As both our understanding of the farm-to-table experience and the desire to know about the source of what we put on our plate increase year on year, 2024 looks to be a fantastic year to explore this movement towards sustainable and hyperlocal eating, particularly on our travels.
From Nice to Puerto Rico, Abu Dhabi to Venice, here are some of the world’s best luxury hotels that allow travellers to combine their holiday with a responsible approach to food.
Dine in a cloister restaurant: Hôtel du Couvent, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Nice, France
Nestled in the heart of Nice, perched on the hillside of the old city, a convent was built by the Clarisses in 1604 as a place of tranquillity and reflection. In collaboration with Studio Mumbai, Studio Méditerranée and Festen Architecture, the convent has been restored to its former glory to begin a new chapter as Hôtel du Couvent while maintaining its core vocation: to offer a calm and tranquil haven and a place of exchange.
Upon opening in quarter two of 2024, Hôtel du Couvent will offer 88 guestrooms and suites including peaceful monastic-style spaces ideal for solo travel, sophisticated guestrooms offering views of the Mediterranean Sea or a private garden and spacious apartments with cooking and dining spaces, perfect for longer stays and gatherings. At Hôtel du Couvent, cooking is a unique, secular ritual, passed down through history.
This tradition is perpetuated with the cloister restaurant, the Guin – guette café and the bistro on the Rue des Serruriers. Menus will feature delicacies such as raw amberjack, pistou gnocchi and lemon tart, thoughtfully crafted using fruit, vegetables, herbs and eggs from the hotel farm in Touët-sur-Var. The hotel’s 2.5-acre garden is almost completely hidden from the outside, providing a place for listening, relaxing, swimming and meditating surrounded by olive, apricot and lemon trees, as well as more than 300 species which naturally scent the air.
On Saturday mornings, the hotel will adopt a village square atmosphere, opening its courtyard to the local market, where guests and the public can buy local products from producers and farmers from the Nice region.
Room rates start at £386 per night for a double room in June.
Mountainside lodges and an on-site farm: El Pretexto, Cayey, Puerto Rico
For those looking to experience the farm-to-table scene first hand, El Pretexto in the scenic Cercadillo mountain community in Cayey serves as the first culinary farm stay in Puerto Rico. Made with love and dedication, the women-owned business boasts three private wooden lodges, an agroecological farming area, free-range organic chicken and duck coops and a range of culinary pop-up experiences.
Popular with both residents and travellers, regular dinners take place on a long communal table with panoramic views of the Cordillera Central, the mountain range that crosses Puerto Rico from west to east. In addition to producing many of her own ingredients, from duck and chicken to eggs, pumpkins, cucumbers, and ginger, El Pretexto owner Crystal Díaz solely employs local residents of the Cayey community to work at this unique destination.
Room rates start at £291 per night for a double room in April.
Green Michelin-starred gastronomy in a vegan hotel: Sapphire House Antwerp, Autograph Collection, Antwerp, Belgium
Sapphire House Antwerp, Autograph Collection is renowned for its award-winning plant-based gastronomic experiences curated by two-Michelin-starred chef Bart de Pooter. Chef Pooter’s agricultural project ‘Grond Zoekt Boer’ spreads over 12 hectares of land, providing ground for ethical and sustainable farming. The hotel’s fine dining restaurant, WILDn, awarded with a Green Michelin Star in 2023, boasts seasonal menus that bring a unique vegan gastronomic experience presenting the finest produce, fermented vegetables, and homemade flavour enhancers.
For a more casual dining experience, guests can visit PLANTn – the hotel’s all-day dining destination ideal for authenticity seekers, and local foodies. A vegan hotel, Sapphire House Antwerp, Autograph Collection offers guests a unique vegan experience throughout the stay, from breakfast and dinner to room service and complimentary minibars.
Room rates start at £149 per night for a double room in April.
The vertical hydroponic farm: The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal has launched its very own vertical hydroponic farm, providing fresh, nutritious produce that is grown on-site and hand-delivered to the hotel’s restaurants. Generating 15 kilograms of produce daily within a 41 square metre footprint, 365 days a year, the farm grows the equivalent of one acre of land and generates yields that are 30 times higher than traditional farming methods.
Utilising a practice for controlled environment agriculture (CEA), the farm provides ideal growing conditions from lighting, ambient temperatures, and carbon dioxide levels to nutrient conditioning of the water, allowing crops to grow more efficiently, leading to 100 per cent harvests. This initiative demonstrates the hotel’s commitment to helping the planet by reducing the carbon footprint associated with typical logistics involved in farming products. With harvesting being carried out on-site, the elimination of transportation results in zero spoilage and superior outcomes in both flavour and nutrition.
The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal offers eight distinctive restaurants. Signature dishes made with fresh vertical farm produce include caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes, burrata and basil pesto as well as sous vide black cod, miso sauce, and crispy kale.
Room rates start at £176 per night for a double room in April.
The hyperlocal focus: W Marriott Venice Resort and Spa, Venice, Italy
Blissfully situated on its own private island, JW Marriott Venice Resort and Spa boasts a spectacular line-up of restaurants and bars; from the charming Sagra Rooftop Restaurant to the new Agli Amici Dopolavoro Venezia. Thanks to its strategic positioning between the lagoon and the sea, the resort houses an impressive olive grove, a vegetable garden, and fruit trees, which root the hotel’s culinary offering in local ingredients. Executive chef Giorgio Schifferegger is always implementing local and organic dining options through partnering with local farmers, growers on Vignole Island and seafood purveyors.
At the forefront of the hyperlocal focus, Agli Amici Dopolavoro, helmed by Michelin-starred chef Emanuele Scarello, offers two tasting menus with a strong connection to the Venetian land resulting in dishes that are almost impossible to replicate elsewhere.
Room rates start at £337 per night for a double room in April.
Farm-to-table experiences: The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort, Mallorca, Spain
The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort’s newly opened Terra is the herald of Mediterranean flavours with its ethos of ‘farm to table’ cuisine. Designed by the internationally renowned interior architect Lázaro-Rosa Violán, guests will be transported to the typical kitchen of a Majorcan manor house as they step into this beautifully crafted space.
Dedicated to the enjoyment of the best seasonal and local products with a special Mallorcan touch, guests can expect traditional tapas at lunchtime and dishes including a carpaccio of smoked octopus and wild asparagus for dinner. The restaurant also serves gourmet breakfasts and features a juice bar, with freshly made juices and smoothies using the finest fruits and vegetables from the Mallorcan orchard.
Room rates start at £564 per night for a double room in April.
