Boutique Hotels in Slovenia

Most trips begin in Ljubljana, one of Europe's most likeable small capitals — a green, walkable city of riverside cafés, a hilltop castle, dragon bridges and the airy architecture of Jože Plečnik, with its centre closed to cars. North-west rise the Julian Alps and the Triglav National Park, the country's wild heart, where Lake Bled — island church, cliff castle, cream cakes — and quieter Lake Bohinj sit beneath the peaks, and the emerald Soča river runs down the far side through Slovenia's great outdoor valley.

South and west the land changes utterly. The limestone karst hides some of the world's finest caves — vast Postojna and UNESCO-listed Škocjan — and the clifftop drama of Predjama Castle, before giving way to a short, beautiful strip of Adriatic coast where Venetian-built Piran is the jewel. Inland lie the wine countries: Goriška Brda on the Italian border and the neighbouring Vipava Valley to the west, the Tuscan-like heart of Slovenian wine, with more regions east towards Maribor and the vineyards of Štajerska. For so small a country, the range is extraordinary.

Slovenian food sits at a crossroads, and is the better for it: Alpine and Central European in the mountains, Italian on the coast and in the west, Balkan and Hungarian to the south and east. Expect river trout and mountain cheeses, Adriatic seafood, štruklji dumplings and pršut, and a wine scene that punches far above the country's size — the Rebula and orange wines of Brda, the crisp whites of Vipava, and a thriving natural and biodynamic movement. The standard-bearer is Ana Roš at Hiša Franko in the Soča Valley, among the most celebrated chefs in the world.

For where to stay, the club has two properties, both in Slovenia's western wine-and-mountain country. Hotel Gredič is a centuries-old castle of seven rooms in the heart of the Goriška Brda vineyards, with a Michelin-recognised restaurant and a cellar of the region's best growers. An hour north, Klavže 28 is a pair of restored farmhouses on nine hectares above the Bača river near the Soča Valley — a rustic, wholly characterful retreat with its own river swimming spot and the valley's adventures at the door.

Slovenia is a four-season country, and the regions peak at different times. Late spring and early autumn — May, June, September — are the loveliest overall: warm, green and uncrowded, with the lakes and rivers at their best and the wine country in blossom or harvest. Summer is the high season for the Alps, the Soča and the coast, busiest in July and August though rarely overwhelming, and the only time the Adriatic is properly swimmable. Autumn brings the grape harvest and golden forests, ideal for the wine regions and walking. Winter turns the Julian Alps into a ski region and Ljubljana into a Christmas-market city, though many mountain passes and rural spots close down. For the all-rounder, come in the shoulder seasons; choose the region to suit the month.