What
The Sacromonte Landscape Hotel is a place that is all about vanishing quiescently into the natural landscape—with an exceptional glass of wine. The rolling wild beauty of the Uruguayan sierras is not something that most visitors to the country get to experience, but this sophisticated retreat comprising four glass-sided cabins overlooking vineyards and the expansive countryside manages to channel the heart of a nation founded on cattle and farming. (Multicolored wild horses stroll the property and appear so at ease that they can be slow to move out of the way.) A couple of days here make a peaceful, verdant stop after the country’s sought-after beach resorts, Punta del Este or Jose Ignacio, or the gaucho town of Garzon, home base of chef Francis Mallman.
Who
After years of living in Lima and São Paulo, Peruvian-born businessman
Edmond Borit decided to shake off the corporate world and buy a 250-acre plot in the Maldonado countryside. With a family connection to wine—his grandfather was a French vigneron who had emigrated to Peru—he planted the hillsides with French vines, including Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Tannat, a highly tannic local varietal. He opened Sacromonte as a hotel in 2019.
The surroundings
Sacromonte is on a hilltop near Pueblo Eden, an area surrounded by ravines, native forests and burbling streams. A 1.5-hour drive from the capital of Montevideo, the property is remote but not that hard to access—at least with a 4x4, as the last 30 minutes of the ride traverse a rugged dirt road, and the entrance to the property, after an easy-to-miss stone wall that marks the entrance, requires cautiously steering over a sideless wooden bridge spanning a small stream.
The design
The four glass-sided guest “shelters”—a riff on the Spanish refugio—are strategically placed throughout the property and designed by Uruguayan MAPA architects to have a light footprint. The prefab cabins were assembled in a factory in Montevideo and carried 124 miles to their resting site atop platforms of local stone, each with a circular pool. The glass facade allows for a completely expansive view of the countryside while hiding guests from view (yes, you can get undressed without putting on a show). There are other sustainable elements to the design, including solar power and a waste-water treatment system.
The scene
Located within an easy drive of popular Punta del Este, Jose Ignacio and Pueblo Garzon, Sacromonte largely attracts an international crowd of Europeans and Americans in non-Covid times, but this past year has lured a young professional crowd of Uruguayans. On weekends, lunches and dinners are open to the public and attended by a mix of well-to-do Uruguayans, retirees with ranches or “chacras” nearby and a mix of expats; the influx of Argentines to Punta del Este during the pandemic has also drawn the coastal crowd inland.
The staff & service
Given the intimate number of guests—just eight or so at a time—the service is consistent, warm and responsive, though, as imagined, things can take a bit longer than at a larger hotel property with an army of help. Generally speaking, a sense of time in Uruguay tends to run more slowly than in much of North America or northern Europe, and although it can be an adjustment for those used to a faster pace, the Uruguayan rhythm is good for the spirit.
The rooms
The names of each of the four shelters reflects its location and surroundings: Vineyard, Lake, Sierra and Horizon. Unequivocally our two top choices are Vineyard and Sierra. Vineyard is located in the middle of the property and, per its name, overlooks the vineyard and the sierras. Sierra has a direct view of its namesake and less of a vineyard view, but it feels more secluded than the Vineyard, which also looks onto the reception area. The rooms themselves are sleekly minimalist with dark stone floors, oak-paneled walls and black and leather accents that can veer a bit overly masculine, but some nice touches that take advantage of the indoor-outdoor feeling of the rooms include a Marset Follow Me lamp and portable bluetooth speaker.
The food & drink
The wine at Sacromonte is some of the best in Uruguay, a country whose small but well-regarded winemaking output is gaining a global reputation. And while the farm-to-table menu is tasty and worthy of the setting, the wine is the star here. Their best bottle is Sierra de Carapé, a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tannat, Marselan and Syrah. The Tannat is a Uruguayan grape originally brought over by Basque settlers, which, due to the characteristics of its tierra, is redolent of plums and raspberries with a lightly spicy aroma.
