we love…

Hot hotels

Wherever you go this summer, make sure you stay in style

BY GEORGIA BARCLAY

Beach baby

Just over an hour’s drive west from FARO along Portugal’s Algarve coastline, MEMMO BALEEIRA is the perfect bolthole for sun seekers. The contemporary, chic rooms come with mesmerising views overlooking the Martinhal Bay Islands. Located in the small township of Sagres, within a 10-minute walk of the hotel there are numerous beaches where you can swim, surf or windsurf, and enjoy freshly caught fish from one of the beachside cafés. Head to the pool area to top-up your tan, or to the spa for an outdoor massage that lets you take in the magnificent view as you succumb to soothing hands. Double rooms start at €75; www.hotelopia.co.uk

Belle of the pool

Take a dip in the horizon pool [left] at Hospes Maricel in Palma [right]

This summer sees the opening of a new wing at the HOSPES MARICEL in PALMA and the addition of 24 rooms. Each has its own luxurious private pool, built using traditional Balearic dry stonewall techniques. Located just a short drive west of Palma in the village of Calvia, the hotel and its glorious main pool overlook the lapping waters of the Mediterranean Sea. All rooms are beautifully decorated and take full advantage of the natural light that streams in. And after a hard day soaking up the rays, watch a spectacular sunset and an après-sun cocktail at the hotel’s pool bar.
Double rooms start at €395; www.hospes.com

Surfing dude

Grab your board and check into the BAY HOTEL, ideally located on the world-famous surfing beach Fistral in NEWQUAY. Book a room with a sea view and you won’t need to leave your bed to check the surf conditions! Surfy chicks will love the “surf-andspa” experiences created by sports-brand Roxy and spa experts ESPA: after a day on the waves, you’ll be booked into the hotel’s gorgeous spa for treatments to ease away any post-surfing aches
The glamorous swimming
pool at hotel 3.14 in Cannesand pains.
Two nights from £145 (€185) per person; www.newquay-hotels.co.uk

Seaside glamour

Fly into NICE, travel the short distance to Cannes and be blown away by eccentric hotel 3.14. Located 50m from the town’s famous beach – La Croisette – the hotel enjoys a private section of the beach where you can lounge on a sunbed and take a dip before tucking into an alfresco lunch. Or of course you can just laze by the pool. Rooms are creatively decorated to represent different countries, and even diffuse perfume so all your senses are touched! The rooftop is dedicated to relaxation, with a traditional Turkish hamman, an outdoor massage cubicle and swimming pool.
Double rooms start at €155; www.avantgardehotels.com

FRENCH FAVOURITES

• If it wasn’t for all the vineyards awaiting you in the Bordeaux region, you might never want to leave the newly renovated Regent Bordeaux. Located opposite the National Opera Theatre, all rooms have been elegantly redecorated by famed French designer Jacques Garcia, and the new-look complex now features a sumptuous spa, gourmet restaurant and a chichi luxury shopping arcade. Doubles from €235, www.theregentbordeaux.com

• Book a private pool suite at Paris’s Murano Urban Resort [right] and you’ll be given access to a très chic Audi TT cabriolet to zip around the city! Located close to the Picasso Museum, the hotel is a high-tech heaven, with all rooms accessed via fingerprint recognition. Pool suites start from €2,500, www.muranoresort.com.

BUDGET BIRMINGHAM

Sometimes you just need a comfy bed without an exorbitant price tag. Nitenite to the rescue! This new generation of smart, boutique-style value hotels caters for the cost-conscious guest. Birmingham is the first city to be blessed with a Nitenite hotel, with more planned throughout the UK and Europe (Manchester is next on the list). Rooms have been designed to evoke the feeling of a yacht cabin [right] and although compact, have a full-size double bed, 42in plasma screen TV and ensuite wet room.
Double rooms from £54.95 (€69), www.nitenite.com