boutique hotel Archives - Style&Minimalism

At The Chapel, Bruton

There are some simple pieces of advice that I received from many of my friends when I told them I was pregnant; read and sleep while you can, go to the cinema, go out for dinner (just the two of you) and spend quality time together. I think we’ve managed to do all five, sometimes even managing to accomplish several in the same weekend, like during our stay at At The Chapel in Bruton, Somerset. We spent two wonderful nights there in June.

Bruton is a small, pretty, quintessentially English village set in the charming Somerset countryside. At the centre of the village is At The Chapel, a popular hub for locals thanks to its chilled out bar, pretty terrace, busy bakery, well stocked wine shop (The Winestore) and a great restaurant that serves up a mean pizza; all housed in a Grade II Listed, 17th-century former chapel. It’s also been a popular place to stay for out-of-towners, wishing to escape the rat race for a weekend of respite. Their eight bedrooms are simply designed with all the mod-cons you need and (if the other rooms are anything like ours) stunning bathrooms. From our bathroom window you could look across the rooftops of the village to the local church tower, and beyond. At the time of our stay we were yet to have our bath installed at home so I took full advantage of the large, deep bath and wonderful REN products whilst there.

Waking in the mornings I was as excited as a small child at Christmas thanks to the novelty of having fresh croissants delivered to our door. The room is stocked with tea and shortbread biscuits, as well as strawberry jam and whole milk in the fridge, perfect for a little pre-breakfast breakfast-in-bed, whilst reading the latest copy of Cereal Magazine. We did then descend the stairs to the restaurant for a light breakfast of poached eggs and the yummiest sourdough toast (one morning) and a bacon roll with locally-sourced and incredibly delicious bacon (the other morning). It’s worth noting that the restaurant uses only the best West Country produce, resulting in a menu of fresh seasonal dishes; all quite substantial in size.

At The Chapel is run by Catherine Butler and Ahmed Sidki, a formidable team. Catherine (formerly of Café Med in Notting Hill) is an extraordinary restauranteur; whilst Ahmed is the one responsible for designing and making the cool contemporary furniture and beautiful curved staircase in the restaurant. What they’ve created together far exceeds these simple descriptions though. It’s a cool, bohemian countryside hideaway with a lively local patronage. It’s also very reasonably priced!

The Hauser & Wirth Somerset gallery is nearby and definitely worth a visit (we should have, and will next time) but we chose to live the country life, driving around the beautiful countryside with the roof down, soaking up the sunshine, heading out to Mells for a traditional pub lunch at The Talbot Inn, before taking a walk around The Walled Garden at Mells, just across the road. I just want to do it all over again!

Santa Clara 1728, Lisbon

Travelling abroad is now become a little unrealistic for me, after flying home from Kos at 28 weeks I decided it was probably my limit for comfort. That hasn’t stopped me dreaming up future travel destinations to visit once the little one has arrived and we’re feeling settled. I’ve been hoping to get back to Lisbon this year, as I loved it so much when I was last there and there’s still so much I want to explore. How dreamy would it be to go back and stay here at Santa Clara 1728?

The Santa Clara 1728 hotel is located on a square in the Alfama district, the oldest in Lisbon. João Rodrigues and his family have taken a fresh approach to the hotel industry. They took an ancient Lisbon building and imbued it with warmth and comfort, to create a space that feels like home to the guests they welcome. João worked with architect Manuel Aires Mateus to evolve the old building in a way that would respect its past whilst bringing light and warmth to its rooms. They chose to use local materials (such as Lioz limestone, pine wood for the floors and handmade tiles), traditional building methods and handmade furniture.

There are just 6 large suites which look out towards the Tagus River. The rooms are decorated with furniture from B&B Italia and Carl Hansen, as well as bathtubs and sinks made from Lioz limestone. Breakfast and lunch are served on a long table in the dining room, encouraging guests from different cultures and countries to get to know each other. There’s also a bright secluded garden with lemon trees where you can sit, relax and read.

It looks like the most calming and relaxing place to stay, the perfect base for our next visit to Lisbon.

Hotel Palacio de Villapanés, Seville

This post was created in collaboration with Hotel Palacio de Villapanés.

We flew into Seville in the early evening and as we drove into the city the light began to fade. The journey between the airport and our hotel (just 25 minutes) revealed little of Seville’s beauty. The light had all but gone by the time we drove down the quiet little cobbled street of Calle Santiago, where our hotel was located.

The Hotel Palacio de Villapanés is a former 18^th Century palace in the Santa Cruz district of the city. The façade of the hotel was still impressive, with its huge dark wooden doors that open onto pink marble stairs and columns; at the top of which a set of ornate black iron gates open onto a magnificent courtyard. In the centre of the courtyard is a classical water fountain surrounded by lush green plants, the soothing sound of the water set the tone for our stay.

We arrived at the hotel just after another couple so we were asked to wait a few minutes in some pretty incredible peacock chairs. We were each given a lovely glass of refreshing Cava to drink whilst we waited. A couple of minutes later we were given a thorough overview of Seville’s old town by Pedro, a member of the hotel’s knowledgable concierge team. We were then shown to our room at the back of the hotel, on the top floor, overlooking a second courtyard. We had a pretty special room, it was simple, comfortable and luxurious with a private terrace and sun cabana. The hotel also has a large roof terrace with a plunge pool that’s open to all guests.

We dropped our bags in the room, changed quickly and headed off to find something to eat. I had been given a few recommendations by friends but as it was getting late and we’d been travelling for the best part of the day we asked the concierge to recommend somewhere good nearby. David (another member of the concierge team) suggested Catalina Casa de Comidas y Más, a restaurant with a simple style that served some wonderful fresh food. I got my octopus fix with a delicious dish of grilled octopus and aubergine, whilst Sophie opted for an amazing courgette salad with smoked sardines, Arzúa cheese and red pesto. We opted for an early night and headed back to the hotel for a nightcap, that’s if camomile tea counts? It was lovely sitting in the inner courtyard taking in our beautiful surroundings.

Our bed was huge with lovely squidgy pillows and two light-as-a-feather duvets (one each). We closed the shutters, pulled the curtains and slept insanely well, to the point where we both slept in late. When we did manage to rouse ourselves and opened the curtains and shutters we were greeted was a wonderful view over the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. One incredible shower with three different jet options and Molton Brown goodies later, I was ready for breakfast. The hotel provides a diverse buffet covering most tastes, as well as offering cooked food and a glass of pink sparkling wine, should you be in the mood.

We were a little gutted to discover the amazing wellness area too late in our stay (we were only there for two nights). The sauna and steam room would have gone down well, had we had the time.

Hotel Palacio de Villapanés, Calle Santiago, 31, 41003 Sevilla

Mr Hanbury’s Mason Arms

This post was created in collaboration with Artist Residence.

**Sézane** Will Jacket in Off-White | **Mads Nørgaard** Tuba T-Shirt in Black/White c/o **Born At Dawn*** | **Levi’s** 501 Jeans in Blue | **Danielle Foster** Bella Mini Bag in Black | **Robert Clergerie** Vicolek Raffia Flatforms | **Chloé** Boxwood Sunglasses in Peachy Orange c/o **SmartBuyGlasses***

For the last bank holiday of the year we headed up to Lincolnshire for the brilliant wedding of our friends, Helen and Alex. (Alex, by the way, runs pop-ups in London and his food is always outstanding.) It was a pretty indulgent weekend and neither of us could face heading back into London on the bank holiday Monday, only to get stuck in traffic for hours, so we decided to take a detour to Oxfordshire and spend the night there, returning to the city early in the morning. And boy was it a good idea, the moment we arrived at Mr Hanbury’s Mason Arms we both felt that we’d made the right decision. Set in the Oxfordshire countryside, the country pub, restaurant and hotel is part of the small but perfectly formed Artist Residence boutique hotel group. It’s a beautiful thatched building that, from the outside, appears quite normal, except for the two fibreglass penguins that greet you at the entrance. Inside it has been decorated in a quirky yet incredibly comfortable way. The first thing you notice is the cool artwork that lines many of the walls. There are cosy nooks by fireplaces for cold days, and a lovely garden and courtyard for the warmer ones.

We arrived at lunchtime and, after a quick game of ping pong in the garden, sat down to share a bowl of mussels and the best Ploughman’s I’ve ever eaten! The food here is really good, in less than 24 hours we managed to eat three meals (lunch, dinner and breakfast) so I feel well-qualified to state this. Some of the ingredients are grown on-site, some are foraged and others are locally sourced. Tops marks to their head chef, Leon Smith for a creative menu that still has all your pub favourites.

The most incredible thing about our stay was our room. We were in the Farmhouse Loft (room 2) towards the back of the building. It has a high pitched ceiling and windows on two sides which gives it a light, airy feel. The style of the room is kind of cosy minimalism with vintage finds, warm wood accents, soft textiles, and (of course) quirky artwork. The well stocked ‘mini-bar’ has lots of yummy treats and there’s a great selection of magazines. We both slept so well in the large bed, so much so I didn’t want to get out of it but my anguish was soon eased by the shower, the large head drenches you and is somehow both gentle and powerful at the same time, by far the best I’ve experienced. The Victorian style roll-top bath had seduced me the night before, by the way. The bathroom isn’t large but everything is well positioned. The big fluffy towels, dressing-gowns and an abundance of organic Bramley products to use during our stay made it feel luxurious.

There’s a lovely story behind how Artist Residence began and what inspired its name. Back in 2006, Justin Salisbury dropped out of university to help with the running of his family’s B&B on the Brighton seafront. His mum had been badly injured and Justin stepped up and took over. The guest house was in a bad state and he had to come up with a clever way to re-invigorate the place without a budget. A little like the Colombe d’Or, Justin reached out to the Brighton art scene, he offered them board in exchange for decorating the rooms. It didn’t immediately take-off and it took a visit from Alex Polizzi to put Justin on the right track. He’s since been joined by his now wife, Charlie, whom he met at university before leaving. Fast forward to 2017 and they have places in Brighton, Cornwall, Pimlico, and most recently, Oxfordshire.

Miró Hotel, Bilbao

This post was created in collaboration with the Miró Hotel.

We were really lucky to stay at the Miró Hotel whilst in Bilbao, it’s a lovely boutique hotel, opposite the Guggenheim. The hotel was designed by fashion designer Antonio Miró and interior designer Pilar Líbano and was the first boutique hotel in Bilbao.

The service was brilliant from the moment we arrived. Having arrived much earlier than I’d anticipated our room wasn’t ready for us, so we handed over our luggage for safe keeping and were handed complimentary tickets for the Guggenheim. This was such a nice touch and made my day as we already had plans to visit. On the ground floor of the hotel there’s a lounge area with free coffee and soft drinks, and lots of design books as well as photography by Marc Viaplana. We sat down there and started to plan our afternoon, the Guggenheim to see the amazing Richard Serra exhibition, followed by a wander and lunch before returning to the hotel to relax. We were booked into the hotel’s Aqua Wellness centre, a private room with a steam room, hydromassage bath and hydromassage shower, for an hour before we got ready to go out for the evening. This was the perfect way to relax into our break and I would recommend it if you’re planning a stay at the Miró Hotel.

Our room was decorated neutrally, creating a calming oasis to escape to for a couple of hours whilst we got ready. It even had a view of the Guggenheim. The bathroom was all slick black marble, very chic and just my style.

Breakfast was worth having at the hotel, ‘The Brown Bread Bag’ came with slices of brioche, German style bread, rustic white bread and a croissant, served with delicious raspberry jam and marmalade. All had been chosen from local producers for their quality. I also had a rather wonderful bowl of crunchy granola and yoghurt.