6 Luxury Farm Stays

The luxury farm stays that have switched gardens for rolling fields, orchards and crops of health-giving vegetables

01

WILDFLOWER FARMS, USA

At the foothills of the Catskill Mountains a new hideaway has taken root. Wildflower Farms' grounds cover 140 acres, which includes woodlands, orchards, fields of native wildflowers and the eponymous farm. At this luxury farm stay you can choose to stay in one of the cabins by the river or spend the night in a cottage filled with vintage buys and surrounded by a wildflower meadow. This is a place that celebrates the seasons. And no more so than at Clay, its own farm-to-fork restaurant. You can learn about foraging, pickling, and preserving at the farm and even rustle up some dishes with freshly harvested ingredients at its Maplehouse cooking school. You can burn off the calories by visiting the open-air fitness centre, with its log-hewn dumbbells or hiking along the three miles of trails within the property that's a two-hour drive from New York.

02

SIX SENSES BOTANIQUE, BRAZIL

A wellness journey worth taking... Found at the confluence of three river valleys in the Mantiqueira Mountains is Six Senses Botanique. Not only has Six Senses Botanique brought with it a first-rate spa, but it has embraced the rich farming heritage of its surrounds. Here guests can dine in its restaurant and sip probiotic elixirs made from herbs, fruit and vegetables harvested on the Six Senses Botanique’s own farm. For within the property's 700 acres, not only will you find hillside vegetable gardens, but hen coops filled with fresh eggs, and even goats. Six Senses wants guests to reap the benefits of this mountain locale – from the Mina restaurant with its panoramic views of the mountains, to the villas sprinkled around the grounds. You are encouraged to go foraging in the forest with the chefs, hiking, biking or paragliding, the outdoor hot tub and terrace in your suite will also help you feel at one with the landscape.

03

CAP KAROSO, INDONESIA

A beach retreat with a difference. Found on the wild island of Sumba is a sanctuary filled with soaring thatched roof tops and filled with ikat-inspired artworks. A golden beach and crystal lagoons are just a few steps away. Choose from duplex suites to three-bedroom beachfront villas that overlook the Flores Sea. You can spend the day surfing, learning local crafts or take a trail map and explore. In the evening, you can enjoy a meal with the family in your villa or take a seat at the chef’s table at the resort’s fine-dining restaurant Julang. The resort also boasts its own a three-hectare organic farm, which not only grows papayas, tomatoes and chillies for the restaurants, but has its own buffalo herd. The Little Adventurers kids club gives tiny travellers the chance to grow crops, meet the animals in the organic farm as well as learn to ride and look after the horses.

04

THE NEWT, UK

A picturesque Georgian house in Somerset revitalised by the team behind the boutique farm Babylonstoren in South Africa. You can spend the night in one of the suites upon a four-poster bed in the manor house or choose from one of the Instagram-worthy farm buildings that were once stables, an apple loft or a granary. Rooms come laden with wood-burning stoves, deep velvet sofas and even their own steam pods. Dine in the Botanical Rooms restaurant with its cosy open kitchen or at the Garden Café, where you can enjoy fresh berries or crisp leaves plucked fresh from the garden below. Make sure that you take a tour of the grounds where you’ll find 460 apple trees planted in a baroque-style maze, sheep grazing in the fields, a cider press and the house cellar, where you can taste some of its famed cider.

05

FARM AT CAPE KIDNAPPERS, NEW ZEALAND

Want to escape to the country? Look no further than Farm at Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand. This 6,000-acre farm that overlooks Hawke’s Bay is as pretty as can be. Choose from five suites that are perched on the clifftops and overlook the Pacific Ocean. You don’t have to worry about hunkering down in a hayloft here. Think king-sized beds, oversized baths and a private balcony. But make sure that you tear yourself away from your suite and explore the great outdoors. For there are hiking trails to hit, horse-riding adventures to enjoy and you can even have a round of golf. But if you want the full farm experience, you can also try your hand at being a shepherd. Don’t worry, we won’t tell if the sheepdog really did all the work.

06

GIBB'S FARM, TANZANIA

Close to the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, you’ll find one of the world’s most luxurious farm stays - Gibb's Farm. Cosy cottages can be found scattered throughout the grounds and offer sweeping views of the Great Rift Valley. If the views don’t tempt you out of bed, the aroma of fresh Arabica coffee roasting each morning will. Built as a coffee plantation in 1929, it is now a working organic farm – one that is within a short stroll to the Ngorongoro forest and a short 4WD ride to the Ngorongoro Crater, where you could spy lions, elephant, rhino and hippo. When you’re not hiking through the forest or wielding your camera on safari, you can also have fun on the farm. Not only can you enjoy the farm-fresh food, but also take part in some of its activities. Adults who love a java jolt might want to be there for the coffee harvest from June to November, where you could pluck a bean or two, while kids can have fun collecting eggs, feeding the pigs or visiting the cow milking station. Any aching muscles gained from your adventures can easily be soothed away in the spa with an Arabica coffee scrub or Maasai-inspired Ojingai Heat Revival massage using parcels of handpicked medicinal herbs heated over a fire.