here. Step inside, and you’ll find bold pops of colours around every corner: chic textures and squishy sofas abound, and spacious bedrooms are equally as well designed. Alongside a Detroit-style diner on the ground floor where you can indulge in deep-dish pizza, guests can wander up to the hotel rooftop to slurp cocktails by the pool, and munch on tacos with views over the Sagrada Familia.
Rothay Manor, Lake District
Arguably one of the most beautiful parts of the UK, the Lake District naturally attracts a steady stream of visitors throughout the year. Despite this, it’s hard to come by a hotel that marries comfort and chicness at an equal level…enter Rothay Manor’s brand new Pavilion suites. Separated from Rothay Manor’s main house, book into one of the hotel’s cosy new design suites: expect pistachio coloured walls offset by wine-red velvet headboards and mustard sofas, alongside outdoor hot tubs, and generous bathrooms with freestanding baths. After a long walk over the hills, tuck into the most exquisite tasting menu where you can expect beautifully presented fine dining akin to some of the best Michelin-starred restaurants.
Gleneagles Townhouse, Edinburgh
Sister hotel to Gleneagles, this Edinburgh bolthole is far from your regular city hotel. Occupying the historic building that was once the Royal Bank of Scotland, expect beautifully designed bedrooms with sweeping canopied bedsteads, plush antique rugs, and all of the little luxuries you might expect: chocolates waiting for you upon arrival, fluffy bathrobes to curl up in, and views right onto St Andrew Square. Tuck into delicious Scottish seafood and the most scrumptious breakfasts imaginable underneath the vast dome at The Spence restaurant, before heading up for an evening cocktail at the hotel’s rooftop bar Lamplighters.
Read my full hotel review here.
Have you been to any of these hotels? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!
