Andrew Harper's favorite small hotels for 2018 include two in California

By Mary Forgione

Jan. 5, 2018 6:10 AM PT

Identifying small, exclusive, out-of-the-way resorts is the specialty of Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report. Now the magazine has selected a plush resort in southern France as its “hideaway” of the year, along with 20 favorite hotels around the world, in its year-end awards.

Four hotels in the U.S. and two in Mexico made the cut in the magazine’s Grand Awards 2018, announced Thursday.

Andrew Harper’s selected hotels must be “relatively small in size, possess strong personalities and demonstrate a consistent devotion to personal service,” according to the awards website.

This year, France was the big winner with the hideaway of the year: Villa La Coste in the town of Le Puy-Sainte-Reparade. It has just 28 individual villas as well as a main building with lounges, a bar, a library, a spa and a restaurant called Louison. Four other French resorts made the awards list. (Room prices in early June start at $1,145 a night.)

Two California resorts — The Inn at Newport Ranch in Fort Bragg (starting at $375 a night) and SingleThread Farms in Healdsburg, which has just five rooms (starting at $1,000 a night) — were among four U.S. resorts that received Grand Awards. Prices are based on an early June stay.

Here are the rest of the winners. (The lowest room prices shown below were found online for an early June stay.)

Le Petit Nice in Marseille, France, $987

Hotel Les Roches Rouges in Saint-Raphael, France, $406

Chateau de la Treyne in Lacave, France, $361

Domaine de Manville in Les Baux-de-Provence, France, $390

Weissenhaus Grand Village Resort in Weissenhaus, Germany, $931

Valverde Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal, $488

Dragsholm Slot, Horve, Denmark, $856

Henne Kirkeby Kro in Henne, Denmark, $267

Solstrand Hotel & Bad in Os, Norway, $369

Hotel Union Oye in Oye, Norway, $319

The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa in Bolton Abbey, England, $242