Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

In bed

The ultimate hotels for the discerning traveller who wants a truly special place to sleep in style

Text Adrian Mourby, Guy Dittrich

Villa Magna

MADRID

22 Paseo de la Castellana, tel.
, www.hotelvillamagna.com

After reopening this summer, Villa Magna looks worth every cent of its €50m, 17-month refurbishment and is now ready to give Hotel Ritz Madrid a run for its money as the most upmarket hotel in the Spanish capital.

The villa sits behind a discreet screen of dense foliage in the city’s exclusive 19th-century Salamanca district. All 100 rooms and 50 suites are equipped with the latest technology: Ad Notam Magic Mirror TVs for superb picture quality, iPod docking stations and free Wi-Fi. All the rooms overlook either the terrazas of Paseo de la Castellana or the designer boutiques of Calle Serrano, spiritual homes of los yuppís.

Foodies will be delighted by the gourmet Basque cuisine of Eneko Atxa, one of Spain’s most innovative Michelin-starred chefs, who runs the Villa Magna restaurant. The avant-garde Tse Yang restaurant, meanwhile is a favourite of the young Spanish royals and famous for its lacquered duck, the house speciality. Rooms from €296 per night. AM

The Augustine

PRAGUE

12/33 Letenská, , www.roccofortecollection.com

Locations don’t get much better than this. The new Augustine lies beneath Prague castle and just a few minutes from the gothic magic of Charles Bridge. The hotel itself is a “hideaway in the middle of the city”, according to general manager Henning Matthiesen.

Behind the modest entrance are seven interlinking courtyards, some dating back to the 13th-century monastery from which the hotel takes its name. Each of the 101 rooms is different, with some made up of former monks’ cells. The décor is far from monastic, however, with luxurious linen on the beds, wide oak floorboards, flatscreen TVs and marble-lined walk-in showers. There’s more than a hint of Prague’s cubist design heritage to be seen, too, in the angular furniture, fittings and artwork.

Other more modern interventions include the glazed Monastery Restaurant. From here you can enjoy the view of the courtyard and formal garden as you order from the central-European menu. Also reflective of the location and heritage of the property are Tom’s Bar, with its baroque ceiling frescoes, and the basement Brewery Bar, complete with a floating floor to protect the stalagmites below. Nearby, and reached through a warren of corridors, is the hotel’s spa, which has four treatment rooms, two manicure stations, a hammam, sauna and Technogym-equipped exercise area. Double rooms with breakfast from €295 a night. GD

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