10 destinations to disconnect

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The pool area of Le Dune Piscinas in Sardinia, Italy

Three Choirs Vineyard, Newent Valley, Gloucestershire, England

This cedar lodge set among 75 acres of vines – one of England’s oldest vineyards – in a remote Gloucestershire valley is a great place to switch off. Its story goes back to 1973 when local wine merchant Alan McKechnie was curious to see if vines would grow on Gloucestershire’s south-facing slopes. He planted half an acre, and the rest is history. Grape varieties include pinot noir, bacchus, phoenix, siegerrebe and seyval blanc, and the wine menu features Three Choirs wine and guest bottles; wine tastings are also available.

Brasserie food is tapas-style, with local and regional cheeses, fresh figs with stilton, sweet potato, apricot and cumin falafel, and a sirloin steak sharing board. Accommodation consists of the Vineyard Lodges, with floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides and a veranda to enjoy the sounds of finches, woodpeckers, buzzards and sparrowhawks; or the Vineyard View Rooms, closer to the brasserie, each with valley views and a south-facing patio.

Check rates and availability at three-choirs-vineyards.co.uk

Three Choirs Vineyard (18th September 2017)

Grove of Narberth, Pembrokeshire, Wales

In the Narberth hills of Pembrokeshire, nestled among ancient woodland and meadows, is a small luxury hotel modelled on a traditional Welsh country house. Owners Neil and Zoe Kedward bought the building in 2007 and have restored the once-derelict house with the help of local tradesmen and craft specialists, mixing original features with Welsh art, crafts and antiques.

Food is a centrepiece, both at the fine-dining Fernery restaurant and informal Artisan Brasserie. For executive chef Douglas Balish, it’s all about seasonal, sustainable ingredients, often just picked from the hotel’s kitchen garden, or fresh fish and oysters from nearby harbours. In-house sommelier Cathryn Bell ensures local producers are celebrated on a curated wine list. There are seven- and five-course tasting menus, including menus for pescatarians, vegetarians and vegans, with dishes including sea bass with gnocchi, fennel and bouillabaisse; silken seaweed with tofu and satay; and lamb with lime pickle, mint and wild garlic.

The hotel’s 13 cosy rooms and suites overlook the Preseli hills or hotel gardens, and there are standalone cottages around the grounds too, where over 5,000 trees have been planted. grovenarberth.co.uk

Doubles from £260; check rates and availability at booking.com, hilton.com or mrandmrssmith.com

The Grove - Garden images copy — Credit: Grove of Narberth

Finn Lough, Ireland

From walks through ancient woodland and kayaking around secluded islands to hunkering down in the library or by the forest barn firepit, Finn Lough has plenty of places to switch off from daily life.

Stay in transparent domes in the forest under a starlit sky, in a river cabin next to a rewilded waterway, or in one of Finn Lough’s relaxing suites at the main house at this adults-only Irish retreat. There are also villas by the edge of Lough Erne with a private garden and deck or balcony with waterside views.

Ingredients are grown, foraged and sourced locally, whether that's the breakfast hampers delivered to your door, mimosas and pastries at the main house each morning, lunch and drinks at the House Bar (which also has a vintage cinema showing a daily 9pm film), or the evening-only restaurant Lasair – expect hickory-smoked burrata, scampi in Thai coconut curry, teriyaki pork belly and olive oil cake among the choices. On sunny days, lakeside venue The Bay opens for lunch.

Check rates and availability at finnlough.com

Finn Lough luxury hideaway, bubble domes, Co_master

Knockinaam Lodge, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

Who wouldn't love a hotel set in its own private cove? This secluded 19th-century country house hotel in southwest Scotland has a locally sourced menu created by chef Tony Pierce, offering fine dining at the restaurant and al fresco at The Cove, with fresh seafood, local meats, and many ingredients sourced directly from the kitchen garden - currently on course to become a fully certified organic garden. Manicured lawns sweep down to the sea with extensive views across the North Channel to Ireland, ripe for beach walks, runs or contemplation.

Dine at the 3 AAA Rosette restaurant, where a daily changing menu features dishes such as Orkney scallops, Galloway lamb, and celeriac with white truffle oil. Knockinaam Lodge has 10 rooms, with sea or garden views, with thick, deep-pile robes and local Apothecally essence of Galloway toiletries. And though remote, it’s just three miles from the seaside village of Portpatrick, and eight miles from Stranraer and Cairnryan ferry port.

Check rates and availability at knockinaamlodge.com

La Belle Eco, Montréal (near Carcassonne), France

Disconnecting isn’t just about getting away, it’s about reconnecting with your creative self too. Surrounded by ancient woodland, the manor house hotel of La Belle Eco near the medieval town of Carcassonne in southwest France is a relaxing getaway, but also a place to experience traditional crafts and enjoy organic food, from homemade sourdough pizza to dishes using garden ingredients.

With just nine rooms, there’s automatically a more intimate feel, each one decked out with organic bedding and upcycled antiques. There’s a natural swimming pool, wood-fired hot tub, eco sauna and massage room for physical and mental relaxation. But La Belle Eco is about community too, with its art studios, fairy glen and barn. Taking ‘impact’ into account was high on the agenda when building this space: an ‘eco refit’ means solar panels, compost toilets and hemp insulation. No sprays/pesticides are used in the garden, and indigenous species have been planted to boost biodiversity. labelle.eco

Doubles from £168; check rates and availability at booking.com

Le Dune Piscinas, Sardinia, Italy

Picture a former mining storage facility transformed into a boutique seaside hotel, between some of Europe’s highest sand dunes (part of a UNESCO World Heritage site) and the Mediterranean sea. That’s Le Dune Piscinas.

The secluded setting of this 28-room hotel, which opened in 2024 after a three-year restoration, is made for switching off, whether in the quiet library or on a sunrise/sunset walk for a sighting of Sardinian deer. You can relax at the American bar, or enjoy beach-view meals at glass-fronted Il Ginepro, where locally sourced ingredients are the highlight: octopus, potato and mullet bottarga (preserved fish roe); culurgiones (stuffed pasta) with potatoes and wild mint; and suckling pig roasted on myrtle branches. The evening-only Rosso Tramonto is all about gourmet tasting menus.

Rooms and décor are inspired by local artists, and designed with a mix of Sardinian marble, cast iron, wood and local fabrics. The private beach is another haven, and there’s an outdoor cinema, spa and pool with underwater treadmills. ledunepiscinas.com/en

Doubles from £248; check rates and availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

Gundari, Folegandros, Greece

On the lesser known Cyclades island of Folegandros – population under 1,000, no airport, one road – is the island’s first five-star, EarthCheck Certified resort, Gundari. Its 29 suites and villas are bio-climatically designed, using solar energy to minimise energy use, kitted in natural colours and with private pools.

This is a place to truly slow down, and the views of the Aegean Sea – not to mention the the limited mobile phone reception – certainly help. The cliff-edge pool with swim-up cocktail bar is as impressive as it sounds, as is the subterranean sea view spa. The resort also has an organic farm and wine bar, and restaurants are helmed by Greece’s first Michelin-star chef, Lefteris Lazarou, serving dishes such as squid with basil pesto, seabass carpaccio, and Cycladic salad with local souroto cheese. You can also visit the traditional Cycladic town of Chora, and swim and snorkel at Katerga and Livadaki beaches. gundari.com

Doubles from £394; check rates and availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

MAD Retreat, Haute-Nendaz, Switzerland

The Alpine chalet-style rooms and setting in the forest 1,300 metres above the Rhône valley are an instant decompressor here – the ultimate aim of the 45-room MAD Retreat (for ages 14 and up). It offers classic or themed retreats, a combination of individual sessions, holistic treatments such as aromatherapy and sound therapy, massages and group activities, depending on what guests want to achieve.

There’s also a yoga chalet, saunas, a hammam, heated pools, an open-air massage mazot (an Alpine raised wooden building once used to store valuables) and activities such as forest bathing and hiking. The main chalet and 23 local wood mazots have been locally designed using sustainable materials such as wood and stone, and the place is wholly powered by hydroelectricity, solar panels and other renewables. The cuisine is mostly vegetarian and vegan, with buffet breakfasts, light lunches and three-course dinners; think wild rice with herbed tahini, and plum tartlet. madretreat.ch

Doubles from £529; check rates and availability at booking.com

Bunea Wilderness Cabin, Carpathian Mountains, Romania

After travelling off-road through the Dâmbovița Valley, it’s impossible not to switch off in this remote mountain setting above Pecineagu Lake, immersed in one of Europe’s most untouched forests, home to wolves, bears and lynx. Built by Foundation Conservation Carpathia, this cosy wooden cabin that sleeps six (across a double and bunk room) is a fantastic spot to view wildlife such as European bison and deer and hear the howl of a wolf. It's also a chance to just ‘be’, enjoy nature and soak up moments of solitude.

It’s ‘all-inclusive’ too, but not as you might think. Due to its off-grid location, a specialist guide is on hand to maximise the wildlife experience, and you’ll enjoy delicious organic dishes from meatball soup to polenta with sour cream alongside organic Romanian wines, all of it sourced from local markets and farmers in the valley.

Check rates and availability at responsibletravel.com or travelcarpathia.com

Credit: Travel Carpathia - Daniel Mirlea

Lådfabriken, Orust island, West Sweden

This former fish box factory has been transformed into a luxury boutique bed-and-breakfast on the island of Orust, an hour north of Gothenburg in the West Sweden archipelago. The four rooms are simply designed with pops of colour in furnishing and fabrics, and there’s an ‘EKO Tiny House’ in the garden, with solar panels and a loft bedroom overlooking the Skagerrak Sea.

Just 30 metres from the sea, Lådfabriken is the perfect place for a quick dip, kayaking, coastal cycling and fishing – the hotel also encourages beach clean-ups. Unsurprisingly, seafood is the food focus; lobster dinners, seafood buffets, dishes such as fresh crayfish cocktail and Lådfabriken-style fish soup, accompanied by fine wines. The restaurant is part of the ‘A Taste of West Sweden’ network, which connects restaurants and cafés with regional producers, so you might find handpicked oysters, or local yogurt, charcuterie or Wrångebäck cheese. The garden is home to over 100 roses, berry bushes and fruit trees; enjoy the end result at breakfast, with over 12 types of jam and marmalade. ladfabriken.eu

Doubles from £186; check availability at booking.com