Hotel Stays out of the Past

Polhawn Fort, dramatically posed on a cliff overlooking the sandy beaches of Whitsand Bay in Cornwall, offers an exclusive opportunity to unwind, far from prying eyes. With a private beach, large lawn and all-weather tennis court, Polhawn Fort is hired out for exclusive use where you have the entire place to yourselves, and can do pretty much as you like. Situated in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty, the Fort provides superb walks into the further reaches of Mount Edgcumbe Countr...

It was a rainy day of November when it started. By chance we reached a tiny hamlet, called Montebenichi, upon a hill in Chianti, not far from Siena, Italy, where we fell in love with a medieval tower in total disrepair, asking for help. At least it was we felt at that time and, of course, we could not hold out. In a matter of days we acquired the tower and in a matter of...... years (!) we were able to complete an accurate and archeological restoration of the old building, then amicably called ...

I have been fortunate to have grown up in large houses, and after my parents separated when I was 14 until around 20, when not abroad in school I lived mostly with my father at my grandmother’s house, a house palace in the centre of Seville, the “Casa Palacio de Guardiola”. Life in a palace provides many differences to life in an apartment, and in most cases, the difference is for the worse – at the palace. Most of all, there is the sense of homeliness, which in a palace...

Szidónia Castle in West Hungary dates back to the 16th century when it was built as a single storey Nagyerdő or hunting lodge for the Felsőbüki Nagy. The castle was the centre piece of the Felsőbüki Nagy’s 3000 hectare woodland estate, which included 25 houses and 5 farms. The castle was rebuilt in about 1750 in the Romantic or Neo-Classical style by the reformer Pál Felsőbüki Nagy. The new building was U-shaped and encircled by 8 hectares of leisure grounds...

Situated on the slopes of the Serra da Esperanca in the Beiras region of Portugal is the splendid Pousada de Belmonte, once a 13th century convent. In Portugal Pousadas are historic places made into luxury hotels and the history of Belmonte is truly quite colorful. Belmonte is famous as the birthplace of Pedro Alvares Cabral, the great Portuguese explorer who discovered Brazil in 1500. It is said that he found it by accident. He was on his way to round the Cape of Good Hope in Africa when he wa...