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Having been stripped back to their bare architectural bones, these designer restoration hotels have their roots in heritage, modernism and heart. Often discovered in an often ruinous state, these salvaged beauties are a testament to the owners' dreams and vision - turning them into a unique genre of cool design dens.
It takes a curatorial eye and a great deal of patience, money and passion for turning a derelict building into your dream hotel. Yet rather than trying to "re-create history", which frankly never really works, these icons have bravely opted for the purest, modernist interior notes. The "look" always comes with a statement of clear design, form, function and calculated simplicity with sleek interior combos of old & modern that are a dramatic and added wow factor of creative discipline.
A noble Palácio of cor de rosa in the leafy Príncipe Real district dates back to 1877, a luxurious family residence that courted Lisboan high society. Aptly, this former heritage palace is a rather fabulous boutique hotel of style – it is grandeur: suitably chilled.
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Birch and smoked oak hug the thick walls and capture the house’s DNA from the days as a farmhouse barn. Once a resplendent Renaissance home to the Bishop and favoured lodgings for the merchant traders heading along the Romanesque Via Claudia Augusta.
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Permeable Portuguese calçada cobbles, hand-painting arabesque frescoes, original window casements and stripping back the layers of neglect are just one side of the restoration and sustainable approach at the Palácio of eco heart and energy-efficient technology.
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Once the home of devout Sisters, its aged cloistral heritage has been recast following an exacting narrative of preservation, reframing the monastic aesthetics for the modern nomad without corrupting the patina of austere beauty and timeworn touchpoints.
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Set against the forested Beskydy (Beskids) range in the Carpathian Mountains, this 200-year-old designer hideaway fosters modern Czech country living whilst giving heritage a hug, decked in whites, linens and twisted rafters.
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A monastic designer den of rural appeal set in a 30-hectare estate, this rural sanctuary has clubhouse flair, a sleek modernist touch and loads of sun-kissed sophistication. Altogether, a chilled off-radar adaption of indulgent luxury.
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A restoration den of raw genius – a weathered Tuscan house close to Montefollonico that has been allowed to expose her weathered elements and complemented with chic salvaged interiors. An imaginative retreat of utter, rustic romance.
Mesmerhaus, once the sexton’s home, is today a wonderful style chameleon of ornate exteriors and simplistic elegant interiors. The effect is of refined originality, a heritage house reduced to its essence through a calming language of decorative stillness.
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Restored within a former monastery, this fabulous design hotel and foodie hotspot brings together the stone mason, blacksmith and wood worker with the artisan makers.
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Created within a former Augustinian cloister and chapel, Hotel August in the Flemish city of Antwerp was designed by one of Belgium's most acclaimed architects, interior designers, and product designers, Vincent Van Duysen.
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An aged former Convent, the history and heritage of this house has been lovingly exposed to play host to modern furnishings and a chilled vibe right in the heart of old town Pienza.
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Sleep under medieval frescoes, sweep down labyrinthine corridors, lord it up on the lofty ramparts or stroll through the Mediterranean garden, admiring the ivy-clad castle backdrop.
With a handful of rooms, suites and studios to opt for, it is tough to know which one to fall in love with - they each have a distinct identity and are all infectiously gorgeous.
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Built into the original Medieval town walls of Hall, this former guilders’ house of traditional Tirol style has stood here for well over half a century with records dating back to 1450. Today, behind the rose petal façade, lies the small Kontor Boutiquehotel.
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This reclusive stopover will give you reason to pause and take in the stillness of your environment while revelling in the perfectly blended alchemy of Scottish and Scandinavian style.
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The edgy contrast of an aged coaching inn where artsy installations lend an air of east-side gallery – this is a cradle of the arts and style where a bold, contemporary curatorial scene is flanked by twisted beams and heritage-thick walls.
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Architect and engineering studio en.ar[tec] headed by lead architect, artist and skilled restorer Andreas Vallazza based in the South Tyrolean hamlet of Vahrn, close to Brixen. Enartec is a multi-disciplinary design and planning studio which brings together a dynamic team of architects and civil engineers in a single source.
read moreArtsy modernism melts within aged tea plantation walls perched upon a verdant hilltop – a house of uninterrupted rural life where Azorean beauty bursts from the terracotta architecture and the scents of wild coastal nature clean the air.
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A fabulously humble basecamp of good design for kindreds of style, Brücke 49 is a collection of rooms, suites, studios and apartments in the high-in-the-mountains creative enclave, Vals.
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Affectionately termed by its motif of ‘chic-shock-Baroque’, the Hotel Weißes Kreuz, originally built in 1465, is a timely marriage of its opulent Baroque past with a high concept design that pays homage to the rhythm of change that has taken place over centuries.
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The fabulous boutique Hotel Julien, with its mansion-house pedigree in the heartlands of old-town Antwerp, is a self-confessed curator of the arts, designer pieces, antiques and mid-century furnishings, which adorn the handsome salons and rooms in comfy elegance.
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A tiny weathered Scottish farmhouse plays host to Scandinavian contemporary design and Scottish crafted pieces from the Highlands - an irresistible combo of old and new, heritage meets the design - affectionately known as the 'Scandi-Scot'.
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Unapologetically vivid, this preferred pad of intellect and creativity is awash in Art Nouveau flamboyance tamed with clever 1950s-inspired design interventions. A stylishly cool home of the arts, brushed with boldness.
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The Hirschen "Young since 1755", is a love pot of heritage, art, culture, food and style – a Wunderkammer of familiar nostalgia reframed for the nomads who seek roots and prefer to sleep with history.
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The perfect amalgamation of old and new, Benedikta breathes fresh life into Vorarlberg heritage traditions in this smoothly crafted private-hire house originally built in 1836, located in the sleepy village of Vandans clasped by the wildflower-strewn valley of Montafon, west Austria.
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