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FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
The most fashionable
Le Mas Candille, located just outside Mougins, in the hinterland of Nice-Cannes, has for decades been taking advantage of its charming setting and its destination restaurant, specialising in refined yet classic bistro food. Perfectly comfortable, but not breaking any stylistic ground. In 2022, it was acquired by the Courtin-Clarins family and JP Cartier, a French tech entrepreneur turned hotelier, who undertook a complete renovation; a couple of weeks ago, the Mas debuted its new look.
Cartier hired French-Mexican residential interior designer Hugo Toro to dream up a new design scheme that mixes a bit of California gaiety with the cool of the Côte d’Azur. The palette is a grown-up combination of natural greens and earth tones throughout both restaurants, the bar and the 46 guest rooms and suites, with lots of dark wood and an overall effect reminiscent of Hollywood’s Sunset Tower hotel (a good thing). It looks like the Mas will get its share of wellness, too: Clarins’ cousins Prisca and Virginie Courtin are personally overseeing the construction and development of Clarins’ signature spa, called The Shining House.
A hidden gem of Puglia
Hotel Piccolo Mondo opened its doors in the 1960s and has since been run by three generations of the same family. It is situated on a cliff near Castro Marina, on the Adriatic coast south of Lecce, and its 32 rooms occupy several terraces at different levels, connected by stone paths and stairs.
Inside, there are no superfluous luxuries: there are some pretty tiles, crisp white linens, an antique table or two and panoramic sea views. The cliff-edge saltwater pool has a bar and an open-air restaurant during the day. There is a tennis court and a bowling green, and an open-air cinema from June to September. Winding stairs (193 in all) lead down to a private bathing cove. This is old school, proving that charm outweighs great expense.
High style in Sicily (with Etna on the horizon)…
Not long ago, Sicily was Italy’s most remote holiday spot – an island that, apart from the well-known resort of Taormina, was the preserve of the most adventurous travellers. How picturesque it seems: today it is one of the most sought-after destinations in the country. The Thinking Traveller, the specialist in premium villas, started here and one of the first properties it worked with was Tenuta di San Giuliano, a magnificent noble palace and heritage garden between Catania and Syracuse.
New this month, another house on the same property has been added to the portfolio, with a style all its own. ‘Villa Arboli’ is a 200-year-old single-storey house. rustic house The design is elegant and colorful, but not rustic, from the lemon-yellow kitchen and turquoise-tiled fireplace to the burnt-orange walls. Four en-suite bedrooms adjoin a living and dining room that opens onto a terrace shaded by a date palm. The T-shaped pool overlooks orange groves; Mount Etna lies on the distant horizon, shrouded in its signature mist.
The new place to be in Taormina
Taormina, for its part, continues to struggle with its post-war period.white lotus The hotel is a bit of a notorious haunt, but if you look in the right places, you’ll find its charms are intact. A good place to start is Villa Sant’Andrea, Belmond’s beachside beauty, whose 67 rooms, suites and public spaces blend old-school with 21st-century modern style (check out the chic bar the hotel opened in April).
The hotel has just opened Lido Villeggiatura, its beach club. In addition to loungers and umbrellas, there are half a dozen cabanas (which can be reserved throughout the day, for lunch or for spa treatments), plus a full bar and bar menu in the shaded seating areas of the Lido or on your lounger. Throughout the summer there will be programming, from morning yoga on the terrace to DJs, live music and board game nights on Sundays.