11 New Luxury Hotels You Need to Know About

When an eighteenth-century Parisian landmark gets a long overdue four-year reboot, people take notice. The restoration of Hôtel de Crillon, a Rosewood Hotel, originally constructed at the command of King Louis XV, called upon royalty of the twenty-first-century sort: Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld bedecked the two Grands Appartements with his trademark dramatic flair. (The bathtubs alone, each carved from a single slab of Carrara marble, are worth the splurge.) Each one of the 124 rooms and suites keeps the hotel’s posh factor high though, with antique furniture, Italian linens, and marble bathrooms. A few other reasons Parisians and travelers are heading to Crillon’s place de la Concorde address: to lock in an appointment with Sarah Daniel-Hamizi – the city’s first female barber – at the newest outpost of her popular La Barbière de Paris, to grab a coveted table for chef Christopher Hache’s tasting menu at the 28-seat L’Écrin, and to see and be seen in the glam Les Ambassadeurs lounge, a spot sure to lure a fashionable crowd with the promise of Champagne and caviar.

One of the world’s most colorfully chaotic cities added a cool dose of Italian style with the September opening of the Bulgari Hotel Beijing in the heart of the Embassy District. Milan-based architecture firm Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel oversaw the hotel’s sleek design, including 119 rooms and suites outfitted with walnut floors, Italian leather furniture, and black granite bathrooms. Outside, gardens designed by landscape maestro Enzo Enea envelop the hotel in a lush oasis that shields it from the capital’s bustle. The hotel introduces guests to the jewelry brand’s proclivity for the finer things: Treatments at the 16,000-square-foot spa tap into ancient Chinese healing methods (and guests receive exclusive Bulgari toiletries); northern Italian dishes are served beneath Murano chandeliers at Il Ristorante; and aperitivos go down easy at the oval-shaped Il Bar, on a terrace overlooking the city. Even day trips beyond Bulgari grounds keep it chic – catch a ride to the Great Wall in the hotel’s house Maserati.

With its February opening, the Pendry San Diego brought a whole new level of gloss to the trendy Gaslamp Quarter. The sleek hotel is hard to miss – just keep an eye out for the Ferraris lined up at the valet station. Inside, guests find 317 sunny rooms furnished with Pendleton plaid sofas (a nod to the hotel’s surf-inspired theme) and wood-paneled headboards. Its six bars and restaurants help amplify San Diego’s booming culinary scene: Local star chef Jose “JoJo” Ruiz’s Lionfish is already earning accolades as the city’s hottest new restaurant, and Nason’s Beer Hall is an essential pit stop for a locally brewed pint and a pillowy pretzel before heading to a Padres game at Petco Park down the street.

Northern California’s most bucolic new hideaway awaits at Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Napa Valley, overlooking the Beringer Vineyards in the charming town of Saint Helena. At this sister property of Las Alcobas in Mexico City, fans of the original will feel right at home while taking a time-out from wine to sip a Las Alcobas margarita, complete with its signature layer of salty foam. The Yabu Pushelberg-designed property has 68 rooms – many with private terraces and alfresco bathtubs – and is also home to the Acacia House restaurant, where chef Chris Cosentino’s plates of Napa Valley-sourced cuisine are as pretty as the farmhouse-inspired setting.

Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s global domination continues on a seaside stretch of Malibu. Along with an all-star team of investors – including actor Robert De Niro and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison – the restaurateur unveiled a new hotel concept in April: 17-room Nobu Ryokan Malibu, a minimalist, Japanese-style hideaway on Carbon Beach. The inn’s easy-to-miss gates barely offer a hint of the understated opulence that lies behind: Each room cost more than $1 million to outfit, with teak soaking tubs, Jerusalem limestone, shoji-screen walls, and cashmere robes. The setting is ideal for yoga, meditation, and surfing, but its location next door to Nobu Malibu invites guests to indulge – at least a little bit.

There’s a good chance you’ve scrolled past a #bucketlist photo from The Silo Hotel on your social media feeds, with its sexy bathtubs set in front of convex glass windows over - looking the harbor or Cape Town’s Table Mountain. Each of the 28 rooms at this sky-high hotel has one, along with glittering chandeliers, striking modern art, and bold pops of chartreuse, turquoise, and fuchsia. The hotel, which opened in March, sits atop the new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa. Above both is a grand slam of a rooftop bar, with a private guests-only section for taking in 360-degree views of the South African city.

Picture São Paulo, and natural splendor probably isn’t the first image that comes to mind. Yet somehow, in the middle of the sprawling Brazilian city, the 141-room Palácio Tangará elicits a calm “I’m in the middle of the rain forest” vibe. The neoclassical mansion is surrounded by verdant Bur - le Marx Park, and ambient noise here comes from humming - birds and white-tufted-ear marmosets, not car horns and pedestrians. Dining options aim to please too: Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s French cuisine at Tangará Jean-Georges marks the chef’s first foray into the continent.

The world’s second-deepest canyon makes for an other - worldly backdrop at Belmond Las Casitas, a 20-bungalow hideaway near Peru’s Colca Canyon. Belmond renovated an existing property, which features private plunge pools, heated floors, and an Inca-inspired spa hidden away in a eucalyptus grove – but the real stars here are the varied options for exploring the canyon terrain. Besides hiking, horseback riding, and feeding the house alpacas, guests can sign up for an Andean condor excursion that takes them trekking through a dormant volcano on a quest to spy the elusive vulture and ends with a chef-prepared brunch.
 

On the lookout for the right opportunity to make a foray into the Caribbean, Park Hyatt found its chance on the beguiling island of Saint Kitts, a place still relatively untrammeled compared to its more popular neighbors. Located on secluded, palm-studded Banana Bay, facing the strait that separates the island from Nevis, the 126-room Park Hyatt St. Kitts is part of the new Christophe Harbour resort development, home to shops, a marina, and a soon-to-open Tom Fazio-designed golf course. The resort is modeled after the island’s ubiquitous sugar plantations, with whitewashed interiors, colonial-style shutters, and cheerful beachy accents. Some suites have their own decks with private rooftop pools, while all rooms have rainfall showers and soaking tubs. In between sunbathing sessions, book a Watsu therapy session in the nine-room spa, or let the concierge team set up a zip-lining jaunt through the rain forest or a tour of Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

It’s been an exciting year for Hamburg: The January opening of the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Elbphilharmonie concert hall drew the world’s attention to the German port city’s latest design renaissance, a maritime-meets-modern juxtaposition of centuries-old warehouses and sleek steel and glass. Hamburg’s latest visually appealing addition doubles as the city’s first luxury hotel in decades. The Fontenay Hamburg, set to open in December, is the realized vision of renowned local architect Jan Störmer, who created the sinuous building’s rippling facade by covering it in white porcelain tiles that echo the surface of adjacent Lake Alster. The wow factor continues inside, where guests enter a spacious glass atrium before retreating to one of 131 curved-walled guest rooms; the quirky dimensions and near absence of straight lines mean each piece of furniture had to be custom made. The ambitious space also features a 10,000-square-foot spa, a sixth-floor bar with 320-degree lake views, and a rooftop restaurant – all evidence that Germany is poised to welcome one of its most sophisticated hotels yet.

Mexico is packed with great spa options, but Chablé Resort and Spa, a 45-minute drive from Mérida, stands out thanks to its setting, with 40 casitas spread across 750 acres of forest. The resort’s crown jewel is, naturally, its spa, which is tucked away around a cenote and best experienced during the signature Fountain of Youth Journey Flow Ritual, a three-hour treatment that incorporates flotation therapy, massage, and herb-infused salts. Heat up the feel-good factor by adding a temazcal ceremony to your personalized wellness program – the shaman-led session claims to cleanse the body through fire, chanting, and tea.