Sometimes, you don't have to traverse the globe on a quest for rest. Opt instead to hunker down somewhere divine – whether it offers rural seclusion, an uptown haven or a mountain idyll – and it's quite possible to recuperate in comfort, without the need to give up all our amenities. After all, there is something primordial about the simple act of hibernating; sitting wrapped up beside a roaring fire has the ability to instantly instil calm like nothing else. Safe havens mean different things to different people – but, effectively, we're talking upscale hygge chic.
Take Heckfield Place in Hampshire. You just can't beat the calm, space, and quiet glamour of this country-house hotel, which more than delivers on its mission statement's description of "a living place that celebrates the slow and simple". It's rural (although only an hour by train from London) and oh-so restorative – especially when you can hole up in the two-bedroom Church Lodge, a black-and-white timbered beauty stocked with homemade sourdough, freshly churned butter and various types of cheddar from the farm.
Yes, you can cook with produce from the hotel's biodynamic market garden and organic farm, or indulge in Skye Gyngell's standout roast potatoes with garlic and whatever else she's flame-grilled in the aptly named Hearth restaurant. There's also the Bothy spa, a new 17,000-square-foot sanctuary in which to unwind with a Wildsmith massage. (Earthier types can try willow-weaving, falconry and wild swimming.) Best of all, you don't have to see another soul if you don't wish to.
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The Newt in Somerset's two-bedroom Gate Lodge exudes the same indulgent, nature-driven, somnolent glamour, and you're buried deep at the end of this 1,000-acre estate to ensure maximum privacy. Owner and designer Karen Roos has created a jewel box of a place, where days drift by as you laze happily in front of the wood burner in the sitting room, or explore the huge open-plan kitchen filled with an array of copper pans, where you can really make the most of Somerset's rich food culture (and The Newt's incredible on-site farm store). If you want company, there's the main house to visit, with its convivial bar and restaurant, or the Farmyard Kitchen, where you can enjoy flatbread pizzas and artisan cyders. But nothing beats waking up in the vast, sumptuous beds.
While everyone says New York is the city that never sleeps, on The Lowell's crisp sheets you'll forget that notion – especially in the calm and creamy splendour of the hotel's suites, some of which have working fires and dedicated 'fireplace butlers'. The effect of having the real scent of feu de bois filling the air acts like an instant tranquilliser; alternatively, there's the added joy of icy Martinis in Jacques Bar and the refined menu of the Majorelle restaurant.
At Sloane, London
(Image credit: At Sloane)
The entire package is a solid class act – much like the redbrick Victorian bolthole At Sloane, which recently opened in London to much fanfare. Both of these properties extol the charms of fantasy city winter living, but in this corner of Sloane Gardens there's a sense that you're being hosted in a private home, thanks to interiors maestro Mr François-Joseph Graf. With impeccable design, flickering fireplaces and the hundreds of candles used to illuminate the various hangout spaces (including a deplorably appealing basement snug), it will take a will of iron to emerge.
For those looking for more "action" and willing to immerse themselves in the most remote frozen dreamscapes, Iceland is as good as it gets – and the illustrious Deplar Farm is the perfect introduction to "the land of ice and fire". Hidden in the Fljót Valley, where the Troll Peninsula stretches for miles, it feels at the furthest rim of the world. Chasing the Northern lights, heli-skiing and whale-watching are obviously a large part of its appeal. However, this is a deeply mellow place where any of the 13 rooms can be rented separately, or the entire property taken exclusively. Not to be missed are the Grettir suite, with its own log fire, gargantuan bathtub and private sauna, and the heavenly geothermal pools and spa, which offer guests a sensational outdoor Viking sauna experience.
Dunton Hot Springs, Colorado
(Image credit: Dunton Destinations)
Finally, nowhere is as steeped in romance as Dunton Hot Springs, a 19th-century ghost town deep in the Colorado Rockies that delivers the most fantastical mountain adventure, with sleigh-riding, snow-shoeing and plenty of cotton-wool cocooning. A wonderland of chocolate-box log cabins and luxury tents spread out across its vast estate, Dunton offers privacy and seclusion in abundance – not to mention the newly restored Chuck's Cabin, a 130-year-old architectural gem on the banks of the Dolores River, where you’ll barely see anyone else. Just eating, reading, resting and enjoying these surroundings in such a languid fashion is hard to beat.
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