From a 12-suite pale amber villa that’s shuttered in sage, seven acres of terraces—containing olive groves, mimosa, David Austin roses, fountains, and magnolias—descend to the glinting enamel blue lake, across which boats etch silent lines like tiny water skeeters. Expectations ran high at the 2022 unveiling of this little sister to the Grand Hotel Tremezzo near Bellagio, which is thrice the size of Passalacqua. (Paolo, Antonella, and daughter Valentina De Santis are also the owners of Tremezzo.) But expectations have been surpassed. Etched mirror work, painted glass, and fine, fragrant leather pieces are ubiquitous. Hand-blown Murano chandeliers and Il Bronzetto light fittings—including a magnificent candelabra of brass oak leaves in the dining room—are stand-outs. Splashed liberally throughout is marble, including the Breccia Pontificia, the stone preferred by Bernini and used for the tomb of Pope Urban VIII in St. Peter’s Basilica. This new iteration of Passalacqua is set around the original villa, its 12 suites Baroquely Italian with original frescoes and ceiling carvings.The other suites are divided among the eight-suite palazzo’s repurposed ancient stables that have hefty exposed beams, and, down by the lake, the four-suite Casa al Lago, a streamlined 1970s house. From Rs1,70,864. —Lydia Bell
La Réserve Paris – Hotel and Spa — France.jpg)
I was there when La Réserve Paris–Hotel and Spa opened in 2015 and have returned on numerous occasions since. I was enchanted from day one, and a decade later the spell remains unbroken. Outwardly little about the hotel has changed. Its main restaurant, Le Gabriel, has accumulated first one, then two, and now three Michelin stars. Le Gaspard, its exquisite bar (seats 18) has expanded slightly into the streetside terrace. The foliage in the serene central courtyard has grown ever more dense, treatments in the bijou basement spa ever more sophisticated. With just 40 rooms La Réserve is by far the smallest of the city’s super-elite palace-designated hotels, and it retains a discreet private quality that you might describe as residential—particularly if you are accustomed to discreet private residences that are swathed in silk, velvet, taffeta and cordovan leather, with Versaillais parquet floors, gilded reliefs, and views across Paris from Notre-Dame to the Eiffel Tower. Owner Michel Reybier and designer Jacques Garcia have collaborated on several projects (La Chartreuse de Cos d’Estournel, on the estate of the same name in Bordeaux, is another glorious example). But La Réserve Paris is their masterpiece. From Rs1,78,967. —Steve King
Six Senses Douro Valley — Portugal