Sleeping above the coffee farms

Bio Habitat sits in the hills of Colombia coffee country, and the whole building is arranged around one idea: that the view is the reason you came. Glass walls, an infinity pool on the edge of the slope, and coffee farms running away below you in rows.

The architecture works with the landscape rather than against it. The suites are generous and finished properly, king bed, a private balcony or patio, a large bathroom with a walk-in shower. But the room is not the point. The point is what happens when you open the glass and the room stops having a fourth wall.

Sunset is the event. The pool holds the entire sky, pink and orange going over into deep blue, with the plantation rows dark underneath. We have stayed in a lot of hotels that photograph well. This is one of the few where the photograph does not manage to be better than standing there.

Mornings are for the breakfast, which is a serious spread of tropical fruit, artisanal bread, and good local coffee, which you would hope for given what is growing outside the window. The kitchen accommodates dietary requirements without making it a production.

What there is to do, and whether you should

There are gardens and rainforest to walk, and the grounds are full enough of plants and flowers that a slow circuit is a genuine activity rather than a way of filling time. There is a pool for swimming as well as for looking at, and a spa.

The hotel sits close to a good deal worth reaching, and the Cocora Valley with its wax palms is the obvious one. Guided walking, birdwatching and horse riding are all arranged from the property.

Our honest recommendation is to do less than you think. This is a place that rewards sitting still, and the number of hotels where that is true is smaller than the number that claim it.