Week #09 : New Hotel News

What's happening in the world of super cool new hotels? Check-out the five most noteworthy openings of 2021 as featured by the editors at HotelMap? & Roomcard?.

This week we look at five of the best new hotels (including one owned by Pharrell Williams) opening across the globe this year. There may be a global pandemic but that hasn't stopped these new hotels from rising up. From a long list of over 120 new hotels set to open in 2021, we've chosen five hip new places to stay in New York, Paris, Nago and Miami – and reveal what the experts say about them.

Aman, New York | Opens Spring 2021

Home to a “jaw-dropping pool with Central Park views” (Travel + Leisure), Aman in New York’s Crown Building delivers “peace and holistic wellness” to “Manhattan’s concrete jungle” (Forbes). Occupying “a Beaux Arts masterpiece” (Conde Nast Traveller) - the first home of the Museum of Modern Art - on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, the 83-room hotel includes 22 private residences and boasts a 200-foot heated swimming pool within its three-story spa. The wellness centre also houses numerous treatment rooms alongside plunge pools, outdoor terraces and yoga facilities. All bedrooms are “massive by New York City standards” (One Mile at a Time) and emanate a “cool, calming look” (Travel + Leisure), created by architect Jean-Michel Gathy. Each has its own fully functioning fireplace - "something of a city status symbol” according to Vogue. Nama, the hotel’s signature Japanese restaurant, comes with an outdoor terrace while Arva offers Italian cuisine on the wraparound garden terrace, with views of Central Park. The wine library - available for private wine tastings - cigar club and underground jazz bar add to the in-house entertainment.

Our favourite feature: A rooftop pool with views over Central Park.

Airelles Chateau de Versailles, France | Opens Spring 2021

“Only the fortunate few will be able to stay at the first hotel within the Palace of Versailles” writes Connor McGovern in National Geographic. At just 14 boudoirs, “the room count is modest” and the location is unique. In the beautifully tended grounds of Chateau de Versailles, overlooking the gardens and Orangery, Le Grand Contr?le hotel brings Louis XIV’s bedchamber - later used as the exchequer - into the public realm via “meticulously restored” (Forbes) interiors. Architect and designer Christophe Tollemer has furnished the place with “Aubusson carpets and Pierre Frey fabrics, based on an inventory of the building taken in 1788” (Financial Times). The hotel also features “a restaurant by Alain Ducasse, a wellness centre with an indoor swimming pool and spa” (Telegraph) but “the real USP is the exclusive after-hours access” (Conde Nast Traveller) as well as the chance to take a boat on to its mile-long canal (Financial Times). It amounts to a hotel, “regal enough to make even the most discerning Marie Antoinette feel at home” - National Geographic.

Our favourite feature: A lavish place fit for royalty & exclusive after-hours access.

Treeful Treehouse, Japan | Opens 2021

High up in the canopy of Japan’s subtropical jungle, Treeful Treehouse combines a network of four individually created treehouses, connected to communal areas “through a series of floating walkways” (Boutique Hotel News). Located on the banks of the Genka River, in rural Nago, the sustainable luxury eco resort has been “designed with the concept of bringing its guests closer to nature” (A Luxury Travel Blog). Powered by solar energy, each treehouse has 360-degree views and comes with air conditioning and an outside seating area. The communal Aerohouse is equipped with bathrooms, rest and relaxation rooms and a kitchen. Enjoy the “truly tranquil surroundings” or explore the local area via “jungle trekking, kayaking, paddle boarding and yoga” (Four Magazine). “This is glamping taken to another level” (The Luxe Review).

Our favourite feature: Nature & nesting in a treehouse for four

Ace Hotel Brooklyn, New York | Opens Late Spring 2021

“Ace Hotels has cultivated the culturally curious with art exhibitions and concerts” noted The New York Times when the Ace Hotel Kyoto - “a comprehensive showcase of modern Japanese craftsmanship” (Wallpaper) - launched last year. Now the group brings its creativity to Brooklyn, where “Boerum Hill’s brownstone-lined streets” meet Downtown Brooklyn (AN Interior), with the brand’s second property in New York City. The design of the 287-room hotel - one of the largest in the Ace portfolio - is led by Roman and Williams. Created from the ground up, the build features floor-to-ceiling windows while some higher floors offer a 360-degree panorama of Brooklyn and Staten Island, “including a peek at the Statue of Liberty” (Travel + Leisure). The rooms come with original artwork by local artists, set against creams and greens that give off “utterly relaxing vibes” (Travel + Leisure). Its “well-executed industrial exterior” supports an “almost brutalist, 13-floor mid-rise building” (AN Interior). Once inside you’ll find “an interior garden and co-working spaces, the group's signature” (Vogue Paris).

Our favourite feature: Brutalist Brooklyn home-from-home for creatives.

The Goodtime Hotel, Miami Beach | Opens 2021

The Goodtime Hotel, “a refreshing addition to the Miami hotel scene” (Vogue) is “like being in a Wes Anderson film,” co-owner Pharrell Williams told Vogue. “There’s a lot to be “happy” about in Miami Beach” says Forbes of Pharrell Williams’ new 266-room hotel (his first). For the venture, he has partnered with the “King of Miami Nightlife” (Forbes) David Grutman, owner of “the hottest nightclub in South Florida” (Miami Herald). “Just don’t call it a hotel,” says Vogue. The building, designed by NYC architect Morris Adjmi as “a play-land for visitors and locals alike” (Vogue), comes with an expansive third-floor pool deck, lobby lounge, indoor-outdoor eatery, Strawberry Moon, outdoor workout area, recording studio, and 45,000 square feet of retail space. "It's good vibes, good energy, good karma, good food, good music, good environment, good vibration,” Williams neatly summed it up when talking to Zachary Weiss at Vogue.

Our favourite feature: Charge up on “spiritual Wi-Fi” (says Pharrell) and find your happy place.

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