Hopping Away: The 5 best Easter stays from Mr & Mrs Smith

MF editorial team 26 Feb 2016 mis à jour le 26 February 2016 à 00:00

1/5
ANANTARA QASR AL SARAB DESERT RESORT, Liwa Desert, United Arab Emirates
March is a brilliant time to visit rugged, remote Liwa Desert: temperatures hang around the mid-20s and the humidity is low. If you stay at Anantara Qasr al Sarab Desert Resort, you won’t mind how hot the sun-baked landscape gets: the hotel has palm-lined courtyards, boutique boudoirs and an infinity-edge, freeform pool – all guaranteed to help you keep your cool. If you’re feeling lively, pick from Emirati cookery classes, desert yoga at dawn, dune-bashing in a 4x4, mountain biking, archery, camel trekking, horse riding and more. Alternatively, do very little in the hotel’s spoiling spa, which is set in aromatic hanging gardens, around a peaceful courtyard filled with trickling fountains. The Qasr's biggest treat? A private, bespoke four-course champagne dinner for two in a torch-lit, cushion-filled and comfy Bedouin tent. Your companions? A butler, firepit and the horizon-filling sunbaked sands. Five-star desert luxury (for AED520).
Smith Extra A falconry experience for two (October–April), or a 4WD desert drive in the summer months
2/5
MONTEVERDI, Tuscany, Italy
Stays at Monteverdi are unarguably tasty: the hotel won Best Restaurant at the Smith Hotel Awards 2015. Chef Giancarla proffers fabulous farm-to-table cuisine; spices, herbs and vegetables are plucked straight from the garden. The menu changes with the season, but previous crowd-pleasing dishes include: smoked duck breast with micro-celery and green-apple sorbet; braised wild-boar short ribs; chocolate fondant with liqueur-poached pears. It’s a bit of an understatement to call Monteverdi a hotel: it’s actually part of a village, with cobbled mediaeval streets, an ancient church, and a peaceful pool. Rooms are designed to evoke rural romance: wood-beamed ceilings, elegant, slender-framed four posters, agricultural knick-knacks hanging on walls, alcoves dressed with colourful pot plants and straw hats hanging on hooks. Like the restaurant, the spa pays tribute to Mother Nature; expect herb- and flower-infused treatments. Tuscany in Easter is bucolic; swap chocolate eggs for Italian wine and brilliant food.
Smith Extra Welcome reception including a glass of prosecco and selection of local cheeses and meats
3/5
SHINTA MANI CLUB, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Rainy season in Cambodia doesn’t start until May, so if you visit over Easter, you can still expect dry, hot days (it’s unusual for temperatures to drop below 32 degrees in late March). At Shinta Mani, items to keep you outside enjoying the warm weather include the hotel’s black-tiled lap pool, set in a peaceful courtyard, and the alfresco restaurant, which has a breezy terrace and a clutch of low-slung dining swings. You’ll want to make time for Angkor’s dazzling temples (staff can arrange half- or full-day tours by tuk tuk or car to visit the famous sites on the edge of town). Back at boutique base camp, unwind in the soothing, top-floor spa, which sports one spa suite with a massive bath tub, three double treatment rooms and a relaxation and yoga terrace. Aromatherapy massages kick off with a choice of fragrant oils and a footbath; alternatively, banish jet lag with a Khmer Coffee Scrub, using white clay and coffee beans from Ratanakiri Province.

Smith Extra A Khmer tasting menu for two, excluding alcohol
4/5
THE PULI HOTEL AND SPA, Shanghai, China
It’s tea time all the time at the PuLi Hotel and Spa, which has a tea-themed spa – we’re talking green-tea wraps, white-tea scrubs and rose-tea beautification packages – and a tea set in every Grand Studio. If you’re thirsty for something a little stronger, make a beeline for the 32-metre sunken Long Bar, which runs the length of the lobby and boasts Shanghai’s most extensive by-the-glass wine list. Nab a spot on the cushioned day-beds or perch at the bar and take in the grandeur and bustle of the hotel lobby while you sip the signature Sichuan Spice cocktail – it has a real kick. The food here is impressive, too: Australian executive chef Michael Wilson, formerly of Melbourne's Cutler & Co, presents a seasonal and changing international menu with subtle Asian influences. Try high-quality (and highly interesting) dishes such as black cod with shiitake mushrooms, black radish and ginger. Breakfast here in the restaurant, in your room, or order it to go.
Smith Extra Fresh fruit and chocolates on arrival
5/5
THE SIAM, Bangkok, Thailand
In March, Bangkok is warm and dry, with temperatures averaging around 30 degrees. Get your vitamin-D fix at the Siam’s Pool Villas, which each have a private plunge pool and open-air roof terrace. There’s also an infinity pool with river views and stylish sun loungers; for liquid refreshment of another kind, swim up to the Baths Bar and order a tropical cocktail or two. There’s more to this riverside retreat than balmy lazing, though: don’t go home without a culinary master class in the hotel’s excellent cookery school, or a muay Thai class in the boxing ring. Programmes last from a day to a week, and can be tailored to suit beginners and advanced boxers alike. If that all sounds too strenuous, relax (at the Opium Spa by Sodashi, which combines soothing treatments with a serene relaxation space). Film buffs will enjoy the hotel’s screening room, which has retro cinema seats; yogis can make the most of the Siam’s yoga terrace.

Smith Extra A Thai cookery class for two, including a market tour and three-course lunch preparation (excludes drinks; must be reserved in advance)

ANANTARA QASR AL SARAB DESERT RESORT, Liwa Desert, United Arab Emirates

These are definitely better than bunny chocolates.

Swap sugary eggs for stylish stays this Easter, and have a dentist-approved holiday that won’t result in fillings. The boutique-hotel hunters at Mr & Mrs Smith have Easter treats sorted: just pick from Cambodian temples, riverside lounging in Bangkok, tea-themed Shanghai luxury, Tuscan gourmet thrills or Liwa Desert adventures. Who needs an Easter Bunny?

Mr & Mrs Smith gets you the best rates, guaranteed, as well as a little something extra on arrival at every hotel. To book, call the Smith24 team toll-free on 800 905 326, or visit mrandmrssmith

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Hopping Away: The 5 best Easter stays from Mr & Mrs Smith

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