A Journey Through Time: Staying in Heritage Properties with Living History
Sian Pages – Travel Planner
Some places are not visited. They are stepped into, as though through a doorway in time.
For the seasoned traveller, luxury is no longer defined by excess, but by depth. And nowhere is that depth more profoundly felt than in heritage properties: homes, palaces, and estates that have weathered centuries yet still speak in the present tense.
Here, you feel the weight of history not as something past, but as something intimate.
1. Belmond Hotel Monasterio, Cusco – Where Stones Remember
Set in the heart of Cusco, just steps from the Plaza de Armas, this former 16th-century monastery is a living expression of Peru’s layered past.
Built atop Inca foundations and graced with Spanish colonial arches, it holds centuries in quiet balance.
The baroque chapel still glows with candlelight, and oxygen-enriched rooms ease you gently into the Andean altitude. You wake to birdsong in the cloistered courtyard and walk halls once trodden by monks and conquistadors alike.
2. Riad Fès, Morocco – A Legacy in Zellige and Cedar
Tucked into the labyrinthine alleys of the Fez medina, Riad Fès is a restored palace that retains every ounce of its Andalusian-Moorish soul.
Hand-carved cedar screens, intricate zellige tiles, and carved stucco make each room a testament to craftsmanship.
But it’s the atmosphere… hushed, perfumed and timeless that lingers. From the rooftop, the call to prayer rises across the city like a breath held and released.
3. Ballyfin, Ireland – Regency Restored
There is a stillness to Ballyfin, a 19th-century country estate at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains, that feels almost cinematic.
A neoclassical mansion set amid 600 acres of woods, lakes, and walled gardens, it once hosted poets, politicians, and aristocrats.
Today, with only 20 rooms and a staff that remembers your name before you give it, the atmosphere is one of considered elegance.
Afternoons are for falconry or writing letters. Evenings bring candlelit dinners beneath gold leaf ceilings.
4. Hoshinoya Kyoto – A Floating World
Accessible only by boat along the Hozugawa River, this former 17th-century merchant residence offers a uniquely Japanese kind of heritage, one that values quietude above grandeur.
Tatami floors, sliding screens, and seasonal kaiseki meals connect guests to the cadence of traditional life.
Each room opens to a garden or water view, and in the early morning mist, the entire property seems to drift between centuries.
5. Château de Bagnols, Beaujolais – A Medieval Reverie
With its stone towers, moat, and 13th-century ramparts, Château de Bagnols is a castle in form, but a home in spirit.
Frescoed salons, tapestries, and antique furnishings surround you with memory.
Outside, the Beaujolais countryside stretches in quiet undulations. Inside, the wine is drawn from ancient cellars, the fire is always lit, and you are reminded that luxury once meant permanence.
Where Time Feels Fully Alive
To stay in a place with history is not to look back, but to be held still, even briefly, in the richness of all that came before.
These properties don’t seek to impress.
They invite you to pause.
Because true luxury isn’t in what’s new… it’s in what endures.
Get in touch
If you’d like to discuss future travel plans you have in mind, get in contact with our in-house travel consultant, Sian Pages, on sian.pages@notjusttravel.com.
Sian will be more than happy to spend time talking you through your options; remembering her service is delivered at no cost to clients and professional connections of Longhurst.
Happy Adventures!
