Poet, playwright and screenwriter Alexandra Pereira on her favourite literary hotels. Where will you check in to pen your tome?
If you’re looking for inspiration for isolation, here’s where to book a room of one’s own, just a short train or flight from London, as well as the renowned, and sometimes controversial writers from the destinations.
The best literary hotels
Maison Proust, Paris
In the spirit of: Marcel Proust, Edouard Louis
Womblike quarters in rich and devouring Belle Epoque style. With bedrooms decorated in rich colourways such as royal blue and gold, with sumptuous upholstery, shutters and heavy curtains, the feel here is about nesting and restoring before heading out onto the nearby streets of Le Marais.
The library of Proust relics next to the excellent bar is a great spot for reading and writing, while the below ground La Mer spa features a pool and a star covered ceiling that makes the room feel like a grandiose sensory deprivation tank.
Go to maison-proust.com
Wilmina, Berlin
In the spirit of: Christopher Isherwood, Hermann Hesse
Austere yet light-filled, this was once a courthouse, then a women‘s prison and has been reimagined as a hotel with rooftop pool and sauna. Desks are long and natural sunlight pours into every room.
Its Charlottenburg (my favourite Berlin neighbourhood) location makes for quiet rest and excellent people watching, free from the party crowds. Lovis is a lovely restaurant and their in-house bakery is gorgeous. Their Amtsalon art and cultural space is great for quiet reading or working, and also hosts events.
Go to wilmina.com
Monastero Santa Rosa, Amalfi Coast
In the spirit of: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Virginia Woolf
Where better to sequester oneself and those novel notes than the village of Conca dei Marini? Here there is one of the very best literary hotels. Along the Amalfi coast you’ll find a heady mix of crowds and delicately quiet spots, as the palazzos and monasteries of variously storied towns peer down from grand cliffs over the blue waters. There’s nothing quite like the pared back majesty of an ecclesiastical space that helps one centre and let ideas flow.
Delightfully true to its origins, rooms are airy and simply comfortable, while the terraces, balconettes and dining rooms are quintessentially Amalfi: part opulent, part quaint. Their tasting menu journeys across Campania, and can be made deliciously vegetarian too. Historically, the sisters who once ran this monastery contributed in many ways to the local community including as an apothecary – and designing and funding an aqueduct from Mount Vocito to Piazza Olmo to provide water for locals.
Go to monasterosantarosa.com
Read more: The Amalfi Coast is at its best in October – here’s why
Literary hotels: write love letters a la Casanova
Ca’ Di Dio, Venice
In the spirit of: Ruzzante, Giacomo Casanova
It might not be de rigeur to swim in the Venetian canals but gazing out onto them is plenty rewarding. This is probably my favourite Venice stay as it’s a little quieter and less full of gilt and drapery than some of the more known palazzos.
Still, its ceilings are grand, the light is beautiful, rooms are spacious and quiet for working, with lots of clean lines and quietly luxurious materials, and the huge sell is its peaceful garden courtyard with swing chairs, tables and an excellent restaurant. The fresh pasta and raw lagoon fish dishes are to die, breakfast serves bubbles, plus the hotel arranges private boat tours out to Murano to watch glass blowing artisans in action. Channel one of the region’s earliest playwrights, Ruzzante, or better yet, write love letters a la Casanova from your suite.
Go to vretreats.com
The Dolli, Athens
In the spirit of: Yanis Varoufakis, Alexandra K*
A lot of Athens boutiques struggle to capture the essence of the classics whilst exercising a contemporary glamour. The Dolli nails it, with a dream collection of Greek and Egyptian antiquities and Cocteau, through to Michael McDonagh and Les Lalanne. The rooftop pool and restaurant has breathtaking panoramic views of the Acropolis and the Parthenon, and monuments like the Ancient Agora, the Erechtheion, and the classical buildings of Plaka.
Rooms are chicly mapped out with high ceilings, secret wardrobes, rainforest showers and in-house wine. The decor is clean girl aesthetic with splashes of antiquity and Frieze – a spirited place from which to write. The pastries and sweets in the lobby make you feel like you’re in Alice in Wonderland.
Go to thedolli.com
Dua Lipa’s favourite place to stay
Hotel Valldemossa, Mallorca
In the spirit of: Aurore Dupin (George Sand)
Cracking open the shutters and overlooking the valleys and mountains surrounding the magical town of Valldemossa, with a faint baa of sheep drifting into the window, I’ve never been happier to pitch up and work on some writing. You can wander down to the pools or spa room (where a masseuse named Love will pummel all your stresses away), the outdoor gym, or have a bite to eat at the Japanese-Peruvian restaurant (excellent). But being private and hidden away here is very easy – and the hikes, biking trails and local eateries provide more than enough slow-life respite from the desk.
Go to valldemossahotel.com
Hotel D’Angleterre, Copenhagen
In the spirit of: Hans Christian Andersen
It’s said that the famed fairytale author HC Andersen holed up at this Danish institution when his own apartment down at Nyhavn set alight. Now, this is also Dua Lipa’s fave place to stay, and with its huge loft suites overlooking Kongens Nytorv, perfect French restaurant, you can see why the greats decamped here – a lot of natural light pools into the dining areas and suites, creating optimum conditions for writing, plus many of the city’s greatest delights surround the building, from all night watering holes to Michelin starred restaurants – and a lot of boats and sailors. The hotel also now has an underground spa that’s gorgeously quiet and dimly lit.
Go to dangleterre.com
Pride without prejudice: the best literary hotels
Artist Residence, Bristol
In the spirit of: Sarah Kane
On the corner of a verdant town square that’s spitting distance from some of the city’s best galleries, pubs, cafes and wine bars – as well as vintage shops galore – this hotel feels part curator’s home, part co-working space/library, and part bar/restaurants and locals’ hang out.
The best rooms overlook the square, with huge Georgian windows letting the light spill onto massive tables ideal for working. The main suite even has an in-room roll top tub so deep you can almost swim (details such as walk-in shower, stripped floors and local art also sing). Friday’s happy hour is an impressive, inclusive calendar of talks, screenings and more make the place feel like you’re a true artist in residence.
Go to artistresidence.co.uk
The Gainsborough, Bath
In the spirit of: Jane Austen
With the city’s only hotel access to the spa waters, this is pretty much the only place for any Janeite or spa fetishist. The recently renovated suites are sumptuous places to retreat after a scrub and massage in the spa (using all natural products) and a dip in the healing waters. Wifi is fast and views across the golden Bathstone exteriors of the city’s marvellous architecture make for a sublime place to channel your own writerly pride without prejudice.
Go to thegainsboroughbathspa.co.uk