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FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Capri’s most glamorous address
Capri is for dreamers, Capri is for lovers and, increasingly, it is only for those with purchasing power to spare, at least in high season. But for those who feel there’s nothing better than a July week here to take advantage of that glamorous jet-setting past (or the person who has dreamed of celebrating their 40th, 50th or 60th birthday), Villa Aiano is an option to consider. Two, in fact, are made up of an upper and lower villa, each with its own set of bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens.
Its 12 double rooms are elegantly distributed on different levels and floors, each with a balcony or garden with views. Then there’s the location: high above the town of Capri and Marina Grande, overlooking the entire Bay of Naples, from Sorrento to Vesuvius. The decoration is indisputable without being grandiose and manifests all the colors and materials characteristic of the south, right down to the delicious green tiled pool. from €25,000 per week, consultations in @villa_aiano
Back to basics (indulgent) in the Balearic Islands
Vestige is the kind of hospitality idea we rate: a small, family-owned and carefully amassed portfolio of boutique hotels, private properties and holiday villas that, as it grows, will meet style and service requirements in original and specific for each place (owner). Víctor Madera’s incipient venture was described as “paradores of the 21st century” in it FOOT last year). After restoring an 11-room palace in Asturias, it opened its doors Son Vell, a 34-room gem in Menorca, last June. This month the first two of what will soon be a collection of houses and private estates for vacation purchases in the Balearic Islands are added.
Santa Ana, which is now accepting reservations, is located on 210 private hectares of olive groves and forest in the south-west of Menorca. In keeping with both Vestige’s house style and its aspirations to create architectural legacies with sensitive restorations, the six-bedroom manor house is quintessentially islands: meter-thick stone walls and cotto floors, a palette of earth tones and nature throughout, but with a contemporary sheen on the base units.
In July, a very different property will come online in the heart of Palma de Mallorca: Miramar is an eight-bedroom townhouse that actually abuts La Seu, the city’s famous cathedral with its Gaudi-designed interiors. Its restoration was supervised by María, Víctor Madera’s wife, and her twenty-something daughters, Marta and Claudia, who work in the company and takes advantage of more color and urban brightness than its Menorcan counterpart.
It is difficult to think of a better buyout in Palma for the next big celebration. vestigecollection.com; Santa Ana from €2,880 per night for 12 people, minimum three nights; Miramar from €5,285 per night for 16 people, minimum two nights
The ultra-private side of Santorini
Canaves is another family-owned and operated business, with four decades of existence in Santorini, a time during which the world watched this Cycladic island evolve from reasonably authentic to hyper-subscribed. Canaves hotels, however, seem to move with agility to evolve, taking advantage of the best of it, from quieter locations to sober architecture and interiors; The reopening of Canaves Ena in Oia this month, newly simplified and recycled, with its light-filled suites and indoor and outdoor space, demonstrates this. Canaves Epitome, on a hill north of the city, proposes a different vision of privacy: overlooking the small fishing village of Ammoudi, the new five-bedroom villa is effectively your own mini-estate (and one of the only properties in exclusive use of Santorini).
Complete with a long infinity pool, fitness area and treatment room, the villa has rigorous right angles, glass and raw volcanic stone, a complete departure from the classic whitewashed Cycladic charm. There’s plenty of indoor and outdoor entertaining space, a large, fully-equipped kitchen for those who enjoy cooking (and hotel staff chefs available if you’re not into that). canaves.comfrom £2,800 per night for 14 people
Luxury hostel life in Costa Rica
Launched in 2010 with a select collection of houses and apartments in London, Onefinestay has since expanded to include country stays and more than a dozen new destinations. Costa Rica, where the company just made available a handful of large, casual-chic homes, is one of the newest. Calla Lily is a contemporary five-bedroom, six-bathroom lodge located on a hill above Guiones Beach in Guanacaste; The boho-surf town of Nosara, with its artisan shops, yoga studios and chic cafes, lies just a few kilometers to the north.
Nothing is too sophisticated here, which fits perfectly with the atmosphere of Guiones: the layout is open-plan, with simple, white living-dining areas, and sliding glass doors and windows that give access and views to large concrete terraces spill. There is a tuk-tuk available to go down to the beaches below. onefinestay.comfrom £1,201 for 10 people