Relais & Chateaux Adds Eight New Properties

Four hotels and four restaurants, with a total of 7 Michelin stars between them, join the collection of more than 540 landmark properties around the world. All share the Relais & Chateaux brand ethos of promoting the richness and diversity of the world's cuisine and traditions of hospitality.

The Idle Rocks, St Mawes, UK
Hotel & Restaurant
19 rooms
Owners: David and Karen Richards
Maitre de Maison: Paul Goodwin

The Idle Rocks is idyllically situated on the Harbourside of St Mawes. Perched perfectly on the rocks, it's a home from home where guests can make themselves comfortable in one of 19 individually designed bedrooms, each with its own style and charm. The restaurant and South facing Terrace offer an ideal location to appreciate the view across the water, whilst enjoying fabulous food, centered on fresh Cornish ingredients.

Llangoed Hall, Brecon, Wales, UK
Hotel & Restaurant
19 rooms
Owners: Calum Milne and Roger Hancox
Maitre de Maison: Calum Milne

Llangoed Hall is a wonderfully elegant and historic country house hotel situated in the beautiful Wye Valley in the heart of the Welsh countryside. It offers the quintessential Edwardian country house experience. The restaurant, under the helm of head chef Nick Brodie, offers an intimate fine dining experience, with food sourced from the freshest and finest local ingredients and fruit and vegetables from the hotel's very own kitchen garden.

Saison, San Francisco, CA
Restaurant
Three stars
Chef and Owner: Joshua Skenes

Saison is a high-end New American restaurant with 18 seats in San Francisco's China Basin. Joshua Skenes and his team prepare an acclaimed tasting menu in the open kitchen with a commitment to constant change and to honoring the very best of each season. This three Michelin-starred restaurant is truly an experience of a lifetime.

Rockpool, Sydney, Australia
Restaurant
Owners: Neil Perry and Patricia Richards
Chefs: Neil Perry and Phil Wood

Voted Sydney's best restaurant in the Good Food Guide six months after opening, Rockpool has gone on to win a long list of awards globally and redefines modern Australian cuisine. Neil Perry's passion and the importance he places on quality produce are evident in all the dishes he creates with Executive Chef Phil Wood. In November 2013, Rockpool moved from its original home on George Street to the historic Burns Philip Building at 11 Bridge Street in the heart of Sydney. Diners can expect exquisite dishes such as gently steamed Bass with braised grapefruit, bok choi and seaweed, and Blue Mountains wagyu softly grilled with wasabi and lime.

Villa Rene Lalique, Wingen-sur-Moder, France *BRAND NEW PROPERTY – Opened September 2015
Hotel & Restaurant
4 rooms & 2 suites
Owner: Silvio Denz, President of Lalique
Maitre de Maison: Jean-Georges and Nicole Klein

Villa Rene Lalique is an homage to the exceptional work of the craftsmen at Lalique factory and to the century-old heritage of visionary artist, Rene Lalique. Under the direction of Silvio Denz, Chairman and CEO of Lalique, the Villa, built by Rene Lalique in 1920, has now been reinvented as a sophisticated hotel and gourmet restaurant. With six sumptuous suites, and an exceptional restaurant housed in a dramatic glass and sandstone building, the property sits within six acres of glorious parkland in Alsace, north eastern France.

Les Cols, Olot, Spain
Restaurant
Two Stars
Chef and Owner: Fina Puigdevall

Fina Puigdevall is the owner, manager and chef at Les Cols, a wonderful restaurant situated in the Olot mountains. Fina has converted the ground floor of her family's 13th century house into a stunning dining room and from here creates dishes with a contemplative look to her garden and henhouse, with respect to the land, sustainability and local produce. Products found in the local area are the stars of the show here, including, depending on the seaon, buckwheat, the Vall d'en Bas potato, sweetcorn, poultry, “fesols de Santa Pau” (a small white bean), wild river trout and wild mushrooms.

La Bamba de Areco, San Antonio de Areco, Argentina
Hotel & Restaurant
9 rooms and 1 suite
Owner: Pascale Decaux
Maitre de Maison: Guillermo Savino

Located in the heart of the Pampa, one of the oldest estancias in Argentina, La Bamba de Areco is a boutique hotel combining luxurious comfort and colonial elegance. The property gives the feeling of being welcomed into a private home, into a property steeped in history and tradition. Exquisite cuisine, refined service, gaucho traditions and equestrian sports add to the magic of La Bamba. The property is also the base for the international polo team that bears its name and includes two polo fields. During the season guests can watch the matches and should they be experienced polo players themselves arrangements can be made to play!

Midsummer House, Cambridge, UK
Restaurant
Two Stars
Chef and Owner: Daniel Clifford
Maitre de Maison: Jean-Francois Imbert

Midsummer House is a restaurant situated within a Victorian villa beside the banks of the River Cam in the historic University City of Cambridge. In 1998 Chef and Owner Daniel Clifford took over the property with the dream of turning it into Cambridgeshire's best restaurant. The kitchen, bakery and wine cellar on the property have been extended whilst remaining true to the original historic building, and the iconic apple trees in the kitchen garden inspire the restaurant's signature dish of scallop, truffle and apple, which has been on the menu since opening. With a passion for providing guests with a unique experience, Daniel focuses on the most seasonal produce and the natural flavors of the ingredients themselves. He recently won the “Chef's Chef of the Year” award at the AA Awards.