◗ FARMVILLE For families after a fun, immersive experience, nothing beats a day out on a farm. Fortunately, there are a few properties that offer just that. Among the most comprehensive is
Agreco Farm in Crete, open to guests staying at any of Grecotel’s seven properties on the island. Olive oil, wine, cheese, eggs, meat and honey are all produced here – and used in the hotel’s restaurants and body care products – and there’s an array of activities ranging from vegetable picking to goat-milking, wine tasting, baking and beyond. “Our goal is to give Grecotel guests,
farmers and students a first-hand experience of the original production methods of traditional Greek products,” says Alexia Kaklamanou, head of sales promotion for the farm. It’s not the only brand getting in on the game. In Thailand, Six Senses Samui has a Farm on the Hill, where goats and chickens graze among an abundance of crops, providing organic eggs, milk and vegetables which can be enjoyed over a barbecue, following a private sunset tour of the grounds.
SAMPLE PRODUCT
Premier Holidays offers four nights at the Bella Luce, Guernsey, from £425 per person by air, valid for travel from October 1-30.
trade.premier
holidays.co.uk
A week’s B&B at Boucan by
Hotel Chocolat costs from
£2,029 with the
Inspiring Travel Company, based on two adults sharing a lodge, and including BA flights from Gatwick and
private transfers. inspiringtravel
company.co.uk
52
travelweekly.co.uk 17 August 2017
At Hunter Valley Resort, there’s even a candy school where guests can learn to make alcohol-infused sweets
And it’s not just about the
eating part – resorts offer plenty of opportunity for guests to get hands-on. In northwest Greece, Aristi Mountain Resort & Villas has opened a greenhouse offering cooking courses which teach guests how to prepare a traditional, three-course meal with seasonal, home-grown ingredients – from beets and broccoli in winter to basil and cucumber in summer. Then there’s Villages Nature Paris,
the sprawling eco-resort that has just opened as part of a joint venture with Disneyland Paris. Operated by Pierre & Vacances and with nature as its core theme, it teaches visitors how to use its home-farmed vegetables via everything from beekeeping classes
and butter-churning workshops to gardening courses offering green- fingered types a tip or two. On that note, there’s news closer
to home. Raymond Blanc’s renowned hotel and restaurant, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, has just started a gardening school, teaching participants how to grow crops during day courses through the summer and beyond in the resort’s expansive grounds (from £185). It adds to an already comprehensive
roster of cooking classes including ‘my garden to your plate’, where guests tour the gardens and harvest their own produce before turning it into a lunch extraordinaire (from £365).
◗ GETTING INVENTIVE A handful of resorts take things a step further. In Saint Lucia, Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet share a 600-acre farm which supplies 40% of all food served in the latter’s restaurant – think coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg and more than 2,000 cocoa trees. But the highlight has to be the
Discover Chocolate Festival – this year from December 5-10 – when a chocolate
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