In the countryside a mile out of town, surrounded by manicured lawns and century-old palms, is a very old and aristocratic wine estate (just a few vines now) ingeniously converted into a beautiful restaurant-hotel. The lobby – the old farmhouse kitchen – oozes charm and sets the tone: big sofas, fresh cut flowers, an inglenook fire, a games room with books and poker, blankets and umbrellas to borrow… you’re spoiled rotten from the moment of arrival. There’s a running track, tennis and three delicious pools (one for tots; one with a bridge, a tapas bar and a barbecue grotto). As for the bedrooms, the most tranquil lie off the courtyard to the rear… a wall fresco here, a blossom-print blind there, a mahogany sleigh bed, a roof terrace just for you. The self-catering quarters, reached via a hobbit tunnel under the road, are equally tops. Best of all? The wonderful restaurant, where local specialities and home-grown produce are ferried by warm, delightful staff to atmospherically lit tables in the old wine cellar – or onto the terrace in summer. Breakfasts are outstanding.
