European hidden gems: must-visit hotels off the beaten track

De Durgerdam, Netherlands

• Doubles from £312, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

A 15-minute drive or boat ride from Amsterdam city centre, De Durgerdam is a collection of colourful clapboard houses strung along a dike in the rural wildlife-rich wetlands. At its centre a 17th-century inn has been meticulously restored into a stylish restaurant with rooms. Perch on a parasol-shaded bench out front for coffee and madeleines, while folk cycle past on a country escape, before sauntering down the jetty to swim off the pontoon.

The destination restaurant, De Mark, is a collaboration between some of Amsterdam’s most applauded chefs. Dine waterside among the reeds or head inside for cosy, candlelit dinners with nods to the sea at every turn. The cocktail list twists classics with the likes of spiced honey sours while the nautical take on a caesar salad tosses North Sea crab with sea herbs and shavings of Dutch parmesan. A hot skillet of grilled tarragonbrined chicken is best paired with skin-on crispy chips to mop up the salted lemon jus, before a coupe of strawberries macerated in Dutch herbal liquor.

Post-meal, retire to the reading room – a terracotta cocoon complete with antique honesty bar, alluring window seat and wood stove to keep things cosy in the colder months. The 14 rooms are sumptuously decorated in warm, earthy tones with velvet throws, frilly wall lamps and armchairs. There’s a commitment to sourcing everything from the Netherlands, from Zenology products to use in the walk-in showers to Dutch herbal teas, stroopwafels and fisherman’s jenever for sipping in the garden while watching the sun set over the wetlands. The three suites, built into the main building’s characterful eaves, even come with blue Kassl raincoats for walks to the neighbouring farm’s milk tap.

Doubles from £312, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Le Barn, Bonnelles, France

• Doubles from £200 per night, check availability at lebarnhotel.com or booking.com

If you’re looking for a taste of serenity without the burden of long travel, Le Barn, set in France’s Bonnelles countryside, should be high on your wishlist. Just 40 minutes from Paris Orly airport, the 500-acre estate offers an outdoors experience with comfort and luxury.

The grounds are shared with Haras de la Cense, a prestigious horse riding training centre, and there are horses dotted around the vast space, as well as the option to go riding or try the Whisperer’s Experience. Guests are shown the basics of horse training and invited to try what they’ve learned with one of the many animals on site. This hotel is all about switching off and enjoying nature. Digital detoxing is easy when there are warm Nordic baths, a steam room, sauna, electric bikes, forest walks and weekly activities all included in the price. Wind down for the evening with a drink by the fire in the colder months, or under a canopy of wisteria in the garden in summer.

Food is seasonally led, using as much as possible from the kitchen garden and locally sourced produce. The menu changes daily, according to what’s available, but dishes can include stuffed rotisserie chicken or roasted leg of lamb, with sides of roasted carrots, leeks and potatoes. Desserts are a treat not to be missed, including the likes of tarte aux figues and iles flottantes. Breakfast is a satisfyingly French affair: crusty bread, salty butter and homemade jams alongside eggs, bacon and pancakes. Fruit from the grounds is piled high in bowls, including huge grapes and Mirabelle plums.

The 73 rooms are separate from the main farmhouse building, mostly spread across two converted barns, and provide a cosy home for your stay, with balconies that look over the horses grazing in the fields or the lake (which you can swim in). There is a big emphasis on freedom at Le Barn, meaning guests can choose how to tailor their stay and, with most activities included in the room price, it works out very reasonably.

Doubles from £200 per night, check availability at lebarnhotel.com or booking.com

La Guardia, Tuscany

• Doubles from £241, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com or booking.com

Giglio, the second largest island in the Tuscan archipelago, is lush with clifftop vineyards, fig trees and pines. The serene and stylish seaside retreat, La Guardia, is perched atop a granite cave along from the pastel-hued harbour. Brushed concrete and original stone columns are softened with driftwood decorations and wispy wicker lanterns that gently flutter in the Mediterranean breeze. Chic neutral tones continue through to the rooms, all kitted out with luxury Sicilian Ortigia toiletries and many boasting balconies and sea views. Book the junior suite to embrace the elements with a bathroom built into the granite and a beachside terrace for watching the waves lap against the rocks.

Mediterranean flavours and island cuisine are served in the on-site restaurant – sip on a Venetian Select spritz at aperitivo hour before a candlelit dinner of Sicilian anchovies, palamita fish with marinated courgettes, and tagliolini with lemon butter and bottarga. The 70-strong wine list showcases rare bottles from Italy’s islands – Giglio, Ischia, Salina and beyond. Breakfast includes the likes of prosciutto, omelettes with Tuscan cheese, homemade fig bread and freshly squeezed juices. There are sunset yoga sessions on the terrace, healing zen shiatsu and Ayurvedic treatments, and e-bikes to explore the island’s rugged trails, cliff-face vineyards and restaurants in medieval castles.

Doubles from £241, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com or booking.com

San Canzian, Croatia

• Doubles from £303, check availability at booking.com, expedia.co.uk or mrandmrssmith.com

Tucked away in northern Istria’s foliage-rich hills is this medieval hamlet turned intimate boutique hotel, San Canzian. The 28 rooms are decorated in soft, muted tones pepped up with 15th-century vintage furniture and vibrant beeswax canvases. Elegant on-site restaurant Luciano is strategically placed so guests can enjoy an aperitif from the 600-strong wine cellar as the sky turns pink over the olive trees, Adriatic Sea and Dolomites in the distance. Executive chef Pavo Klaric works homegrown and local ingredients into contemporary spins on traditional Istrian dishes – polenta-crusted cod on pine nut cream, rabbit slow cooked in red wine, and agnolotti pasta filled with young Istrian curd. After a breakfast of cured ham, crumbly cheese and fruits plucked from the abundant estate, take laps of the pool or pad down to the serene spa complete with Finnish sauna and candlelit hot tub.

Doubles from £303, check availability at booking.com, expedia.co.uk or mrandmrssmith.com

Brosundet, Ålesund, Norway

• Doubles from £133, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

The motto for this waterside boutique hotel is “curated luxury, the Norwegian way”. Set amid Norway’s striking fjords, Brosundet is housed in a set of converted warehouses perched on a cobblestone walkway beside Ålesund’s main waterway. Design geeks will love the unique features and original round windows of the loft suites as well as the one-room suite in the working lighthouse and the dramatic lobby fireplace that spans four floors.

Each of the 131 rooms is unique but all are simply styled in soft, muted tones with contemporary bathrooms kitted out with Norwegian argan oil skincare brand Sprekenhus. Ground-floor brasserie Apotekergata No 5 focusses on flavours from the Sunnmøre region and spills out onto a renovated barge outside for alfresco dining on the water as sailboats slide past. Arkivet Bar gets its name from a local fish oil business and these days serves old-school classic cocktails with contemporary Nordic twists.

Start the day with a curated breakfast buffet of Norwegian cheese, smoked fish, homemade pastries and Jacu coffee roasted in the same town. Pick up fresh sandwiches and cardamom knots from the on-site corner shop, and head out on an adventure into the fjords for kayaking, fishing and sea wildlife safaris. Reward your activities with a reservation at the hotel’s sophisticated bistro Sjøbua round the corner. Try local delicacies such as lobster bisque, grilled Sterling halibut with Norwegian cabbage and Røros sirloin aged at the bottom of the sea for 21 days. On Saturdays there are Norwegian tea dances accompanied by live piano.

Doubles from £133, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Susafa, Sicily

• Doubles from £273, check availability at booking.com, mrandmrssmith.com or expedia.co.uk

It’s a family affair at Susafa, a sprawling estate that has been owned by members of the Saeli-Rizzuto family for five generations - brothers Manfredi and Tommaso are now at the helm. The fortified, 19th-century farmhouse at its heart sits at the foot the Madonie mountains, near Polizzi Generosa, and is the focal point for overnight guests. Around the farmhouse are 18 simple but chic guest rooms. Between terracotta floors and exposed beams are restful ricotta-coloured walls and the odd pop of olive green or tomato red from a headboard or throw.

A restaurant is housed in the old granary and flavours here take their inspiration from the traditional Sicilian table. Vegetables, herbs, fruit and organic olive oil all come straight from the farm and the menu is elegantly rustic (think tomato salads, caponata and creamy risottos). Join a cookery lesson if you can drag yourself away from the pool.

Doubles from £273, check availability at booking.com, mrandmrssmith.com or expedia.co.uk

Lådfabriken b&b, Orust, Sweden

• Doubles from £133, check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk

An hour north from Gothenburg lies West Sweden’s Bohuslän coast, a series of islands and peninsulas home to fishing villages strung between rugged rocks. On the very western peninsula of Orust island sunshine bounces around quirky, colourful fish crate factory turned b&b, Lådfabriken.

New for summer 2024 is the EKO Tiny House nestled in the cherry, almond and walnut trees of the waterside garden. Split over two levels, it’s a serene, secluded spot to gaze across the Skagerrak Sea at sunset. Owners Johan and Marcel serve family-style dinners such as cod fillets in buttery leek sauce and ‘East meets West’ coconut and lemongrass fish soup using catch of the day via Larsson’s fish shop in nearby Mollösund. When in season there is lobster soup on the menu and evenings dedicated to oyster shucking. Breakfast is a similarly homely affair, seeing the table laden with priest cheese, Swedish emmental, Leksands crackers and an array of homemade preserves – rosehip marmalade, cowberry, lingonberry and more.

During the day, take a kayak out on the crystal-clear water, go wild swimming in the archipelago, kick back with a book on a deck chair in the rocky garden, or clamber over rocks following blue dots to the picture postcard Swedish hamlet of Edshultshall. Here, among red and white clapboard houses, families gather around barbecues on little jetties outside their boathouses. Guests all receive a pick-up stick on check in and are encouraged to join the owners in their #5minutesbeachcleanup initiative to sustain local ecosystems.

Doubles from £133, check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk

Les Sources de Caudalie, France

• Doubles from £272, check availability at booking.com, mrandmrssmith.com or expedia.co.uk

Twenty minutes’ drive from Bordeaux, Les Sources de Caudalie is the epitome of French country chic. There’s a stone manor house at its heart, a small lake, and a hard-working kitchen garden, plus a hamlet-like extension of suites. Great food and wine are the focus at this gastronomic getaway, but even the finest dining (the hotel’s main restaurant, La Grand’Vigne, holds two Michelin stars) is done without fuss.

The newer, cabin-like suites (designed to reflect the oyster fishermen’s huts of Cap Ferret, in the nearby Arcachon Basin), with their whitewashed timber walls, retro-influenced furniture and spa-like bathrooms, are the ones to splash out on; in the evenings you’ll be serenaded by frogs as you return to your room along flower- and water-lined pathways. In the mornings, step onto your private terrace and watch carthorses ploughing the vines just outside.

The three restaurants at Les Sources have most tastes covered. Celebrate a special occasion with dinner in La Grand’Vigne and enjoy a meal where even the table salts stick in the memory (one of ours, blended with Bordeaux pimento, was the colour of roast peppers). The cheeseboard comes with fresh cottage cheese, from a local dairy, served with a dot of cherry jam.

Doubles from £272, check availability at booking.com, mrandmrssmith.com or expedia.co.uk

Castilla Termal Brihuega, Spain

• From £226 per room, check availability at booking.com

Surrounded by lavender fields, this little town in the region of La Alcarria is home to a new boutique hotel in a restored cloth factory. Perfect for food lovers seeking to make new discoveries, it showcases regional specialities, while its thermal waters provide an opportunity to fully relax and rejuvenate.

Breakfast is a delight: all the Spanish goodies like jamón ibérico, pan con tomate and tortilla, plus local ingredients like manchego, honeycomb and tarta de uvas – a grape sponge cake which teams well with the more contemporary touch in the cold drip coffee offered. At dinner, rustic plates like kid goat and the region’s famous rum baba style cake are served in the large glass-domed restaurant. Nearby food experiences include truffle hunting at family-owned TrufaZero, which supplies many restaurants in the region. Guests can dig for the black gold sniffed out by their dog, Nino.

Brihuega’s thermal spa promotes a sense of wellness and relaxation with an outdoor pool, massage jets and a bespoke lavender treatment – a two-hour ritual which includes a lavender scrub, wrap and massage. Exposed brick, wooden beams and floors, a neutral colour palette and dried floral displays add to the calming effect. castillatermal.com

From £226 per room, check availability at booking.com

Sublime Comporta, Portugal

Doubles from £561, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

For a weekend of local wines, fresh seafood and earthy rice dishes head an hour south of Lisbon to the wild sand-fringed coastline, pine forests and stylish beach retreats of Comporta. The area has long been protected by its status as a nature reserve (at its northern end is the Sado estuary, home to bottlenose dolphins, flamingos and storks).

The 17-acre estate of Sublime Comporta, its rooms, suites and cabana villas peppered among umbrella pines, cork trees, frangipane flowers and olives, is a blueprint for low-impact hotel design – stylish and subtle rather than dominating the surrounding landscape. Inside all is minimal and white, with the odd pop of polished concrete or warm wood. Though not directly on the beach (the closest is a five-minute drive away), the vibe is that of a grown-up, romantic beach retreat. There’s also a dedicated spa, using organic Amala products for its range of soothing treatments, and a yoga pavilion.

• Doubles from £561, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Tilia Estate, Slovenia

• Huts from £184, check availability at booking.com

Slovenia is a compact, under-the-radar destination whose diversity of landscapes has stacks to offer visitors who love the outdoor life. Tilia Estate runs a range of cellar tours and tastings of its wonderful wines, some conducted in English – contact them for details. The nearby Theodosius Forest Village – with its seven luxurious wood cabins, some with hot tubs or saunas, set in idyllic woodlands next to its own vineyards – makes a perfect base to explore this beautiful region, where options include hiking, cycling, kayaking, climbing and paragliding.

Huts from £184, check availability at booking.com

Levendis Estate, Ithaca

• Check rates and availability at levendisestate.com

Aussie-Greek couple Marilyn and Spero Raftopulos – plus their (grown-up) children, Kate and Niko – run this collection of four cottages plus swimming pool on Spero’s family homestead. It overlooks a bay in the north of the island and has been going for more than 30 years. Bathrooms come generously stocked with Levendis’ own natural skincare products, while cottage kitchens are pre-stocked with delicious Greek wine, olives and pistachios for that first holiday sundowner. Plus peach juice, bread, homemade jams, local thyme honey, freshly laid eggs and own-recipe muesli for the first morning’s breakfast. Click here for more places to eat and drink in Ithaca.

Check rates and availability at levendisestate.com

Harö Natur, Sweden

• Check rates and availability at 59north18east.com

Take the ferry from Stokcholm to this restaurant and hotel, where your bed for the night is a unique choice between a floating greenhouse, boujie boathouse or glass-fronted treehouse. In the summer months, two Italians take residence on the pizza ovens, or opt for the tasting menu sitting; a succession of contemporary Swedish dishes that might include roe with dill oil and horseradish cream, smoked char with celeriac and cucumber celery jus and woodfire oven lobster with jalapaño cream. Take a dip in the clear waters and warm up in the hot tub and dinky sauna, perched on its own pier, while sunset casts a pink and orange glow over the archipelago.

Check rates and availability at 59north18east.com

Andrássy Rezidencia Wine & Spa, Tarcal

• Doubles from £155, check availability at booking.com

In Hungary’s historic Tokaj-Hegyalja wine growing region (tours of local vineyards can be arranged), this five-star hotel and spa (treatments are tailored around vinotherapy) has won a following among modern-day wine buffs looking for less mainstream tastings. While its restaurant offers modern interpretations of Hungarian classics, it’s the accompanying wine pairing choices that most guests are more concerned about – the list runs to 80 different Tokaj wines from 25 different growers.

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