14 of the best hotels for craft lovers

26 August 2021

Indulge your travel fantasies with this selection of perfectly formed retreats

26 August 2021

Aerial view of the Xigera safari lodge in Botswana

Let’s face it: we could all do with a holiday – although while the pandemic lingers on, many of us may need to be content with a trip somewhere nearby or simply live vicariously through seductive photos on the internet. To that end, we’ve put a list of the best hotels in the UK and abroad for craft lovers, to help you plan your dream vacation – whenever that may be.

Valet Stands in the lobby of Birch by Jan Hendzel Studio, Charlotte Kidger and Emma Louise Payne. Photo: Fergus Coyle

AROUND THE UK

Birch, Hertfordshire

Styling itself as a ‘community’, more than just a place to stay, this hotel-cum-members club on the outskirts of London offers guests a range of craft classes, including pottery, glassblowing, wood-whittling, candle-making, bakery and beekeeping. The interiors of the converted redbrick country manor have been masterminded by Shoreditch based studio Red Deer, with an emphasis on repair and reuse, and includes bespoke furniture by the likes of artist Charlotte Kidger, carpentry practice Jan Hendzel Studio and ceramicist Emma Louise Payne.

Spring 2023 will also see the opening of a sister Birch branch in Selsdon, Croydon, featuring furnishings by sustainably-minded designer Sebastian Cox.

Heckfield Place, dining area
A room in Heckfield Place

Heckfield Place, Hampshire

This luxury hotel and celebrity magnet claims to be the UK’s first biodynamic hotel, and it has also taken a thoughtful approach to its decor, working with design studio BWT and The New Craftsmen gallery to integrate work by dozens of makers into its Georgian interiors, including glass works by Jochen Holz and bespoke lighting design by Michael Ruh. Its programme of events are open to non-residents and include workshops in a range of crafts, as well as talks and tours.

Room in the Farmer's Loft
Event at the Farmer's Arms

The Farmer's Arms, Lake District

Following a crowd-funding campaign, the Lake District-based Grizedale Arts has purchased a local inn that had lain empty for more than a year and is in the process of converting it into a community arts centre that will strive to foster knowledge exchange, entrepreneurship and a circular local economy. As well as offering food and accommodation, the acclaimed arts organisation is already laying on craft classes such as stone-walling and pottery, as well as talks, exhibitions and a shop. For now you can stay in the six-person self-catering apartment at the top of the building.

The Fife Arms, Braemar

In 2015, the owners of gallery Hauser & Wirth bought a hotel in Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park when it was bankrupt and a little worse for wear. Since then they have undertaken a restoration project that celebrates Scottish craft and material history – locally made furniture, a display of Jacobite glass and a collection of precious stones and fossils, as well as artworks by the likes of Louise Bourgeois, Picasso and Gerhard Richter, are among the thousands of works you will encounter here.

The Newt, Somerset

Like Babylonstoren, its sister hotel and winery near Cape Town, The Newt in Somerset places great importance on its natural surroundings – acres of farmland, woodland, orchards and gardens – and it has an on-site cider press, as well as shops selling local food and crafts. The interior of the Georgian country home that is now the hotel and spa was designed by Karen Roos, the former editor of Elle Decoration South Africa. Guests will find themselves hypnotised by a giant, kinetic sculpture by Studio Drift in the Threshing Barn that plays with the architecture of the space.

Staircase at The Barrel Store
Handcrafted details in The Barrel Store's rooms

The Barrel Store, Cirencester

For every stay at this hostel in the heart of a Cotswolds market town, a donation goes to its owner, the neighbouring gallery and studios New Brewery Arts. The place itself has a host of crafty touches, including beds made by traditionally trained welders at furniture maker Charterbrae, bespoke glass pendants by on-site maker Loco Glass, chairs by Windsor chair-maker Sitting Firm, and Shetland wool throws by local studio Cotswold Woollen Weavers. Pop in next door to attend a craft workshop yourself.

AROUND THE WORLD

Bairro Alto Hotel, Lisbon, Portugal

Pritzker prize-winning architect Eduardo Souto de Moura has refurbished this 18th century building and three adjoining edifices, which together take up an entire city block in the lively Bairro Alto neighbourhood of the Portuguese capital. Porto-based design studio Atelier Bastir decked out the interior with work by local and international artists and designers, including a tapestry by textile studio Oficina 166 and artisanal china from Estúdio Neves.

Bird's nest inspired cottage at The Nest at Sossus
Inside one of the rooms

The Nest at Sossus, Namibia

The brainchild of South African designer Porky Hefer, this off-grid cluster of buildings in the Namibian desert promises a ‘life-changing experience’. Inspired by the nests of weaver birds, its bulbous cottages are thatched all over using reeds harvested from the north of the country, and held firm by a hand-bent steel frame and walls made of chunks of granite. Inside the joinery is handcrafted from teak, with most of the furniture built in.

Ace Hotel Brooklyn
A room at the Ace Hotel Brooklyn

Ace Hotel Brooklyn, New York, USA

At New York City’s new Ace Hotel – with interiors designed by design studio Roman and Williams – each room forms part of a textile art programme, masterminded by local artist and curator Niki Tsukamoto. In keeping with the boutique hotel chain's ethos of embracing the culture of its locations, each of the artists commissioned for the project has personal ties to this New York borough. The range of work includes weavings, hand-tufted rugs, work in felt and more, created over the last year by makers including Moira Quinn, Caroline Kaufman, Molly Haynes, Alicia Scardetta and Rhiannon Griego.

Inside the Xigera safari lodge in Botswana

Xigera Safari Lodge, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana

Andile Dyalvane (who we profiled in our January/February 2021 issue) is among the 80 artists from across the African continent whose works are placed around Xigera, a safari lodge on Botswana’s Okavango Delta that describes itself as a ‘living gallery of African art’. The works were selected in collaboration with South African gallery Southern Guild. Dyalvane has contributed items from his Idladla collection of ceramic seating to the hotel, and these sit alongside wooden benches and chairs made from fallen trees by Adam Birch, a fire-pit sculpture by Conrad Hicks and more.

Cap Karoso, Sumba, Indonesia

Set to open in spring 2022, this getaway on the eastern Indonesian island of Sumba is designed as a series of building clustered together like a village. The interior features vessels by Bali-based Gaya Ceramic, Ikat pieces by Javanese artist Alexander Sebastianus Hartanto and objects by contemporary woodworkers Kalpa Taru. Through its residency programme, the owners are seeking to foster collaboration between international and local artists.

Casona Sforza, Oaxaca, Mexico

Designed by architect Alberto Kalach, this new hotel in Oaxaca blends into its surroundings with its brick arches and vaults made of local materials. The rooms feature natural hues and handmade objects, including woven rugs, palm-leaf lamps, curtains, chairs and hammocks. Several pieces were made by artisans from Pueblo del Sol, a social project focused on sustainability and indigenous culture that the hotel supports.

Room in BnA Studio by Ryohei Murakami's Studio Bowl

BnA Studio Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan

This hotel – the second and biggest venture by the same team – has big ambitions to develop ‘a global network of artists, creators, social agents and free thinkers looking to do things differently’. Each of its rooms was designed by a different artist or studio – from interior designer Ryohei Murakami’s play room for adults made from reclaimed and custom-made objects to a concept by collective 81 Bastards that integrates traditional motifs such as calligraphy and ukiyo-e with street art. The hotel's profit-sharing scheme means that a chunk of the revenue for each room goes to the artist who has created it.

Helvetia & Bristol, Florence, Italy

Mirror panelling, wrought iron, silk curtains, bronze lamps, scagliola tables and brass furniture by Italian craftsmen feature in the Bristol wing of the Helvetia & Bristol in Florence, newly refurbished by interior designer Anouska Hempel. The historical palazzo marries historical luxury with contemporary touches in the heart of the city.

14 of the best hotels for craft lovers

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