A Mandria di Murtoli, Corsica
A Mandria di Mutoli, a restored hamlet in Corsica’s Ortolo Valley, reopened its doors in June. The main house has five rooms and a former stable, sheepfold or barn. Three of the smaller houses have their own private pools. All rooms have terraces. And there’s a shared large pool. The Corsican artisans have renovated these buildings using materials from the local area in a minimalist Mediterranean-style.
The adjacent farm was also revitalized, based on a model for subsistence agriculture: raising livestock and market gardening as well as growing traditional crops. The restaurant offers a sardinian cuisine made from ingredients sourced locally and grown on the estate. Only 30 seats are available, some of which are located on a terrace under an olive and orange tree with a fireplace.
The hamlet is part of the wider Domaine de Murtoli, which has three other places to eat – a traditional Corsican restaurant, a beachfront spot and the Michelin-starred La Table de la Ferme – and offers wine-tasting. It is about 9 miles north to Sartène, an ancient hill town, a few miles south to Erbaju beach, and a little further to the fortress town of Bonifacio.
Doubles from £229 B&B, amandriadimurtoli.com
Rastrello, Umbria, Italy
This boutique hotel has been set in the ruins of an old palazzo dating back to 500 years. The property is surrounded by olive groves, which are hand-raked each harvest. rastrello Rake is the Italian word for rake. The palazzo lies in Panicale village, which is a medieval settlement located above Lake Trasimeno. The hotel has opened a new garden extension this summer which increased the number of rooms from 9 to 16. It also added a wellness area and a swimming pool. The rooms are furnished with wooden floors, stone walls, and beams. Many have balconies or lake views.
The restaurant, Cucina & Giardino, serves the farm’s award-winning extra-virgin olive oil, ingredients from its organic vegetable gardens and surrounding producers, and Umbrian wines. It has a terrace overlooking the lake and its own cookbook, also featuring villagers’ recipes. The hotel offers cooking classes and olive oil tasting workshops, as well as truffle hunting walks and wine tasting tours. Spa treatments include scrubs that combine olive oil, crushed olive stones, herbs, and citrus with herbal teas like lavender, lemon balm, and wildflowers.
Panicale holds a grape fest in September. Around the lake, the fourth largest in Italy, there is a 40 mile walking and cycling trail with cafes at towns like Passignano. Perugia, the capital of Umbria, is about 35km away – it has an enormous chocolate festival in November.
Doubles from £240 B&B, rastrello.com
Sibbjäns, Gotland, Sweden
This small, family-run farm on the southern tip of Gotland opened a farm‑to-fork restaurant and hotel this summer. The farmhouse was built in 19th century and has nine rooms, a pool, a book library, and a large garden. Other rooms are located in the farmstead. By next summer, there will be a sauna, outdoor gym and yoga barn. Visitors can help harvest tomatoes, learn about organic growing and composting, and meet the resident rabbits, chickens, pigs and sheep.
The restaurant offers a set four-course menu throughout the year, and an additional summer a la cart menu, which features local vegetables, meats, and berries as well as cheese and seafood. Some dishes include kohlrabi served with lumpfish and butter, grilled lamb topped with legumes, fresh garlic and leeks; and raspberries served with emmer sponge and marigold-flavored ice cream.
Gotland has a number of foodie attractions, including saffron savoury pancakes with dewberry, black truffles with purple asparagus, juniper-flavoured beer, and microbreweries and vineyards. There is a food festival in late September and a truffle festival each November; microbreweries and a vineyard to visit; and more excellent restaurants such as Lilla Bjers, about 4 miles (7km) south of medieval Visby, the capital. The island boasts a sandy beach, sea stacks with ivy trees, and over 100 nature reserves.
Doubles starting at £210 B&B, dinner £62pp, sibbjans.se
Stone Barn, County Cork in Ireland
A restored farm building near Skibbereen in West Cork is now a small B&B with two double bedrooms and a converted wagon. The co-owner, Stuart Kearney, is from Northern Ireland but trained as a chef in Stockholm and serves Nordic‑influenced Irish food. Breakfast could be freshly baked bread and pastries, porridge with whiskey-soaked prunes, and home-smoked bacon with eggs laid by his own hens. Kearney cooks a seven-course tasting menu (every night except Wednesdays and Sundays) showcasing his own vegetables and produce from neighbours and local farmers. The daily menu could include Skeaghanore Duck Breast or miso cured cod.
The rooms also have a Scandi style; there is a cosy sitting room with a wood burner; and a hot tub. Kearney will recommend routes for cycling and walking along the Sheep’s Head Way. Skibbereen, a 12-minute drive away, has pubs and restaurants, a Saturday market and Fields, which opened in 1935 and is said to be the best supermarket in Ireland. Just beyond is Lough Hyne, a salt-water lake – its bioluminescent algae can be seen on a night kayaking trip. Baltimore has ferries that take you to Sherkin Island or Cape Clear Island.
Doubles starting at £142 B&B, dinner £65pp, sawdays.co.uk
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Quinta Camarena in Alentejo, Portugal
Vera and Cam Camarena have turned a farmhouse in Cercal, a coastal town in Costa Vicentina, south-west Portugal, into an eco retreat. Vera Camarena is from Porto and Cam Camarena is from Los Angeles. They both have backgrounds in photography and fashion. Food and wine is part of the package – the couple serve healthy brunches and dinners made with Alentejo produce, run cheese- and jam-making workshops and cooking classes, and organise visits to artisanal bakeries, wineries, organic farms and local markets. The couple also runs a 3-night sustainable food-and-wine retreat and a “not too serious” surf, wine and yoga retreat.
The newer rooms are located in the forest and have terraces with sunset views. They are multi-leveled. Rooms and apartments are available in the old houses. The property has 23 beds (no kids under 12), and it is pet friendly.
There are gardens with vegetable plots; a pool, gym, yoga studio and sauna; and hiking trails. Cercal is a short walk away, and it is a 15-minute drive to surf beaches. Lisbon is only two hours away by car.
Doubles starting at £95 B&B, quintacamarena.com
Penrhiw Farm, Pembrokeshire
Alan Latter grew up on Penrhiw Farm near Goodwick, in north Pembrokeshire. After years of working in restaurants and hotels, he returned to the farm, along with Philip, in order to run it. The 17th-century farmhouse is now a four-bedroom B&B, and there is a glamping option in a converted horsebox.
Latter cooks a Welsh breakfast every morning, and offers a fixed two-course kitchen supper every other evening (May to September; on request, October to April). Ingredients come from home-grown vegetables, the organic 80-hectare farm (200-acres), and local sources such as milk, cheese, and eggs.
The menu changes daily – perhaps hake fillet with a herb crust, crushed peas, runner beans, The anna – a delicious fruit! and hollandaise sauce, followed by a vanilla Basque cheesecake with blood orange and rhubarb compote. The bar offers a limited selection of Welsh beers and wines, but guests can bring their own.
The rooms have been furnished with furniture from the Dorchester Hotel in London and are decorated with Welsh artworks. They also feature blankets and ceramics. There are many books in the large sitting room, and there are also beautiful gardens. The farm is located on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Air-source heat pumps, solar panels, and a windmill are all sources of sustainable energy.
Doubles starting at £115 B&B, dinner £28pp, penrhiwfarm.co.uk
