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.

The food made for the hotel’s weekend lamb lunch barbeques is typically Uruguayan, made similarly to traditional Argentinian open-fire cooking, with additions of grilled vegetables from the hotel’s organic garden and fresh bread. (The lamb was butchered on property.) The feast is served at a long wooden, communal table overlooking the valley, after which guests retreat to cushions and rugs to lounge while chatting with fellow guests and sipping an extra glass of Tannat without glancing at a clock or phone. These kinds of timeless meals are arguably one of the best ways to spend a Sunday afternoon in Uruguay.

The fun

Nature hikes are a main focus here. The stream and paths are discreetly hidden by a canopy of foliage, but these routes have been painstakingly cleared of brush and landscaped with an arboretum’s worth of trees alongside the stream, which runs into a small levy where stone slabs fill with water beside a moon-shaped bench, a perfect spot for contemplation. The hotel can also provide an elegant picnic basket complete with cutlery, as well as a 4x4 electric vehicle to get around the property, which is fun to drive.

The drawbacks

This is not a place that is ideal in late December or January, as the heat can be unbearable in a place without access to swimming and water. (August should arguably be avoided too, as it can be cold and rainy.) And the food could be more inventive, yet there is something entirely fitting about a menu of simple, traditional flavors sourced from these wide surroundings.

PRIOR is going to Uruguay! Want to join? From October 11 - 16, gather for a long-weekend of rustic, fire-cooked meals with chef Francis Mallman in Garzon, then tack on a stay at Sacromonte or a visit to one of the region’s stylish beach towns. Click here for more information and to become a PRIOR Member.