Boutique Hotel V

Safe to say you’re not likely simply to be passing through Vejer de la Frontera, looking for any old place to stay. This picturesque little Andalucian village is the perfect location for a chic little destination hotel, something like the Boutique Hotel V, a twelve-room converted townhouse that’s a bastion of the cosmopolitan dolce vita, surrounded by the traditional life of this country town and some far-ranging views of the countryside beyond — all the way to Tangier, in fact.

The dozen bedrooms are crisp and contemporary yet with classic overtones, decorated in Portuguese antiques, and feature some pretty fine views through the windows. For the full visual panorama, though, it’s up to the roof terrace, which, weather permitting, is more or less the center of the V’s social action, owing in no small part to the presence of the jacuzzi.

It’s a tour de force of sensitive renovation, with seventeenth-century architectural details woven seamlessly into the stylish mod-luxe picture. It might be this finely tuned aesthetic sense that’s ultimately responsible for the V’s status as something of a cult classic among a certain stylish set. The size, the service, and the patios and terrace all combine to create a convivial atmosphere — it’s never intrusive, anything but loud, but a pleasantly social surprise for such a far-flung little hideaway.