01. The Pool
Swim if there is a pool and nobody is in it; there won't be. The water is at its calmest, the light is soft and every lounger is yours. Ten lengths at this hour feel like more than an hour in the afternoon.
2 minute read
The Hour Before Breakfast
Every good hotel has a secret hour, and it is not the one advertised in the spa brochure. It is the stretch between first light and breakfast, when the pool is still, the terrace is empty and the staff are setting tables with the radio on low.
This is when a hotel shows you what it really is. Getting up for it is easier than it sounds, especially in the first few days of a trip when your body clock is already confused. Leave the curtains open a crack, put on whatever is nearest, and go.
02. The Unofficial Coffee
Breakfast may not have started, but coffee is almost always available if you ask nicely, and it usually tastes better for being unofficial. Take it to the terrace or back to your balcony, along with a book you are in no hurry to finish.
03. The Walk
Walk the grounds and find the corners you will want to come back to later: the shaded bench, the view from the end of the garden, the path down to the water. Then sit somewhere and do absolutely nothing for twenty minutes, which, on most vacations, is harder to find time for than it should be.
By the time breakfast fills up, you have already had the best part of the day. Everything after that is a bonus.
