Design Hotels has partnered with travel agency Fora to launch its first extended stay retreat, a three-day experience at a palazzo in Puglia built around slowness, craft and place-based connection. Olivia Palamountain reports

Design Hotels has spent three decades championing independently owned hotels with a strong sense of place. Now, for the first time, it is taking that philosophy beyond the hotel stay itself – launching a full-package retreat experience in partnership with travel agency Fora and creative collaborator Casa Lawa.

Bookable exclusively through Fora advisors, the three-day retreat takes place May 22 – 25 at Palazzo Daniele, a 19th-century aristocratic residence in Puglia with just 15 rooms, featuring frescoed ceilings, mosaic floors and magnificent artworks.

Programming centres on cookery masterclasses exploring pasta with tomato sauce using heritage grains and ancient Apulian techniques, alongside traditional ricotta and primosale (a fresh cheese) preparation using methods still preserved by local Salento artisans. Retreat packages start from US$5,000 per person.

"As we continue to evolve how Design Hotels creates transformative travel, this retreat represents a natural extension of the work we have built closely with our hotels and long-time creative collaborators like Casa Lawa," says Ceara Sadler, senior director of brand and commercial, Americas, at Design Hotels. "Partnering with Fora allows us to expand the reach of this programming and connect with a new community of like-minded travellers. It is a partnership grounded in commonality, and we are excited to see it grow."Casa Lawa, a multidisciplinary guesthouse founded on the slopes of Mount Etna by Lukas Lewandowski, brings expertise from its chef-in-residence programme, which hosts culinary professionals creating hyper-seasonal experiences using locally sourced ingredients.
"The future of luxury travel will be defined by incredible experiences, and partnering with Design Hotels to provide an exclusive retreat to Fora clients is a perfect reflection of that," says Henley Vazquez, co-founder of Fora. "Palazzo Daniele provides an extraordinary setting for travellers to slow down, learn from local artisans, and experience Puglia in a way that simply isn't possible through traditional tourism."