Where to check in

Vast estates, architectural splendor and an atmosphere where luxury and simplicity effortlessly blend. From a hidden gem in the Algarve to a stylish retreat on the Italian coast and a mansion that was too expensive even for an American president. Staying in a unique room or suite? This is where you want to check in.

EUPHEMISTIC FARM

Arriving in the evening is nothing less than magical: the wide open gate in the middle of a national park, and then driving up the driveway lined with illuminated palm trees to the beautifully lit white farmhouse. At least, that is the term the Dutch owners (he a successful entrepreneur, she a former member of the editorial staff of a major newspaper) use euphemistically for it (like the Vanderbilts and co called their mega mansions in Newport 'cottages'). In reality, it is an estate recently completely renovated by the famous Portuguese architect Frederico Valsassina, or better yet: a kind of village, a series of 19e-century houses and former workshops and wineries, connected by streets and squares where the former water basin has now been transformed into a gigantic swimming pool. Caretaker Ciprian awaits the guests. He remains the one who is always there during the entire stay, arranging everything, from breakfast to trips, sporting events or whatever. Each ultra-luxurious house (each with multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen, terrace or garden) can be rented separately, but the best thing is to rent it completely with family and/or friends (total 26 beds). The beautiful grounds with vineyards and olive groves are located in a rolling national park on the quiet side of the Algarve, within walking distance of the sea where all kinds of eateries can be found on the local boulevard, hardly affected by tourism further on in the Algarve. Call it all understated chic without the snobbish fuss of the mega-rich resorts such as Vilamoura a little further on. It's not cheap of course, but not exorbitant either (prices for 2025 have not yet been set exactly, but for the entire 'village' for 26 people, expect around €25.000 per week in high season). Further on the grounds lives chef Ben van Geelen (ex Toscanini, Bordewijk, A la Ferme, Tout Court) who is exclusively available for the stay at all times for a lunch, dinner or whatever, if you don't feel like going to a restaurant or whipping something up yourself. And then there are special weekends to book, with pilates lessons, drawing or sculpting lessons (by the famous artist Jurriaan van Hall) and so much more. I don't say it often, but personally I found my stay here one of the nicest rent-a-villa experiences of my travel life.

ELEPHANT ON A ROCK

Juliana and Bernhard had a country house in Porte Ercole called The Elephant, named after the favourite animal of the now reviled prince. Every year the press was allowed to take pictures there for half an hour of the supposedly simple holidaying royal family, anxiously avoiding the fact that their mega yacht was anchored a little further away, because well, that would only contradict the supposed simplicity of the holiday home. The town is still quite simple, compared to other Italian coastal towns, with so far only one notable hotel a little further on the peninsula, Il Pellicano. That is now getting competition from La Roqqa, which represents the now so popular new simplicity in all its luxury: sleek, modern interior with nods to the sixties and seventies, cast floors, wooden – not very comfortable – chairs, terracotta floors and lots of beiges and whites. All 55 very spacious suites (from 540 euros) have a balcony or terrace with dream views over the sea, the harbor (now without Bernard's yacht, because the children didn't know how quickly they had to sell both after daddy and mommy's death) or the landscape. The staff as well as the food is as local as possible, the communication is extremely contemporary (room service and other requests are via Whatsapp), and there is a private beach club Isolotto (five minutes on foot, but for lazy people also within a few seconds via the hotel shuttle) with cocktails that are named after Caravaggio's paintings, because he is the local name to fame. He is buried here, struck down by illness or murder (more than four centuries later, that is still not solved), after he fled from Rome to here because he had murdered someone there. The man was a genius painter, but certainly not a hottie. You don't need to bring a book, because the house library is well stocked. And a special bravo for the large, soft, absorbent towels; very difficult to suppress my thieving urge for hotel stuff (but I managed it after much self-reflection). The hotel is closed from November to April.

TOO EXPENSIVE FOR A PRESIDENT

Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to a cereal empire, was rich. She owned houses like castles. Her favorite place was Mar-a-Lago, a 126-room, neo-Mexican-style mansion that she bequeathed to the American state after her death to serve as a winter retreat for future presidents. But the United States could not afford the upkeep and refused the gift. Now Donald Trump lives there, albeit privately. In Washington DC, she owned the Hillwood Estate, a huge city palace where she entertained her (political) friends. She did this during dinners with the most expensive, antique tableware (she was fond of buying items from fallen royal families, such as the Romanovs), but no delicate French cuisine: the guests were served her own products, such as cereal, instant coffee, fake butter and Jell-O slippery puddings. The house is now a museum in the style of a private home. You wander through the rooms with set tables, made beds, vases full of flowers, a Fabergé egg here and there and walls full of porcelain and paintings and photos. There is no better place to experience how the rich lived back then. But there are many more Merriweather places, such as the Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia where many world stars performed (and still perform) such as Jimmy Hendrix and The Doors. And recently the Merriweather Lakehouse hotel opened nearby, not comparable to the luxury and excess in which the namesake lived (she certainly would not have checked in), but in all its simplicity still not bad at all.