Our annual compendium of the best new hotels in the world takes us from from Rio to ryokan, Savannah to surf club. No matter where you’re going, in this list, you’ll find a place where you’ll want to stay.
1. Hotel Amparo
FOR SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS
SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, MEXICO
Just in time for its designation as the 2019 American Capital of Culture, San Miguel de Allende—which is practically an artists’ colony unto itself—welcomed this five-room hideaway in the 300-year-old former mayor’s residence. Thanks to co-owner Mariana Barran Goodall, who grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, and runs Houston-based Hibiscus Linens, every tiny detail here is ready for its close-up. It won’t take long for you to fill up your Instagram grid with shots of gold room keys, hand-stitched napkins, custom bathroom tiles made by local artisans, and even the coasters.
WE LOVE the flower-filled courtyard (above), a great place to take a selfie or sit with an espresso from the on-site café, which sources Mexican beans from Buna roasters. From $250, hotelamparo.com
2. Eastwind Hotel & Bar
FOR HIP HIKERS
WINDHAM, NEW YORK
For many vacationers, the Catskills conjure images of 1950s summer camp resorts and Dirty Dancing. The Eastwind provides a sleek, Scandinavian-style counterpoint to those Borscht Belt spots of old. Opened last June on the site of a 1920s bunkhouse about 150 miles north of New York City, the 19-room retreat is a perfect jumping-off point for hiking, fly-fishing, and snowshoeing excursions. If you’re feeling creative, write a few jokes—these are the stomping grounds of Joan Rivers and Henny Youngman, after all—on a vintage typewriter in one of the writer’s studio suites. Or take a load off under a Faribault Woolen Mills plaid throw in one of the spartan-chic A-frame Lushna cabins.
WE LOVE the barrel sauna, which is even more amazing when you have to run through the snow to get there. From $219, eastwindny.com
3. Six Senses Maxwell
FOR ENVIRONMENTALISTS
SINGAPORE
The second of two Six Senses urban resorts to open in the Lion City last year doesn’t immediately scream “eco-friendly.” The posh 138-room property across from the Maxwell Food Centre occupies a 1929 Art Deco heritage building and exudes Old World opulence with fixtures such as brocade headboards, silk lampshades, and damask velvet chairs. However, befitting its home in Asia’s greenest city, the hotel is also home to a series of sustainable touches: reusable glass water bottles, biodegradable cornstarch toothbrushes, locally sourced minibar items, and a restaurant that serves responsibly caught fish.
WE LOVE the traditional ice cream tricycle, from which guests can order free organic ice cream sandwiches (in flavors like durian, red bean, and sweet corn) on soft, colorful bread, kept cold by a solar-powered refrigerator. From $240, sixsenses.com
4. The Middle House
FOR FASHIONISTAS
SHANGHAI
Set just off Shanghai’s main shopping street, West Nanjing Road, the newest member of Swire Hotels’ House Collective is a polished den of understated glamour, courtesy of Milan-based interior designer Piero Lissoni. The entryway is as heart-stoppingly dramatic as any couture runway show: A 3,760-piece Venetian glass chandelier hangs surrounded by emerald-green, bamboo-patterned tiles. The 111-room hotel, which opened last spring, boasts a nearly 700-work art collection—over half of which is Chinese—loosely inspired by the curatorial theme “I Dream of China.”
WE LOVE Caroline Cheng’s lobby installation, Prosperity, a black robe covered with 12,000 tiny butterfly figurines crafted in China’s porcelain-making capital, Jingdezhen. From $268, themiddlehousehotel.com
5. Palihotel Seattle
FOR STYLISH SEAFARERS
SEATTLE
Guests arriving at the check-in desk at the first Palisociety hotel outside of Los Angeles are greeted by a portrait of a raincoat-clad, pipe-smoking sailor—a perfect introduction to the subtly nautical vibe that permeates Seattle’s newest hotel, which opened in November one block from the bustling Pike Place Market. The prime location means the seafood (sweet-and-spicy salmon jerky, littleneck clams, local oysters) at the on-site restaurant, The Hart and the Hunter, is always as fresh and invigorating as the Puget Sound views from the landmark 1895 building’s upper floors.
WE LOVE The Hart and the Hunter’s briny Elliott Bay Gibson, which includes oyster-shell-infused gin, Maldon sea salt, bay leaf olive oil, and a pickled onion. From $175, palisociety.com
6. Perry Lane Hotel
FOR ASPIRING SOUTHERN BELLES
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
Few American cities are better preserved than Savannah, with its centuries-old squares and statues and hanging Spanish moss. Last June, the city’s Historic District got a rare new addition, the 167-room Perry Lane Hotel. The Luxury Collection property pays such deep homage to the Hostess City of the South that— aside from a loaner jazz guitar from local luthier Benedetto and an art collection that includes works by 81 artists with ties to the Savannah College of Art and Design—it invented a fictional grande dame named Adelaide Harcourt to help define its aesthetic. (Look for her portrait above the lobby fireplace.)
WE LOVE the polka-dotted Gargoyle Artillery statues at the rooftop bar, Peregrin; you’ll keep turning away from the views of the Historic District to consider their Gothic-psychedelic visages. From $187, perrylanehotel.com
7. Hôtel de Berri
FOR ART CONNOISSEURS
PARIS
The City of Light isn’t short on artful luxury accommodations, but how many Parisian palaces look like they were born in a Rodin fever dream? The lobby at this Luxury Collection property, which opened last May just steps from the Champs-Élysées, is scattered with sculpted figures and busts, many of them reproductions from the Louvre’s molding workshop. Designer Philippe Renaud gave each of the 40 rooms and 35 suites a unique color scheme and art theme; one might have red-and-yellow-striped walls hung with simple figurative line drawings, while another’s matte olive-green walls boast Cubist paintings. No matter the decor, reserve a room with a view of the lush garden.
WE LOVE the Bemelmans Bar–meets–Ralph Steadman mural of Parisian street scenes that wraps around the Michelin-recommended Italian restaurant Le Schiap (named for couturier Elsa Schiaparelli, who once lived at this address). From $445, marriott.com
8. The Ramble Hotel
FOR BARFLIES
DENVER
Most travelers are happy if their hotel has one great bar; at this new 50-room boutique property, there are four, all of them run by the team behind New York’s award-winning cocktail den Death & Co. By night, the grand lobby’s sunny café transforms into a swanky lounge with velvet curtains and spangly chandeliers. Hidden upstairs is Suite 6A, an intimate 21-seat bar. A ballroom/venue /theater, Vauxhall, is aimed directly at the surrounding River North Art District’s culturati. Finally, outside, under the glow of artist Scott Young’s neon Wish You Were Her(e) sign, The Garden serves up patio classics such as Aperol spritzes and mojitos.
WE LOVE that the bartenders are so willing to chat about their favorite unsung ingredients, like a French fortified wine called Pineau des Charentes that’s featured in the Black Poodle alongside Irish whiskey, amaro, aloe, and sparkling mineral water. From $209, theramblehotel.com
9. Skylark Negril Beach Resort
FOR BOHO BEACH BUMS
NEGRIL, JAMAICA
In Jamaican slang, to skylark is to goof off, mess around, or make mischief. Ironically, that’s an activity that the designers at the impeccable Skylark Negril Beach Resort seem not to have pursued. The sister property to the nearby Rockhouse Hotel opened in June on Seven Mile Beach and pairs modernist touches—geometric breeze-block, whitewashed concrete—with pops of color from retro travel posters and throw pillows emblazoned with a print of the island’s favorite fruit, bright-red ackee.
WE LOVE the outpost of NYC restaurant Miss Lily’s, which serves up Caribbean rums and jerk favorites smoked over pimento wood to a soundtrack of reggae and dancehall hits. From $95, skylarknegril.com
10. The Hoxton, Williamsburg
FOR DIGITAL NOMADS
BROOKLYN
The London-based Hoxton chain brought its trademark combination of high design and low rates to the States last fall, with the debut of this 175-room outpost—a perfect spot for freelancers and creative types who aren’t chained to a cubicle (i.e., Brooklynites). You and your laptop will feel at home in your cheerily appointed room, which features a smart wall-mounted desk and a retro Roberts Radio. If you’re more productive surrounded by others, head down to the beehive-busy sunken lobby, which is done up in eclectic, sherbet-hued furniture.
WE LOVE procrastinating by perusing the Best of Brooklyn line of locally made products—such as Pintrill pizza slice pins, Brins strawberry vanilla jam, and Sesame Letterpress notecards—for sale in the lobby. From $159, thehoxton.com
11. Woodlark
FOR PLANT LOVERS
PORTLAND, OREGON
It’s fitting that the latest hip lodging in a town known as the Rose City would be aimed at green thumbs. Opened in December in side-by-side landmark buildings downtown, the 150-room Woodlark is decorated with moody black-and-white botanical photos by Imogen Cunningham, while the conservatory-like foyer teems with a greenhouse’s worth of potted trees. In this pattern-obsessed city—remember the famous PDX airport carpet?—the guest rooms’ custom wallpaper, featuring the sort of native Pacific Northwest flora you’d find in nearby Forest Park, is sure to become iconic.
WE LOVE the artfully composed bouquets for sale at the lobby outpost of Colibri, an elegant flower shop co-owned by James Beard Award–winning chef Naomi Pomeroy. From $125, woodlarkhotel.com
12. Janeiro
FOR SUN SEEKERS
RIO DE JANEIRO
This 53-room hotel in beachside Leblon was opened last fall by fashion designer and Osklen founder Oskar Metsavaht, but its stark, sun-bleached, minimalist aesthetic owes a great deal to another Brazilian Oscar: architect Oscar Niemeyer, the Rio-born genius best known for New York City’s UN headquarters and Brasília’s space-age government buildings. In a city beloved for the ostentatious vibrancy of Carnaval, the Janeiro’s sandy earth tones, blond freijo wood, travertine limestone, and sculptural rattan pieces offer an oasis of calm.
WE LOVE the 18th-floor infinity pool, which overlooks the white cliffs of the Cagarras Islands and the Morro Dois Irmãos (Two Brothers Hill). From $288, janeirohotel.rio
13. United Places Botanic Gardens
FOR HOMEBODIES
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Many new hotels tout their live-like-a-local bona fides, but few feel as much like a posh apartment block as this 12-suite bolthole, which opened last June in Melbourne’s gallery-filled South Yarra neighborhood. If location is everything, you can’t do much better than a property overlooking the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, while suites include all the trappings of a dream flat: rain showers with Le Labo products, oak parquet floors, sleek furnishings from Patricia Urquiola and Grant Featherston, and a bar cart stocked with Tasmania’s award-winning Sullivans Cove whiskey. Best of all, each suite comes with personalized concierge service.
WE LOVE the in-room breakfasts from the team downstairs at Matilda 159, an open-fire restaurant serving such creative dishes as sea bream tartare and spanner crab with prawn butter. From $461, unitedplaces.com.au
14. Shinola Hotel
FOR AMERICAN ARTISANS
DETROIT
A lot is riding on the shoulders of Shinola, the Detroit-based watchmaker that has become synonymous with the Rust Belt’s renaissance. In January, the company got into the hotel game with a 129-room space that sprawls across three new buildings and two downtown landmarks—the former Singer Sewing Machine shop and the T.B. Rayl Co. hardware store. Throughout the property, you’ll find products made exclusively for the hotel, such as scented candles with notes of cherry blossom, leather, and smoke, and Shinola-branded cola in the Michigan-centric minibar.
WE LOVE the in-room Runwell desk clocks, scaled-up versions of the first watch the company ever produced. From $255, shinolahotel.com
15. Belmond Cadogan Hotel
FOR BOOKWORMS
LONDON
You’ll be inspired to put pen to paper at this reimagined Chelsea property, which opened in February after a flawless $48 million renovation of the 1887 Cadogan Hotel. Oscar Wilde’s former pied-à-terre is now part of the Royal Suite, in-room libraries are curated by family-owned John Sandoe Books, and an installation of 600 bronze-cast hardbacks encases the lobby elevator bank. Guests of the 54 rooms and suites are granted a key to Cadogan Place Gardens across the street, where they can sit under a mulberry tree with a notebook and sketch their own picture of Dorian Gray. Need inspiration? One taste of the decadent chicken butter at chef Adam Handling’s eponymous restaurant will do the trick.
WE LOVE that reading in the bath is encouraged: The deep Victoria + Albert soaking tubs feature a bamboo bathtub tray complete with a book stand—and a holder for your Champagne flute. From $620, belmond.com
16. Eaton DC
FOR SOCIAL ACTIVISTS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
K Street may be synonymous with D.C. lobbyists, but, as of last September, it’s also home to a new hub for budding activists. Katherine Lo—the daughter of the Langham hotel group’s chairman—designed her 209-room Eaton DC to inspire the next RBG or AOC at every turn. Tune in to the house radio station, grab a book from the Radical Library (which features works by Roxane Gay and Langston Hughes), or brainstorm with fellow progressives over turmeric lattes at the Kintsugi café. You can even call down to the front desk for a nightstand copy of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
WE LOVE Erik Thor Sandberg’s Wonderland-themed lobby mural, Allegory, which replaces Alice with civil rights icon Ruby Bridges, the first black child to desegregate an all-white elementary school. From $199, eatonworkshop.com
17. Noah Surf House
FOR SURFERS
SANTA CRUZ, PORTUGAL
You’ll want to learn the Portuguese word for “to chill” (relaxar) before you set foot in this surf-bum paradise, which opened on the Silver Coast, 50 minutes from Lisbon, last July. Its 21 rooms are divided between a central surfhouse that features hostel-style bunk accommodations and 13 boxy bungalows that dot the hilly dunes. There’s an inescapably ’70s SoCal vibe here, from the beanbag chairs and rope swings to a skate park and an organic garden filled with a small brood of hens.
WE LOVE the upcycled decor, which incorporates traffic signs, old boats, octopus traps, and fishing nets. From $182, noahsurfhouseportugal.com
18. KAI Sengokuhara
FOR ZEN SEEKERS
KANAGAWA, JAPAN
It’s impossible not to relax at Japan’s newest onsen (hot spring) resort, which opened last July in Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, two hours by train from Tokyo. The art-themed ryokan, a Hoshino Resorts property, invites you to slip into a yukata (cotton robe) and then do absolutely nothing—except soak in the milky, mineral-rich water piped from the Owakudani volcanic valley into a communal bathhouse and private guest room soaking tubs. Equally invigorating are 24-year-old chef Akari Sash’s inspired kaiseki dinners; with dishes like abalone grilled over nearly 400-degree stones, she’ll have you forgetting all about Western-style spa meals.
WE LOVE the tenugui (cotton towel) decorating workshop, which feels like a sophisticated answer to the adult coloring book trend. From $332 per person, including breakfasts and dinners, kai-ryokan.jp/en/sengokuhara/
19. The Carpenter Hotel
FOR FOODIES
AUSTIN, TEXAS
You’ll wish you could sign up for a meal plan at this millennially minded hotel, just steps from Zilker Park. Food-world power couple Christina Skogly Knowlton and Andrew Knowlton (the host of Netflix’s The Final Table) are behind the offerings at Hot L Coffee and Carpenters Hall, a restaurant located in, yes, a former union hall. Start with huckleberry butter–topped waffles, snack poolside on the best chocolate chip cookies ever, then sip a pear brandy–based Kind Eyes cocktail before a dinner of big-as-your-head chicken schnitzel. The 93 rooms are just as delectable, with custom-designed striped cotton blankets, blue-and-terracotta-tiled bathrooms, and thoughtful, vintage-inspired over-bed lights.
WE LOVE that each room has a terrace, outfitted simply with two folding chairs—the perfect place to sip a surprisingly inexpensive minibar Lone Star at the end of the evening. From $175, carpenterhotel.com
20. 7Pines Resort Ibiza
FOR SWANKY SWIMMERS
IBIZA, SPAIN
Forget Ibiza’s party-hearty reputation: At 7Pines, on the Mediterranean island’s quieter west coast, relaxation is key. Guests at the 186-suite property from The Leading Hotels of the World don’t need to pack much more than a bathing suit (and a dinner-appropriate outfit or two) because they’ll want to spend all day snapping mermaid-inspired Instagram shots along the infinity pool’s glass wall. Need a change of scenery? A five-minute walk down a stone staircase leads to secluded Cala Codolar beach, where all the sunbathers look like they stepped out of an Antonioni film. Finish the day with a massage at the Pure Seven Spa, which, of course, has its own pool.
WE LOVE that no matter where you dine—on modern Asian cuisine at The View, prawn tartare at the Cone Club, or piña coladas at the Pershing Yacht Terrace—the Balearic Sea is always in sight. From $448, 7pines.com
