Rosewood opens first hotel in Spain
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts’ first property in Spain has an Australian connection.
Rosewood Villa Magna
Madrid, Spain
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts’ first property in Spain, opened on Madrid’s Paseo de la Castellana in late October, has an Australian connection. Melbourne-based BAR Studio devised the sophisticated interiors of the 154-room Rosewood Villa Magna as part of a comprehensive refurbishment and relaunch of a hotel that’s been a beloved city landmark since the 1970s.
Built on the site of a 19th-century palace, the elegant hotel retains some of the historic garden features, including towering cedar and carob trees. It’s in one of the best locations in the city, in the exclusive Salamanca district, providing ready access to museums, galleries and upscale retail.
In BAR Studio’s first European project, the Australian team worked with Spanish architect Ramon de Arana to recreate the hotel as a “grand villa”, a welcoming retreat among the greenery. The beautiful public areas include a patisserie, inspired by Madrid’s traditional pastry shops, with adjoining parlour and library serving one of the city’s best afternoon teas. An all-day dining restaurant opens on to a wisteria-draped terrace and rose garden while a new pavilion lounge with open fire is flanked by a terrace. BAR Studio has seamlessly blended the indoors with the gardens throughout, most notably in an all-season atrium courtyard.
The guestrooms and suites, some of the largest in the city, have been redesigned to be more residential in style with custom armchairs, comfortable corner lounges and dining tables that double as desks. Smart leather bedheads are offset by feature walls painted in red, olive or ash blue, bringing some of Spain’s vibrant colours to an otherwise muted palette. The overall mood is calm and understated. The ninth-floor signature suites feature balconies off the bedrooms and large terraces overlooking the city.
The hotel’s four dining outlets are headed by signature restaurant Amos, helmed by chef Jesus Sanchez, who holds three Michelin stars, with a menu focused on produce from Cantabria in northern Spain. The day spa features four luxurious therapy suites and an authentic hammam.
Rooms from €750 ($1168) a night.
CHRISTINE McCABE
Snap decisions
A recent Snap Decisions column about postcards (T+L, February 5-6) prompted an encouraging mailbag response, including a panorama of Rome, sent via Melbourne by Anne R. Like me, she obviously brings blank ones home to use for further distribution and extend the holiday mood. Then Barry W of Cairns emailed me a cartoon cane toad offering me nudge-wink “horny” greetings, which reminded me of the saucy postcards that used to be sent from seaside spots with messages such as “the weather is hot and so are the men” or drawings of chaps with huge lengths of hard Brighton rock stuck suggestively out of their trousers. So dreadful now. And then Roy L of Barwon Heads asked if I knew of Postcrossing, an online project started by a Portuguese student, Paulo Magalhaes, in 2005 with the goal to “send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world”. Roy L is a fan and tells me it brings him “great joy”.
This Susan K of Surry Hills wanted to know exactly how it works. So, you join up (no cost) and are given a recipient’s name and address. Send that person a postcard using the ID you‘ve been emailed. You will then receive a postcard from another Postcrosser. Start all over to receive more postcards.
While watching the website in real time, I see a roll call of connections and communications, Taiwan to the Netherlands, Macau to Germany, on and on they spool. I imagine what the correspondents are sharing. Maybe details of their neighbourhoods, families and hobbies, or expressions of solidarity during this pandemic era. As I ponder all this, a head-spinning 273 postcards are logged as received. Membership hits 807,000 across 206 countries. Are there even that many countries? Where on Earth are the “United States Minor Outlying Islands”? I am dazzled with delight at all these revelations. Australia is a big shot with 6417 members (and counting) and 739,975 cards sent (so far).
Back to Roy L, who writes, “Making connections with people from so many cultures is not only a learning opportunity but in today’s world we need to unite rather than divide.”
Hear, hear, I say. I join up. Hello, Silvia F in Munich. My card depicting two sulphur-crested cockatoos is on its way.
Forward planner
Take 180 days, 34 countries, 94 destinations and 100 Unesco World Heritage sites and you’ve got one heck of a holiday. Oceania Cruises has announced details of its latest Round the World voyage, which embarks from Los Angeles on January 14, 2024. First stop is Hawaii, followed by French Polynesia, before the 684-passenger Insignia reaches familiar territory in New Zealand and Australia. From here, the world becomes your oyster – Asia, India, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Europe, Britain and the Arctic, concluding in New York on July 12.
The itinerary incorporates 24 overnight port stays in the likes of Bali, Singapore, Luxor in Egypt, Seville in Spain and Iceland’s Reykjavik. Highlights of a comprehensive program of experiences include a Chinese acrobatic show in Shanghai, a cultural evening at the Royal Citadel of Hue, Vietnam, and a performance by the Riverdance troupe in Dublin. Passengers have a choice of mid-cruise overland diversions to places such as the terracotta warriors in Xian, spectacular Angkor Wat in Cambodia and India’s Ranthambore National Park to look for Bengal tigers.
Facilities on the ship include the Aquamar Spa and Vitality Centre, an Artist Loft for creative workshops, a library, casino and multiple dining venues such as Italian eatery Toscana and classic steakhouse Polo Grill.
From $64,550 a person, twin-share.
PENNY HUNTER
Spend it
Travel guide writer Fiona Caulfield has extended her Love India book range to include a new Love India Home online store that supports the nation’s craftspeople, artisan co-ops and antiques dealers. A percentage of sales goes direct to organisations in India such as Creative Dignity. Choose from cloth and woven bags and baskets, exquisite fabric sold by the yard, carved wooden pieces, vintage shawls and kantha quilts, homewares, tribal jewellery, handmade clay pottery fashioned in traditional workshops, plates with colourful glazes from Jaipur, vintage bowls and boxes.
SUSAN KUROSAWA