Hotel Claude Marbella, Marbella, Spain

While many boutique hotels can be overly fussy and overpriced, Hotel Claude in Marbella redefines the concept with luxurious accommodation, five-star amenities and staff fresh out of charm school. Stylish without compromising on substance, the intimate boutique hotel is located within a 17th-century building characterised by a gorgeous stucco façade right in the heart of Marbella’s Old Town. It’s so close to all that is cultured and historic about Marbella, in fact, that you can hear the bells chiming from the nearby church and the clip-clopping of horses’ hooves on the cobbled streets.

Named after Claude Devoize – a successful opera singer who bought it with her husband some years ago with the intention of turning it into an artist’s club - Hotel Claude was stripped bare by Franz and Desiree Willmes, stepchildren of current owner Juan Berjano, and completely renovated in 2004. Having finished construction in 2007, the boutique hotel is finally open to the public – and the reservation book is jam-packed.

The facilities

With interiors decked out by Angel Gordon, one of Spain’s finest interior designers, Hotel Claude is the perfect place to check-in for those seeking a little stylish sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of city life, from design connoisseurs and culture vultures to newlyweds and dirty weekenders. Boasting a warm colour palette and furnished with completely natural materials, this is how hotels used to be before cloned Hyatts and Hiltons took over the world; a hotel with heart.

Every public space is carefully considered, with sweeping arches, spiralling columns, carved wooden doors, handpicked furniture and unusual ornaments. Featuring contemporary salons and a chic black and white restaurant that will give top city eateries a run for their money, Hotel Claude strikes the perfect balance between rustic authenticity and contemporary comfort.

The rooms

While all seven suites boast terracotta floors, sandstone baths and the finest fabrics, they are each unique in their themes. With names such as Francesca, Contemporanea, Savannah and Oriental, guests are able to enjoy princely beds with fine thread-count linen and high headboards, old-world chaise longues, flat-screen TVs and iPod docks whichever room they choose, while soaking up subtle variations in design and style. Upstairs on the roof is a charming terrace that looks out onto twisting spires and red rooftops. Here, guests can relax with a glass – or bottle! – of wine and watch the sun sink slowly behind the buildings. Up here, Hotel Claude really is a world unto its own.

Without forgetting its bohemian beginnings – in fact, it makes every effort to embrace them - Hotel Claude is fast becoming Marbella’s hippest hotel. While the Coast is brimming with oceanfront hotel chains and cute bed-and-breakfasts, it lacked a boutique hotel that was design-driven and comfortable all at the same time. This new boutique beauty, with its prime position, awe-inspiring architecture and haute furnishings, has finally filled that void. Welcome to the house of Claude.