In need of inspiration for your next getaway? Travel experts Mr & Mrs Smith have specially compiled their pick of five hotels that exude vintage charm and style. From a colonial beauty in Sri Lanka’s great outdoors to an eccentric East London bolthole – each of these picturesque properties would up the ante in any travel album.
1. Batty Langley’s, London, United Kingdom
Batty Langley’s is ideally placed as the gateway to this corner of Old London. Rewind a few centuries; at this witty and eccentric hideaway, Batty Langley’s hotel delivers Georgian fun and frolics in London’s fashionable Spitalfields.
Quiet, characterful bedrooms – each one named after a significant local character who lived in the area – are furnished with genuine antiques and oil paintings (pictured).
2. Hotel Providence Paris, Paris, France
Positioned in one of Paris’ coolest neighbourhoods, the decor of Hotel Providence brings a wonderfully warm, evocative and hushed ambience in the heart of Parisian life.
The 19th-century Haussmannian building has been extravagantly renovated: cosy marble fireplaces, oak floors, Art Deco lighting fixtures and flea market finds like Victorian portraits.
All the rooms have been individually decorated, most clad in printed velvet House of Hackney wallpaper (pictured) and Madeleine Castaing carpets, and are fitted with personal cocktail bars for after-hours affairs.
3. Clove Hall Hotel, Penang, Malaysia
Surrounded by a sultry tropical garden, romantic Penang boutique hotel Clove Hall was restored from an elegant Edwardian plantation home in UNESCO-listed George Town. The main hall is furnished with colonial- and Peranakan-inspired decor, white-tiled floors, inlaid glass windows and etched glass light shades.
Clove Hall provides a guide for almost every occasion: heritage walking tours, visits to local artisan outlets, antique hunting, even dinner guides to restaurants off the ‘eaten’ track. Sophisticated service and a sleek pool bring more contemporary creature comforts, making this the perfect residential retreat for heritage-hungry hounds.
4. Rawla Narlai, Rajasthan, India
Tucked away in Rajasthan’s Aravalli Hills at the foot of a mammoth granite rock, Rawla Narlai is a serene escape from India’s bustling tourist trail, transformed from a 17th-century royal hunting lodge. Revel in the splendour and lavishness of Rawla Narlai as it is now a beautifully maintained heritage resort occupying two wings: one historic, the other contemporary with individually decorated rooms.
The vintage rooms showcase each space’s ornate frescoes and archways, while the modern wing is awash with marble and fine filigrees in local designs. All are furnished with the owners’ collection of antiques. The best of Rajasthan is easily explored from here, including heritage temples and forts, lazing leopards, hiking trails and tiny villages.
5. Clingendael, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Wander back to bygone days of colonial splendour and luxury at boutique-belle Clingendael hotel, nestled beneath the ravishing Knuckles Range stands near Kandy. The rooms are all individually designed, decorated with a fine collection of artwork, antiques and furniture, expressing old world charm, combined with modern-day luxury amenities.
Surrounded by sweeping vistas of lush greenery and blushing bougainvillaea at every turn, the compact outdoor infinity pool offers panoramic views of the reservoir, golf course and vertiginous mountains. Clingendael’s gravity-defying hillside setting within the Victoria Golf & Country Resort is a joy for both golf-loving escapists and tranquillity seekers alike.
Adapted from Silverkris.