Caol Ishka

Rooms

The 9 rooms are spread among low stone buildings, with lawns in front and the river Anapo running alongside. They’re divided into 3 categories, based largely on size, but all share the same modern fittings and designer furniture, with cool white, cement-grey or terracotta walls.

The Deluxe Room is vast, with a private veranda. Inside, rustic white beams are offset by unashamedly urban furnishings: a plexiglass bucket chair, a velvet Edra chaise longue, an oval light box, and a pair of giant red glass vases shooting curly branches towards the ceiling. The effect is bold, and it works. In the semi-open-plan bathroom is a boat-sized Hoesch tub with hand-held and wall-mounted showers, and 2 tall ladders serving as towel rails. Lighting is superb: the angel-winged bedside bulbs touch on at their stem, and a lavish chandelier sparkles in the purple toilet room.

Upstairs are the 2 connecting Superior Rooms (one a double with a four-poster, the other a twin), which would suit a family. In both you'll find beautiful teak tables, portholed bathrooms and views over the lush riverbank.

We stayed in room 4, a Standard Room. Like neighbouring room 3, it’s a duplex double with a raised sleeping area set beneath a snazzy remote-controlled skylight. Tucked under the industrial-style staircase are a clothes rail and leather armchair, and sliding orange doors lead to a large bathroom with a walk-in shower. Further along, another pair (rooms 5 and 6) have resin floors, terracotta walls and moulded white S chairs. These 4 rooms each have a bamboo-shaded deck reached via a gravel pathway, and are dawn-facing: we enjoyed waking to sunlight filtering through the slatted doors, but Emanuela will lend you an eye mask if it bothers you.

The other Standard Rooms (9 and 10) are white from floor to ceiling, with bright orange pendants (coat-hangers, as it turns out) and pink or lime-green neon strips lending a glow of colour. One has an 'Anemone' chair (also by Edra): rubber tubes lashed about a chrome frame to resemble some sort of sea monster, and unnervingly comfortable.

It's no surprise to find a full array of comforts in every room: heating, air-con, ceiling fans, plasma TVs, DVD players, well-stocked minibars, slinky black kimonos, and bespoke Comfort Zone toiletries. And the greatest luxury of all: total silence.