RELAIS & CHATEAUX 2013 GUIDE

36 NEW MEMBERS , 5 NEW DESTINATIONS, 1 NEW AMBASSADOR

Relais & Châteaux is proud to present the 2013 Guide launching five new destinations (Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, Guatemala, Fiji Islands), welcoming 36 new members and announcing 12 new Grands Chefs (minimum of two Michelin stars) including Claude Bosi of London’s Hibiscus.  In total the guide features 520 hotels and restaurants across 60 countries and Salvatore Ferragamo, scion of the international fashion house family, is to be the Relais & Châteaux Ambassador for 2013.

21 new members in Europe include seven in France, six in Italy, two each in Germany and Switzerland, and one each in England, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.  Completing the 36 new members are eight in the Americas (two in the USA, three in Peru, and one each in Chile, Brazil and Guatemala), five in Africa (two in South Africa and one each in Botswana, Kenya and Zambia) and two in Asia-Pacific (one each in Fiji and Taiwan).

The 2013 digital and paper guides work in tandem; QR codes printed on each country map and member page provide a direct link to the Google maps on the Relais & Châteaux website and to the websites of each relevant hotel.

From January 2013, a digital version of the Relais & Châteaux guide will be available on the website in ultra-light mode for quick download as will a free app for iPad/iPhone users (www.relaischateaux.com/appstore) available in six languages (French, English, German, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin).  The app facilitates quick access to online/phone reservations, 15,000+ images and 400+ videos of Relais & Chateaux properties, practical information (weather forecast, local time and route by geo-location), Relais & Châteaux news and publications (2013 Guide, L’Ame et l’Esprit magazine, delegation brochures).

Ambassador Salvatore Ferragamo, grandson of the famous Italian shoemaker – also Salvatore  – made his name as a professional polo player in the ‘80s and set up the Florence Polo Club in 2001.  He joined the family business Salvatore Ferragamo SpA in 1990 and in 1993 began the restoration of the family wine estate and village of Il Borro near Arezzo, Tuscany.  Il Borro delivered its first vintage, Il Borro IGT Toscana Rosso, in 1999 and offers hospitality of high quality in its villas, apartments and osteria.  Il Borro is one of Italy’s new members of Relais & Chateaux, an exclusive collection of the world’s finest hotels and restaurants

For reservations call Relais & Châteaux: 00 800 2000 00 02 (toll free) or visit: www.relaischateaux.com

Details of new members follow :

EUROPE

England x 1 gourmet restaurant

Hibiscus: Grand Chef Claude Bosi and Master of Wine Isabelle Legeron have created one of Britain’s finest 2-Michelin star restaurants in London’s West End

France

La Grenouillère: restaurant with four rooms and eight suites with a rustic ambience in La-Madeleine-sous-Montreuil (Pas-de-Calais)

Jiva Hill Park Hotel:  hotel with 28 rooms and six suites between the Jura and Mont Blanc at Crozet (Ain)

Restaurant L’Oxalys: the highest gourmet restaurant in Europe, at 2300m in Val Thorens; Grand Chef Jean Sulpice has 2 Michelin stars

Passage 53: a tiny restaurant with no menu and minimalist decor in Paris, run by owner, Guillaume Guedj; Grand Chef Shinichi Sato has 2 Michelin stars

Hôtel Le Savoie & Spa: stunning chalet-style accommodation in Val d’Isère; 14 rooms and 11 suites beautifully located for skiing and summer mountain holidays

Hôtel Le Chabichou Restaurants & Spa: Michel Rochedy’s superb hotel (39 rooms and suites) and 2-Michelin star restaurant ; half a century in Courchevel 1850

Restaurant Mirazur: Grand Chef Mauro Colagreco draws on his Italian and Argentinian roots at his inspirational 2-Michelin star restaurant in Menton

 The Netherlands

Restaurant da Vinci: Chef Margo Reuton recently awarded 2 Michelin stars for her team’s exceptional creations and wine/food pairings in Maasbrecht

Switzerland

Lenkerhof Gourmet Spa Resort : spa and gastronomy in Lenk (Bernese Oberland) with 80 rooms, junior suites and suites, and sulphur-rich thermal springs

In Lain Hotel Cadonau: exquisite 15 suite hotel in Brail (Engadin); the 17th-century property has been in the Cadonau family for three generations.

Germany

Schosshotel im Grunewald: supremely elegant Baroque Palais Pannwitz in residential Berlin offers 43 rooms and 10 suites designed by Karl Lagerfeld

Die Sonner Frankenberg: offers 60 rooms and suites in picturesque Frankenberg, in enchanting countryside that inspired the Brothers Grimm

Italy

Château Monfort: a fairy-tale urban château of 77 rooms and eight suites in the centre of Milan

Hôtel Londra Palace: Venetian palazzo (53 rooms and suites) with breathtaking views of St Mark’s, the lagoon and rooftops of Venice

Il Borro: a stunning 700-acre Tuscan estate and borgo offering 18 apartments and three villas, fine wines and superb food

Borgo dei Conti Resort: 46 rooms and 12 suites in a collection of neo-gothic buildings in Perugia, at the heart of beautiful Umbria

Palazzo Manfredi: 18 rooms and suites in a boutique hotel of exquisite refinement at the heart of Ancient Rome.  A fine art collection and great views of the Colosseum and Forum

Petra Segreta Resort & Spa: low-rise luxury wellness hotel (13 rooms, seven suites) hidden in the hills of northern Sardinia, with beautiful coastal views

Portugal

Hotel Bela Vista: The authentic Algarve experience offering 38 rooms and suites – luxury on the amazing beach of Praia da Rocha, Portimao

Spain

Abadía Retuerta Ledomaine: luxury accommodation (18 rooms, three suites) and winery in a 12th Century Abbey on the Duero, east of Valladolid (north central Spain)

AFRICA

Kenya

Ol Donyo Lodge : ground-breaking sustainable bush lodge (10 suites) in the hills of the Chyulu National Park (Maasailand) ; views of Kilimanjaro and migrating elephants

Zambia

Royal Chundu Luxury Zambezi Lodges : two luxurious lodges (10 rooms/four suites), on the banks of the Zambezi above Victoria Falls ; 15km of private waterway protected by rapids

Botswana

Zarafa Camp :  four immense tented suites raised up on wooden decking and shaded by ebony and red ivory trees.  Luxury and simplicity in the Selinda Reserve (Ngamiland).  Lion, elephant, prolific nocturnal wildlife

South Africa

Delaire Graff Lodges andSpa : 10 suites diamond tycoon Laurence Graff’s art, hospitality and wine destination, overlooking the Stellenbosch,vineyards (Western Cape)

Morukuru Family : three villas (two suites + three suites + five suites) in Madikwe big-five game reserve (NW Province) 110km from Sun City

ASIA

Taiwan

Volando Urai Spring Spa & Resort :, 21 rooms and two suites for total relaxation in beautiful natural surroundings (mountains, water), one hour from Taipei

Fiji

Dolphin Island:, 13-acre private island just off Fiji’s main island (Viti Levu) offering four rooms (eight guests) for the ultimate South Pacific escape

NORTH AMERICA

United States of America

Menton : Grand Chef Barbara Lynch’s acclaimed restaurant in Boston’s Fort Point Channel, combining refined French technique and soulful Italian cooking.

Quince  Grand Chef Michael Tusk’s French/Italian inspired menus celebrate the seasonal bounty of Northern California, in San Francisco’s Jackson Square neighbourhood

SOUTH AMERICA

Guatemala

El Convento Boutique Hotel : a 25-room sanctuary next to a Capuchin Convent in the 18th Century Unesco World Heritage town of Antigua

Peru

Astrid & Gastón : Peruvian ingredients and local cooking methods are fused with a dizzying array of global flavours in Gaston Acurio’s flagship South American restaurant in Lima

Inkaterra Machu Picchu Suites :a privileged space for retreat and repose at the foot of Machu Picchu (Cusco) ; 13 suites in artisan-crafted casitas

Titilaka : 18 lake-view suites on a private peninsula beside magical Lake Titicaca on the Peru/Bolivia border, altitude 3800m, 36 km from Puno

Brazil

Saint Andrews Gramado : Brazil’s only true country house hotel, inspired by baronial Scottish castles, in the beautiful Quilombo Valley (Rio Grande del Sul); 11 suites

Chile

The Cliffs Preserve : natural retreat and eco resort with 18 suites set in 8000 acres of pristine forest and six miles of Northern Patagonia’s imposing coastline