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The best spring break getaways to savour the flavours of spring
This spring break, enjoy the abundance of fresh produce, from 500-year-old olive groves in Croatia to Jersey royal potatoes fresh from the côtils.
Guests at Calabash, a small family-run luxury resort on Grenada in the Caribbean and the island's only Relais & Châteaux property, are invited to “eat like a Grenadian” – a guided activity that aims to capture the charm of Grenadian culture through the island's cuisine.
The hotel also organises guided tours of the owners' organic farm, L'Esterre Estate, as well as complimentary activities such as exotic fruit tastings and cooking demonstrations. There are three restaurants at Calabash, comprising a fine-dining restaurant, casual beachside dining and a Japanese restaurant offering contemporary dishes made with locally caught seafood.
This spring, Calabash is also unveiling six new suites – four Superior Deluxe Suites and two secluded Hillside Penthouse Suites. The new Hillside suites will enjoy large indoor-outdoor living spaces and private infinity pools overlooking the hotel's white sands and Prickly Bay beyond.
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Prestonfield House in Edinburgh takes its rhubarb seriously. This luxury hotel, five minutes from the city centre, occupies a 17th-century building set in ten acres of gardens.
It was here on the estate that Alexander Cunyngham introduced rhubarb to Scotland in 1746, and it is grown on the grounds to this day. There's still time to catch the end of the forced-rhubarb season.
At the hotel's Rhubarb Restaurant, the estate-grown vibrant pink stems feature in a variety of sweet and savoury dishes, alongside other carefully selected seasonal Scottish ingredients. In the bar, rhubarb is used to make the house syrups that form the base of signature cocktails, such as the Rhubarb Patch – a refined blend of gin, vermouth and citrus.
Rhubarb even makes an appearance at afternoon tea, where it features in sweets, such as the delicious rhubarb and cardamom custard tart.
Spring is a great time to visit Villa Nai 3.3 on the Croatian island of Dugi Otok and its 500-year-old olive groves. The crowds have yet to arrive on the Dalmatian coast, but the days are already warm enough to be spent outdoors.
As for the property's olive oil, it has a high polyphenol content, which makes it particularly healthy and explains why it can be found in this boutique hotel's homemade signature spa treatments as well as in the restaurant.
The menu is centred on seasonal, organic produce that has been grown on the estate or sourced from local farms. The vegetables, herbs, fruits, meats and seafood are prepared in a traditional, Dalmatian way that is light, yet flavoursome and pairs well with Croatian wines. Villa Nai 3.3 is intimate enough that it can be booked for the exclusive use of larger groups.
Around €755 a night, including breakfast. Visit villanai.com.
Jersey royals are on the cusp of being in season and there is no place better to enjoy them than on the island on which they were harvested.
These early potatoes are a true sign that spring has arrived. They are grown on the steep coastal hills of Jersey, known as the côtils and are best enjoyed with a simple knob of butter and sprinkling of sea salt, alongside the mackerel, crab and lobster that are caught in the local waters.
Executive chef Andrew Baird runs the restaurant at Longueville Manor, which is part of the luxury Relais & Châteaux collection. The hotel has now added a coveted Michelin Key to its long-held AA Rosettes. Baird is also a certified PADI Divemaster, and has been known to lead dives to fetch the scallops for the menu.
They are served with vegetables from the Victorian kitchen garden, courgette flowers, herbs and, of course, those famous Jersey royals.
Longueville Manor offers nightly rates from £154, based on two sharing on a B&B basis.
Crillon le Brave in the south of France takes a different approach to enjoying food. This Provençal retreat with a village feel has partnered with Claire Borwin, a dietician and nutritionist, to offer a range of one- and two-day wellness programmes centred around nutrition.
The season begins on 25 April with a day dedicated to sleep, called “From Plate to Dream: Nutrition and Rituals for Restorative Sleep”, which explores the relationship between nutrition, the nervous system and quality of rest. That is followed on 8-10 May by “Summer in Balance: Vitality, Emotions, and the Joy of Homemade”, a two-day retreat focusing on both physical and emotional energy.
Wellness programmes continue throughout the rest of the year, including one in July devoted to tomatoes. Also this spring, Crillon le Brave is opening its new cottages, a second swimming pool and a dedicated space for hosting culinary workshops.
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