Check out the vibe, dining, activities and culture portfolio at Anantara Villa Padierna Palace, and the all-important verdict …
WHERE: About 45 minutes south of Malaga airport, glide up into the hills to an 18th century-style Tuscan palazzo, built just 20 years ago. Do not be put off by the newness – Villa Padierna is beautifully designed and proportioned, and overlooks a lake surrounded by lush foliage, stately cypress trees and three golf courses. Everywhere you look there is green, from velvety putting greens to tall palms, to spectacular wisteria and vines tumbling and trained over terraces. There’s even a little garden where herbs and vegetables are grown for the restaurants.
NEED TO KNOW: Built by a Spanish businessman who still owns the land in which it sits, Villa Padierna was taken over ten years ago by Anantara (operators of our own Anantara Th e Marker Hotel in Dublin). It seems as yet under the radar with the Irish visitor.
THE VIBE: The hotel is designed on classic lines, with a vast atrium, bedrooms above, restaurant terraces wrapping around the building, and a lushly planted secluded pool and spa area to the rear. Cool stone and marble throughout lend the building a pleasing solidity.
ROOMS: 125 bedrooms from pretty, comfortable deluxe doubles to spectacular suites and villas, including one called the Villa Obama, after the former First Lady, who holidayed here in 2010. Generous marble bathrooms are stocked with Frederic Malle products.
DINING: Villa Padierna is a gastronomic destination. At La Loggia, delicious fish, grills, soups and salads; at La Veranda, Andalusian haute cuisine; and at 99, an incredible sushi restaurant, bold and delicious flavours. At the Beach Club, seafood and salads, paella, Spanish marmitas, sardines grilled in the sand, even an ice cream cart! Beside the hotel pool you can dine all day. Staff rotate through the restaurants (in a series of gorgeous uniforms), so everywhere you go there is a familiar face. Warm, watchful ladies of a certain age, who have worked at Villa Padierna for years, keep younger staff on their toes. Children are welcome, by the way, with or without Nanny.
ACTIVITIES: Take the hourly Beach Club shuttle to the shore. Play padel and tennis at Villa Padierna’s Racquet Club, or a round of golf on one of three manicured courses – Tramores for new golfers, picturesque Flamingos, and challenging Alferini. Book an insanely good massage. Rotate through a series of thermal rooms in the Roman baths-style spa area: follow a sea salt scrub with scented steam – lemon, lavender and rose – then a searing sauna and icy plunge, before lying down on a perfect white bed in the sanitorium-style relaxation room with its white voile curtains. Heaven. Or just lie by the pool with a book anticipating the next exquisite meal.
CULTURE PORTFOLIO: Villa Padierna has its own Roman amphitheatre with regular opera and candlelit concerts. There are more than 1,200 original works of art in the hotel, from 18th-century portraits to contemporary sculpture. Excursions can be arranged – to a lively local Flamenco show, traditional mountaintop villages to an olive farm for a tasting and further afield to Girona, Cordoba, etc. In autumn, there are cooking classes, art tours, and at Christmas, seasonal activities.
VERDICT: Luxurious perfection; unstuffy, friendly, welcoming, sublime. This is a hotel to visit year-round. Each restaurant has beautifully decorated indoor spaces for autumn or winter stays. At Christmas, there’s a huge tree in the atrium, terraces are open to the winter sun, wood fires blaze in the cosy sitting rooms. The average price of a double room per night is €500. www.anantara.com.