6 of the best places to travel in August

One of the few chateaux to survive the French Revolution completely intact, Hotel Château de Grand-Lucé is an 18th-century abode, three hours’ drive from Paris, which has emerged from its chrysalis fully reimagined as a hotel and go-to party location for fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton and Marni, thanks to Californian hotelier Marcy Holthus. The old-world splendor of the 17 suites – think velvet drapes, herringbone parquet and glinting crystal chandeliers – is quietly disrupted by modernist pieces by Roche Bobois and Jean Paul Gaultier, presented next to priceless artworks rescued from under the floorboards of the Louvre. The bar is housed in a converted chapel and the original laundry house is currently being transformed into a Maison Caulières spa. Beyond the neatly trimmed neoclassical gardens, there’s an orb-like outdoor pool, a lake, a kitchen garden and an orchard, while a farmer’s market is held every week just outside the estate gates.

This is the antidote to all of the excesses that the Hamptons in high summer brings. Every detail of Shou Sugi Ban House is designed to be conducive to meditative thinking, from the cherry blossom gardens and carefully raked gravel paths to the soothingly minimalist Japanese-inspired interiors. Hidden away on a three-acre plot on Long Island, this 13-room destination wellness center offers three-, four- and seven-day retreats that feature quiet yet transformative pleasures such as long walks on the dunes, restorative sound baths and holistic vegan menus, all to foster “meaningful human connection in a tranquil setting”. The all-female staff and sustainable architecture set the bar for this most inspiring and visionary of escapes.

A 16-bedroom Japanese beach house, the first hotel offshoot of the legendary Nobu kitchen, Nobu Ryokan sits inconspicuously over the bracing sandy length of the Malibu coast, the perfect recuperative retreat. Designed as a Japanese ryokan with wooden bathtubs and a meditative rock and water garden, the minimalist teak and cedar structure encourages instant decompression as you kick off your shoes and listen to the boom of the surf just beyond the terrace. Bedrooms face the sea with sun loungers on private decks, beyond which whales, dolphins and pelicans break the endless horizon. Steps lead down from the property directly onto Malibu’s Carbon Beach where you can walk for miles in either direction – but you won’t want to stray too far from the Nobu restaurant next door, with its extraordinary Japanese-Peruvian inspired dishes.