Star Treatment
Bedford Post Inn, USA
We pick five of the best hotels owned by Hollywood stars.
Bedford Post Inn
When cash-rich, time-poor New Yorkers want a weekend in the country, they head just 44 miles north of the Upper East Side, to Bedford. It's so close there's no need to fire up the private jet (although Westchester airport is a 20-minute drive from Bedford, should they want to), and it has all the trappings of the English countryside: rippling emerald hills, narrow roads framed by oak trees, abundant wildlife, historical pedigree. Bedford is where Martha Stewart, Ralph Lauren and Donald Trump play English lords and ladies of the manor.
This enclave was off-limits to those without billion-dollar bank balances until one of their number, Richard Gere, who has had a home in the area for 25 years, joined the ranks of actors-turned-innkeepers and opened the Bedford Post Inn, a small hotel and restaurant, in the summer of 2009. My friend Luisa and I were given a room in the eaves of the main building, which dates from the 19th century. In our bedroom the decor was Shaker-style, with thick, reclaimed beams, wooden floors, a working fireplace, and - the first hint of the owner's affection for the East - a bamboo-deck balcony. Julia Roberts would approve of the bathroom, with its claw-footed tub, walk-in shower and lovely mosaic floor.
You won't find Gere and his wife Carey Lowell (who designed the interiors) behind the reception desk, but they often visit the inn. Knowing Gere's penchant for yoga, I had hoped I might find him at the morning Hatha-Iyengar class, which is free for guests and held in a stunning America-meets-Asia yoga studio behind the hotel. We returned that evening from a walk to find The Farmhouse restaurant laden with a Waspy-looking crowd of men in button-down shirts and women in frocks and pashminas. We ate perfectly al dente, hand-cut pasta with guanciale, pecorino and egg (posh carbonara), and raised a glass to those clever Manhattanites for finding this Arcadian pocket of countryside so close to the city.
Bedford Post Inn: 954 Old Post Road, Bedford, New York (00 1 914 234 7800; www.bedfordpostinn.com). Doubles from $436
PA PhotosThe Greenwich Hotel, New York City
The Greenwich Hotel
Robert De Niro has devoted much time, and cash, to regenerating TriBeCa since 9/11, and he opened this 88-room hotel in the hood last year. It has a lantern-lit pool and spa and a lively restaurant, Locanda Verde, where the sheep's milk ricotta is the must-order.
The Greenwich Hotel: 00 1 212 941 8900; www.thegreenwichhotel.com. Doubles from $549
The Big Sleep, Cardiff
The Big Sleep, Cardiff
A converted 1960s office block in the Welsh capital might seem like the last place a red-carpeter would choose to open a hotel, but then The Big Sleep co-owner John Malkovich has never been the most conventional member of the Hollywood set. And it seems his investment has paid off: the hotel's fresh, modish looks (shagpile carpets, graphic wallpaper), great views and outrageously affordable rates - the penthouse costs just £99 - have drawn a dedicated following.
The Big Sleep: 029 2063 6363; www.thebigsleephotel.com. Doubles from £45
PA PhotosCypress Inn, California
Cypress Inn, California
Put some stamps in you pooch's passport and send him to Doris Day's Cypress Inn in Carmel-by-the-Sea, where dogs and cats are guaranteed star treatment. Built in 1929, the inn has cosy rooms, some with Jacuzzis and canopied beds, and a restaurant that pairs surf-and-turf with Californian wines.
Cypress Inn: 00 1 831 624 3871; www.cypress-inn.com). Doubles from $247.50
PA PhotosTurtle Inn, Belize
Turtle Inn
The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola owns several properties in the Americas, including this beach retreat in Placencia, a peninsula in southern Belize. The 25 rooms are in thatched cottages; there are two infinity-edged pools, a kids-only gelato bar and a spa. Scuba divers should check in between April and June, when the whale sharks loom between the low-lying cays.
Turtle Inn: 00 501 824 4912; www.coppolaresorts.com. Doubles from US$350
Story by Kate Maxwell: published in March 2010