The cool holiday spots the style set are heading to this summer

Times

10 hours ago

For a snapshot of where's happening for summer holidays right now, we asked fashion designers, brand founders, authors and artists where they are spending their summer breaks this year. The result is a cornucopia of stylish stays, great little restaurants and beach bars in secretly chic corners of Europe and beyond.
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Colomers is a rural village an hour or so north of Barcelona in Catalonia. I've been going to this part of Spain for nearly 25 years, ever since my father and stepmother moved there. Here you get the same Mediterranean vibe as in the south of France — views, sea, the smell of pine — but don't have to fight for restaurant tables or croissants in the mornings. I'm most excited about the eating because I'm very greedy. You can find madly inexpensive restaurants that dole out squid and grilled rabbit and crema catalana for £12. Plus, bottomless carafes of rosado. Toc de Vi is a bar and restaurant in Colomers where you can sit by the medieval church as the sun sets and eat the best grilled pork you've ever come across (instagram.com/tocdevi).Details Hotel la Placa Madremanya is a small stone hotel among vineyards, with B&B doubles at from £180 (laplacamadremanya.com). Fly to Girona
I've got a trip to Formentera planned where I'll be spending a few nights with a friend and a couple of nights on my own, which is sort of the best of both worlds. Lounging by the hotel pool or on the beach with some of my most anticipated summer reads is what I'm excited about. I'm staying at Dunas de Formentera, an eco-resort right on the beach, so I'm expecting stunning views.Details B&B doubles from £277 (dunasdeformentera.com). Fly to Ibiza
I'm going to Milan before the Ligurian Riviera and the Bay of Silence — ominously named when taking a two and a seven-year-old who both know how to produce noise. This was a last-minute decision driven by the promise of new horizons, divine food and large open spaces for ball games, Frisbee and perhaps a little adult downtime. In shifts. Obvs.
I can only handle four days max on a beach or by a pool so the city part of the trip is for me — cue dragging everyone around art galleries, trattorias I've read about (and that often take an age to find) and mooching around pretty squares, alongside some serious wine imbibing.
Details On the Italian riviera in Santa Margherita Ligure near Portofino, the elegant Grand Hotel Miramare has a pool and spa, and B&B doubles from £430 (lhw.com). Fly or take the train to Milan
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I went to Marbella Club earlier this summer with my wife and three kids. It has a soaked-in, unapologetic old-world glamour, but in a way that feels alive and present rather than staged. Every space is different. The quiet, whitewashed corners by day give way to candlelit pines and a vibey, sophisticated romance at night.
The kids' club was so good I almost wanted to stay there myself: treehouses, pottery, gardens. It meant I could slip off to the thalasso spa to enjoy some alone time with the missus. And we enjoyed evenings at the Grill — dressing for dinner before drifting to the Summer Bar for an old fashioned. I couldn't get enough of the interiors at the club — tiled floors, lacquered antiques, little flashes of maximalism against all that Andalusian restraint. It's the shift in tempo I loved most. Sun-bleached calm in the day, and an almost cinematic elegance by night.Details Room-only doubles from £405 (marbellaclub.com). Fly to Malaga
I'm going to Cap Ferret on the west coast of France. It's all about cycling, seafood shacks and buying linens in pretty markets. The place to go is La Cabane d'Hortense, a green and white seafood shack on the beach, for oysters, big platefuls of grilled fish and the palest rosé (12 oysters £16; lacabanedhortense.com). This will be our fourth visit, we just love it there. Details By the beach with surfy/Hamptons-style leanings and 13 rooms in chic hut-like buildings, the Hôtel des Dunes has B&B doubles from £200 (hoteldesdunes.com). Fly to Bordeaux
We've been going back and forth to northeast Corfu as we have a plot of land and are hoping to start building a house there soon. It's so easy and laid-back — there is a simplicity to Greece which I love. The water is something I dream about when I'm not in it, especially swimming at Kerasia beach near Kassiopi, and the long, lazy, hazy lunches. The filo-wrapped halloumi and the baby squid served at Taverna Agni on Agni Beach get me every time (mains from £17; tavernaagni.com).
Another long-time favourite is Casa Privata in Praiano on Italy's Amalfi coast between Positano and Amalfi. After painstaking renovation, this old fisherman's ruin is now a beautiful seven-bedroom retreat with incredible views of the Mediterranean sea and gardens that tumble down to a private rocky beach.Details B&B doubles from £430 (casaprivata.it). Fly to Naples
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This summer I'm heading to Ireland on a road trip, meeting friends as we go. Last year we went to the Swedish archipelago and Gotland because, with three kids under six, we avoid hot locations. I'm looking forward to being outdoors, not at a desk, and exploring whatever the weather brings. I'm excited to visit the Blasket Islands as it's been at the top of my list for a while. Details Seven nights' camper van hire for four from Dublin from £848 (roadsurfer.com)
We had just had a baby in Mexico City and headed to Maroma, a Belmond hotel on the country's Riviera Maya. I was hoping to meet a mysterious cad from a bygone era — Freddie Miles, Tom Ripley, the wife of an Agatha Christie archaeologist with a rock-solid alibi for his puzzling death. I always assume a luxury hotel is wall-to-wall fat cats and their semaglutide wives, but Maroma guests are pleasantly friendly and strikingly normal. Broadly speaking, I love a hotel that feels like it's been there for ever but that rewired this side of the war and memory-foamed the mattresses. A Caesar salad and a martini in one of those beds please. Otherwise, nothing comes close to the mystic refinement of Adrère Amellal in Egypt at the Siwa oasis. It's a hidden gem. Please don't tell the fat cats. Details B&B doubles from £735 (belmond.com). Fly to Cancun. B&B doubles from £625 (adrereamellal.com). Fly to Siwa via Cairo
We luckily aligned our holiday with an early summer heatwave in Scotland at Glen Dye in Aberdeenshire. Occupying a series of restored farm buildings on a family estate, it's an otherworldly place known and loved within Scotland's creative set. Think Dirty Dancing in the Scottish wilderness.
We loved hill walking, fire cooking, saunas, outdoor baths and showers and the charismatically decorated cottages and cabins. We got lost in the soulful singing of the folk musician Sam Grassie at the estate's pub one evening. Stepping out into the night, it felt as if we'd been transported to another realm.
A trip of a lifetime was when we set up Bard and embarked on a ten-week road and ferry journey across Scotland and the islands, meeting craftspeople in their studios and workshops to understand what they make, and why. Details B&B doubles from £175 (glendyecabinsandcottages.com)
I'm returning to SHA Wellness Clinic, near Alicante, for the second time, to feel that bit healthier and more relaxed. SHA is an integrative medical clinic, but in a hotel/spa setting, so it's not a cocktails by the pool affair. I love that I will leave having learnt how to support my body in the face of a fairly gruelling work and family schedule.
I am also dying to return to Teranka, a gorgeous little hotel on a rugged beach on Formentera, off Ibiza. I had a wonderful few days there last year. It's quite remote, so perfect for switching off. Details All-inclusive doubles from £432 (shawellness.com). Fly to Malaga. B&B doubles from £517 (teranka.com). Fly to Ibiza
Each summer, we spend most of the kids' school holidays in Seoul, South Korea, where my wife is originally from. We head for the stunning beaches on the east coast or fly to Jeju, a volcanic island off the southern coast. My in-laws look after the kids for a few days so my wife and I can escape.
Another favourite spot is Kamalaya, a wellness retreat nestled into a tropical outcrop on the southern coast of Koh Samui in Thailand. At its heart is a centuries-old cave, once used by Buddhist monks as a place of meditation and, a little further down the steep jungle path, you find yourself at a private beach with views out to the horizon. That sound of the breeze rustling through lush gardens, and the heady fragrance of lemongrass and cinnamon leave me longing to return.Details Seven nights' B&B in South Korea from £1,143pp, including transport and some tours (insideasiatours.com). Fly to Seoul. B&B doubles from £305 (kamalaya.com). Fly to Koh Samui
A friend has spent a lot of time exploring the Ligurian coast and invited a group of us out to share his favourite Genoa spots in June — it ended up being ten hunky men and me on Pride weekend. It was so much fun! Genoa has an intoxicating mix of rawness, slightly faded splendour and bubbling cultural communities similar to Naples and Marseille. Days were spent hopping on trains and ferries to Portofino, Camogli and secret swimming spots in between. We sat on pebble beaches drinking cheap spritz till the sun set, before hitting local discos that spilt out onto the streets. The night always finished with gelato. I wish I'd known about the 12-suite Palazzo Durazzo, a design lover's fantasy, with 18th-century frescoes.Details B&B doubles from £263 (palazzodurazzo.com). Fly to Genoa
I've moved from London to New York, so try to max out quality time with family back in Europe over the summer. We've had a week with my parents at Villa Jones, their amazing house in Provence which they designed. My mum is an amazing chef and every night, eating is the main event, with croquet and Domaine du Dragon rosé while we wait. We usually spend a day at the sculpture park and winery Château La Coste, or the Luma Arles art space, which is set in a reclaimed rail yard. Then we'll go on to see my sister Jemima and her husband at his family home, Tramores, a white villa with tiled kitchens and tropical gardens backed by hills in Andalusia.
And before we return to New York life, my husband and I will steal away for a long weekend without the kids in Porto Ercole in Tuscany, via a night in Rome, where a meal at Trattoria da Enzo in Trastevere is always a good idea (pastas about £15; daenzoal29.com).Details Seven nights' self-catering for eight from £3,500 (villajones.com). Fly to Nice or Toulon. Five nights' self-catering for 19 from £16,000 (tramores.com). Fly to Malaga
We've had two beautiful weeks in Puglia — with a revolving door of friends coming and going. Complete chaos but heaven. I'm lucky in that my in-laws have a place near Ostuni so we go every summer — it's near towns but in the middle of the peaceful beautiful Italian countryside. The evening light is something else. The famous pottery town Grottaglie is nearby so we can't help but take our guests and stock up at the same time. And we love this little seafood restaurant called Il Principe del Mare in Fasano, which is really more of a shack but the food is incredible — a long lunch of white wine, spaghetti vongole and coffee is my idea of paradise (mains from £13; instagram.com/il_principe_del_mare_). Details In the middle of Ostuni, boutique townhouse with spa Paragon 700 has 15 deeply romantic rooms with high ceilings and a slick outdoor pool, with B&B doubles from £239 (paragon700.com). Fly to Brindisi or Bari
There's a quiet magic to Deia in northern Mallorca that's hard to capture in words. We've just completed a dream project near the village, refurbishing the Robert Graves Villa at the hotel La Residencia, and spent time there with family and friends celebrating the reopening. The Cantabrian anchovies with crispy bread, smoked butter and plankton oil at La Residencia's Cafe Miro are unmissable (mains from £25). It has wonderful views of the surrounding mountains and nods to the region's artistic heritage. Our days there were spent on an art tour; eating long, lazy lunches at the beach at Cala Deia, pottering through the boutiques and dipping in the sea. Details B&B doubles from £715 (belmond.com). Fly to Palma
I'm going to Oaxaca, Mexico. It's a place that captures all your senses — visually stunning, full of colour and texture, and alive with art, tradition and incredible food. I love its layered history and the warmth of the people. Every street corner offers a discovery that stops you in your tracks — a tiny craft shop, family-run restaurant, or a mural.
I'm looking forward to eating tlayudas (crunchy tortillas) topped with Oaxacan cheese, mole in all its forms, and sipping rich, spiced chocolate. I love villages such as Teotitlán del Valle, where traditional crafts like weaving and wood carving have been passed down through generations.
Casa Oaxaca is a favourite place to stay; its rooftop setting is beautiful, and the guacamole made tableside is something I always order.Details B&B doubles from £305 (casaoaxaca.com). Fly to Oaxaca
Montenegro is a recent favourite. I stayed at the extraordinary Mamula Island hotel, part of a Unesco World Heritage Site. Once a 19th-century fortress, it has been meticulously restored.
I also love wandering lazily through the village and strolling down Main Street with an ice cream in hand in Sag Harbor on Long Island, New York, where I'll return this summer. A table on the porch of the American Hotel is a must. This stately Georgian beauty, which opened in 1846, has become the grande dame of Sag Harbor. I order a chicken cobb salad (£27; theamericanhotel.com). And I make time for drinks with friends by the water, always taking a stylish Fieldbar cooler (fieldbar.com).Details B&B doubles from £447 (banyantree.com/montenegro/mamula-island-by-banyan-tree). Fly to Podgorica