Driven by frustration with the inflated use of adjectives like “divine”, Tablet Hotels was inspired to compile a list of hotels that quite literally embody such a word. Here are our top five favorites. Check out their full list of centuries-old monasteries turned modern-day hotels here.
Casadonna Reale
RATES: FROM $272
BOOK HERE
From Tablet Hotels:
“S
et in the rugged hills of Abruzzo, this fifteen-hundred-year-old monastery isn’t the first place one expects to find an über-minimalist six-room hotel and destination restaurant. Helmed by a chef with a couple of Michelin stars to his name, it’s clearly a labor of love. Between the delicious visual confections on offer in the restaurant and some unexpectedly luxurious touches, like deep egg-shaped tubs in the bedrooms, it’s very much worth the trip.
Castel Monastero
RATES: FROM $451
BOOK HERE
From Tablet Hotels:
“F
irst it was an 11th-century village. Then it became a monastery, complete with an incredible cellar full of Chianti. Now, roughly a thousand years on, Castel Monastero is a high-end luxury hotel, still sitting magisterially on a hill in the countryside beyond Siena.
Abbaye de Talloires
RATES: FROM $190
BOOK HERE
From Tablet Hotels:
“D
ating back to the days when the French monastic life was a scandalously cushy one, this former Benedictine monastery still has the air of a privileged retreat in the Alps. The Prior’s room, with its 17th-century parquet floors, is the most original, but every room comes with a fine, contemplative view of pristine Lac d’Annecy.
Hacienda Zorita Wine Hotel & Spa
RATES: FROM $189
BOOK HERE
From Tablet Hotels:
“I
t’s been quite a long time since one Christopher Columbus stopped by this former monastery on his way to the New World, but Hacienda Zorita still hasn’t broken its centuries-old spell, with tranquil riverside views, exposed wooden beams and stone walls whose thickness is measured by the foot. And in the gorgeous Chapel of San Nicolás de las Viñas, there’s enough good wine, aging in oak barrels piled right up to the altar, to satisfy an expedition bankrolled by the Spanish crown.
Sant Pere Del Bosc Hotel & Spa
RATES: FROM $340
BOOK HERE
From Tablet Hotels:
“W
ith its nineteen sunny, impeccably designed suites, this hilltop hotel on Spain’s Costa Brava has come a long way since its humble early days as a Benedictine monastery in the 9th century. In the Coral suite, set within the tower atop the building, the bathroom alone has a dressing room and a reading corner, as well as a freestanding cast iron tub with views of the Mediterranean.