round-up - Butterfly House Bahia

8 Travel Saturday Guardian 27.07.13
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100BoutiqueHotels
61 The Belmont Dallas, USA
Restored to its full 1940s art-moderne
glory, this kitsch, retro motel bounces
with an air of loving pastiche. Yet the
terrace bar pulls off modern cool with
its grade-A views out over the Dallas
skyline and local bands play poolside
gigs during the summer. Rooms are
mini-galleries, showcasing Texas
artists above the headboards, while the
outdoor hot tub and garden have earlyevening relaxing written all over them.
— +1 214 393 2300, belmontdallas.com.
Doubles from £80
62 The Jane New York, USA
A budget hotel in New York usually
means scrimping on style, but not
at The Jane, with its seafaring-style
decor modelled on ships’ cabins – it
was originally a hotel for sailors before
becoming a rock‘n’roll pad in the 80s
and 90s. The rooms come in three
sizes: singles, bunks and doubles,
they’re titchy but perfectly formed
with bags of character (vintage-style
wallpapers, brass fittings) and techy
stuff, and it’s in the West Village, near
the Meatpacking District.
— +1 212 924 6700, thejanenyc.com.
Bunk bed rooms for two from £70
63 The Burrard Hotel
Vancouver, Canada
Clearly designed by a hipster Fonzie,
this 1950s motel in Vancouver’s
downtown has been given a modern
makeover with a retro-licious flavour.
The list of in-room amenities (free
Wi-Fi, HDTVs with free premium
and movie channels, plus Nespresso
machines) rivals any five-star and
the (albeit bijou) bathrooms are
well-stocked. The sun-trap patio has
bubblegum-shade chairs and you can
borrow one of the Brooklyn Cruiser
bikes from reception to freewheel
around nearby Stanley Park.
— +1 604 681 2331, theburrard.com.
Doubles from £82
64 El Secreto de Pozos
Mineral de Pozos, Mexico
In a wild desert town straight out of
the movies, this tiny arty retreat offers
tranquillity, with three cool, simple
rooms featuring exposed beams and
terraces, and gardens of sculpture
behind white walls separating it from
the square. It’s attached to an art
gallery with exhibitions by Mexican
and US artists, and is well placed for
exploring the Central Highlands’ other
art towns, Guanajuato and San Miguel
de Allende.
— +52 442 293 0200, elsecretomexico.
com. Doubles from £50
Caribbean
and Latin
America
65 L’Hotel Palermo Buenos
Aires, Argentina
Beyond a shady courtyard draped
with 50-year-old vines lies a hidden
garden, where an inviting pool
sits between ivy-covered walls
and clusters of pot plants. In the
24 guestrooms that surround it,
there’s a French theme, as the name
suggests, with much of the whitewood and wrought-iron furnishings
coming straight out of a Provençal
country house. There’s a giant brick
barbecue along with a roof terrace
that offers up views over the buzzing
Palermo Soho neighbourhood
– so you’re firmly planted in the
Argentinian capital – and with a
perfect location to boot.
— +54 11 4831 7198, lhotelpalermo.com.
Doubles from £83 (low season), £94
(high season)
61
The Belmont, Dallas
64
62
63
The Jane, New York
The Burrard Hotel, Vancouver
65
L’Hotel Palermo, Buenos Aires
66
Cirilo is 15 minutes’ walk from the
centre of this colonial gem of a city,
has a luscious garden and emerald
pool in the shadow of the walls of an
18th-century church. There are six lowlit rooms and a suite, some featuring
parts of the old walls – and the staff are
wonderfully helpful.
— +502 7832 6650, hotelcirilo.com.
Doubles from £80 B&B
Swakopmund, with its windswept
beaches and Bavarian churches, is
something of an African oddity, feeling
more like a north European beach town
than the gateway to the Namib desert.
Hip guesthouse Villa Margherita, or
simply “The Charming House”, as its
Swiss owners call it, is an excellent
base for exploring. The renovated
colonial villa has eight rooms,
complemented by the building’s many
original features, such as elaborate
staircases and panelling, with vibrant
colours and pop-art canvasses.
— No phone, i-escape.com. Doubles
from £99
70 Hacienda Venecia
Manizales, Colombia
El Secreto de Pozos, Mexico
67
Deep within Colombia’s world
heritage-listed coffee triangle,
20 minutes from the town of
Manizales, Hacienda Venecia is a
family-run coffee plantation, which
opened its doors to visitors three years
ago. At the 100-year-old colonial-style
main house, old world elegance is
the order of the day. Each of the six
rooms is filled with vintage furniture,
hummingbirds hover on the veranda,
peacocks strut around the pool and
the coffee, sublime of course, is free
flowing. The hacienda also offers
excellent tours of the farm.
— +57 320 636 5719, haciendavenecia.
com. Doubles from £73
Sea-U Guesthouse, Barbados
68
71 Butterfly House Maraú,
Bahia, Brazil
67 Las Olas Lake Titicaca,
Bolivia
Fancy spending a night in a giant
sculpture? Las Olas is a magical retreat
on a hillside above the shores of Lake
Titicaca and Copacabana beach, with
seven suites in their own two-floor
buildings shaped like eggs, beehives
or fairytale towers, with stained glass
windows, circular beds in alcoves,
and shell-like spiral staircases – all of
which have been created by German
sculptor and owner Martin Stratker.
Each has its own kitchen and garden
with hammocks. One has a bed on
a platform reached by a rope ladder,
another an indoor water feature. It’s
an incredibly creative place, with a
great cafe too.
— +591 2862 2112, hostallasolas.com.
Doubles from £28
74 Villa Margherita
Swakopmund, Namibia
Built by a British businessman in 1926,
this lavishly-decorated villa, is in the
gateway city for the Galápagos and
overlooking the Guayas river. It was
restored and turned into a boutique
hotel in 2007 but is like travelling back
a century – while being able to drag
all the mod cons with you. European
art, opulent chandeliers and antique
furniture cover every inch of the
building.
— +593 4 256 6044, mansiondelrio-ec.
com. Doubles from £80
66 Sea-U Guesthouse
Barbados
A place to soak up the sun, in a
deckchair on your porch with a beer
in hand, overlooking beautiful tropical
gardens and out to sea … that’s this
Bajan-style retreat, which has been
created by a German travel writer.
Palm trees are slung with hammocks
in the garden, breakfast features
coconut and banana bread, the
Bathsheba beaches are a stroll away.
Surf or yoga lessons are available,
along with Bajan meals served in a
breezy gazebo. Rooms are grey wood
panelling, with rattan chairs and
tropical prints.
— +1 246 433 9450, seaubarbados.com,
Studios from £93, if you book four nights
or more online
68 Hotel Cirilo Antigua,
Guatemala
69 Mansion del Rio
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Las Olas, Bolivia
69
Mansion del Rio, Ecuador
Hotel Cirilo, Guatemala
70
Hacienda Venecia, Colombia
PHOTOGRAPH OF LAS OLAS, BOLIVIA, BY ANNA BATCHELOR
North
America
Chloe, the young English owner of
the Butterfly House, allegedly ended
up here by sticking a pin in a map.
Good choice – this stretch of Bahia,
north-east Brazil, has mile upon mile
of gorgeous palm-tree-fringed beach
to play on, and Maraú has that whole
deserted tropical paradise thing going
on. This pousada has three suites,
all beautifully designed with in-laid
Moroccan tiles and a liberal use of
bamboo, plus five bungalows with
small verandas and outside showers,
spread over the spacious grounds.
And there’s a restaurant, bar, pool and
beautiful gazebo set in tropical gardens.
In the morning, steaming pão de queijo
(cheese breads) and hot coffee appear
on your veranda as if by magic.
— hiddenpousadasbrazil.com. Doubles
from £73 B&B
Africa
72 Palais Oumensour
Taroudant, Morocco
What makes Oumensour unique –
besides the reasonable prices – is that
it is run entirely by women. Led by the
charming Meri, the small team serve
Moroccan home-cooking for supper
at this elegant six-room riad with a
lovely courtyard garden in the heart of
Taroudant. The rooms are traditionally
styled with tadelakt bathrooms and
carved-wood furniture, there’s a small
pool for cooling off and the obligatory
roof terrace for sundowners and
snoozy afternoons.
— +212 528 550 215, hotel-taroudantmaisondhotes-maroc-hotes.com.
Doubles from £60
73 Schoone Oordt Western
Cape, South Africa
A restored country house in historic
Swellendam, Western Cape (a twohour drive from Cape Town), this fiveroom hotel features luxurious rooms,
pretty rose gardens and fabulous food
and wine. The grounds were given
national monument status in 1983.
— + 27 028 514 1248, schooneoordt.
co.za. Doubles from £77
75 Hotel Dar Dhiafa Djerba,
Tunisia
Beds tucked away in curved alcoves,
patterned rugs, lanterns and glass wear,
tiny courtyards and bougainvillea,
staff in tunics and fez, heavy studded
wooden doors … Traditional Tunisian
features combine within old village
houses that have been converted into
the atmospheric Dar Dhaifa. The hotel’s
restaurant is introduced so on the
website: “The pleasures of the table are
honored to offer you a greedy stay, and
our promising young chef will enjoy
you with his talents for a moment of
delight.” Never mind, it’s great!
— No phone, hoteldardhiafa.com.
Doubles from £76
71
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Butterfly House, Brazil
73
Schoone Oordt , South Africa
Palais Oumensour, Morocco
74
76 Riad Chi Chi Marrakech,
Morocco
A modern take on the classic riad, with
whites and creams replacing the typical
busy colourful patterns and tiles of
most. Four rooms and a suite surround
a central courtyard with archways.
A few lanterns, tasseled lampshades
and lattice work remind guests where
they are. Breakfast is served on the
roof terrace, and dinners such as lamb
and prune tagine are available.
— i-escape.com, Doubles from £80
Villa Margherita, Namibia
77 12 Decades Hotel
Johannesburg, South Africa
75
You’ll find this eclectic hotel in
the Maboneng Precinct, a mixeduse creative development that has
transformed a dilapidated area in
the eastern part of Johannesburg.
Its 12 rooms have all been decorated
by a different designer to reflect the
influence of a particular decade, such
as the gold rush in the late 1800s
and early 1900s, or the Bantu theatre
movement that was curbed at the
beginning of apartheid.
— +27 011 026 5601, 12decadeshotel.
co.za. Doubles from £58
77
12 Decades Hotel, Johannesburg
78
Middle East
78 Feynan Ecolodge Wadi
Feynan, Jordan
One of the most magical places to stay
in Jordan, the Feynan Ecolodge lies at
the bottom of the Wadi Feynan in the
Dana Biosphere Reserve, surrounded by
desert. Guests can spend a wonderful
day hiking down to reach it if they don’t
want to arrive by road. From the outside
it looks like it has risen straight from the
desert floor. Inside, candles illuminate
simple interiors at night, making the
26 stone rooms, library and communal
dining area romantic and glamorous.
A rooftop terrace for stargazing, a craft
shop and handicraft workshops, add
interest.
— +962 6464 5580, feynan.com.
Doubles from £80
Hotel Dar Dhiafa, Tunisia
76
79 Ahmedia Heritage Guest
House Dubai
The Ahmedia feels more Marrakech
riad than Dubai bling-buster. Inside,
simple coral stone buildings, rooms
with wooden roofs and antique
furniture cluster around peaceful
central courtyards. Persian rugs, red
and gold drapes and dark-wood double
doors add a sense of place, while the
upper level sundeck is prime lie-backwith-a-book territory.
— + 971 4 225 0085. ahmediaguesthouse.
com. Doubles from £5L1
Feynan Ecolodge, Jordan
79
Riad Chi Chi, Marrakech
Ahedmia Heritage Guest House, Dubai