Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

In bed

From thinking outside the box in St Tropez to going boutique in Bristol, we find where to sleep in style

Kube Hotel

ST TROPEZ, NICE
Route de Saint-Tropez, tel. , www.kubehotel.com

Saint Tropez may be a byword for celebrity and style, but the French resort never really got to grips with the design hotel boom. With one or two exceptions, its classier hotels have steered a safe course some way back from the cutting edge of design. But the Kube changes all that. With its prime site on the coast road west of town and its clean, modernist look, this Provençal outpost of the Paris-based Murano group eschews the old Tropezien hippy-with-a-trust fund style in favour of something more rigorous and cosmopolitan: Bauhaus with a hedge fund, perhaps.

The crowd it attracts is style-conscious and well-groomed: they dress for breakfast, and if you eat on the sunny, south-facing terrace you’ll need the right sunglasses. Staff are as stylish – and monochrome – as the décor, but also friendly and efficient: there’s little of the attitude sometimes encountered at the grander French hotels.

The 41 rooms are accessed via corridors of Stygian darkness, and range from 30m2 doubles to a 100m2 suite. Regardless of room size, the style is consistent: big, comfortable beds, white linen, Ligne Roset furnishings and up-to-date entertainment systems that include flatscreen TVs and PlayStation 3 consoles. Bathrooms are equipped with rainwater shower heads and ‘kuboid’ square sinks and toilets, and there’s plenty of storage and hanging space.

The infinity pool facing the sea is lit an electrifying shade of blue at night, but if it’s privacy that you crave there’s a second, smaller pool and adjacent health and fitness suite at the back of the establishment. The rooftop Sky Bar will be a suntrap in summer, but the Grey Goose Ice KUBE bar in the basement – chilled to -7° – is unquestionably the cooler hangout. Double room from €250. Neville Walker

Hotel du Vin & Bistro

BRISTOL
The Sugar House, Narrow Lewins Mead, tel. , www.hotelduvin.com

Slap bang in the city centre and a stroll away from the waterfront, the Hotel du Vin is one of only a handful of good-value boutique hotels in Bristol (you would think there’d be more in such a prime destination). Housed in a beautifully converted sugar warehouse dating back to the 1700s, and secreted away from the main road, the hotel is approached via a cobbled courtyard, complete with fountain. From the friendly welcome at reception to the delightfully accommodating bar and bistro staff – who relish, rather than turn their noses up at, the presence of our two-year-old – the Hotel du Vin’s service is absolutely faultless, and one of the highlights of our stay.

Rooms have all been tastefully renovated and the Dom Perignon Suite (our designated boudoir), is a cavernous loft room featuring exposed beams, ironwork and muted colour schemes. Though the hotel has ample areas for slouching around in comfy sofas, the generous in-room living space and leather armchairs are also perfect for a nightcap. Decadent bathrooms are always welcome, and the Hotel du Vin doesn’t disappoint: the Dom Perignon’s roll-top bath is complemented by a walk-through rain shower and an ample supply of lovely Arran toiletries. Come nightfall, the hotel’s bar and bistro come alive with the gentle hubbub of diners tucking into locally sourced and homemade produce, washed down with an impressive wine list.

Double rooms from €138/£125. A ‘super stay Sunday’ offer is valid throughout April; enjoy a €28/£25 room rate at the hotel when you spend €83/£75 on a meal for two in the bistro on a Sunday evening. Chloë Greenbank

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