Mr & Mrs Smith Paragon 700

Palazzo Rosso, an 18th-century manor in fairy-tale city Ostuni, has had many past lives. It was once a convent, housed the science institute, police barracks and was once the residence of the city’s first mayor, who used its hallowed halls for meetings with insurrectionists. But, even with that lineage, its current guise as adults-only boutique hotel Paragon 700 might be its most exciting. Dynamic design and restoration duo Pascale and Ulrike have furnished suites with worldly antiques, reclaimed glorious frescoes and gently updated ancient spaces such as the vaults and water cistern with a laudable restaurant and spa for your own restorative needs. Alongside its incredible cache of art, wine and statement furnishings, it also has the city’s largest garden and one and only pool. Updated with reverence to the past, its owners have given it new life for many years to come.