Week #40: New Hotel News

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

The restoration of a much-loved family home in Lebanon in 1960’s style, a Tokyo hotel where each room is created by a different artist and a 14th century fort once owned by India’s Rajasthani royal family. This week’s top five also takes us “Inside the World’s Most Beautiful New Hotels” with Elle Decor and to a 5-star hotel in Paris with rooftop views of the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame.

Villa Chamoun | Opened July 2021

LEBANON: Using “decor straight out of the 60s” (L’Orient-Le Jour), a family villa overlooking the “Unesco World Heritage-listed site” (Lonely Planet) of the Qadisha valley is revived. “Abandoned for 40 years” (Monocle), Villa Chamoun has now been “returned to its former glory” (Monocle). Offering “a retro escape” (Lebanon Traveler), the villa - a magnet for social and political activity in the sixties - was built by Rony Zibara’s grandfather, inventor and mechanical engineer Toufic Selim Chamoun. Restored with the help of “70 artisans from the village of Hasroun” (L’Orient-Le Jour), the villa has nine rooms over four floors. As part of the $1.5 million project “the queen of fun” (Lebanon Traveler), Beirut-born designer Rana Salam, was brought in to create a “bright and colorful” (Lebanon Traveler) space around the pool.

Our favourite feature: Sixties styling in a lovingly restored family home.

BnA Wall Tokyo | Opened April 2021

JAPAN: Each of the 26 rooms at BnA Wall is “treated like an art installation in itself” (Frame). The new art hotel in Nihonbashi is part of a Japanese hotel chain where “guests are embedded in the local art scene - literally” (Architectural Digest). A percentage of the profits is “given to the artist who designed the room” (Design Boom). Tipped by Time Out as one of the “best hotel staycations in Tokyo”, the hotel is the fourth from Tokyo based BnA - short for ‘Bed and Art’ - and is set in an urban location where “resting is not the priority” (Departures). BnA Wall includes a lively bar while The Wall - a “massive 6m-tall mural” (Time Out) where “guests can witness the masterpieces in making” (Time Out) - links the lobby to the creative Factory in the basement.

Our favourite feature: A unique way of living in a work of art.

Six Senses Fort Barwara, Rajasthan | Opens October 2021

INDIA: A “14th century fort once belonging to India’s Rajasthani royal family” (Vogue) becomes a Six Senses 48-suite resort following “over a decade of restoration” (Conde Nast Traveller India). One of “The hottest spa trends and openings for 2021” (The Telegraph), the “30,000-square-foot spa” (Vogue) “built into the original women’s palace” (Fortune) creates a wellness wonderland. With “two temples” (Forbes) and traditional gardens, the 5.5 acre site is “encircled by an enormous wall” (Robb Report). Everything from décor to dinner has a “Rajasthani inspiration” (Conde Nast Traveller India) and the terrace suites come with rooftop hot tubs. It all amounts to “a regal property with plenty of old-world panache” (Fortune).

Our favourite feature: Regal reminders of a bygone era behind a pink-walled fort.

The Rosewood Le Guanahani, St Barts | Opens November 2021

CARIBBEAN: Featuring five of “The Most Exciting Hotel Openings This Fall, From Oaxaca to Vermont” Conde Nast Traveler soaks up the “colorful Caribbean style” (Vogue) of French West Indies tropical icon Le Guanahani, overlooking the Caribbean sea. Elle Decor takes us “Inside the World’s Most Beautiful New Hotels” admiring the “modern, sun-filled interiors” of the “66 white-trimmed cottages” (Conde Nast Traveler) located on a nature reserve in Grand Cul-de-Sac. “Nothing quite defines beachy chic” (Conde Nast Traveler) like Le Guanahani in “hues of turquoise, yellow, and lavender” (Vogue). One of Forbes’ “60 New Hotel Openings Around The World For Fall 2021”, the resort also has a tennis court, “children’s club, beachfront dining” (Forbes), full-service spa and a “cool new beach bar” (Conde Nast Traveler).

Our favourite feature: Caribbean colours overlooking the turquoise sea.

H?tel Madame Rêve?| Opens October 2021

FRANCE: From October visitors to Paris can enjoy “views over well-known attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Sacré-Coeur, and Notre-Dame” (Travel + Leisure) from their hotel suite. “One of the most beautiful hotel projects in the capital” (Le Figaro), the hotel is “the passion project” (Financial Times) of entrepreneur Laurent Ta?eb who has transformed the?19th-century “former Louvre post office” (Vogue Paris) into a 5-star hotel. It offers “low-key luxury and high-fidelity sexiness” (Financial Times) through its 82 rooms and suites by designer Bruno Borrione (responsible for the Fasano in Rio de Janeiro and the Delano in Miami). The rooftop is a marvel with a Japanese-influenced restaurant, “around 1,000sq ft of planted gardens” (Financial Times) and an impressive “view over all of Paris” (Vogue Paris).

Our favourite feature: The green rooftop with views of iconic Parisian landmarks.

Previous New Hotel News editions:

Week #39: New Hotel News: Rosewood restores an iconic hotel in Madrid, an all-villa Jumeriah resort opens in the Maldives and a new UK hotel is named “the hottest staycation of the summer” by Tatler. Take a look at a rural hotel offering countryside chic in Portugal and the new ultra-luxury hotel joining The Langham family in Jakarta.

Week #38: New Hotel News: Art Deco-meets-punk at a new Austrian hotel hotspot, an LA hotel has undergone a $2.5 billion redevelopment and Kyoto welcomes a cool new hotel. French-born brand Le Méridien offers overwater villas in the Maldives and a trendy co-working brand comes to Camden.

Week #37: New Hotel News: The most beautiful hotel in Paris, a refuge by the sea and an Art Deco hotel topped by a bottle of champagne. Nelson Mandela’s former home becomes a five-star hotel and London’s tallest hotel in the sixties reopens after a ￡100 million refurb.

Week #36: New Hotel News?| The first boutique hotel by French fragrance brand Fragonard, a new hotel in a cool of Hong Kong neighbourhood and the glamorous Hollywood hotel by British designer Tara Bernerd. A boutique hotel Vogue calls one of the best in Puglia and a new London hotel where Singaporean hospitality meets British design.

Week #34: New Hotel News?| An eco hotel on the slopes, a stylish new townhouse from the people behind the Beaverbrook and a sparkling new hotel at the heart of a $300 million urban redevelopment project. Lifestyle hospitality brand Locke continues its rapid expansion and Ritz-Carlton reveals its first hotel in a Turks & Caicos hotspot.

Week #33: New Hotel News?| Vogue calls it “Los Angeles’s Coolest New Beachside Hotel”. We visit the first new luxury hotel on the Amalfi coast in 15 years and see where St. Regis has launched its latest resort. In Slovenia, a new timber hotel sets down roots and in Canada’s biggest city an eco retreat opens with a rooftop pool.

Week #32: New Hotel News?| We unveil a wellness retreat in Majorca specialising in soothing minimalism, 24 cabins with views of the Catskill Mountains and a hotel in Mexico that’s a mezcal lover’s dream. Discover dreamy four-poster beds in Norfolk’s newest hotel and see inside India’s first Raffles hotel.

Week #31: New Hotel News?| Discover the Japanese hotel in the medals, what the ex-Soho House crew did to get on House & Garden’s wishlist and the stunning new hotel just opened on an American island. Forbes puts the spotlight on Piedmont and a luxury Parisian department store gets a new hotel as part of its €750 million makeover.

Week #30: New Hotel News?| The “world’s highest hotel”, an arty new hotel in Eastbourne and a luxury resort on the east coast of Sardinia. This week’s top five also puts the spotlight on a new hotel from the world’s wealthiest footballer and a new five-star hotel in Geneva.

Week #29: New Hotel News?| The new St. Regis in Cairo comes with views over the Nile, one hotel in Australia makes it onto this year’s Conde Nast Traveler Hot List and an Italianate hotel opens in New Orleans. A colourful hotel bursts onto the Tokyo skyline and Naomi Campbell gives her verdict following a hard hat tour of the coolest hotel in Paris.

Week #28: New Hotel News?| The group behind Claridge’s comes to the French Riviera, an eco lodge opens in Costa Rica’s rainforest and a converted vicarage welcomes foodies to Devon. A homely hotel welcomes visitors to Menorca and the first Hilton opens in Crete.

Week #27: New Hotel News?| Discover the Dubai hotel Conde Nast Traveller dubbed the “ultra-cool new kid on the block”, an Art Nouveau hotel in Stockholm and an old orphanage given a new life in New Orleans. The Langham launches in a former bank in Boston and in Venice a historic palazzo is transformed into a hotel.

Week #26: New Hotel News?| This week’s top five highlights an arty new hotel in Puglia, smart lodgings in Bath and the Ritz-Carlton making a splash in the Maldives. The all-American motel gets an upgrade and a boutique hotel with a minimalist design opens on Milos in Greece.

Week #25: New Hotel News?| Andaz opens a new hotel in the Bali, Stockholm based Nobis Hospitality Group brings Scandi style to Spain and Mama Shelter comes to Bahrain. The former home of the Sex Pistols becomes a?rock’n’roll hotel and hip US group Life House transforms a railway terminal into a hotel.

Week #24: New Hotel News?| Southern Thailand gets a new eco hotel with a farm-to-table philosophy, a clifftop hideaway comes to Santorini while Wild Rice Retreat brings a centre for arts and wellness to Wisconsin. A luxury hotel launches in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and in Paris’ business district a playful hotel invites guests to relax in pink marble bathrooms.

Week #23: New Hotel News?| A romantic?new hotel near Bali’s famous Tanah Lot temple, a tropical hotel in Sri Lanka and Helsinki’s historic central station gets a new railway hotel. One family revives historic buildings in Transylvania and in North America a new hotel sets up a vast Roman-style spa.

Week #22: New Hotel News?| Waterfront bungalows in Mozambique, new nature-inspired cabanas from Habitas in Mexico and an ultra-glamorous Six Senses hotel in Ibiza. A grand dame hotel revived in artsy Santa Fe and a boutique hotel on a bridge overlooking one of Africa’s largest game reserves - they’re all in this week’s top five new hotels.

Week #21: New Hotel News?| Sustainable and stylish, a luxury hotel opens in the Maldives, the world’s first 3D-printed resort becomes a reality and a beachside hotel launches on Lombok. Opera inspires a new hotel in Hanoi and a 17th-century inn is given a top-to-toe makeover by mother-and-daughter duo Olga and Alex Polizzi.

Week #20: New Hotel News?| Catherine Deneuve’s former French retreat, a buzzing new hotel in downtown Manhattan and a 17th-century wisteria-clad coaching inn in the Cotswolds. See the Cretian beach retreat Conde Nast Traveler recommends for sundown this summer and discover a secluded luxury hotel in California’s Wine Country.

Week #19: New Hotel News?| A restored colonial-style villa on Mexico’s west coast, the Caribbean debut by Soho House and the Dubai hotel with two world records. This week’s five eye-catching new hotels also reveal a luxury riverside hotel in southern China and a trendy aparthotel in Dalston, London’s answer to Brooklyn.

Week #18: New Hotel News?| Discover the hotel group giving all-inclusive holidays a high-end makeover, a minimalist hotel with a private beach in Oman and a villa in Croatia surrounded by a thousand olive trees. The best five new hotels this week also reveals a new wellness centre in Italy and one of the biggest UK hotel openings outside the capital.

Week #17: New Hotel News?| An off-the-grid Indonesian retreat adds a new private island, a labour of love revives an Italianate-style mansion in North Carolina and Six Senses sets its first foot in Brazil.?This week’s top five also includes a wellness retreat on an unspoilt Greek island and a curvaceous brick-built boutique hotel on Mexico’s southern coast.

Week #16: New Hotel News?| Sleek newcomer The Londoner sets up the deepest habitable hotel in the UK capital, trendy London brand The Hoxton launches a new hotel in Rome and a secluded countryside hotel settles into a picture-postcard Spanish island.

Week #15: New Hotel News?| A new Colonial-era hotel in Puerto Rico’s capital, Japan’s first ‘castle hotel’ and the most hotly anticipated hotel to launch in Los Angeles this year are highlighted in this week’s top five new hotels to open in 2021 across the globe.

Week #14: New Hotel News?| This week’s five alluring new hotels include the first of a new brand by the founder of the Aman group, one of the world’s highest infinity pools atop a towering new hotel in Dubai and a cool coastal retreat in Santa Barbara.

Week #13: New Hotel News?| Japan’s latest hotel taps into the health benefits of volcanic hot springs, an iconic Italian hotel is given a Parisian makeover and Ibiza’s little sister gets a grown up hotel by Pacha. New Yorkers can escape to a riverside retreat and a former boot factory in Bristol becomes a new arty hotel.

Week #12: New Hotel News?| Raise a glass to the new Four Seasons set within a Napa Valley vineyard, enjoy laidback and soulful luxury in Ibiza, and explore a hotel set within the cactus-studded desert landscapes of Mexico. Our five top hotels this week also invite you to discover the vertical garden at the Rosewood in S?o Paulo and a meticulously restored medieval castle in Umbria.

Week #11: New Hotel News?| Basketball courts become luxury suites in L.A, an oasis of peace arrives on a Greek party island and a new desert camp is set up in Saudi Arabia. Our five favourite new hotels this week also include a glamorous, grand palazzo in Palermo from Rocco Forte and the first hotel outside America by the buzzy NoMad brand.

Week #10: New Hotel News?| Across the globe, from the Maldives to Montenegro, the Israeli desert to the African bush, we explore five stunning new hotels launching in 2021. Book your own private island, sleep under the stars in a baobab-shaped treehouse, dive into the One&Only’s luxury spa, stay overnight in the Negev Desert and see the revamp of the Spanish hotel Cesar Ritz set up over 100 years ago.

Week #9: New Hotel News?| 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.