The highly acclaimed Verrocchio Restaurant features a gorgeous indoor dining room with columns, vaulted ceiling, imposing chandeliers and a unique terrace with panoramic views of the Chianti Rufina Hills and the ever-present Arno. The restaurant has its own vegetable garden and produces its own olive oil. It also offers a superb wine cellar with excellent regional vintages. Don’t miss some of the signature treatments at the spa, including the Chianti wine therapy massage and the chocolate experience - a white and dark chocolate massage- and the truffle experience with a lifting serum that contains white truffle from Alba and porcini in lemon juice. The lovely outdoor pool is set in pretty, leafy surroundings. The hotel features a vine-covered chapel, available for weddings in an atmosphere of magical charm; David Bowie and Iman were wed here. The guest book is indeed star-studded, and includes Clark Gable, Winston Churchill, Gregory Peck, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. www.villalamassa.com
KENSINGTON PLACE Cape Town, South Africa From thoughtful touches such as candle-lit corridors, free champagne and oysters, and Molton Brown toiletries, to the stunning views of the city, harbour and Table Rock Mountain, this boutique hotel speaks the language of the ultra-chic. Bedrooms are decorated in an elegant European style, overlaid with a subtle African influence. This is sheer modernity, with heavily interlined neutral curtains, zebra fabric-covered chairs, luxurious throws and sumptuous bathrooms. Around the room, guests will find those important items that might have been left behind, including laptops and an “emergency box”
stocked with condoms and headache pills, plus beach kits and a miniature gym-in-a-bag. Service is both personal and professional. The hotel is furnished and accessorised with a funky variety of sofas, quirky photos and rows of purple orchids. There’s a small pool and a terrific deck with white sofas and animal-hide stools, surrounded by fragrant potted plants. Waking up in a supremely comfortable bed to watch the sun rise over Table Bay is a not-tobe-missed experience. www.kensingtonplace.co.za
L’ANDANA Tuscany, Italy The former summer palace of Leopold II, the last archduke of Tuscany, now presents itself as a gastronomic country hotel. Arrive at this stunning address along an aristocratic allée of cypress and umbrella pines leading to the imposing villa. The property sits on more than 1,200 acres of pristine Tuscan landscape, a land of rolling hills, vineyards and olive groves. Owned by the Moretti family, it has been developed in partnership with the worldfamous Michelin-starred chef, Alain Ducasse. The décor is sophisticated and eclectic. Created by designer Ettore Mochetti, who edits the Italian magazine AD, visitors will discover the occasional campy detail - such as cowhide sofas. The reception and bar are housed in a magnificent Florentine glasshouse. Breakfast is served buffet-style, on the huge wooden table in the lodge’s old kitchen, allowing guests to return to the trays of custard-filled doughnuts, milky brioche with peach, mini pains au chocolat, sticky apricot jam cake, yoghurt plum cake, hams, cheeses, omelettes and bacon. Trattoria Toscana, set across the grounds in the old stone barn, has a Michelin star for its inno-
www.theaddressmagazine.com
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