JETSETREPORT

How to travel for summer '15

May 22, 2015 09.06 AM

Whether Bank Holiday or Memorial Day, this weekend marks the unofficial start of summer. And what a summer it's looking to be, at least for those that snub the usual hotspots proliferated by that masses and their over-filtered Instagram shots. That means staying closer to our favorite cities in June, lingering in Paris midweek to dinner with friends at new La Reserve before overspending on the UBER outside Paris to Bagatelle Mansion that mixes hedonist supper club and 3am debauchery. In London, Oetker Collection casts its gilded wand at the Lanesborough starting early summer that's walking distance from Hyde Park's BST Best of Summertime concerts featuring Kylie Minoque, The Strokes and Blur. Come weekend, however, we'll be at the new Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire with its posh cabins, member's barn with dining room and outdoor cinema.

As for July that feels as crammed as August in the South of France and Italy, we prefer to weekends in rural Ibiza or Mallorca at new Sant Francesc that's a 19-century mansion in the heart of Palma. We combine an arty visit to Istanbul's new St. Regis with a long weekend in Bodrum - but not at another American-filled Aman but more-local Macakizi. Montenegro struts its new Regent Hotel at Porto Monetengro with Puro Beach. But for guaranteed heat, Tel Aviv gets new The Norman within the White City and Brown Beach House that enlivens its coast with a mid-century design hotel of 40-rooms and summertime rooftop.

As for August, opt for less obvious destinations in lieu of Pyla-sur-Mer along France's Atlantic coast that's home to La Corniche or spend a week or two among Italy's Aeolian Islands or Pantelleria that are even more dramatic than Capri - and without all the day-trippers. If you must do the South of France, opt for a September visit to Saint-Tropez or try smaller villages like Eze or Cap-Martin that have just as chic beach clubs without all the first-timers. And its September when you should really indulge in places like Mykonos for its closing parties, the morning swims off Positano and village-hopping down the Amalfi when the roads alas clear and the best of summer is kept for those that can wait.

Written by:

Michael Martin
Editorial Review Author
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