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Distinctive Lodgings with Local Charm
Comfort, style, and a warm welcome await you at the end of each day
A converted chateau with stories to tell. An historic inn with period details. A country manor that’s been in the same family for generations. VBT believes that your hotel is far more than a place to hang your hat, it’s an intimate way to experience the personality of your destination – not to mention, a welcoming haven where you can relax and be pampered after a day well spent.
Inkaterra, Machu Picchu, Peru
The train station is only steps away, but Inkaterra Machu Picchu Hotel exists in a world apart. This luxury boutique hotel offers 85 cottage style casitas connected by stone pathways in the style of an Andean village. The whitewashed buildings are set among 12 acres of secluded beauty, surrounded by terraced hills. Spa services feature natural products, and there is a first-class restaurant overlooking the rushing Vilcanota River.
Inn at Huntingfield Creek, Rock Hall, Maryland
This gracious refuge is set amidst 70 acres of soybean and sunflower fields, on an inlet leading to the Chesapeake. After a day of riding you can watch sunset over the bay from a bench on the private dock … catch up on your reading in the light-filled, cherry wood library … swim in the forty-foot saltwater pool behind the kitchen garden … or watch a movie in the living room, popcorn provided. Our hosts Jim and Joanne Rich have purposefully created a quiet country retreat that bespeaks the Eastern Shore of 50 years ago.
Sailing Home, Our barge on the Moselle River
Your cozy floating accommodations will be aboard our private barge, a two-deck motor passenger ship with climate control throughout. Unpack once and enjoy seven nights as we sail the Moselle and Saar rivers, mooring every night in a new port. In service since April 2001, the Sailing Home has a fulltime, four-member bilingual crew, including a chef who will prepare fresh, delicious meals using local ingredients. Every day we serve continental breakfasts and three-course dinners with regional wines and a sampling of cheeses; when lunch is served onboard, we have a light buffet. There is a salon and bar as well as a sundeck at the bow. Each of the 12 comfortable, twin-bedded cabins has a private shower and toilet.
Fattoria di Magliano, Magliano, Italy
This agriturismo offers accommodations in an ancient villa secluded within the grounds of an old wine estate. Set in the rolling hills of the Maremma region, the fattoria still maintains vineyards and has a cellar and working winery, plus a shop that sells agricultural products grown right on the estate. Terra-cotta tile work, a rustic cantina, extensive parklands, an outdoor pool, and manicured gardens provide a soothing retreat after a day’s ride. There are only 14 guest rooms, each with climate control, private bath, minibar, and lovely views of the estate.
Hotel La Magnaneraie, Villeneuve-les-Avignon, France
Once a cardinal’s home, the 4-star Hotel La Magnaneraie is set across the Rhone River from Avignon in a leafy residential area called Villeneuve-les-Avignon. Surrounded by a lush park, the 15th-century building has 32 individually decorated rooms and inviting public areas, including a bar- lounge and shady outdoor terrace. Enjoy the garden with outdoor swimming pool, and a gourmet restaurant, La Magnaneraie, which offers wonderful provençal specialties.
Tombolo Talasso Resort, Marina di Castagneto Carducci, Italy
This unique seaside resort is set on its own private beach on the Etruscan Coast. Originally built in the 1930s, it was remade in 2000 as a luxury spa center. Designed in a spare, clean style, the resort offers a fine bar, wine cellar, and restaurant. Enjoy a full range of services such as thalassotherapy, massage, sauna, Turkish and Roman baths, a gym, five thermal pools fed by sea water, and all manner of health and beauty treatments.
Raffelsberger Hof, Weissenkirchen, Austria
Set in a historic shipmaster’s house built in 1574 and enlarged in 1771, the Raffelsberger Hof’s distinctive elegance is apparent in touches small and great, from the antique door locks and light fixtures to the painstaking renovation of the gables, arches, walkways, and vaulted ceilings with exposed beams. Large windows flood your room with light, just as they did in the late Renaissance. Flowers decorate the hotel throughout, courtesy of the beautifully tended garden. With only 15 rooms, the hotel is imbued with a romantic charm perfect for the lovely Wachau Valley.
Monasterio de San Francisco, Palma del Rio, Spain
Adventurers from Columbus to Fra. Juniperro Serra (who founded missions all over California) have enjoyed the hospitality of this historic retreat ever since it was built as a monastery in 1492. Transformed into an elegant hotel in 1985, the monastery’s old refectory is now a quiet reading room … its ancient vegetable garden still supplies the kitchen … and the garden paths lined with myrtle and jasmine are the same ones walked by monks five centuries ago. Even some of the orange trees are nearly five centuries old. But modern amenities are close at hand, such as free wifi, and a large pool.
Discover the wild beauty of Salento from this beautifully restored antique farmhouse. Originally built in 1878, the Masseria Montelauro began life as a convent and still exudes an air of sheltered tranquility. There is a pool in the inner courtyard, and you can dine under the lovely pergola. All the delicious Pugliese specialties served here are prepared fresh using local produce, some grown right on the grounds. Every room has garden access.
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