‘It was love at first sight’, says Philippe Starck of the first time he set foot in Portugal over a decade ago.’It is one of the few places in the world where people are proud, intelligent, beautiful, honest, hardworking and above all, kind.’ Infatuated by the Alentejo region’s cork forests, lagoons, ochre cliffs, and sunsets that set ‘the ocean on fire’, the French industrial designer and architect eventually established a second home there. That personal connection now sustains A Serra, an ambitious hospitality destination planned for the hills of Serra de Grândola, near Melides.

Inside Philippe Starck’s plans for a Portuguese paradise

Developed by private real estate firm Larfa Properties – also behind Nhà Estate, the first project designed by Philippe Starck in Vietnam – A Serra encompasses a 25-suite hotel, 22 fully serviced private villas, restaurants, wellness facilities and creative studios, all gathered around a 200-hectare village. While the hotel is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2028, the residences are now being offered off-plan, starting at six million dollars. Owners will have access to the hotel’s concierge and housekeeping services, restaurants, spa, creative programme, and shared spaces, intended to give the estate life throughout the year.

‘We need places that feel real and intentional,’ says Starck. ‘What people increasingly want are meaningful experiences, vision and a sense of adventure; something Alentejo still holds.’ A Serra answers with what he describes as a new kind of hospitality – highly specialised, thoughtful, personal. He adds: ‘We need to gather, to feel connected, safe, and supported. That’s the vision behind A Serra.’

Starck is not flying solo; while he’s dreamt up the sylvan interiors, he’s joined by a creative roster of local studios equally passionate about the surrounding landscape. Lisbon architecture studio Atelier AAVV, established by Miguel Passos de Almeida, has led the building’s planning and construction, while landscape architect Filipa Cardoso de Menezes of FC Arquitectura Paisagista has envisioned a lush paradise across the grounds. Developer Stéphane Delplancq stipulated from the early stages that ‘there could be no gesture, nothing added and superfluous’ to compete with the site’s hills, vegetation, and Atlantic horizon. A Serra should appear, Starck would agree, ‘as if it would have always existed’.

Like with the rest of Stack’s projects, take Brach Madrid or Maison Heler Metz, storytelling is as important as the technical minutiae. ‘I always start by writing a story that serves as a creative backbone,’ he explains. For A Serra, he imagined an odyssey through orange-red cork forests, rice fields and lagoons, eventually reaching a series of geometric dwellings akin to modernist sculptures. Inside, books, scores and instruments reveal the lives of an absent couple: a writer and a musician. The sole clue to their whereabouts is a note left on a desk: ‘Join me in the village, down below.’

This imagined passage became the organising principle of this modern version of an aldeia (a Portuguese village), embodying its charm and authenticity. Mineral structures sit uphill, while a timber village resides at the foot of the slope. Its small buildings will line a raised main street, leading guests and residents between a farm-to-table restaurant and vegetable garden, a grand café with a market-style shop, an art studio and a swimming pool. ‘A Serra was created as a living destination rather than a stand-alone hotel or residential development. Here, the freedom and intimacy of a private home meet the seamless service and refined hospitality of a luxury retreat,’ says Delplancq.

The hotel’s 25 independent suites will each deliver 70 sq m of interior space and a 90 sq m terrace, with 12 featuring private pools. A central swimming pool and an indoor-outdoor bar are expected to anchor the communal areas, alongside a convivial restaurant. Meanwhile, the 22 villas take similar visual cues, translated into long-term residence living. Starck compares them to ship or yacht cabins emerging from the terrain: intimate interiors held within concrete shells, then warmed by vegetation, terracotta, red-toned woods, natural leather and touches of gold.

‘Every space, every detail, every material has to tell a story,’ Starck says. Local artists and craftspeople will contribute to the interiors, although they have resisted a literal rendering of regional style. Instead, A Serra breathes in the talents and personalities of those who pass through it; a setting where cultures meet within what he calls a ‘refuge of living art’. At the aldeia, workshops for painting, pottery, sculpture, drawing and cooking will sit alongside a spa, Yoga Shala, children’s garden, and tennis, padel and pétanque courts. It is an enrapturing personal undertaking for Starck, reflected in the call he made after first encountering the site: ‘This is it. I think we’re finally home.’

@aserramelides

starck.com

The 50 Best Hotels has announced its 2026 ranking, amalgamating properties across 22 territories and six continents. Revealed at Les Salles du Carrousel in Paris on 15 September – the ceremony’s first edition outside London – the list sees Rosewood Hong Kong maintain its title as the world’s best hotel for a second consecutive year.

The 50 Best Hotels 2026 revealed

Bangkok clinches the remaining podium positions. Capella Bangkok rises to No.2, having led the ranking in 2024, while Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River places third. Atlantis The Royal in Dubai follows at No.4, receiving both the best hotel in the Middle East and best beach hotel awards. At No.5, Passalacqua on Lake Como retains the best boutique hotel title for a third year.

Rosewood Hong Kong’s win also makes it the best hotel in Asia. Designed by Tony Chi, the 65-storey Victoria Harbour landmark opened in 2019 with 413 rooms and suites, 11 restaurants and bars, and the multi-level Asaya wellness concept.

The position reflects a prominent Asian presence across the top 50: the continent claims 18 places and seven of the top ten. Mandarin Oriental Qianmen in Beijing arrives at No.7, Upper House Hong Kong at No. 8, and Mandarin Oriental Bangkok at No.10. In addition, Japan contributes four properties, led by Aman Tokyo at No.11, with Patina Osaka taking No.33 and the best new hotel award.

Meanwhile, Europe is home to the largest share of hotels on the list, with 21 entries. Italy and France secure six apiece, and the UK claims four. Passalacqua is the continent’s highest-ranked hotel, followed by Four Seasons Firenze at No.12. Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore’s Casa Maria Luigia makes its debut at No.18, earning the highest new entry award. Paris has four hotels in contention: Hôtel de Crillon climbs nine places to No.14, ahead of Le Bristol at No.19, Cheval Blanc Paris at No.20 and newcomer Plaza Athénée at No.41. Beyond the capital, Hôtel du Couvent in Nice ranks at No.38 and receives the Art of Design Award. Claridge’s leads the UK at No.13, with Raffles London at The OWO at No.28 and The Connaught at No.49. Estelle Manor in Oxfordshire rises four positions to No.43.

The ranking also welcomes ten new entries across seven destinations. Alongside Casa Maria Luigia and Plaza Athénée, the arrivals include San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara at No.22, The Peninsula Istanbul at No.31, Amangiri in Utah at No. 45, and Aman Nai Lert in Bangkok at No.48.

Elsewhere, Rosewood São Paulo makes an 18-place ascent to No.6, becoming the highest-ranked hotel in South America. Las Ventanas al Paraíso in Los Cabos climbs 19 positions to No.25 and takes the highest climber award, while Chablé Yucatán places ninth and wins the Eco Hotel Award following an assessment by the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

Royal Mansour in Marrakech and Mount Nelson in Cape Town represent Africa, with Capella Sydney standing as Oceania’s sole entry. Nihi Hotels co-founder James McBride receives the Icon Award, while Badrutt’s Palace in St Moritz is recognised for its approach to hospitality.

Now in its fourth year, The World’s 50 Best Hotels is determined by an academy of more than 800 hoteliers, travel journalists – including Wallpaper*’s own travel director Lauren Ho, who serves as the European Academy Chair – educators and experienced travellers across 13 regions, with Deloitte independently adjudicating the results.

The 50 Best Hotels 2026 list:

1. Rosewood Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

2. Capella Bangkok (Bangkok)

3. Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River (Bangkok)

4. Atlantis The Royal (Dubai)

5. Passalacqua (Lake Como)

6. Rosewood São Paulo (São Paulo)

7. Mandarin Oriental Qianmen (Beijing)

8. Upper House Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

9. Chablé Yucatán (Chocholá)

10. Mandarin Oriental Bangkok (Bangkok)

11. Aman Tokyo (Tokyo)

12. Four Seasons Firenze (Florence)

13. Claridge's (London)

14. Hôtel de Crillon (Paris)

15. Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab (Dubai)

16. Capella Sydney (Sydney)

17. Raffles Singapore (Singapore)

18. Casa Maria Luigia (Modena)

19. Le Bristol (Paris)

20. Cheval Blanc Paris (Paris)

21. Desa Potato Head (Bali)

22. San Ysidro Ranch (Santa Barbara)

23. One&Only Mandarina (Riviera Nayarit)

24. Bulgari Tokyo (Tokyo)

25. Las Ventanas al Paraíso (Los Cabos)

26. Royal Mansour (Marrakech)

27. Four Seasons Astir Palace (Athens)

28. Raffles London at The OWO (London)

29. Copacabana Palace (Rio de Janeiro)

30. The Taj Mahal Palace (Mumbai)

31. The Peninsula Istanbul (Istanbul)

32. Bulgari Roma (Rome)

33. Patina Osaka (Osaka)

34. Mount Nelson (Cape Town)

35. Nihi Sumba (Sumba Island)

36. Badrutt's Palace (St. Moritz)

37. Park Hyatt Kyoto (Kyoto)

38. Hôtel du Couvent (Nice)

39. Portrait Milano (Milan)

40. Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo (Monaco)

41. Plaza Athénée (Paris)

42. Hotel Sacher Vienna (Vienna)

43. Estelle Manor (Witney)

44. Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc (Antibes)

45. Amangiri (Canyon Point)

46. The Peninsula Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

47. Maroma (Riviera Maya)

48. Aman Nai Lert (Bangkok)

49. The Connaught (London)

50. San Domenico Palace (Taormina)

the50.com

Bloomsbury is one of London’s most studious neighbourhoods, with a rich history as the home of writers and thinkers. Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forster belonged to the influential Bloomsbury Group, while Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens and Bob Marley all lived in the area at various points.

Russell Square feels like the perfect autumn day all year round. From the historic architecture of Gower Street to the secluded garden squares that offer an escape from the noise of London, its bookish atmosphere brings comfort to the city’s more introverted residents. The latest arrival in the neighbourhood is The Imperial Bloomsbury, a contemporary hotel set just behind Russell Square’s main thoroughfare.

Wallpaper* checks in at The Imperial Bloomsbury, London

What’s on your doorstep?

From the hotel, I recommend strolling to the British Museum. En route, stop at Momo’s Garden Café, a charming coffee stand in Gordon Square serving delicious cakes – its banana bread is particularly good – and a flat white that is actually a flat white. Turn onto Gower Street, admire the Gothic architecture and gargoyles perched above, then continue to Store Street, where you’ll find Treadwell’s, an atmospheric bookshop specialising in magic and witchcraft, before arriving at the museum. For an escape from the tourists, head behind the hotel to Fortitude Bakehouse, an excellent bakery tucked into the mews. From there, follow Marchmont Street past its cafés, restaurants and pubs towards the British Library and King’s Cross station.

Who’s behind the design?

The hotel first opened in 1905, in a building designed by Charles Fitzroy Doll. Architects at Cube Design retained its striking concrete façade while restoring many of its original features. The 357-room hotel now has reimagined interiors by Trevillion Interiors and Keane Brands, conceived as a tribute to the area’s creative spirit.

The building’s Edwardian character is balanced with modernist elements. As the designers at Keane tell Wallpaper*: ‘We avoided recreating a period interior. Instead, we treated the building’s history as a series of layers: its original Edwardian, neo-Gothic character and its later bold modernist architecture.’

They continue: ‘The existing concrete and geometric forms became a “Brutalist canvas”, softened with midcentury furniture, warm textures, seasonal colour and carefully integrated lighting. History therefore informed the design without dictating it. Architectural geometry is echoed subtly in patterns and detailing, while curated artwork and references to Bloomsbury bring a strong sense of place. The result is a contemporary space that respects the building’s past while giving it a fresh identity.’

The room to book

Although every room feels warm and inviting, The Hideaway is the one to book. Its small outdoor terrace features seating and a ‘hidden’ bathtub tucked beneath a pavilion – a playful take on the conventional hotel room. Keane explains that the team sought to soften the building’s concrete character through contrast, introducing natural timber, upholstery and textured fabrics.

‘Curved furniture and organic forms counterbalance the façade’s strong geometry, while planting and layered, golden lighting bring warmth and softness throughout,’ the designers say. ‘The concrete remains an important part of the building’s identity, but these richer, more human materials make the space feel welcoming rather than austere.’

Staying for drinks and dinner?

On the tenth floor, guests will find Arcus, a bar perched high above Bloomsbury. Hotel restaurants can sometimes feel barren, turning dinner into a transactional experience. Arcus is far from that. On our visit, the room was vibrant and busy, set against the London skyline with the BT Tower glowing in the distance. It is difficult for the panoramic view not to become part of the experience. The cocktail list is indulgent, combining original creations with familiar classics. The food menu is light, leaning towards snacks rather than full meals, which suits the setting. Both the steak and the lamb tacos were delicious.

Where to switch off

The gym is generously sized and even has an outdoor terrace where guests can cool down after a session. Fully equipped with Technogym machines, free weights and kettlebells, it is well suited to light resistance training, kettlebell workouts and bodyweight exercises. It is considerably larger than the average hotel gym, although you should not expect to be squatting any PBs.

The Bell Room and Terrace offers another place to unwind over board games, all-day grazing or an intimate conversation. Its name comes from the five bells on the adjoining terrace, which have been a feature of the hotel since it opened. Access is reserved for guests staying in the premium room categories: City, Horizon, Hideaway, Nest and Beacon.

The verdict

The Imperial feels like an escape within the city, which celebrates its context’s rich history while also feeling fresh and relevant.

The Imperial is located at 61, 66 Russell Sq, London WC1B 5BB, United Kingdom

Completed in 1908, Nara Prison was the last of Japan’s ‘Five Great Meiji Prisons,’ a clutch of Western-inspired penitentiaries built to showcase the country’s modernisation and openness to the foreign world. Architect Keijiro Yamashita designed the Romanesque, brick-walled complex, modelling its central detention house on architect John Haviland’s radial prison design: Five cell blocks radiate from a central surveillance station, allowing a few guards to monitor hundreds of prisoners. In 2017, the last inmates were transferred, and the iron gate clanged shut. The complex was designated an Important Cultural Property and slated for transformation into a new luxury retreat.

Less than a decade later, the gate has reopened. The exterior is unchanged, but tucked inside are two new entities: The Hoshinoya Nara Prison Hotel and Nara Prison Museum. While some guests remain apprehensive about sleeping in a former prison, the hotel preserves and elevates the interior architecture without reducing it to a gimmick. Staff, many transferred from other Hoshino properties, are warm and assured; afternoon tea and evening ‘gramophone soirees’ enliven the space. Ultimately, the property positions itself as a turn-of-the-century heritage stay, leaving the prison’s more sombre stories to the museum.

Wallpaper* checks in at Hoshinoya Nara Prison Hotel

What’s on your doorstep?

Nara Prison was built at the north edge of town and is surrounded mostly by residential streets. The main attraction is Nara Prison Museum, and it's worth spending an afternoon learning about the history and current state of Japan's criminal justice system. Hotel guests can slip out a private side door to visit free of charge and enjoy exclusive after-hours access to preserved Cell Block D.

A popular day trip destination from Kyoto, Nara is also home to several UNESCO World Heritage sites. The property is a quick taxi ride from Todai-ji Temple and the 660-hectare Nara Park, where hundreds of sacred deer roam free.

Who is behind the design?

Rie Azuma of Azuma Architect & Associates helmed the transformation from prison to hotel, while Hiroki Hasegawa of Studio Onsite oversaw landscape design.

The property’s heritage designation forced the designers into tight constraints. A ‘before and after’ of the halls reveals the same skylights, whitewashed railings, and steel support beams overhead, though plush pewter carpeting adorned with navy sunburst medallions has been laid, and contemporary layered lighting adds an inviting glow. Throughout public spaces, Azuma preserved as many original architectural elements as possible, from wood plank flooring outside the chapel-turned-lounge to the exposed steel support beams and shorter-than-average interior doors. Art is sparse but thoughtfully chosen to reflect the vibrancy and optimism of early 20th-century Japan. The end design is a careful balance of historic floors, walls, arches, and window frames with a Western-style Art Deco colour palette and furnishings.

The room to book

Each of the 48 long, narrow suites was formed from a strand of either nine, ten, or eleven original cells. The 11-cell deluxe suites are the clear standout, and not only because they're the largest. In addition to spacious dressing rooms with chaise lounges, they include a complimentary mini bar with local spirits, a record player-like CD player with a small music library, local teas and bath salts, and thick-knit wool blend socks made in Nara.

In all rooms, the prison-issue white plaster was carefully removed to expose hand-laid red brick walls. Alternating walls are left raw, covered in warm wood panelling, or hand-brushed in shimmery silver-grey or cerulean paint. The ceilings and windows are high, affording no views beyond treetops and sky. Through those clerestory-like barred windows, framed in new wood, beams of sunlight create a dance of patterns on the walls that change throughout the day. The sum of all these parts? A space resplendent in cosy, cocooning privacy.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Dining at Nara Prison Hotel is limited to breakfast and dinner sets, though the adjacent museum offers a curry bread lunch. As with other Hoshino Resorts, meals follow strict reservation timetables. There are a trio of breakfast sets: Japanese, Meiji-style, and Western, with requisite bounties of seasonal fruit and rice or bread assortments. Return later for the signature Gastronomy Chronicle supper, a light-hearted, French-inspired culinary journey through the 20th century, including a starter with five bites of Western culture to represent the Meiji era, breaded sole in Albert sauce, and, for dessert, fluffy chocolate mousse cake.

​Step outside and walk across the courtyard to indulge in a cocktail, whiskey, or brandy from the Dining Lounge. This former storehouse features a glimmering wall of windows, jewel-toned upholstery, and an old gramophone hand-cranked by staff.

Where to switch off

The hotel has no spa, pool, or fitness centre. The vaulted prison chapel, however, has been transformed into a sumptuous lounge that hosts afternoon tea and an evening fragrance-blending workshop. The left wing, awash in sunlight filtered through translucent windows, offers complimentary drinks and nibbles throughout the day – green tea in the morning, sparkling sake in the evening – along with plush armchairs and chaises. To the right are private alcoves with luxuriously deep sofas. Soaring ceilings buttressed by thick wooden beams, soft rosewood floors, and layered contemporary lighting create an airy, relaxed atmosphere that belies the building’s history.

The lounge beckons year-round, but in pleasant weather, there’s freedom in snagging a chair in the courtyard-like yard between the Dining Lounge and Dining Room. A raised white boardwalk crisscrosses ornamental grasses, leading to tables and chairs set here and there for coffee or a book in the sunshine. It’s difficult to overstate the pleasure of the outdoors when relaxing beneath a barred window once used for solitary confinement.

The verdict

Nara has far more centrally located hotels, including those that offer a more classic Japanese atmosphere, but Hoshinoya Nara Prison Hotel is as distinctive as they come. Beautifully renovated without losing the architecture's original character, and with delightful heritage experiences in a naturally contemplative setting, this hotel makes a great short stay for unwinding after a few days spent exploring Nara or nearby Kyoto.

Hoshinoya Nara Prison is located at 18 Hannyajicho, Nara, 630-8102, Japan

The white stucco church with a crucifix-topped bell tower on the corner of Lucile Avenue and Griffith Park Boulevard in Silver Lake has stood as a local landmark for almost a century. Originally constructed in 1931 as Bethany Presbyterian, the building was put to various uses before sadly spending the best part of the last decade vacant, bar a brief spell as an antiques market.

Now, Casetta, the California-based boutique hotel group that specialises in breathing new life into architecturally significant properties, have made it the sixth addition to their portfolio and pulled off a wholly remarkable act of resurrection. Not only is the gracefully refurbished and rechristened Hotel Lucile ideally located for exploring the east side of Los Angeles and beyond, but it’s also home to Sous Sous, a superlative restaurant set inside the church’s high-ceilinged nave with a menu that blends Southern French cuisine with Deep South flavour.

Wallpaper* checks into Hotel Lucile, Los Angeles

What’s on your doorstep?

Silver Lake has long been established as the trendy, creative heart of east Los Angeles, but strangely the neighbourhood has limited hotel options. The opening of Hotel Lucile may be bad news for the area’s AirBnb hosts, but it’s a winning development for anyone seeking an elegant stay within stumbling distance of Sunset Junction. Many of the city’s best and buzziest bars and restaurants, including the Seco, Bar Stella, Bacari and Night + Market Song, are all just moments away. Outdoor activity hubs such as Silver Lake Reservoir and Griffith Park are also close by, as is Barnsdall Art Park and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House. The hotel has teamed up with the Usal Outdoor Research Center to provide guests with a tailored field guide to local experiences.

Who is behind the design?

The Romanesque Revival-style church was designed by architect Scott Quintin in 1930 and built at a cost of around $75,000 (equivalent to just under $1.5 million in 2026). Casetta’s tasteful renovation was overseen by architecture and interior design studio Electric Bowery, led by Lucia Bartholomew and Cayley Lambur, who say they set out to celebrate the church’s ‘European sensibility’. The central nave of the building is now occupied by the restaurant, Sous Sous, with a food concept by The Butcher’s Daughter founder and creative director Heather Tierney.

The original wooden beams, vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows have all been lovingly preserved and are complemented by two large, impressive murals by the classically trained oil painter Erin Lynn Welsh. Each references the local landscape: The deep red mural above the chancel stage pays tribute to Altadena’s Eaton Canyon, which was devastated by wildfire in January 2025, while at the other end of the space is a verdant green scene inspired by the native flora of Elysian Park.

The room to book

Hotel Lucile’s 25 guest rooms are designed in a refined, minimalist style, featuring Parachute linens and Aesop bath amenities. The walls display original works by local Los Angeles artists, curated by the Rhett Baruch Gallery. Minibars are stocked with select products from the nearby Erewhon market, including sea salt popcorn, dark chocolate protein bites and Anytime organic vodka and gin. Wellness products such as a hydrating sheet mask and citrus-vanilla vitamin C gel are also available. The pick of the rooms is number 106, known as the Lucile Suite, which has a living room and its own private courtyard.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

The hotel’s restaurant Sous Sous dominates the main building, and seems destined to become a Silver Lake institution in its own right. In part, this is due to the sanctified ambience that remains in the beautifully renovated space, but it’s also down to the earthly delights being cooked up in the kitchen. Led by Chef Patrick Costa and bar director Lee Zaremba, the restaurant’s inspired mingling of Southern Californian ingredients, Southern French recipes and flavours drawn from the American South leads to some ingenious creations.

The Green Tomato Margarita is one such example, a crisp, refreshing twist on the classic cocktail served with a rim of espelette pepper and Old Bay seasoning. The hamachi crudo pulls off a similar trick, with Virginia peanuts and red pepper relish lending the yellowtail a Deep South tang. There’s also warm, crunchy country bread that seems to have appeared directly from a farmhouse in Provence, but the star of the show is the delicate rainbow trout served with a smoky, Cajun-style blackened polenta crust. Given the surroundings, it seems apt that Sous Sous does miraculous things with loaves and fishes.

Where to switch off

The spacious rooftop deck, which is reserved for guests only, offers panoramic views of Silver Lake. There’s also a pool tucked away in a sun-kissed grotto below street level, which may be too small for swimming laps but is just the right size for sipping cocktails.

What’s the verdict?

Hotel Lucile might have rested on the laurels provided by its prime Sunset Junction location, but thankfully it has loftier ambitions. The gorgeous stained glass windows and innovative menu at Sous Sous make it a restaurant worth proselytising about, while the hotel’s commitment to showcasing local artists on its walls suggests a sincere intention to restore this former church to the centre of its community. Silver Lake’s prayers have been answered.

Hotel Lucile is located at 1629 Griffith Park Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90026, United States

In the 130 years since it first flung open its doors, The Breakers has been a steadfast symbol of the Palm Beach lifestyle, that heady mix of leisure, luxury and Florida sunshine. But The Breakers hasn’t been a stranger to change, either. The property burned down, twice (one blaze purportedly sparked by a ‘newfangled’ curling iron), and later served as a US Army hospital during the Second World War.

Designer Alessia Genova of the New York firm Tihany Design has spent the last 14 years writing the grande dame’s more recent chapter by elegantly reimagining the 534-key property’s guest rooms, suites, lobby, lounges and eateries. The latest space to receive her studio’s sophisticated touch? The hotel’s casual poolside restaurant, the Beach Club.

While the restaurant was beloved by guests, it hadn’t been updated in nearly 15 years and had heavy-feeling features like mahogany panelling and beige carpets. ‘It was a very sad restaurant. It was very dark,’ Genova says.

The hotel and Tihany Design saw an opportunity to breathe new life into the restaurant, with a revamped all-day Italian menu and effervescent decor that evoked the ease of the Mediterranean coast. And, of course, it needed to be chic. ‘This is The Breakers. Like, people go to the pool in full make-up, you know,’ Genova jokes.

The designer and her team saw an opportunity to enclose an existing arched loggia, a move that would create additional indoor square footage and add some architectural interest to the interiors. ‘We were trying to bring a residential Florida look and feel to the hotel,’ Genova explains. ‘We tried to create something that was strong enough to make a change, but at the same time, was very complementary to the space you are in.’

The transformed Beach Club, which is open exclusively to guests and members, is a light-filled dining destination that feels like an extension of its coastal setting. The primary dining space is anchored by a two-sided marble bar that serves guests in the more formal dining room, as well as those in the enclosed arcade.

Genova and her team kept the palette crisp, with tones of white in the fluted plaster walls, the inlaid stone floors and festive beach-striped fabrics. But it was also important to integrate subtle hits of colour. ‘Palm Beach is like a little island,’ says Genova. ‘We’ve never tried to do Lilly Pulitzer style, but there is a sense of colour and graphics that I think is very Palm Beach.’

The arches, for instance, are accented in a pale turquoise, while select dining niches are lined in a leafy scenic wallpaper. Zesty punches of yellow – inspired by the hue of fresh lemons – appear in flower-shaped ceramic artworks. ‘The intent was to give that feeling of like a beachside restaurant along the Mediterranean,’ Genova explains.

Outdoors, past a new trickling fountain, a sunny terrace scene unfolds. The design team swapped plain terra-cotta pavers for a graphic checkerboard pattern of white and green. Iron outdoor furnishings, topped with fluffy piped cushions congregate poolside beneath generous umbrellas

At night, as the sun sets over the Atlantic, guests can sip on champagne while indulging in fresh scallops or langoustine scampi. ‘Everyone loves the space. It's such a transformation,’ says Genova. ‘At night, the lights become very soft – it feels very, very special.’

Nema Design Hotel & Spa has added a second address within its own grounds. Eéso – named after the ancient Greek word for ‘within’ – is a self-contained enclave of suites, gardens, water and dining developed by Alexandros Kapetanakis and dreamt up by Athens-based architecture and interiors practice Omniview.

Tour Eéso by Nema, Crete

The opening marks a distinct shift for the adults-only hotel in Analipsi, on Crete’s northern coast. Eéso has its own visual and spatial rules: dark mineral surfaces, substantial walls, unusually broad or tall suites and a central landscape reserved for its guests. Architect Dimitris Tsigos describes the project as ‘introverted’. The term is literal, with privacy directly built into the masterplan, rather than supplied by screens and planting.

Nema had already established a recognisable identity through crisp lines, deep tones and an informal relationship with the beach. Omniview retained that vocabulary while changing its scale. Colour became mass; the hotel’s darker palette now appears in walls, deep openings and shadowed double-height rooms. The existing aesthetic acquired a corresponding plan and section.

‘We wanted to create an environment where luxury is embedded not just in decoration, but in the very DNA of the architecture and masterplanning,’ says Tsigos. The brief, he adds, required suites that felt ‘generous, unexpected and memorable’.

The resulting accommodation is divided into four types: Atrium, Sanctum, Pavilion and Penthouse. Some suites spread laterally across wide plans; others rise through dramatic double-height interiors. Verandas and private gardens create intermediate rooms between the enclosed accommodation and the Cretan climate.

‘We translated this into a masterplan where each unit functions as a unique architectural experience rather than a typical hotel room,’ Tsigos explains.

Floor-to-ceiling glazing reveals the scale of these interiors. In the taller suites, expanses of stone-like wall continue upwards past sleeping and living areas, interrupted by high-level openings that admit narrow cuts of daylight. The wide suites work horizontally, using long glazed elevations to connect bedrooms and living spaces with their gardens and pools.

The material palette has the density of an evening interior. Charcoal, earthen brown and mineral grey replace resort white. Rough, stone-like surfaces meet glass, metal and reflective finishes, their differences sharpened by the strong Cretan light. Built-in ledges and substantial wall sections make the rooms appear carved, adding a sense of geological poetry.

Tsigos describes the interiors as ‘a dialogue between raw reference and architectural precision’. It is a useful distinction. The stone, tactile surfaces and earthy colour carry a connection to landscape; geometry supplies the discipline. Cultural identity sits in the substance of the building, without recourse to scenic arches, nautical details or decorative antiquity.

The project’s Cretan connection continues through its production. Omniview sourced materials and techniques on the island where possible, beginning in nearby Heraklion, then working with suppliers and makers on mainland Greece when an appropriate local solution was unavailable. The result ties Eéso straight to the region through material and workmanship.

At the centre of the enclave, suites and gardens give way to a pool shared by Eéso guests, although Omniview has complicated the usual relationship between water and poolside furniture. Pergola-topped seating structures are positioned inside the pool, turning sections of its surface into inhabitable rooms.

‘We wanted to go beyond the typical concept of in-water loungers and instead create inhabitable units within the pool,’ adds Tsigos. ‘Each of these is designed with its own seating and pergola, forming a complete private retreat within the shared water landscape.’

As such, water separates the structures in place of solid partitions. Their roofs edit the sunlight, while their sharp outlines are repeated and distorted in the reflections below. Meanwhile, Ná Le Ma, an à la carte restaurant reserved for Eéso guests, completes the internal plan. Together with the pool, accommodation and gardens, it allows the enclave to operate as a complete resort precinct inside Nema.

Eéso by Nema is located at Analipsi, 700 14, Greece. Rates start from £558 per night

Between Copenhagen’s laid-back Nørrebro and elegant Fredriksberg neighbourhoods, Hotel Hans is the latest addition to the family-run Brøchner Hotels group known for its cool Nordic sensibility and authentic embrace of local life. Named after the patriarch of the Brøchner family, Hans, who co-founded the group’s first hotel in the 1980s, it’s set inside a historic red-brick building designed by 19th-century amusement park Tivoli Gardens architect Emil Blichfeldt, yet inside, a sleek, reflective and cool mood feeds off the urban energy of the city beyond.

Wallpaper* checks in at Hotel Hans, Copenhagen

What’s on your doorstep?

Perfect for exploring Copenhagen like a local, Hotel Hans is well-placed for tasting the best of Nørrebro: find the experimental plant-based menu at Baka d’ Busk, Michelin-star Jatak, and Pompette wine bar within minutes on foot. A pleasant stroll through the Assistens Cemetery, past the grave of Hans Christian Andersen, will take you towards Jægersborggade, a street lined with delis, independent shops and restaurants, and then on to pizza slices, beers and bakeries lining Nørrebro’s park. Venturing south to Frederiksberg, on the other hand, brings cosy brasseries, Italian restaurants and concept stores. The hotel’s neighbourhood location reflects its more affordable price point compared to Brøchner’s two city centre hotels.

Who is behind the design?

NORRØN made the bold decision to open up the long lobby facade to the street with huge windows, inspired by Edward Hopper’s painting ‘Nighthawks’, a seductive observation on the poetry of urban life. Upon grey terrazzo floors beneath bespoke metal lighting echoing Nørrebro’s streetlamps, a social choreography unfolds: sip cocktails on a glossy black lacquered oak conversation bench, or coffee from soft leather booths; pull up a smooth walnut chair (designed by Ari Prasetya to echo the silhouette of a black cat); or sink into a canary yellow Carl Hansen sofa for a game of chess.

The rhythm of city life and traffic becomes a meditative presence for watching the street style of Copenhagen’s bicycle commute, or the blur of headlights shape-shifting across sconced aluminium panels as the sun sets like a light installation. Graphic neon portraits of Hans illuminate the windows designed by his granddaughter and third-generation hotelier Laura Brøchner, and in the hotel’s courtyard and corridors, Danish designers Pettersen & Hein made sculptures out of materials found in his former workshop.

The room to book

Inspired by vintage apartments with dark green ceilings, sage-green walls and lacquered cabinets, the 91 rooms and suites are calm and elegant with organically patterned Ege Carpets. Poul Høilund, co-founder of NORRØN, describes the mood as Negroni-inducing. We stayed in one of the suites, with a mezzanine level and private roof terrace, which felt like its own little apartment in the city. Five rooms have their own balconies and two suites have roof terraces.

Staying for drinks?

The gentle, enticing atmosphere of the lobby from morning to night makes up for the simplicity of in-room services. Wake up to a generous Nordic breakfast buffet with barista coffee, green smoothies, and a glass of bubbles if you like. Guests are drawn down in the evenings for nightly rituals: a complimentary glass of house wine from 5-6 pm, and a complimentary cocktail (including that Negroni you were craving) from 9-10 pm.

The verdict

Hotel Hans feels both functional and special, raw and refined. The rooms are simple yet cosy and detail-oriented, whilst the open-ended pockets of the lobby are sleek and curated, with Nordic quality and comfort by the likes of Fredericia Furniture and Møbel Copenhagen. For solo travellers it’s prime for people-watching or striking up a conversation with a stranger. For friends and families it’s a spacious gathering place before an evening out, or winding down after a day of sightseeing.

Hotel Hans (Brøchner Hotels) is located at Åboulevard 29, 1960, Frederiksberg, Copenhagen

Ibiza’s original spirit has become one of hospitality’s most elastic ideas. At Nômade Temple Ibiza, it stretches across 182 rooms, multiple dining venues, an 810 sq m spa, a recording studio, a bazaar and an M.C. Escher-inspired performance space. This is a hotel with the confidence to call itself a temple – and the programme to fill one. The hotel occupies the former BG Portinatx Beach Club Hotel, a four-star all-inclusive built in the 1970s. Owned by ARD Investment and designed and operated by Mexican-born hospitality company Nômade People, it joins the group’s properties in Tulum, Holbox and Madrid.

Wallpaper* checks in at Nômade Temple Ibiza

What’s on your doorstep?

Portinatx sits at Ibiza’s northern end, in the municipality of Sant Joan de Labritja. The coastal settlement gathers around three beaches – S’Arenal Gros, S’Arenal Petit and Es Port – with pine-covered hills and rocky headlands. The striped Moscarter lighthouse, the tallest in the Balearic Islands, can be reached by following the coast from Es Portixol. Nômade descends towards the water through terraces, paths and native planting, with the pool, beach restaurant and accommodation blocks arranged around the same blue focal point. Guests can head out for coastal hikes, kayaking and snorkelling, although the extensive programme within the hotel – which includes everything from recode breathwork and telescope stargazing to beeswax jewellery workshops – makes leaving a chore.

Who is behind the design?

The architecture and interiors were led by Oneness, Nômade People’s in-house studio, founded by architects Sebastián Sas and Bjarke Ingels. Spanish project-management company Betlinski coordinated the construction, while the wider team included landscape consultant Fernando Martos, lighting specialists Anoche and Alve, furniture manufacturer Cidon and carpenters Stevani & Silva. Guests first enter the property through an enclosed space of intimate proportions, where a reflecting pool introduces the sound of water. The reception then expands beneath a large skylight before the route changes direction and opens suddenly towards the horizon.

‘The main challenge was to transform a building that originally imposed itself on the landscape into an architecture that dialogues with it,’ the architects explain. Most of the guestroom structures were retained, with larger openings, upgraded environmental systems and a closer relationship between interior and exterior. New volumes step down the terrain, allowing one block to overlook another without placing terraces directly in view. Arches and rounded corners reinterpret traditional Ibizan payesa architecture, while deep walls, shaded balconies and semi-covered spaces temper the summer heat and encourage natural ventilation.

The greatest intervention centres on the main building, whose position across the site initially interrupted the relationship with the cove. Oneness turned it into the hotel’s architectural and social nucleus, concentrating the Portinatx Villa, lofts, restaurant and El Templo within and around its retained structure. Repeated arches soften its scale and frame glimpses of planting, sky and water as guests circulate. Throughout, piedra blanca, sabina wood, terracotta, zellige and rustic stone establish the material vocabulary. Furniture was designed for individual spaces, then mixed with vintage pieces collected internationally.

‘Despite its scale, Nômade Temple Ibiza was crafted with the attention and care of a boutique hotel, designing and curating each space individually,’ the architects say. ‘The choice of natural and honest materials, rustic textures, artisanal techniques and local materials seeks to build an identity deeply linked to Ibiza and the spirit of Nômade.’

The room to book

The Portinatx Villa perfectly embodies what the hotel is all about. Set within the main building at the centre of the hotel, it contains three bedrooms, one with a private indoor sauna, alongside an expansive living space, fully equipped kitchen and private pool. It can be taken as an entire villa or divided into individual rooms. The central position provides a broad view across the different levels of the resort and towards the cove. Simple stone surfaces, strong colour, tactile fabrics and individually selected furniture bring together the recurring elements found throughout the accommodation.

Across the remaining categories, rooms range from compact individual spaces to oceanfront suites, double-height DJ Lofts and cliffside villas arranged for groups. Some prioritise seclusion, with private pools, terraces and outdoor bathing; others introduce shared kitchens and living rooms intended for friends, families or creative residencies. Locally sourced materials, artisanal ceramics and handcrafted furniture recur, but their combinations change between rooms, avoiding the uniformity expected of a resort with this many keys.

‘Some rooms are designed for introspection and a deeper connection with the natural environment, while others, such as the DJ Lofts, promote companionship and creativity,’ says Oneness.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Tavla is the central all-day restaurant, built around seasonal Mediterranean produce, fire cooking and long communal tables. Its restored wooden windows provide the room’s architectural anchor, joined by stone floors laid piece by piece and handcrafted ceramics across the tables. Café Libre handles mornings and the hours between meals, serving speciality coffee from local roastery Meke alongside baked goods and lighter dishes. At the water’s edge, 4fu3gos concentrates on local seafood and open-fire cooking, with clay tiles wrapping the kitchen and traditional Mexican equipal chairs connecting Ibiza to Nômade’s roots in Tulum and Holbox.

Kuu Jū brings Japanese omakase technique into contact with Mediterranean fish and produce. ‘The coloured glass evokes the spirit of the 1970s,’ the architects explain, pointing also to the textured marble counter and oversized straw light suspended above it. Guests can choose between a 13-course journey and a bites menu; the latter includes a soy-fuelled twist on the traditional Spanish gilda and a must-try tuna-belly katsu sando. After dinner, Miami-born Dante’s HiFi draws on Japanese audiophile bars, pairing vinyl with cocktails.

Where to switch off

The Gön House of Healing is Oneness’s most substantial architectural move. Faced with an 810 sq m spa and a coastline already occupied by the inherited hotel, the studio buried the wellness complex within the topography. ‘Due to its large scale and spacious areas, it was decided to bury it and integrate it into the topography, making it practically disappear from the landscape and allowing the cove to remain the true protagonist,’ the architects explain.

The subterranean interiors take their cues from Ibiza’s caves. Travertine floors, textured walls and sharp contrasts between light and shadow lead through hammams, saunas, cold plunges, flotation spaces and the Wataflow Sanctuary. Treatments range from Augustinus Bader facials to the Waterness Journey, in which a practitioner guides the body through fluid movements in warm water. The Emotional Alchemy Ritual combines meditation with bodywork, while the wider programme stretches into Pilates, astrology, hypnotherapy and emotional freedom techniques. A Journey Designer consultation at the beginning of a stay is intended to help guests navigate the options.

The forthcoming El Templo expands the programme beyond traditional wellness. Inspired by M.C. Escher’s shifting geometry, its stairways, changing perspectives and use of light create a flexible setting for yoga, meditation, performances and celebrations.

The verdict

Whether Ibiza’s ‘original essence’ can be recovered is beside the point. Nômade has created a version of the island with its own spatial logic, soundtrack and daily rituals. Staying here means entering the hotel’s spiritual worldview. Its stated aim is reconnection – with oneself, the landscape, the island and other people. A shaman-in-residence is available to perform energy cleansings, while Journey Designers help guests assemble a personal route through the rituals, treatments and cultural events. With 182 rooms and an extensive programme, there is enough variety for each day to take a different shape; whether that means wellness in the morning, dancing after dark or both is entirely up to the guest.

Nômade Temple Ibiza is located at Carrer Camí de sa Torre, 07810 Sant Joan de Labritja, Illes Balears, Spain.

There are few hotels that are as much a part of London’s story as The Savoy. For more than 135 years, its guest book has been a who’s who of the world’s most celebrated artists, actors and musicians, from Claude Monet and Frank Sinatra to Marilyn Monroe, all the while setting standards with innovations like electric lighting, 24-hour room service and Britain’s first electric hotel lifts – today’s famous Red Lift – where nervous guests were once offered smelling salts before stepping inside. Now marking a new chapter, London-based hospitality design studio GA has carefully reimagined the hotel’s Edwardian and Art Deco interiors with a lighter palette, bespoke British craftsmanship and modern-day comforts, while preserving the character that has made The Savoy one of the capital’s best-loved landmarks.

Wallpaper* checks in at The Savoy, London

What’s on your doorstep?

Set between the Strand and the River Thames, The Savoy puts much of London within walking distance. Covent Garden is just around the corner, the West End’s theatres are minutes away while the Southbank Centre, Tate Modern and the National Theatre are just a stroll across Waterloo bridge, which also has some of the city’s finest views. Somerset House, Trafalgar Square, St James’s and Mayfair are all within easy reach too, making it easy to spend the day gallery hopping, shopping and exploring London’s historic streets. Be sure to make use of the concierge, who are at hand to unlock everything from sought-after restaurant tables to theatre tickets.

Who is behind the design?

The work of hospitality design studio GA, the Edwardian rooms have been refreshed with warm silvers, ivory silks, marble and antique brass, accented with ochre and amber tones, while the Art Deco rooms embrace richer shades of the hotel’s signature green alongside polished finishes and subtle geometric detailing inspired by the glamour of the 1920s. Throughout, original architectural features, including fireplaces and intricate cornicing, have been carefully restored, while bespoke furniture, artworks inspired by the neighbouring Savoy Theatre and an emphasis on British craftsmanship preserve the hotel’s heritage while bringing it firmly into the 21st century.

The room to book

Thanks to the hotel’s overhaul, all of the rooms are worth booking, but from the window seat of the Grand River View Suite, it’s easy to lose yourself watching London go by. Here, the updated Edwardian interiors bring a lighter, more refined feel to the room that, together with spectacular views of the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament and the Thames, makes staying in just as appealing as heading out. Amenities including Penhaligon bathroom toiletries, yoga mats and colour-changing vanity mirrors come standard, but guests in the River Suites get access to the dedicated butler services as well as use of the house car.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Surrounded by some of London’s best restaurants, including the recently relaunched Simpson’s in the Strand, there are plenty of reasons to eat out. Yet dining has been central to The Savoy ever since the hotel set new standards for fine dining and service that would shape luxury hotels to come. Today, breakfast is served in the recently redesigned Gallery, where curved banquette seating, Murano glass chandeliers and a soft palette of greens, creams and blush tones create an elegant backdrop for classic dishes from Omelette Arnold Bennett to Grilled Kippers.

Later in the day, The River Restaurant, with its Thames views, offers an approachable British seafood menu where the fish and chips are difficult to pass up. Elsewhere, Savoy Grill continues its long tradition of British and French classics, while Restaurant 1890 offers a more intimate Michelin-starred experience. Before leaving, it’s worth finding time for a cocktail at the legendary American Bar or the black-and-gold Beaufort Bar, two of London’s great hotel drinking destinations.

Where to switch off

The spa and wellness facilities may not be the main reason for staying at The Savoy, but they’re a welcome retreat after a day exploring London. At its centre is a beautiful heated swimming pool, set beneath a glass atrium that fills the space with natural light, alongside a sauna, steam room and well-equipped gym. Meanwhile, a rotating programme of visiting wellness brands, offers everything from massages to Natura Bissé bespoke facials including the Citrus Ultimate Essence Radiance.

The verdict

It would have been easy for the refurbishment to dilute what has made The Savoy so special for more than a century, but the refreshed rooms have preserved the hotel’s character while elevating the experience for the next generation of guests.

The Savoy is located at Strand, London WC2R 0EZ, United Kingdom

Last year, the Madera Fernandez family unveiled their latest countryside coup: twin refuges nestled within an 800-hectare Menorcan playground. Vestige Son Ermità and Vestige Binidufà – 11 rooms each – occupy restored two 18th-century fincas connected by a discreet country lane, offering guests the best of both worlds. Son Ermità opened last summer, crowning a low hilltop with pale sandstone grandeur; Binidufà now completes the picture from the valley below, rooted in red stone, agricultural memory and a slower, earthier register. City dwellers may need a moment to adjust to the silence here – it sits around you, deep and unfamiliar at first, until the estate begins to work its spell.

Wallpaper* checks in at Vestige Binidufà, Menorca

What’s on your doorstep?

At Binidufà, the doorstep is the estate itself: 800 hectares of Menorcan countryside, with dry-stone walls, native woodland, red earth, orchards, Vermell cattle, walking routes, cycling trails and land running down towards wild calas. Guests can move freely between Binidufà and Son Ermità, with the team using electric buggies to shuttle them between valley and hilltop. Beyond the estate, Vestige can arrange encounters with local artisans, farmers and producers, as well as mountain-bike tours, bee and honey experiences, jeep safaris, horse riding and art tours (such as at Hauser & Wirth Menorca).

Who is behind the design?

Binidufà was restored and designed by Vestige Estudio, the in-house studio behind Vestige Collection. Architecture, interiors, landscape and technical development were handled together, overseen by Maria Obdulia Fernández of the owning family. Enrique Motilla led the architectural restoration, Marta Delgado and her team developed the interiors, while Inés Martínez led the landscape design. The studio noted the project drew on an agricultural heritage shaped by ‘a pragmatic relationship with land and water’, which gives the design its backbone.

The gardens, rooms, restaurant and old farm buildings share the same material vocabulary: local limestone, reclaimed wood, limewashed walls, raw plaster, linen, cotton, shaded terraces and thick masonry. The guiding idea was to ‘reinterpret the intelligence of a traditional Menorcan farm rather than recreate it’. Thus, the restoration prioritised what was already there: historic rainwater channels, cisterns and drainage systems were restored and brought back into use; original wellheads, thresholds and doors were repaired and reintroduced.

Much of the craft is local. Menorcan carpenters made wardrobes, doors and built-in seating, while local stonemasons produced bathroom basins and exterior benches from the same limestone found in the estate’s dry-stone walls. Lighting was developed with MC Lighting, while the art and objects mix contemporary works, ceramics and antiques from the owners’ collection.

The room to book

The 11 rooms and suites are spread between the farmhouse and restored agricultural buildings, so each one has its own shape, outlook and relationship to the estate. Some open onto private gardens, others onto terraces or valley views; those in the farmhouse retain a stronger sense of the original building. ‘Rather than creating a hierarchy of rooms,’ says Vestige Estudio, ‘the design celebrates the individuality of the estate.’

Bespoke timber furniture, handcrafted joinery, limestone details, linen and cotton textiles keep the mood rooted in the landscape. The north-west of Menorca has a tougher, moodier beauty, and Binidufà reflects that. Rowse amenities add a crisp botanical note in the bathrooms. Book the Terrace Suite, set in the main building close to the restaurant – useful for breakfast, nightcaps and the short, happy journey back after dinner. At 70 sq m, it has a master bedroom opening onto a terrace, a generous living area with a sofa bed for a third guest, and a large bathroom made for long soaks beneath a skylight.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Mesura is Binidufà’s plant-led restaurant, shaded by trees and looking across the gardens and pool towards the valley. The menu uses vegetables, herbs, grains, dairy and eggs from local farmers and the estate’s own orchard, with Middle Eastern herbs and spices nodding to the property’s Arabic origins. Some dishes can be adapted with fish or meat on request. Vestige Estudio frames Mesura as ‘a natural continuation of Binidufà’s history as a working estate’, which feels right.

Raynaud Limoges nesting bowls arrive with olive oil from Son Felip, butter and salt, which is exceptionally followed by the tomato and cucumber starter, finely chopped, bright and lightly pickled. The signature dish is a vegetable tagine with fennel, pumpkin, green olives, and dried fruit. At the pool, the offering relaxes into salads, sandwiches and ice cream, with fresh lemonade brought on arrival. Executive chef Joan Bagur also oversees Brisa at Son Ermità, where French-inflected Menorcan cooking leans into crudos, seafood and seasonal vegetables.

Where to switch off

The pool is one of Binidufà’s best assets: simple, open to the valley. There is also a yoga deck set in woodland shade, massages using locally infused oils, and access to Son Ermità’s wellness facilities, including a gym built into the hillside with a full-height window looking across fields, coastline and rocky islets. Guests can also walk, hike, e-bike, picnic under trees or make for the calas (worth the trek). Vestige Estudio describes Binidufà and Son Ermità as ‘two very different ways to experience the same remarkable landscape’: one rural and intimate, the other elevated and expansive. The best stay makes use of both.

The verdict

The buzz of Ibiza has, thankfully, not reached this corner of Menorca. Set within a vast private estate on the island’s northern coast, where Menorquina (also known as ‘Vermella’) cattle graze and the countryside still has room to breathe, Vestige Binidufà preserves the bucolic side of the Balearics. What else can a guest ask for?

Vestige Binidufà is located at Diseminado Binideufa, 18, 07750, Illes Balears, Spain. Rates: from €650 per night for two, including breakfast.

El Cortés is decidedly easy on the eye; an exquisite meshing of old and new set behind a balustraded art nouveau façade in arty Roma Norte. Bold, aesthete-pleasing objets are cleverly juxtaposed against heaps of original features restored by top-of-their-game craftspeople, with the occasional folksy touch – think shocking pink dahlias jutting out of dainty talavera vessels – further rooting the spaces in their surroundings. There’s a timelessness to it, with a great deal of thought and intention paid to the minutiae, yet the overarching mood is softly-tuned, cossetting and not the least bit stiff.

Wallpaper* checks into El Cortés, Mexico City

What’s on your doorstep?

Step outside onto tree-studded Calle Colima and you’re a gentle amble from the many sought-after restaurants, cafés, galleries and ateliers that’ve sprung up in and amongst Roma Norte’s ornate art nouveau mansions. The Museo del Objeto sits on the very same road, and at any given time there are a handful of locals selling Tajín-sprinkled mango slices from streetside carts shaded by colourful parasols.

Who is behind the design?

The interiors are a mastery of textile and layering, and the vision of Mexican owner Carlos Zaragoza, who spent three years renovating every last inch of the place, trawling through archives to uncover old photographs (so as to honour the building’s legacy), and enlisting a team of artisans skilled in traditional techniques. He then set to work tricking it out with a considered smattering of contemporary pieces. ‘My aim was to create a delicate balance,’ explains Zaragoza. ‘I wanted to pull the house back toward its original soul while updating it to reflect the evolution of surrounding Roma Norte.’ This is his first foray into hospitality, though you’d never guess.

Subdued lighting and velvet drapes the colour of storm clouds lend an intimate mood to the low-ceilinged lobby; opposite the hefty wooden check-in desk is a fringed loveseat in a dandelion-yellow hue, strewn with rectangular needlework cushions, and behind it, an enormous art deco mirror bordered with fine vine-like etchings. ‘My favourite piece is a tiny artwork dating back to 1828 that I found at an auction here in Mexico City and now hangs in the first-floor lounge,’ notes Zaragoza. ‘I’ve always had a soft spot for small-scale art, and there’s something captivating about the way the diminutive scale contrasts with its deep history.’

The room to book

With lofty ceilings edged by intricate coving work, pale oak herringbone peeking out from beneath hand-loomed rugs and still-life oil paintings hung in time-worn gilded frames, the 15 bedrooms feel tremendously romantic, while at the same time showing an admirable measure of restraint. Plump, pillowy beds are crowned with headboards upholstered in oxblood velvet, shell-shaped plaster sconces draw the eye upwards, and soft light pours in through paned windows, casting criss-crossed shadows onto the creamy lime-washed plaster. Each has its own appeal, and the level of detail is remarkable (a bespoke talavera tissue box here, a silken tassel hanging from an enamel handle there), though room 103, a Signature Suite up on the first floor, has to be the most fetching of the lot, with tall doors that can be flung open to reveal a little Juliet balcony abutted by an impressive urapán tree.

In the light-filled bathrooms, cylindrical glass sconces flank double vanities crafted with slabs of bold Rosso Levanto marble while rainfall showers are tiled in glossy oxblood, edged with a checkerboard trim, and have niches housing Byredo’s Bal d'Afrique products. A number of them are centred around claw-foot Kohler bathtubs with weighty polished nickel stoppers, and the two Patio Suites feature beautiful stained glass panels reworked by Ramon Sierra, who was involved in restoring the Castillo de Chapultepec. Marigolds and dahlias burst from folksy talavera vases; you’ll find bath salts in hand-carved wooden vessels, and the towels are imbued (ever so subtly) with a fragrance Carlos developed in partnership with the hotel’s laundry service. Rather than opt for something with defined notes, he chose to create a barely-there scent to evoke a sense of purity – the effect is soft, powdery and reminiscent of talc, with a hint of vetiver.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Gently buzzy Lotti – positioned on the hotel’s ground floor and spilling out onto a bijou pavement patio – makes a strong case for staying put in a city of extraordinarily good food. Helmed by Swiss-born chef Luc Liebster and named after his grandmother, it turns out inventive spins on much-loved classics from both Europe and Mexico, crafted with hyper-local ingredients.

Tiny burnished brass clips hold the menus onto grey textured boards, and waiting staff dart around in collarless shirts with the restaurant’s name inscribed across the shoulders in dark thread, carrying plates of astonishing deliciousness. Standouts include the satisfyingly crisp hasselback potatoes with avocado mousse and trout roe, and the shrimp tostada with pico de gallo, kaffir lime and hibiscus, and on the drinks front, the mezcal-heavy Sativa is a must.

Behind the design is sharp-eyed interiors whizz Rosela Barraza, who’s based between Mexico City and Los Angeles. Restored original beams cut across low ceilings of exposed brick; talavera tiles featuring simplistic floral motifs pay homage to Mexico’s old haciendas, and the space is softly lit with slender bronze-cast lights that call to mind primitive fire torches. Hung on the left-hand wall is a pigment-daubed still-life photograph of corn leaves from Luc’s father’s gallery in Zurich, while outside, wrought iron chairs topped with yolk-yellow and white cushions are clustered beneath square-ish umbrellas. Look out, too, for the wild, larger-than-life botanical displays which Rosela arranges herself each week with whatever foliage and flowers she happens upon at the market.

The verdict

El Cortés is a glorious expression of both style and substance, and just about as good as it gets when it comes to boutique stays. Each design-forward addition has been supremely well-considered so as to complement rather than compete with the building’s heritage features, and instead of feeling showy, there’s a rare sort of homeliness to the spaces. As such, it’s somewhere you’ll look forward to returning to time and time again, and you’ll be loath to stay anywhere else in Mexico City.

El Cortés is located at C.Colima 235, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Mexico City, Mexico

Venice has no shortage of grand hotels, including a run of glossy new arrivals. But there's something reassuring about stepping into an icon. Hotel Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel, is exactly that: a Venice institution as established as the Biennale or the Film Festival.

For seventy years it has held its prime spot on the island of Giudecca, ever since Giuseppe Cipriani dreamed up a hideaway across the water from Piazza San Marco. Built in 1956, at the dawn of the jet-set era, it has amassed seven decades of stories: Paul McCartney signing the butlers’ guitars, Princess Diana reportedly declaring herself ‘home at last’ on its steps. It was Cipriani, at his own Harry's Bar (itself a haunt of the glitterati), who invented the Bellini, its rosy hue inspired by a Venetian sunset.

Wallpaper* checks into Hotel Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel, Venice

What’s on your doorstep?

Cipriani’s original vision was simple: a hotel close to Piazza San Marco, but far from its crowds. Giudecca still delivers on that promise, adrift, it seems, in a charmed world of its own making. An evening stroll here is accompanied by little more than the sounds of birdsong, the murmur of diners and water lapping the promenade.

Giudecca also serves as a reminder of why Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world: a mix of medieval, Renaissance and baroque architecture, arched bridges, and cafés and restaurants spilling onto wooden pavilions. Doge’s Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, the Grand Canal and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection are all within easy reach – though such proximity feels almost improbable from the tranquil folds of Hotel Cipriani.

Who’s behind the design?

Over the years, the property has expanded into the adjoining 15th-century Palazzo Vendramin and been acquired by Sea Containers before joining Belmond under LVMH in 2018. It is a storied history, but not one the hotel is content to rest on. A multi-phase renovation by Peter Marino – the architect and designer who has done much to define the modern language of luxury retail – is currently underway. This year, the transformation has delivered a Dior Spa and a reimagined Oro, the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant.

Marino, who chairs the Venetian Heritage Foundation and brings an insider’s grasp of the city’s craft traditions, has said his renovation isn’t about reinvention. Instead, he’s balancing three threads: the handcrafted heritage of historic Venice (Murano glass, antique furniture, museum-quality art); the glamour of the 1950s and ’60s ‘dolce vita’; and a current of contemporary art and design, drawing on the influence of the Biennale. His touch shows in the luminous, double-height lobby, its seamless flow into the fountain garden and pool, and in thirteen newly redesigned suites.

The room to book

Accommodations range from 21-square-metre Double Rooms to Exclusive Suites starting at 105 square metres. At the top end, the Palladio Suite offers 180-degree lagoon views, while the Dogaressa Suite looks across the water to Piazza San Marco.

The ‘room to book’, however, is of course one of Marino's redesigns – chief among them the Serenissima and Laguna Suites, where traditional terrazzo floors meet hand-blown chandeliers and 17th-century cabinets are set beside contemporary sculptures. The palette – creams, pale greens, warm bronze, silvery grey, soft blue – echoes the shimmer of the lagoon.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Oro has been reimagined by Marino as an homage to gold, down to the gilded plates and table decorations. Chef Vania Ghedini lightly inflects local ingredients – shellfish, seaweed, 36-month-old Parmigiano Reggiano – with Maghrebi notes of her heritage: cardamom, verbena, sesame.

Elsewhere, dinner at Cip’s Club at sunset is hard to beat. Suspended over the water, the whole scene glows as gold-drenched as Oro. Chef Roberto Gatto keeps things hyper-local and unfussy – a fresh catch from the Rialto market, or a plate of traditional Veneto pasta.

Il Porticciolo is the hotel's beach bar, and no visit is complete without a Bellini made to Cipriani's original recipe at the Seagull Bar – sipped, as tradition dictates, alongside a plate of carpaccio. Breakfast is its own ritual: Marostica cherries, honey from the island of Sant'Erasmo and Pan del Doge while watching the gondolas and vaporetti on their morning rounds.

Where to switch off

This spring brought the Marino-designed Dior Spa, spanning two floors with five treatment rooms and a boutique stocking Dior beauty products. Hotel Cipriani is also home to the only Olympic-sized, seawater-heated pool in central Venice – the slightly farcical but happy result of a feet-to-metres miscalculation during construction.

Then there are the gardens – arguably the hotel’s ace in giving it the feel of a country estate rather than a city palazzo. Named the Casanova Gardens after the Venetian who is said to have courted lovers there, they're planted with rose-covered arches, Annabelle hydrangeas and pomegranate trees, and host, according to the hotel, a rabbit, three ducks and some chickens.

The verdict

Seventy years on, Hotel Cipriani still trades on Giuseppe Cipriani's original promise: the allure of Venice, without the crowds. Marino's renovation brings the hotel into the present while holding fast to the details that have long defined its legend: Bellinis at sunset, the cypress-filled gardens, and an archive of stories from the golden age of travel.

Hotel Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel, Venice is located at Giudecca, 10, 30133 Venice, Italy

Bookending the new London Olympia development is the Hyatt Regency London Olympia. The hotel is housed within an old car park originally built in 1937, which featured a double-ramp system to handle growing automobile traffic. Now a west London hotel, the building still champions the early modernist style of architect Joseph Emberton, but integrates contemporary functionality into its interiors. The Hyatt Regency London Olympia is an ideally located respite, with access to live music, museums, and parks just a stone's throw away.

Wallpaper* checks in at Hyatt Regency London Olympia

What’s on your doorstep?

Emerging from the Kensington Olympia overground station, the Hyatt Regency London Olympia greets visitors with its curved glass facade. The west London hotel is set within the £1.3 billion Olympia regeneration; its modus operandi is a stylish hotel of convenience and efficiency. With swift connections to central London and Heathrow Airport, visitors can also amble to Holland Park, Kensington Palace, the Design Museum and the Natural History Museum.

Who’s behind the design?

Design studio Twenty2degrees was behind the design of the 204-room property. Creative director Joe Stella and his team wanted to create a space which felt calm and unfussy, sprinkled with Art Deco touches. ‘We are always interpretive when drawing on design influences, rather than literal. The carpets in the guestrooms are designed with striations of contemporary colour, supporting the hotel's contemporary aesthetic while subtly reinforcing the wider narrative,’ Stella explains.

Materiality plays a central part in the design. Steelworks such as brushed brass-framed reeded glass panels are found in public areas. Furniture was rounded at corners and columns ribbed to soften the space and nod to the Art Deco era.

The room to book

There are three suites and 11 room types; each feels fresh and crisp. Each room showcases fluid and curvaceous architectural form. The Regency Executive Suite with a terrace offers London views, a dedicated work area, and living space for longer stays.

However, the hotel’s King Bed Deluxe room is equally relaxing and a perfect place to unwind after a day of exploring. In the rooms, guests may spot visual codes which nod to rock artists who have performed at Olympia, including Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and The Chemical Brothers.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

What is refreshing about Hyatt Regency London Olympia is its adjoining restaurant, Idalia. Although accessible via the hotel lobby, the restaurant also stands alone with its own entrance, terrace and grand high-ceiling entrance. What usually fades into a hotel’s framework, Idalia stands out. It is found on the ground floor of the Grade II* listed Pillar Hall.

The cuisine is Asian meets European influences. Start with the Korean fried Gochujang chicken thigh with Siracha mayonnaise, and the burrata with broad bean pesto and pine nut crumb (I recommend asking for extra bread). Skip the lobster linguine and instead go for the miso-crusted black cod, with bok choi, chilli and spring onion, and pair it with beef tallow chunky chips and grilled purple sprouting broccoli. The cocktails are fun and delicious, but be warned it's sugar-coated glass gets quite sticky. Inside, marvel at the historic architecture but avert your eyes from large busts with synthetic pink wigs and plastic vegetation.

Where to switch off

Guests can find a dedicated fitness centre for those who find being active a good way to unwind. Otherwise, enjoy the public area, which is cozy and snug. Says Stella, ‘The design narrative is powerfully present from the moment guests arrive, but it doesn’t overwhelm, and there is so much for guests to discover on their repeat stays’.

The verdict

The Hyatt Regency London Olympia was designed for comfort and ease, which is exactly what it provides. It acts as an unfussy base to retreat to after exploring Olympia, London’s new cultural and lifestyle hub.

Hyatt Regency London Olympia is located at 7 Olympia Way, London W14 0EY, United Kingdom

Menorca never fully surrendered to mass-tourism logic. Development happened, of course, but the island’s reputation has long rested on economic life kept in conversation with landscape, conservation and the scale of its towns. In 1993, UNESCO recognised Menorca as a Biosphere Reserve, citing the island’s unusually compatible relationship between economic activity, resource use, heritage conservation and landscape quality.

Hotel Riviera has some of that same self-possession. Unlike the prescriptive Balearic hotel formula, it does not arrive dressed as a tasteful white box. It is orange, curved, stripe-happy, a little mischievous – the wild child of Menorcan hotels, one could argue. The 14-room boutique stay takes over the former Hotel Madrid, a traditional local hotel embedded in Ciutadella’s urban fabric, and gives it a pool-first new life. The building’s orange bands wrap its façade; inside, terrazzo, curves, mustard tones and retro stripes set up a spritz-coloured world before you have even put down your bags.

Wallpaper* checks in at Riviera Hotel Menorca

What’s on your doorstep?

Riviera sits next to the breezy Passeig Marítim, which opens onto a run of dreamlike turquoise coves, including Cala Degollador and Cala Gran. The hotel sends guests out properly branded for the task: orange towels, orange umbrellas (no confusion about where you came from). There are sea-facing restaurants nearby, but the better play is the 10-minute walk into the historic centre. Ciutadella’s old lanes come alive after dark: tavernas, small bars, shaded corners, and Bar Imperi for llonguet – the local bread – filled with sobrasada and honey, or whatever else the evening requires.

Who is behind the design?

The interiors are by Ilmiodesign, with Oscar Paradís Medina overseeing construction. The founders of the Madrid-based studio, Andrea Spada and Michele Corbani, looked away from the expected Menorcan palette and towards the Italian Riviera Romagnola of the 1970s, ‘an iconic era defined by vibrant coasts, striking beach umbrellas, and an unmistakable retro charm’. That reference gives Riviera its cadence: beach-town optimism, saturated colour, proper stripes and plenty of holiday glamour.

It is a deliberate swerve from the usual Balearic script. ‘We intentionally wanted to break away from the traditional Balearic minimalism,’ the designers say, citing the island’s familiar all-white look as exactly what they wanted to avoid. Instead, Riviera gives you warm terracotta, mustard yellow, mineral textures, traditional terrazzo, retro striped upholstery and rounded ceiling coves. Terrazzo is the anchor: a Mediterranean constant that lets the hotel flirt with Italy without losing its Menorcan ground.

On the ground floor, the façade has been opened so the reception-bar looks straight towards the pool, while orange bands wrap the building like a ribbon and glow at night. Inside, the courtyard behaves like a small urban lido: balconies running motel-style along the guestrooms, sunbeds below, orange-and-white tiling, striped umbrellas. Arrival, the designers say, was planned as a move ‘from the street to the oasis’.

The room to book

All 14 rooms have private outdoor spaces and are arranged across four categories: Double Piccola, Double Deluxe, Junior Suite and Suite Riviera. Some face the sea, others the pool, while larger terraces give the best rooms a little open-air theatre. ‘Every room has a unique story to tell,’ say Spada and Corbani – helped by a redrawn layout that gives each one either a view, a terrace or some more intimate relationship with the building.

The rooms keep the retro Mediterranean pace flowing: curved forms, warm tones, striped details and some very chic Mary Quant-ish flower lamps. Most of the furniture and room lamps were custom-made and adapted to each room type, while Marshall speakers, Dyson hairdryers and Malin+Goetz toiletries keep the stay practical as well as photogenic.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

After a Mediterranean-inspired breakfast, with buffet and à la carte options, the menu at the poolside restaurant shifts at lunchtime into holiday mode: açai and granola bowls, fruit with agave and lime, New York pancakes with peanut butter and brûléed banana, and a saltier run of eggs, shakshuka, ricotta toast and Riviera fries with parmesan fondue. The Benedict Riviera – brioche, poached eggs, smashed avocado and parmesan fondue – is a must-have. The pool bar serves cocktails and soft drinks until late afternoon, while day passes allow non-guests to use the pool and facilities, giving the courtyard a little local traffic.

Where to switch off

Wellness lives on the rooftop, which feels right for a hotel built around sunburst energy. The day starts with energising Pilates at 8 am; later, massages take place above the sea, wrapped in draped fabric, soft music and Mediterranean air. The treatment list keeps things simple: a Riviera massage with essential oils and energy work, a medium-pressure relaxing massage, a Swedish massage, foot reflexology and a facial massage. Back on the ground floor, the saltwater pool remains, naturally, the place to be from morning to evening.

The verdict

Riviera Hotel Menorca brings a very contagious hit of 1970s Italian seaside spirit to Ciutadella: compact, sociable, colourful and genuinely fun. It works because the attitude is matched by good service. Staff are warm, attentive and relaxed. Their T-shirts read ‘a little party never hurt nobody’, which says plenty about the hotel’s appeal. Riviera is not trying to be Menorca’s grandest stay, but the one you remember long after that last summer spritz.

Riviera Hotel Menorca is located at Carrer de Madrid, 60, 07760 Ciutadella, Illes Balears, Spain

Hope Lodge. You’d be hard-pushed to imagine a greater name for a hotel that belongs to Europe’s largest conservation project – Wildland. The name was not dreamt up by a branding agency in a boardroom, though; it came with the land. Hope Lodge sits at the mouth of Loch Hope, into which the rain drains from Ben Hope, one of two almighty mountains that guard this last gasp of earth like sentinels, before the Sutherland coast drops into the sea at the very top of Scotland.

Check in to Hope Lodge, Wildland’s new jewel in the Highlands

Hope opened its doors gently in May and is the jewel in the crown of Wildland’s expanding hospitality group. Across three estates in Scotland, this portfolio now comprises numerous cottages, houses, a couple of larger lodges and Aldourie, a peach confection of a castle, resplendent with baronial charm, on the shores of Loch Ness. It’s no exaggeration to say that Hope has raised the bar for Scottish hospitality. Prior to its opening, the monied global traveller would be served in Scotland by the ‘glorious playground’ of Gleneagles and the Victoriana fantasy of The Fife Arms. With Hope, there now exists a different sort of hospitality that feels place-based and future-facing. Beyond Scotland, it is a new global benchmark that combines comfort and indulgence with environmental engagement in a way that manages to feel relaxing and fun. Staying at Hope is like being at the Very Best House Party. And the Scots are legendary for their house parties.

Conservation and hospitality are awkward bedfellows. The latter can too easily trample over the former, with small wellies and great expectations. Matters are more complex still here in Sutherland. The ‘wilderness’ is harrowed land whose population was brutally cleared in the 19th century by its former landowners, the Dukes of Sutherland, for more profitable sheep farming and then game hunting. It is frequently described by visitors as beautifully empty, but it is more fraught than wilderness waiting to be conserved or picnicked upon. Wildland’s founder is Anders Hoch Povlsen, the Danish owner of high street fashion empire Bestseller, who is now Scotland’s largest private landowner. Wildland’s conservation agenda is audacious and undeniably laudable. How could anyone argue otherwise? But there are paradoxical dichotomies at play that are also undeniable. Suffice to say: Hope Lodge is a lovely project, and a loaded one.

The main building at Hope is a refurbished and remodelled 1870s shooting lodge with seven bedrooms and several public rooms. The whole entity can be hired as a private let, or it can behave more like a hotel. There is a new two-bedroom cabin – An Cala - in the woods nearby and two (soon to be three) exquisitely restored cottages down by the river. On the other side of the road, reached via a tunnel, is a huddle of new buildings called The Clachan – Gaelic for small village – which is Hope’s nerve centre. Here you find staff accommodation, kitchen, shop, treatment rooms, gym and an epic underground car park to hide all vehicles. Guests arrive at The Clachan and are inducted into the Hope experience and Wildland mission, before being taken under the tunnel to their rooms in the lodge. Induction is important for orientation but also because Wildland has a 200-year commitment to regeneration of the land it owns, and the desire is that guests understand what this means. Hope is informally billed as a Highland Safari experience.

This may be why Hope’s interiors have been designed by South African studio Cécile & Boyd, whose work with Singita’s properties across Africa shifted the needle on safari lodge design. The design at Hope is a mood. It is not Scandi-Scot as Wildland’s other properties have propagated, variously. It isn’t very Scottish either. All manner of materials and textiles make for a layered atmosphere that swings from enveloping domesticity to soft utility. There’s a lot of stone, wood, leather and woven grasses. There are beautiful antiques, many of which are Scottish, some grand, some humble. Together they feel collected, alongside the books and objects, which ground the experience with the welcome texture of time. It is a soothing interior, and an extremely comfortable one. Gentle and otherworldly.

Joinery by Edinburgh-based Laurence McIntosh adds a crisp, contemporary warmth that lifts the potential dourness of the Victorian hunting lodge. ‘This is a sporting lodge, after all, not a country house,’ says Paul van den Berg from Cape Town, design director at Cécile & Boyd. ‘We wanted to pare it back and not decorate it, but celebrate the lodge and expose its beauty. Our goal is to immerse guests in Highland nature. None of the art has people or manmade structures in it.’ Don’t mention the clearances.

Behind the interior, there is an astonishing degree of integrity in the architecture, old and new. This has been masterminded by Edinburgh-based practice GRAS, with directors (also father and son) Nicholas and Gunnar Groves-Raines looking after the restoration and contemporary buildings respectively. ‘We’ve been working on this project for around 14 years,’ Gunnar explains. ‘My parents moved to Sutherland to be closer to it. My father is forensic when it comes to best practice, clambering over rooves to poke around leadwork details.’

Over two decades of collaboration, GRAS has matched Wildland’s commitment to landscape conservation in architecture, and Hope is the pinnacle of their relationship. ‘It is an extremely ambitious project,’ Gunnar says. ‘We have learnt a huge amount, with great trust and confidence from the client. Such is the scale here, the positive impact on the surrounding rural communities and economies has been real. There has been a lot of creative activity over the years in building crafts like slating, leadwork and stonework.’ It’s stone that sticks in the mind, a glowing grey that you find in walls and floors, indoors and out, throughout. ‘We brought the disused quarry that was on the site across the road back into use,’ Gunnar explains, ‘Hope sits within a geopark, famous for its Moine Schist, which is one of the oldest geological rocks in Europe. These buildings are very much of place.’ They will definitely last 200 years, and maybe many more.

Safari at Hope is about nature communing, more than wildlife spotting. Programming stretches across states of immersion that vary in their wildness from cerebral (the introductory lecture) to literal (cold water plunges before breakfast) via trails and hikes, paddle-boarding, waterfall and loch-side picnics, fishing, foraging, sauna and sound-bathing. On hand throughout are elegant dry robes - not an oxymoron - neoprene swimming shoes, hampers, snacks, fires and flasks of activity-appropriate drinks, all of which appear as if by magic. Service across the Hope experience is tip-top and straddles the potentially awkward gap between matronly host, geography teacher, new friend and camp leader. Not once did we think twice about stripping down to our trunks and sharing a picnic while asking about ticks.

All activities are marshalled by a team of guides, on whose shoulders rests Hope’s ambition to be more than a luxury hotel. Alongside the expertise of these guides, their hillside manner is critical, and they do a sterling job. It sounds pedantic to call out a somewhat casual attitude to Scottish history and politics, but it is important too. Hope will bring some of the world’s wealthier and more influential visitors to Scotland, and these guides will have a rare privilege to impart a lot more knowledge besides the lifecycle of a salmon (however fascinating and fitting a metaphor for life this may be).

And herein lies the crux: there’s something existential at play. Hope is more than a Scottish Safari lodge. Staying here will raise questions, naturally, for any guest interested in Scotland’s social, economic and political past, present and future. And while these issues shouldn’t be the first things guests at Hope learn about, neither should they be absent from the experience. After all, Hope is about relationships with reality. However luxurious, however enticing its offer of escape, however invigorating those plunges, ultimately this whole project is about engagement, with self and other, human and habitat. Beyond a picturesque spot to spend half term, Hope could just help guests figure out their place in the world. What could be more hopeful than that?

Hope Lodge is located at Altnaharra Road End, Lairg IV27 4UJ

When La Réserve Paris opened its doors in 2015, it quickly became one of the city’s most sought-after addresses, offering a fresh take on Parisian hospitality. At a time when many of the capital’s best-known hotels were defined by their old-world grandeur and opulence, Michel Reybier instead took his cues from the intimacy and elegance of a private residence. Occupying a 19th-century Haussmann mansion tucked behind a discreet red door on Avenue Gabriel, La Réserve still feels more like an exquisitely run private home than a hotel. It’s this residential atmosphere, together with faultless service and Jacques Garcia’s richly layered interiors, that makes it as compelling today as it was ten years ago.

Wallpaper* checks in at La Réserve Paris Hotel and Spa

What's on your doorstep?

In the 8th arrondissement, between the Champs-Élysées and Faubourg Saint-Honoré, La Réserve occupies one of Paris’ most coveted addresses. Whether you’re a first-time visitor ticking off the capital’s landmarks, or a return traveller who simply wants to spend the day meandering without an agenda, the hotel is perfectly placed to explore the city on foot. The Grand Palais sits directly opposite, making it easy to drop into one of its exhibitions before wandering towards the Petit Palais, Place de la Concorde or the banks of the Seine. Avenue Montaigne’s designer boutiques and the Eiffel Tower are both within easy walking distance, but sometimes, the greatest pleasure is to spend an afternoon drifting through the surrounding streets, people watching over a glass of wine on a terrace, or settling into a neighbourhood bistro.

Who is behind the design?

Jacques Garcia’s fingerprints are unmistakable, but La Réserve is less about his usual theatrical flourishes or statement pieces. Instead, he channels the elegance of a lived-in Parisian residence, restoring original cornices and mouldings and layering the interiors with antiques, opulent fabrics, selected artworks, carved marble fireplaces, and precious woods. The result is timeless and full of character, with a level of attention that comes together to create a series of beautifully cohesive spaces, from the subtly illuminated bookshelves and embossed leather wall coverings in Le Gabriel to the handwoven silk wallpaper that envelops the bedrooms and the upholstered headboards.

The room to book

It’s hard to go wrong with any of the rooms at La Réserve Paris, but the Eiffel Presidential Suite ticks all the boxes. At 140 square metres, it’s generous in size, but it’s the flow that makes the biggest impression, where the living room connects seamlessly to the bathroom, dressing room and bedroom and then loops back, giving it the feel of a gracious Parisian apartment. French doors open onto a narrow balcony big enough for lingering breakfasts for two against Eiffel Tower views, while inside, Garcia’s richly layered interiors and luxurious marble bathrooms come together to create an elegant space you’ll find hard to leave. Even at turndown, the silk-upholstered headboard is protected with a bespoke linen cover in one of those memorable details that perfectly encapsulates La Réserve’s meticulous approach.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

One of the things La Réserve does so well is that its restaurants and bars are every bit as inviting for visitors as they are for guests staying upstairs. Le Gabriel, Jérôme Banctel’s three Michelin-starred restaurant, is the hotel’s culinary centrepiece, serving refined French cuisine through three tasting menus - Virée, Périple and Escale - that celebrate seasonal produce in a gorgeous dining room wrapped in embossed leather wall coverings.

During the warmer months, The Patio at La Pagode becomes one of the loveliest spots in the hotel for a leisurely breakfast or a caesar salad with a crisp glass of wine beneath century-old maple trees, while the Duc de Morny Library serves the same menu in cosier surroundings, where floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and deep armchairs invite lingering over an afternoon coffee. Come evening, the best space for an aperitif is Bar Le Gaspard, where the drinks menu features the hero cocktails from each of the La Réserve hotels around the world. The Golden Negroni from the Zurich property goes down a treat with the lobster club sandwich, followed by a glass of cognac in the intimate cigar lounge.

Where to switch off

After a day exploring the streets of Paris, there’s nowhere better than retreating to the Spa Nescens. Hidden away on the lower ground floor, it’s a calming space centred around a 16-metre indoor pool. There are just three treatment rooms and a menu that focuses on doing a few things expertly well, through its partnership with Swiss better-ageing specialist Nescens. Alongside facials and massage offerings like the Tesla Med Full Body Sculpt, which works on firmness, contouring and toning, there’s also a hair salon and beauty studio, making it tempting to pop in for a blow-dry before heading back upstairs for dinner.

The verdict

It’s easy to understand why La Réserve Paris remains a favourite for those in the know. Yes, the interiors are beautiful, and the location is exceptional, but it’s the intuitive service and the feeling of staying somewhere genuinely personal that sets La Réserve apart.

La Réserve Paris is located at 42 Av. Gabriel, 75008 Paris, France

There are a lot of changes happening in Hong Kong’s Central district at the moment. The renovation of The Landmark, the sprawling modernist complex at the heart of the area, is taking place concurrently with huge works closer to the water to create Central Yards, a vast new complex designed to bring more flat, green space to an area renowned for its soaring glass-and-steel skyscrapers.

The latest milestone in the process has been marked by the reopening of guest rooms at Mandarin Oriental The Landmark. The 109-key hotel is a petite, discreet sibling to the grand brand flagship just a short walk away, offering a more demure atmosphere, intended to feel closer to a private Hong Kong apartment than a hotel. Its position within the footprint of The Landmark allows it to behave as much as a hub for locals as for guests, with an inconspicuous entrance tucked inside the main shopping concourse to attract shoppers to the diverse array of restaurants and bars across the seventh floor.

Wallpaper* checks in at Mandarin Oriental The Landmark, Hong Kong

What’s on your doorstep?

A quite astonishing array of luxury shops is scattered all across Central, with the usual international behemoths joined by local artisans like The Anthology and Prologue. For true tourists or first-time visitors, the Victoria Peak Tram and Star Ferry Terminal are both within easy walking distance. An almost entirely covered route to the Central MTR station means the whole of the island, and of Kowloon beyond, is a reasonably short travel-time away, but the wealth of excellent bars and restaurants within Central itself, as well as the proximity of sightseeing favourites like Man Mo Temple and the Tai Kwun Cultural Centre, could easily persuade you not to leave the area.

Who’s behind the design?

Hong Kong-based Joyce Wang, leader of her eponymous studio, was given the responsibility of updating the space. Her decision to draw inspiration from the colonial-era mansions that litter the Northern Territories is immediately evident in the undulating terracotta tiles of the street-level facade. These are emulated in the crimson travertine columns of the double-height main foyer, whose radiant warmth is in turn juxtaposed by ice-shaped glass blocks covering the opposing walls. A curved staircase in light beige stone transports guests up to a significantly more intimate lobby area, panelled in blond wood and liberally scattered with comfy red leather armchairs, and the grandeur of the initial reception gives way to the cosy residential aesthetic.

Local art is spread liberally throughout the entire hotel. Each lift bears a hand-painted abstraction of the Hong Kong skyline by Eliza Ling, an in-house artist at Joyce Wang Studio, which is then reinterpreted in the hand-tufted carpets running through the corridors. Stepping out of the lift, we are greeted by mesmerising small vases by locally based ceramicists Julie & Jessie, each with a tantalising flash of brilliant colour partially revealed under ‘paper’ wrappings partly torn off the surface. Every small detail like these helps to build a rich, nuanced identity for the property.

The room to book

Book the L600 Junior Suite, located at a corner of the building, giving the bathroom a double window to be enjoyed from the signature circular bathtub. The layout of the space places the shower and toilet cleverly behind the tub, completing a round area built within the main floor space, which also serves to separate the bedroom from the living and working area. Decor in light greens and rich, dark brown wood soften the atmosphere and build the feeling of a chic apartment in downtown Hong Kong. Larger L900 suites employ the same colour scheme but offer more space, including a larger bed with wrap-around polished wooden headboards.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Most of the hotel’s food and beverage venues stayed open throughout the renovation; some have been created as part of the project. The Communal, an understated artisan coffee shop just off the lobby, is a key part of the push to increase engagement with the local market. Plush booth seating and tables for two line the walls and face a marble-topped coffee bar decorated with bamboo-shaped tiles in a dark and lustrous green, allowing guests to watch baristas prepare their pour-over coffees and delicate pastries. Nearby roastery Hazel & Hershey provides freshly roasted beans each day. The space is bright and welcoming, as is the service, making it an energising place to begin a morning.

The seventh floor is where the majority of the dining takes place. Blanc de Noires is a new addition as part of the renovation, a champagne-focused snug bar with space for around 25 guests. Crisp white marble floors sparkle under the atmospheric low lighting; impossibly dark black wood panelling to the walls absorbs the sheen to ensure the room retains a secretive, seductive aura. The white dinner jackets worn by the bar team embellish a feeling that we’re drinking in a 1980s neon pastiche of a 1920s New York speakeasy. 25 champagnes by the glass, expertly paired by the sommelier to a ‘Ham Library’ – an extraordinary collection of cured meats, sliced on demand to suit each drinker’s individual palette – as well as an extensive list of champagne cocktails complete what is already one of the most stylish drinking spots in the area.

The verdict

Aside from being simply a luxurious, welcoming place to stay, this is a place to develop a relationship with one of the greatest cities in the world. The hotel presents a modern, cosmopolitan version of Hong Kong as the international hub it truly is, rather than leaning too hard on its cliches or pandering too strongly to an incoming audience. It's a place for locals to love and visitors to get to know them through, and a great reason to visit the city in itself.

Mandarin Oriental The Landmark is located at 15 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong

When Rosewood took over Hôtel de Crillon in 2013, many were curious to see how one of Paris’ most storied palace hotels would evolve. More than a decade on, it has retained the grandeur and heritage of the original while giving it the unmistakable feel of a Rosewood. Discreet, warm and instinctively personal, the experience begins with a glass of champagne and the choice of checking in either in a private reception salon or from the comfort of your suite. That feeling carries through the rest of the stay, with staff who instinctively read their guests, whether that’s a butler who immediately checks the room temperature is to your liking, or a doorman waiting with a bottle of water after your early morning run. It’s this blend of Rosewood’s warm hospitality and one of Paris’ most iconic addresses that makes Hôtel de Crillon feel every bit as special today as it did when it reopened.

Wallpaper* checks in at Hôtel de Crillon, Paris

What’s on your doorstep?

Occupying a prime position on Place de la Concorde in the 8th arrondissement, Hôtel de Crillon puts quintessential Paris on your doorstep. Whether it’s a morning run to the Eiffel Tower, an afternoon exploring the latest exhibition at the Grand Palais or a stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries towards the Louvre, it’s easy to spend an entire day on foot. Rue Saint-Honoré, Place Vendôme and the Champs-Élysées are all close by, while some of the greatest pleasures come from ducking down a quieter side street before settling into a neighbourhood bistro for a long lunch spent watching Paris go by.

Who is behind the design?

The restoration of Hôtel de Crillon was the work of architect Richard Martinet together with interior designers Aline d’Amman, Tristan Auer and Chahan Minassian, who have given the hotel a lighter, more contemporary feel. Original details such as marble, carved stone, crystal chandeliers and gilded mouldings are balanced with contemporary furniture, carefully chosen artwork and a softer colour palette. It’s brighter than many of Paris’ palace hotels, with natural light pouring into the public spaces through a series of open-air courtyards, drawing attention to the craftsmanship throughout. The end result feels elegant and timeless, making it difficult to pick a favourite space.

The room to book

It’s hard to find fault with any of Hôtel de Crillon’s rooms, with even the entry-level rooms thoughtfully designed, and often used by butlers accompanying guests who require round-the-clock service. The Grand Premier Suite, however, strikes the sweet spot. Available with either courtyard or Rue Boissy d’Anglas views, it’s at its best first thing in the morning, when the French doors are thrown open and the sounds of Paris drift inside.

Decorated in a palette of soft greys, creams and pale blues with French oak parquet flooring, bespoke furniture and marble bathrooms, it perfectly reflects the hotel’s balance of history and modernity. If, however, you’re looking to experience one of the city’s most extraordinary hotel rooms, Karl Lagerfeld’s Les Grands Appartements deserve a look. Inspired by Versailles, the two apartments combine classical French detailing with a restrained palette of greys, marble and mirrored surfaces. Among the many standout details is a two-tonne solid Carrara marble bath, so heavy it had to be lifted through the window before being lowered into place on a block of ice, allowing it to settle gently onto the bathroom floor as the ice slowly melted.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

The best thing about Hôtel de Crillon is that its restaurants and bars feel just as much a part of Paris as they do the hotel itself. Breakfast is best enjoyed in the hotel’s leafy courtyard, where baskets of warm baguettes, generous slabs of salty French butter and an entirely à la carte menu set the tone for the day. Return later for dinner at Nonos by Paul Pairet, where the lively courtyard is one of the city’s loveliest places to dine, with standout dishes including the signature cheese soufflé, theatrically finished tableside.

The real showstopper, however, is Les Ambassadeurs Bar. Set beneath one of Paris’ most spectacular painted ceilings and surrounded by crystal chandeliers, gilded detailing and soaring windows overlooking Place de la Concorde, it’s the sort of room that, even on a balmy Paris evening, makes people choose to sit indoors rather than on a terrace. The signature cocktail menu takes inspiration from nostalgic memories, transforming everything from birthday cake to forest walks and summer barbecues into inventive drinks, while the black truffle and Comté croque is reason enough to linger for another round. Before leaving, make a detour via Butterfly Pâtisserie, where chef Matthieu Carlin’s beautifully crafted pastries provide a suitably sweet finale.

Where to switch off

Tucked beneath the hotel, the spa feels like a sanctuary from the bustle of Place de la Concorde above. At its centre is a beautiful 14m heated indoor pool, framed by pale stone, oak and softly lit alcoves that give the space a calm, residential feel rather than that of a traditional hotel spa. Alongside a sauna, steam room and fitness studio, the treatment menu combines bespoke massages and facials using Maison Caulières and EviDenS de Beauté products.

The verdict

There are grander hotels in Paris, and there are more intimate ones, but few strike the balance quite as well as Hôtel de Crillon. Beautifully restored, impeccably run, and warm with its instinctive service and relaxed atmosphere, it’s a hotel that’s just as enjoyable to return to after a day exploring the city as it is to simply spend time in.

Hôtel de Crillon is located at 6 Pl. de la Concorde, 75008 Paris, France

An Italian summer holiday can feel like familiar territory: centuries-old palazzi, leisurely aperitivi and endless Mediterranean sunsets. Yet this year’s crop of hotel openings and restorations proves there’s still plenty of room for reinvention. From painstaking renovations that breathe new life into historic landmarks to design-led beach retreats in Sicily, these are Italy’s most exciting hotel openings, reopenings and reimaginings for 2026.

All that’s new in Italian hotels this summer

The Dolomites

Hotel Ambra Cortina d’Ampezzo

The beloved family-run mountainside bolthole Ambra Cortina has emerged as one of the Dolomites’ most fashionable hotels in recent years, thanks to its forward-thinking hospitality concepts that rival the design-led boutique hotels of Paris or London. Recently, the 24-room boutique hotel opened Lanterna HiFi Bar & Lounge, the first of its kind in the Dolomites. Spend a post-hike evening listening to vinyl in the lounge, or sip cocktails at Zelda’s Cocktail Club, a cosy drinking den decorated with playful ephemera by Toiletpaper magazine.

Hotel Ambra Cortina d’Ampezzo is located at Via XXIX Maggio, 28, 32043 Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy

Rosapetra Spa Resort

Italian furniture brand Henge has ventured into hospitality with the unveiling of the Henge Suite at Rosapetra Spa Resort in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Perched beneath the timber eaves of the five-star hotel overlooking the Unesco-listed Dolomites, the design-forward retreat was conceived by architect Isabella Genovese as a contemporary interpretation of alpine living. Eschewing chalet clichés in favour of a restrained palette of bespoke joinery, natural materials and sculptural furnishings, the suite features a private sauna, a freestanding bathtub, a fireplace and a 50-square-metre terrace framing uninterrupted views of the Tofane peaks.

Rosapetra Spa Resort is located at Località Zuel di Sopra, 1, 32043 Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy

Florence

La Darbia

A peaceful escape with access to wineries in Chianti and Florence (just a 25-minute drive away), La Darbia sits on a hilltop estate spanning 15 hectares of olive groves, meadows, and lavender fields. Restored by Studio Primatesta, the intimate retreat is the result of a meticulous renovation that preserves the 11th-century site’s original character and heritage. A contemporary spark comes through local materials – pietra serena, terracotta, travertine, and wood – and traditional craftsmanship techniques, such as intricate woodwork by Flavio Bettio, which ground its sense of place. Tucked into a trio of historic farmhouses, each of the 17 light-filled suites (four of which cater to families) is individually decorated with layered textures, while the windows frame the rolling countryside. The restaurant, led by Chef Sebastiano Pagliaro, serves seasonal Tuscan cuisine. All guests have access to two panoramic swimming pools. LC

La Darbia is located at Via Case Sparse (Greve), 16, 50022 Greve in Chianti, Italy

Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, Florence

The much-anticipated reopening of Belmond’s Villa San Michele, a former Franciscan monastery in Florence’s Fiesole hills, was celebrated in April 2026 with a star-studded bash that counted Gwyneth Paltrow and Alexa Chung among the guests. But the real draw this summer is the property’s restyling by Luigi Fragola Architects, whose elegant facelift of the historic hotel included a brand-new Guerlain spa, the new dining concept Antesi by Chef Alessandro Cozzolino, and the intimate Bar Doccia for relaxed aperitivi.

Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, Florence is located at Via Doccia, 4, 50014 Fiesole, Italy

Hotel Savoy

Following openings in Milan and Rome, Rocco Forte is continuing its Italian Grand Tour with a new outpost in Florence. The Hotel Savoy Rocco Forte opened this spring in the city’s Piazza della Repubblica neighbourhood, bringing together 79 elegantly appointed rooms and suites by Olga Polizzi, a museum-worthy collection of contemporary Italian art, the restaurant Irene and Bar Artemisia, where legendary bartender Salvatore Calabrese serves signature cocktails beneath frescoed ceilings.

Hotel Savoy is located at Piazza della Repùbblica, 7, 50123 Florence, Italy

Lake Como

Casabianca Suites

The De Santis family has already made their mark on Lake Como’s hotel scene with Passalacqua and Grand Hotel Tremezzo, so it’s little surprise that their latest project similarly unites art, design and hospitality. Casabianca began life as an art gallery in the town of Como and now expands its remit with three suites that function as both guest accommodation and artists’ residences, allowing visitors to spend the night immersed in the family’s collection of contemporary art and twentieth-century Italian design. Designed by architect Corrado Tagliabue, each suite is individually conceived around the work of a contemporary artist and combines vintage Italian furnishings, bespoke interiors, private terraces and breakfast by Cova with exclusive after-hours access to the gallery.

Casabianca Suites are located at Lungo Lario Trento, 47, 22100 Como, Italy

The Lake Como Edition

Situated on Lake Como’s western shore in Cadenabbia, The Lake Como Edition balances heritage and hip, standing out among the historic landmarks of Italy’s most legendary lakeside destination. The Edition’s creative directors, Kirstin Bailey and Paul Haslhofer, in collaboration with Neri&Hu and architectural partner De.Tales, transformed a 19th-century palazzo into a modern interpretation of Italian glamour, translating the landscape – lush flora, turquoise water, pink sunsets – into a colour palette complemented by marble-faced archways and terrazzo floors. The lobby lounge is punctuated by a celadon green Sekoya marble bar and a custom Neri + Hu bauble chandelier, while the lakefront pool deck, dotted with striped umbrellas, looks ready to splash across postcards. Walnut furnishings and arched windows add character to the 148 rooms. True to the hotel’s forward-thinking ethos, there’s a state-of-the-art longevity spa for high-tech biohacking treatments and cryotherapy. SDLC

The Lake Como Edition is located at Via Regina, 41, 22011 Cadenabbia, Italy

Rome

Casa JK Place Roma

Casa JK Place Roma opened its doors this May with 12 stylishly appointed apartments set in the historic heart of Rome. A few steps in any direction lead to the Pantheon, the Tiber River, Piazza Navona and Piazza di Spagna, making this 18th-century palazzo one of the best-positioned addresses in the city. In addition to the residences, the property includes Al Ventidue, a restaurant serving contemporary interpretations of Italian classics, a private lounge and bar, a Technogym-equipped gym, and access to Biologique Recherche treatments at the neighbouring wellness space.

Casa JK Place Roma is located at Via dei Prefetti, 22, 00186 Rome, Italy

Corinthia Rome

A neoclassical former bank by the prolific Roman architect Marcello Piacentini was transformed by London- and Shanghai-based GA Studio into the new Corinthia Rome hotel. The studio turned back time after an unfortunate 1960s renovation, reconstructing mosaic floors and intricate ceiling details to restore a palatial sense of grandeur to the 60-room luxury hotel. The property also offers several dining options, including the fine-dining restaurant Viride and Ocra, for evening aperitifs and late-night drinks.

Corinthia Rome is located at P.za del Parlamento, 18, 00186 Rome, Italy

Sardinia

W Sardinia – Poltu Quatu

W Sardinia is nestled within the pre-existing architecture designed by Jean-Claude LeSuiss – he originally designed the resort's buildings in the early 2000s. The hotel replicates his signature style of white-washed facades and irregular arches (known as occhio de bue, meaning eye of the bull, a construction nightmare but one that results in a visual delight). Interior-wise, the design was spearheaded by Will Meyer and Gray Davis, founders of their eponymous New York design firm. The duo kept the architecture, flooring and pool completely original, while every interior detail is considered and locally made. There is a lot of artistic expression across the 157 rooms and suites, from the vibrant veining of the stone cabinets to the chunkiness of the makeup vanity coupled with an overlapping mirror which mimics an oceanic ripple effect. If you fancy staying for drinks and dinner, the Tanit restaurant, named after the ancient goddess of abundance, is perched overlooking the harbour where one can gaze at the yachts in transit. TW

W Sardinia - Poltu Quatu is located at SP59, 07021 Poltu Quatu, Italy

Sicily

San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel

Ever since the television series The White Lotus landed at San Domenico Palace in Taormina in its second season, this jewel of a Sicilian hotel has been a must-visit for southern Italian summer holidays. This season, the hotel is unveiling a bombastic new takeover by Dolce & Gabbana, which will dress the pool with the Sicily-born brand’s iconic prints – a fitting homecoming, considering founders Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana once called the town home.

San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel is located at Via S. Domenico, 5, 98039 Taormina, Italy

South Tyrol

Hotel Bella Vista

There is a particular kind of silence that you find only at high altitude. It arrives with thin air, settling on snow-muffled valleys and plateaus. The world below feels entirely theoretical. It is this silence that the Milanese architect Matteo Thun has spent years thinking about and which, this May, took physical form in an extension at Hotel Bella Vista – a family-run retreat in Trafoi. Set deep inside the Stelvio National Park at the foot of the 3,905-metre-high Ortler massif, the tallest peak in South Tyrol, the project is, at its heart, a friendship made architectural. Thun and Gustav Thöni – Olympic alpine ski champion and co-owner of the hotel with his family – had spoken about expanding the property for years. The hotel itself dates to 1875, its original 36 rooms enduring through generations precisely because it had never tried to be anything other than what it is: a place shaped by landscape, not the other way around. Thun’s new wing, which adds 24 suites, a lounge bar, and a substantial wellness complex, cleaves close to that polestar. DW

Hotel Bella Vista is located at Via Trafoi, 11, 39029 Trafoi, Italy

Venice

Airelles Palladio, Venice

French hospitality group Airelles has finally debuted in Italy with its brand-new Venetian outpost, Airelles Palladio, Venice. Opened in April 2026, just in time for the Venice Biennale, the 45-room property has taken over the former Bauer Palladio on the island of Giudecca. In typical Airelles style – the brand is known for inhabiting history-laden locations, like its flagship Versailles outpost – the hotel spans three historic buildings and the restored Santa Maria della Presentazione Church, all set within almost one hectare of Mediterranean gardens, with three restaurants, three bars, a traditional cicchetti bar, a 1,700-square-metre Guerlain Spa, a Rossano Ferretti Hair Spa, and four swimming pools.

Airelles Palladio, Venice is located at Fondamenta Zitelle, 33, 30133 Venice, Italy

Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel

Few hotels embody the romance of old-world Italian hospitality quite like Danieli, the Venetian Gothic masterpiece that became a hotel in 1822 after Giuseppe Dal Niel transformed the 15th-century Palazzo Dandolo – originally built as the private residence of Doge Enrico Dandolo and a lodging for princes, cardinals and ambassadors – into one of Europe’s grandest addresses. Now, after years of graceful decline, the landmark property has been given a new lease of life by Four Seasons, whose meticulous restoration by French interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon culminates this August with one of the year’s most eagerly awaited hotel reopenings.

Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel is located at Riva degli Schiavoni, 4196, 30122 Venice, Italy

Locanda Cipriani

When Giuseppe Cipriani opened his first American-style bar in Venice in 1931, he couldn’t, in his wildest dreams, have fathomed the international acclaim the name would one day hold, with bars, restaurants, and hotels now spanning three continents. With the opening of Locanda Cipriani, the institution is going back to its roots with a new hotel located on the island of Torcello, where the family first opened an inn in 1947. Reopening in June 2026 following a careful restoration, the intimate ten-key retreat preserves the spirit of the historic inn, pairing exposed antique beams, bespoke furnishings and Murano glass lighting with contemporary interiors by Fabrizio Cocchi Studio.

Locanda Cipriani is located at Piazza Santa Fosca, 29, 30142 Venice, Italy

Orient Express Venezia

In the unpolished heart of Cannaregio, a 15th-century palazzo has been transformed by designer Aline Asmar d’Amman into one of Venice’s most spectacular hotels: Orient Express Venezia. Like many of the palazzi in the city, the property has two entrances: one on the street, one on the water. The latter is the only way to do it. As your boat glides through Cannaregio’s canals, medieval façades rise straight from the water, their reflections broken by the steady choreography of gondolas and vaporetti. Asmar d’Amman approached the restoration as a labour of love requiring rare interventions, from drying the palazzo’s foundations and building a dam around the façade walls, to the removal and treatment of each stone on the walls and floors. In the guestrooms, tall windows frame canal views, while antique-inspired furnishings and rich textiles capture the essence of Palazzo Donà Giovannelli at its most romantic. AS

Orient Express Venezia is located at Strada Nova, 2292, 30121 Venice, Italy

Ever since The Zetter first opened in Clerkenwell in 2004, the group has helped set the bar for London’s boutique hotel scene with its relaxed approach to luxury, characterful interiors and distinctly residential feel. Its newest opening, The Zetter Bloomsbury, continues that tradition across six interconnected Georgian townhouses neighbouring the British Museum, where check-in takes place over a glass of wine or coffee, immediately setting the tone for the rest of the stay. With interiors that have all the warmth and personality The Zetter has become known for, it’s the sort of hotel you’ll find yourself looking forward to returning to at the end of the day.

Wallpaper* checks in at The Zetter Bloomsbury, London

What’s on your doorstep?

Tucked away in Bloomsbury, The Zetter sits in one of central London’s most convenient yet often overlooked locations. The British Museum is just next door, while Russell Square, Tottenham Court Road and Holborn Underground stations are all within a short walk, making it easy to reach almost anywhere in the capital. Soho, Covent Garden, Oxford Street and the West End are all close enough to reach on foot, whether you’re heading to a gallery, catching a show or browsing the shops. Yet Bloomsbury itself is reason enough to stay put. Beyond the museums and shopping, it’s the sort of neighbourhood where it’s easy to lose track of time, whether you’re browsing an independent bookshop or settling into a café for a long lunch.

Who is behind the design?

The interiors are designed by James Thurstan Waterworth, and every shelf, cabinet and corner is layered with objects that feel as though they’ve been collected over a lifetime. European antiques sit alongside midcentury furniture, African textiles, Turkish rugs repurposed as ottomans and works by St Ives artists including Sandra Blow and Roger Hilton, while ancient Egyptian artefacts and a library of more than 600 vintage art and auction catalogues reflect the hotel’s close relationship with its neighbour, the British Museum.

It’s the craftsmanship that really sets the hotel apart. More than 500 cushions have been made from antique textiles; vintage fabrics have been reworked into upholstery, headboards and lampshades; Georgian cabinets discreetly conceal modern services, while hand-painted faux-marbled architraves, reclaimed timber floorboards, bespoke rugs and decorative pieces made by British artisans create interiors that feel deeply personal.

The room to book

Overlooking the secluded courtyard garden, the Junior Suites are well worth booking, with lofty ceilings and four-poster beds that give them all the charm of the Georgian townhouses they occupy, while marble bathrooms, richly textured fabrics, antiques and collected objects make them feel just as characterful as the public spaces downstairs. Thoughtful details continue throughout, from the well-stocked minibar tucked discreetly beneath the television to Verden amenities in the bathroom. If you’re celebrating a special occasion, however, the Terrace Suite is worth the splurge, with its wraparound terrace, claw-foot bath positioned beneath the bay window and views across the garden.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Breakfast is served in The Orangery beneath a glass roof, where leafy plants, the morning light and views onto the courtyard garden make it one of the loveliest spots in the hotel to start the day, while an à la carte menu featuring dishes such as avocado on toast or a full English breakfast is complemented by baskets of pastries, breads and fresh juices.

Later in the day, the menu moves next door to The Parlour and its adjoining courtyard garden, where elevated British classics such as Scotch eggs and sausage rolls are joined by seasonal salads and larger plates, making it just as suited to lunch as evening drinks. On arrival, every guest is also handed a coin to exchange for a complimentary drink from the bar, from a coffee to a cocktail or even one of the more premium spirits, a small but memorable touch that perfectly captures The Zetter’s relaxed approach to hospitality.

Where to switch off

The Zetter Bloomsbury isn’t a hotel with a sprawling spa or extensive wellness facilities, but that’s part of its charm. Instead, switching off comes naturally in the hotel’s secluded courtyard garden, where a drink beneath the trees on a warm summer afternoon is the perfect escape from the bustle of central London.

The verdict

Characterful, welcoming and full of personality, The Zetter Bloomsbury is the sort of place that’s just as appealing to first-time visitors to London as it is to those who know the city well. As one of London’s newest hotels, there are still a few service inconsistencies to iron out, but once those settle, the hotel has all the ingredients to become one of the capital’s most enjoyable boutique stays.

The Zetter Bloomsbury is located at 2-7 Montague St, London WC1B 5BP, United Kingdom. Rates: from £210

As you wander through the grounds of Casa Bonavita, a new 17-bedroom hotel in Malta, it is easy to forget you are in a hotel at all. With its golden limestone walls, palm-fringed pool and gardens scented with jasmine and orange blossom, it feels more like the home of a particularly fortunate friend. That, its owners Christopher and Suzanne Sharp explain, is entirely the point.

The founders and former owners of The Rug Company stumbled across the dilapidated 18th-century house in 2010 and were instantly bewitched. Over the next 15 years, they gradually brought it back to life, first as their family home and later as a hotel, which opened in late spring 2026.

Casa Bonavita is located in the sleepy village of Attard, one of Malta’s historic Three Villages and around 20 minutes from the capital, Valletta. Five minutes’ walk away is Villa Bologna Pottery, the renowned ceramics studio, shop and restaurant owned by the Sharps’ daughter, Sophie Edwards. But Casa Bonavita makes retreating behind its garden walls especially tempting.

Almost every bedroom has its own private outdoor space, yet even in the gardens or beside one of the hotel’s two pools, it is possible to enjoy complete solitude.

The terrace-wrapped restaurant centres on an open, Sicilian tile-clad kitchen with a Lacanche range, further blurring the distinction between hotel and home. Open to guests throughout the day, it welcomes outside diners in the evening, serving Mediterranean dishes including pan-roasted sea bass, verdura mista and buffalo mozzarella.

While Christopher revived the gardens, the interiors are the work of Suzanne’s London-based practice, Suzanne Sharp Studio. Drawing on her southern Mediterranean heritage – she grew upin Malta – she has created welcoming spaces that appear to have evolved over generations. Antique furniture, Murano glass lighting, textiles and art are layered with hand-painted murals that sweep across walls and ceilings, most notably in the restaurant where Alfonso Orombelli and Luna Aulehla Greppi have created a leafy scene that brings the hotel's garden foliage inside. The bar is wrapped in a bespoke de Gournay wallpaper depicting 17th-century Valletta, while artists from the nearby pottery studio hand painted the lampshades. Every surface has been considered.

A subterranean spa encompasses a hammam, sauna, cold plunge and gym, its blousy floral fabrics and deep-green zellige tiles creating a glorious meeting of English and Moorish pattern.

The best bedroom is hotly disputed among staff and guests, but Wallpaper* believes that Room Five – the only suite in the main house – just takes the crown, thanks to its generous proportions, its bathroom, set within the house’s former chapel, and private terrace overlooking the gardens.

Here, Wallpaper* speaks to Christopher and Suzanne Sharp about memories of Malta, designing through instinct, and finally realising a lifelong dream.

The home that became a hotel

Wallpaper*: You’ve both said that opening a hotel had been a lifelong dream. Where did that dream begin?

Christopher Sharp: When we were in our mid-twenties, Suzanne and I dreamt of opening a small hotel in Tuscany. Looking back, had we somehow managed to pull it off, it would almost certainly have been an unmitigated disaster. We had neither the financial resources nor the experience to make such an ambitious venture succeed. Having now opened Casa Bonavita, we appreciate just how much knowledge, resilience and patience it demands. Quite simply, we weren’t ready. Even so, that early dream never really disappeared. It became one of those quiet ambitions that stays with you, surfacing every few years to remind you that there is something still left to do.

Over the course of our lives, we’ve had several different careers, and we often joke that our philosophy is to do everything once – and leave while we’re still enjoying it. When we found this house, everything seemed to align. We finally had the right property, the experience that had been missing all those years before, and the resources to realise the vision properly.

More importantly, we had reached a stage in our lives where we understood what kind of hotel we wanted to create. Casa Bonavita was never conceived as a commercial exercise; it was the opportunity to fulfil a dream. Sometimes the best ideas simply need time before they are ready to be realised.

W*: Before it became a hotel, Casa Bonavita was your family home. How did living here influence the decisions you made as you transformed it into a place for guests?

CS: Living in Casa Bonavita before it became a hotel gave us an understanding of the house that would have been impossible to acquire from architectural plans alone. It allowed us to experience its rhythms and subtleties through every season: how the light moves through the rooms at different times of day, how the sun travels across the garden, and how the character of each space changes throughout the year.

It also taught us the practical realities of living in a historic Maltese house. Although Malta enjoys abundant winter sunshine, the humidity means good heating is essential for comfort. In the height of summer, effective air conditioning is equally important, but we also came to appreciate the value of ceiling fans. There are many evenings when a gentle movement of air is far more pleasant than the constant chill of air conditioning.

Perhaps most importantly, living here allowed us to understand how the house actually functions as a home. Spending time in every room revealed what each space needed to make it both practical and comfortable, while living in the village gave us the opportunity to get to know our neighbours and become part of the local community. We hope that sense of belonging and authenticity is something our guests experience too. The house was designed not simply to look beautiful, but to feel natural to live in, and we believe that has made all the difference.

Suzanne, you grew up in Malta. What is the Malta of your childhood that you remember, and in what ways did those memories find their way into the hotel?

Suzanne Sharp: My inspiration has always come from memory rather than a particular design style. I grew up in Malta when life was slower and houses were lived in rather than styled. I remember the cool stone floors, high ceiling rooms with shutters closed against the afternoon sun, family houses filled with objects and furniture collected over generations, and gardens that seemed overgrown. There was an ease to the way we lived and entertained that has stayed with me.

Casa Bonavita was never intended to recreate my childhood, but to capture that feeling. We wanted it to feel like a much-loved home where everything has found its place over time. If guests leave with a sense of the Malta we remember – its warmth, generosity and quiet beauty – then we’ve achieved what we hoped.

Designing the interiors

W*: The wall and ceiling murals are one of the hotel’s most distinctive features. How did the idea first emerge?

SS: As we restored the house, we uncovered traces of its past that reminded us how colour in Maltese houses was used. That became the starting point for the murals. We didn’t want to recreate anything historically, but rather continue the story of the building in a way that felt natural.

W*: How closely did you direct the artists, or were they given room to interpret the spaces themselves?

SS: I had a very clear vision for each room and worked closely with the artists, discussing colours and atmosphere, but I also wanted their own creativity to shine through. It was a genuine collaboration. Each mural was designed specifically for its space, so no two rooms feel the same, yet together they create a narrative that runs throughout the house.

W*: You worked with your son, the antiques dealer Jamie Sharp, to source many of the antique and vintage pieces. Are there particular periods, styles or objects that you’re instinctively drawn to?

SS: I’ve never collected according to period or fashion. I’m drawn to pieces with character, craftsmanship and a sense that they’ve already lived a life. Christopher and I, together with our son, spent years searching for objects that simply felt right for the house. Some came from antique markets, some from dealers, and others have been with our family for years.

W*: What do these older pieces bring to a hotel that contemporary furnishings perhaps can’t?

SS: Older pieces bring a warmth and authenticity that is very difficult to manufacture. They carry imperfections, stories and a sense of scale making a room feel as though it has evolved naturally rather than been installed all at once.

W*: Are there any particularly special pieces that guests should look out for?

SS: Rather than highlighting one or two star pieces, I’d much rather guests discover things for themselves. There are paintings, sculptures, ceramics and small objects tucked away throughout the hotel that reward a second look. I hope people notice something different each time they wander through the house – that sense of discovery is part of the experience.

Rediscovering the gardens

W*: The gardens feel wonderfully established, almost as though they’ve always been this way. What did you inherit when you first bought the property, and what has the process of shaping and restoring them involved?

CS: When we first bought the house, the garden felt rather forlorn. Its underlying structure was still there, but it had received little more than basic maintenance for many years. There were several citrus trees, though they were in poor condition, and the planting lacked both coherence and ambition.

The garden revealed itself all at once rather than unfolding gradually as you moved through it. We wanted to create a sequence of spaces – a sense of journey and discovery – where each turn offered something new. Because the house was becoming a hotel, it was equally important to create places where guests could find privacy, as well as areas that naturally encouraged people to gather.

The scale also needed rebalancing. There were too few mature trees to give the garden the sense of enclosure and permanence we were looking for. We planted twelve full-sized palms, together with a wide variety of smaller trees and shrubs, to restore both proportion and depth. If anything, I preferred to overplant. It is always easier to remove a tree or thin out a border than to wait decades for a garden to mature.

W*: Were sound and fragrance important to the experience you wanted to create?

CS: Yes, the scent and the sounds of the garden are enormously important. Although we are in the heart of a village, there is a remarkable sense of tranquillity. One of the pleasures of the garden is that it allows you to forget where you are. Beyond the walls there is village life, but within them there is a feeling of calm and enclosure.

Sound is a large part of that experience. The gentle movement of water has an almost timeless quality; the wind passing through the crowns of the palms, the chorus of crickets on a hot summer afternoon, and the birds at first light all become part of the rhythm of the day. None of these sounds demands your attention, yet together they create an atmosphere that is deeply restorative. Scent is just as evocative. The fragrance of jasmine in the evening, lantana warmed by the sun, citrus blossom in spring and herbs releasing their oils in the heat all anchor you in the Mediterranean.

Perhaps most importantly, I wanted the garden to feel alive. I like the idea that there is an entire world of insects, birds and small creatures carrying on their own lives, quite oblivious to our presence. A garden should never feel like a stage set; it should feel like an ecosystem. If we have done our job well, guests are simply passing through a landscape that has its own life and rhythm, rather than one that exists solely for their enjoyment.

On 12 August 2026, Mallorca will fall into the path of a total solar eclipse: the rare moment when the moon passes directly between Earth and the sun, briefly covering the solar disc and turning day towards dusk. The event will pass across parts of the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic, northern Spain and the Balearic Islands, making Mallorca one of Europe’s most desirable places to watch it unfold. This round-up looks at the Mallorcan stays making the most of the eclipse – some have built full celestial programmes, with astronomers, telescopes, dinners and sea departures.

Mallorca’s total solar eclipse is best seen from these hotels

Hotel Corazón

Hotel Corazón sits off the mountain road between Sóller and Deià, in an 18th-century finca wrapped in palms, cypress and Tramuntana rock. The 17-room hotel is run by photographer Kate Bellm and Edgar Lopez, whose eye for image, garden and mood shapes everything from the room newspapers to the cactus garden. Moredesign restored the finca with local artisans, keeping the cobbled courtyard, terracotta tones and old chapel, now a spa. Rooms feature limewash, linen, stone, pink, sage and rough ceramics; the pool sits above the sea among pampas grass, rosemary and 1970s loungers. Farmer-in-residence Emma Philip sends kitchen-garden produce to chef Eliza Parchanska, who offers plant-led plates at the terrace restaurant, which Tatjana von Stein recently redesigned with carved marble tables, mustard banquettes, gingham napkins and sailor-striped cushions. For the eclipse, Corazón is keeping it stylishly low-key: the boutique is already selling bohemian Corazón Eclipse ’26 T-shirts, with the real viewing party happening on the terrace, a drink in hand, as the Tramuntana turns blue.

Hotel Corazón is located at Carretera de Deià, km. 56, 7, 07100 Sóller, Balearic Islands, Spain

Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor

Few Mallorcan hotels come with a backstory as rich as Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor. The original Hotel Formentor opened in 1929, founded by Argentinian poet and promoter Dan Diehl, and became the island’s grand northern hideaway long before the word resort lost its romance. In 2024, Four Seasons took over the 40-hectare site at the tip of the island, with Estudio Lamela remodelling the historic building and Gilles & Boissier handling the interiors. The white façade remains largely intact, while all 110 rooms and suites face the sea, with terraces looking over Formentor Bay. Inside, the palette follows the coast: pale natural tones and deep green accents feature across tadelakt walls, fabric panelling, and timber. The eclipse programme here includes a viewing from the spectacular Na Blanca summit, an elegant BBQ evening in the resort’s private vineyards beneath the Perseid meteor shower, and a yacht journey along the Formentor coastline for a front-row view of the celestial event. The property itself already has the right ingredients too: pine-shaded terraces and outdoor tables at Mel, Shima and Llum I Sal.

Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor is located at Carrer de Formentor, s/n, 07470 Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain

Jumeirah Mallorca

Jumeirah Mallorca is perched above Port de Sóller on Mallorca’s north-west coast, with the Serra de Tramuntana behind it and the Mediterranean below. Designed by Arditecnica, with interiors by Peter Silling & Associates, the 121-room hotel is worked into the slope with planted roofs, private terraces and a round stone entrance hall that refers to the island’s talaias, the defence towers once built along the coast. Rooms split their gaze between mountain and sea, while the best views are saved for the public spaces: the 240 sq m Tramuntana Terrace, the eighth-floor infinity pool 110m above the water, five restaurants including Cap Roig and Sunset Lounge, and the Talise Spa, where a hydropool looks back to the mountains. Jumeirah is treating the eclipse as a four-day takeover. From 10 to 14 August, there will be astronomy masterclasses with Mallorca’s Astronomy Institute, solar telescopes, sunrise rituals, yacht trips, olive-grove dining and wellness sessions. On the night itself, guests can gather 100m above the sea for a lunar-inspired cocktail reception, live commentary from astronomers, and stellar gastronomy.

Jumeirah Mallorca is located at Carrer de Bèlgica, S/N, 07108 Port de Sóller, Illes Balears, Spain

Mandarin Oriental Punta Negra, Mallorca

Mandarin Oriental’s first Balearic resort takes over the former Hotel Punta Negra on Mallorca’s southwest coast, a pine-fringed headland in Calvià, close to Puerto Portals. Renovated by Estudio Lamela with HKS, the 131-room property is arranged to sit low among Aleppo pines, rocky coves and Mediterranean views: protected buildings have been restored, with their new volumes opening fan-like towards the sea, and bungalows placed by the water’s edge. Six dining venues include concepts by Nobu Matsuhisa and Dani García, while the spa, gardens, art pathway, tennis, golf and coastal yoga add the usual Mandarin Oriental flair. For the 12 August eclipse, the property is offering guests the opportunity to watch from a private yacht or traditional boat, rise above the coastline by helicopter, or join a limited 15-person hot-air balloon flight, with viewing lenses provided. On land, a 12-day Eclipse Advent Calendar brings the build-up into the resort through infusions, local sweets and bites.

Mandarin Oriental Punta Negra, Mallorca is located at Carrer Punta Negra, 12, 07181 Palmanova, Illes Balears, Spain

Nakar Hotel

A 1950s building was coaxed back to its former glory, thanks to local Palma hotelier Toni Ramis and architect Magi Marqués, who together transformed the Pension Nacar building on one of the city’s liveliest streets into the 57-room Nakar Hotel. Along with designer Marga Rotger’s touches – contemporary accents of pale oak, stone, black lacquered iron, glass and copper – a rationalist design aesthetic runs throughout. The result is a harmonious marriage of neutral colours, soothing lighting and simple planes, which together create the calm atmosphere that is Nakar’s signature. This commitment to relaxation is punctuated by the presence of a subterranean spa, where bamboo details, a shadowy palette and a heated pool, steam bath and sauna offer holistic rejuvenation. Elsewhere, a ninth-floor rooftop sundeck and infinity pool offer a privileged vantage point from which to enjoy the eclipse, while a more subdued mood can be found at CUIT Bar and Restaurant, which serves local cuisine from chef Miquel Calent.

Nakar Hotel is located Av. de Jaume III, 21, Centre, 07012 Palma, Illes Balears, Spain

Nobis Hotel Palma

Nobis Hotel Palma sits in the city’s Old Town among Gothic churches and stone squares, occupying one of the city’s oldest buildings: a 12th-century former Islamic palace, later a noble Mallorcan residence. Wingårdhs, working with Jordi Herrero Arquitectos and Eduardo Garcia Acuna Arquitecto, handled the renovation with due restraint, restoring vaulted ceilings, Gothic archways and a pair of courtyards, one fitted with a small dipping pool around an ancient fountain. The 37 rooms and suites bring Scandinavian calm to Spanish limestone walls and beamed ceilings, with wood, wool, leather, Örsjö lamps, Ogeborg carpets, Flos pendants, ceramics by Miquel Segura and tapestries by Leela Rome throughout. NOI Palma serves sharing plates beneath a textile ceiling installation; Mirall Bar brings velvet and drama to nine-metre-high stone walls; the rooftop looks towards La Seu Cathedral. For the eclipse, Nobis is taking guests out to sea. Its 12 August sailing experience leaves from Palma for around six and a half hours in the bay, with hotel-to-port transport, a professional skipper, swimming in a turquoise cove, snorkelling kit, paddle boards, dinner and drinks on board, and a champagne toast during the eclipse.

Nobis Hotel Palma is located at Carrer de les Caputxines, 9, Centre, 07003 Palma, Illes Balears, Spain

Sant Francesc Hotel Singular

Combining an historic 1880 manor house, a prime location on Plaça de Sant Francesc, and contemporary design, Sant Francesc Hotel Singular serves as a stylish base camp from which to experience Palma. Originally built as the residence of the Alomar family, the 42-room hotel is carved from a thoroughly renovated neoclassical structure where original details such as frescoes, beams and coffered ceilings abound. Working closely with the building’s current owners, the Soldevila Ferrer family, architect Tolo Cursach, interior decorator Maria Jose Cabré and landscape designer Ana Esteve successfully merged features such as a Baroque façade with present-day designs from Antonio Citterio, Jaime Hayon and Paola Navone. The Quadrat restaurant, led by chefs Àlvar Albaladejo and Carles Forteza, serves Med-inspired dishes, while a rooftop pool and terrace are ideally placed for soaking up the sun with cooling cocktails and breathtaking views of the Mallorcan capital. Another privileged rooftop view.

Sant Francesc Hotel Singular is located at Plaça de Sant Francesc, 5, Centre, 07001 Palma, Illes Balears, Spain

Like many of the palazzi in the city, Orient Express Venezia has two entrances: one on the street, one on the water. The latter is the only way to do it. As your boat glides through Cannaregio's canals, medieval façades rise straight from the water, their reflections broken by the steady choreography of gondolas and vaporetti. A doorman appears at the blush-pink façade of Palazzo Donà Giovannelli, home of the hotel, opening a portal into a world of frescoed ceilings, ornate stucco and Murano chandeliers.

Wallpaper* checks into Orient Express Venezia, Venice

What’s on your doorstep?

Cannaregio isn't the Venice of postcards. It lacks the grandeur of San Marco and, yes, there's a Claire's Accessories around the corner. This is a neighbourhood where Venetians actually live – where laundry hangs over the canals. It's home to the Jewish Ghetto, founded in 1516, the Gothic church of Madonna dell'Orto. But besides, when the address in question is the 15th-century Palazzo Donà Giovannelli, quibbling over postcode hardly feels apposite.

Who is behind the design?

Built in 1436 during the height of the Venetian Republic, the palazzo passed through some of Venice's great noble families before becoming one of its leading cultural salons. In the mid-19th century, architect Giovanni Battista Meduna introduced the neo-Gothic interiors – the octagonal staircase and the lavish reception rooms are some of the palace's most breathtaking features.

‘The restoration was a labour of love requiring rare interventions, from drying the palazzo’s foundations and building a dam around the façade walls, to the removal and treatment of each stone on the walls and floors. Over nearly a decade, hundreds of artisans worked across fresco restoration, sculpture, gilding and woodwork,’ explains Lebanese architect and designer Aline Asmar d'Amman, who is behind the latest chapter of the building, it’s transformation into Orient Express Venezia.

She resisted turning the hotel into a museum piece: original frescoes meet mirrored walls, and silk, velvet and embossed leather run into patinated plaster, carved timber and time-worn stone. ‘Beyond a monument to history, I see Orient Express Venezia as a living story, where the past shapes the future,’ she says. ‘It was important for me to honour the palazzo’s history while reimagining it for the present.’

The palette is clever. Asmar d'Amman drew on Venice's ‘lost colours’ – the rich reds, ochres, blues and greens that once animated the city before centuries of salt air and sunlight softened them to powdery hues. The designer embraces the spectrum that remains: baby tones woven through upholstery, curtains and finishes. This finds its fullest expression in the public rooms – the sorbet-hued Salone Vittoria and the Sala della Cultura, crowned by a lapis lazuli ceiling, are the undeniable stars of the renovation.

The room to book

They're rivalled only by the six Signature Suites, the largest of which span 145 square metres and incorporate incredible original details, including 19th-century frescoes depicting mythical winged figures and vast marble fireplaces. Tall windows frame canal views, while antique-inspired furnishings and rich textiles capture the essence of Palazzo Donà Giovannelli at its most romantic. ‘I wanted guests to be touched by the grace of [the palazzo’s] undying youth, while also experiencing a sense of cinematic progression,’ says Asmar d'Amman. ‘It becomes a great discovery, where one moves through layers of history.’

‘I love the act of re-using what once belonged to a glorious past, with an infinite interplay between old soul and contemporary interior architecture,’ she continues. The Cherubini Suite, for example, is home to a 1958 Carlo Scarpa chandelier as well as a vintage Murano chess table, weaving together distinct threads of Venice's architectural and artisanal heritage.

The guestrooms, by comparison, dial things down. Finished in coffee tones, pale timber and fretwork inspired by the Ca' d'Oro, the Grand Canal palace also designed by Meduna, they're elegant, if a little overshadowed by the spectacle outside.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Dining is split between relaxed Venetian cooking at all-day La Casati and the more ambitious Heinz Beck Venezia. La Casati takes inspiration from the persona of Marchesa Luisa Casati, who would famously take her pet leopard for walks in Piazza San Marco, serving seasonal dishes from cicchetti to marinated beef with artichokes and creamed cod ravioli.

At Heinz Beck Venezia, the three-Michelin-starred chef brings his ingredient-led approach to lagoon produce in the palace's restored orangerie. Before or after dinner, cocktails are served at Wagon Bar, an art deco space that subtly references the golden age of rail travel in a nod to the Orient Express name. ‘A loving tension reigns between the Orient Express world, marked by the glamour of the 1930s, and a reinterpretation of Venetian living. It embraces the duality of legacy and reinvention,’ says Asmar d'Amman.

Where to switch off

Perhaps the greatest luxury at Orient Express Venezia is its rare tranquillity in the city's tourist centre. The hotel's walled garden – almost unheard of in this part of Venice – is a pocket of calm restored with fountains, antique gates and lantern-lit pathways.

The spa follows the same philosophy, borrowing from Roman, Venetian and Ottoman bathing traditions to create a lagoon-inspired sanctuary.

The verdict

Orient Express Venezia’s location should not be mistaken for compromise – few addresses in the city can rival Palazzo Donà Giovannelli’s scale and atmosphere. The romance of Venice is palpable here, with contemporary interventions executed so deftly that you barely notice them.

London’s top suites have moved beyond the question of thread count. They now sell temporary ownership of the city: a roofline, a piece of a landmark, a view, an all-suite ecosystem. Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane enters that conversation with 14 newly renovated suites. Spanning Deluxe, Park and Grand Suites, alongside the Presidential Suite, the collection gives the hotel’s upper floors a further ritzy residential character.

Tour Four Seasons Park Lane’s new suite collection

Designed by London-based studio Interiors with Art, the spaces take their cues from the manicured Hyde Park and the manners of Mayfair. Sycamore panelling, brushed metal, Murano glass lighting and bespoke furniture run through the rooms; soft greens, autumnal shades and gold tones draw from the lush greenery across the road, while an art deco influence is kept to the details.

The Presidential Suite, on the fifth floor, might be the most formal of the set: three bedrooms, marble bathrooms for each, a guest powder room, rosewood panelling, Gaudi stone marble, dining for six and a private fireplace, all looking towards Hyde Park and Park Lane. The Park Suite, on the other hand, takes a softer route, with gold and burgundy tones, a fireplace in the living room and the ability to connect to a Mayfair Suite for a larger two-bedroom arrangement.

The Deluxe Suite is the city-facing option, set higher in the building, with panoramic views, a separate dining area and a layout that can also expand into two bedrooms. Meanwhile, the Garden Suite, which overlooks the hotel’s private garden, pairs 128 sq m of interiors with a sprawling 60 sq m landscaped terrace.

Suite guests can opt for butler service on request, packing and unpacking, Bentley house-car drop-offs in the local area, in-room styling and, for signature suite bookings, airport transfers. The concierge team includes seven Les Clefs d’Or members, while complimentary tickets to sold-out exhibitions across the V&A South Kensington, Young V&A and V&A East add a useful cultural key to the stay.

‘Each of these suites has been designed as a sanctuary, where every detail, material, and experience reflect the character of London and the care of Four Seasons,’ says Lynn Brutman, regional vice president and general manager at Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane. ‘Whether guests are with us for a weekend or a month, they’ll find a space that feels both elevated and effortlessly personal.’

The renovation sits neatly alongside the hotel’s stellar line-up of facilities: Pavyllon London by Yannick Alléno, the tenth-floor spa overlooking the skyline, and Bar Antoine, where the new Savoir-Boire menu turns French culinary cues into cocktails – from a Croissant Old Fashioned with croissant-infused cognac and Byrrh to a Cornichon Martini with olive oil vodka.

Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane is located at Hamilton Pl, Park Ln, London W1J 7DR, United Kingdom

The Florida motel has always known the power of a good sign, a swimming pool and somewhere to hide from the sun. Perroquet, a redesigned 1950s motel in Fort Lauderdale, starts there and takes it up a notch. Located on Harbor Drive, between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, the 37-room hotel keeps the familiar vernacular ingredients – courtyard, balcony, pool, palms, shade – and gives them a slick architectural treatment.

Come on down to Perroquet Hotel Fort Lauderdale

Hoteliers Clifford and Matthew of The Lane Organization brought in Belgian architect Bernard Dubois (recently behind The Standard Brussels) to rework the property, keeping the traditional U-shaped motel layout centred on a courtyard. On his first visit, Dubois says he ‘immediately loved’ the old motel plan, even before the building had found its new identity. His first move? To use a lush pairing of off-white and forest green across the façades, guardrails and corridor ceilings, referencing the region’s country clubs, tennis courts, and post-war motels. Dubois describes it as ‘a way of taking familiar codes and giving them a new clarity.’

Outdoors, red brick, green canvas, white railings and custom outdoor furniture give the courtyard a sculptural rhythm, while new planting turns the pool area into what Dubois calls 'a real jungle'. The trees screen the hotel from the street, draw birds into the courtyard and give the rooms a view of greenery rather than traffic. From outside, the building almost disappears behind them – clever planning by landscape architect Nathan Browning of Island Planning Corporation.

Thirty-seven rooms sit across nine categories, where a verdant palette turns slightly sulkier across linoleum floors, sheer curtains, chrome, leather and lacquered wood. Dubois designed the furniture himself, pulling from 1970s and 1980s chairs, 1990s chrome-and-leather silhouettes, Miami art deco geometry and 1930s rug patterns. The result delivers the clean snap of a boutique hotel, but also the delicious eccentricity of a roadside bolthole.

On the art front, curators Valerio Polimeno and Whitney Lane have assembled a collection that includes Salvatore Emblema, Giorgio Griffa, Jean Tinguely, Jean Cocteau, Lucio Fontana, Roberto Matta, Alekos Fassianos and Jeff Koons, with different works placed across the rooms. Elsewhere, the offer is deliberately straightforward: Sferra linens, Byredo toiletries, a self-service breakfast bar, deck chairs for the beach and a check-in style designed to leave guests to the pace of the place.

For Dubois, the contemporary motel is no longer bound by old ideas of luxury. ‘Many places that are the most authentic, charming and interesting aren’t the most traditionally luxurious,’ he says. Perroquet gives Florida a bijou hotel with panache, plenty of shade and a very good retro-style pool chair.

Perroquet Hotel Fort Lauderdale is located at 3081 Harbor Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316, United States

La Fantaisie in Paris has handed over one of its 73 rooms to the Hungarian artist Szabolcs Bozó, whose vibrant creatures and fluid, folk-inflected forms now occupy Room 607 for a nine-month residency. Running until 22 February 2027, the project continues the hotel’s ongoing artistic series, which previously saw a takeover by French contemporary artist Ben Arpéa.

Tour La Fantaisie’s Art Suite by Szabolcs Bozó

Bozó’s work has always carried the cadence of a spontaneous drawing and the nostalgia of a childhood memory. Rooted in Hungarian folk traditions and shaped by a self-taught visual language, his paintings, sculptures and installations are populated by zoomorphic figures that orbit somewhere between dream, fable and playground.

The walls of Room 607 have become an in-situ canvas, layered with works made directly for the space, while the existing artworks have been replaced entirely with pieces by Bozó. Handmade cushions and bespoke bedspreads woven with his signature animal-like motifs bring the collaboration into the soft furnishings; large-scale soft sculptures introduce a more physical sense of play; and hand-painted lampshades cast the room in a warmer, stranger glow.

A booklet for guests offers an introduction to the artist alongside the works available to purchase, while a selection of co-branded objects is also available and is exclusively sold at La Fantaisie, featuring caps, stickers, playing cards, and trays.

The Art Suite by Szabolcs Bozó spans 42 sq m, sleeps up to three guests and overlooks the hotel’s garden. It comprises a large walk-in closet, a plush bathroom with a bathtub and shower, and a sofa bed which can be turned into an additional sleeping quarter. Designed by Martin Brudnizki, La Fantaisie is already a botanical exercise in colour, pattern and exuberance, with boutique rooms, a glass-roofed restaurant, garden terrace, street-facing café, rooftop bar and spa in Paris’s 9th arrondissement.

‘Coinciding with my exhibition Antidote at Semiose, my collaboration with La Fantaisie brings together familiar elements from my studio, but also new materials, including fabric and everyday objects, allowing guests to experience my work in an even more tactile way. Paris as a location has always been close to my heart, with my first show taking place here,’ says Bozó of the opening.

La Fantaisie is located at 24 Rue Cadet, 75009 Paris, France. Rates for the Art Suite by Szabolcs Bozó start from 1,000 EUR inc. breakfast (approximately 862 GBP)

Kyoto is not short of beautiful hotels, but Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto has one thing most of them do not: an 800-year-old pond garden at its centre. At the foot of Higashiyama Mountain in the ancient capital’s temple district, the hotel feels like an idyllic paradise arranged around Shakusui-en: a heritage garden believed to date back to the late Heian period. With 180 rooms, including 13 suites and 57 residential suites, two restaurants, two lounges, a spa and wellness centre and a leather-clad Hermès rickshaw in its lobby, this is a property that makes staying in feel as compelling as going out.

Wallpaper* checks in at Four Seasons Kyoto

What’s on your doorstep?

Higashiyama might be Kyoto at its most atmospheric: narrow alleyways, traditional machiya houses, temples, shrines, small artisanal shops. Kyoto Station is about ten minutes away, making arrivals easy, while the surrounding district places guests close to some of the city’s most rewarding cultural sites, such as the Kyoto National Museum or Kiomizu-dera temple. That said, the hotel has a habit of slowing plans down. Between its garden, tea house, terrace overlooking the koi pond, and weekly maiko (traditional apprentice geisha) live performances in its lobby, leaving requires a surprising amount of discipline.

Who is behind the design?

Kyoto’s Four Seasons Hotel is an exercise in understated luxury, steeped in tradition yet thoroughly modern. The architectural blueprint was developed by Japanese studio Kume Sekkei, while global interior design firm Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA) led the interiors for the guest rooms, spa and public spaces.

The sense of arrival is particularly strong: the porte-cochère, designed by Jun Mitsui & Associates, takes its cue from traditional Japanese umbrellas, with washi paper and glass used to soften the threshold between city and hotel. Indoors, HBA overlooked nothing, with grandeur in spades: quadruple-height ceilings in the dining room; a leather-clad Hermès rickshaw in a hallway corner; and cushions woven by Hosoo, a Kyoto atelier that dates from 1688.

Among the hotel’s expansive art collection, highlights include Seven Stones by Tokyo-born sculptor Todo, made using rocks collected from the hotel’s pond garden, and Zen by Ofune Makoto, a large blue work inspired by the temple district, shifting seasons and Kyoto’s meditative calm.

The room to book

Rooms and suites are designed around the Japanese idea of kutsurogi, or relaxation, and the best of them look directly onto either the city or the garden. Even the more contemporary spaces feel rooted in Kyoto through their use of washi-paper lighting, soft screens, warm wood and calm, restrained palettes. The garden-facing rooms are the ones to book, if possible: waking up to Shakusui-en is an experience in itself. The residential suites are a particular hot commodity for longer stays or families, offering the scale and privacy of an apartment with the service of a hotel.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Designed by Yamamoto Atelier, the teahouse in the garden, also known as Fuju Lounge, is used for meditative tea ceremonies by day, but come twilight, it turns into a swanky bar serving fine sakes – including one produced exclusively for Four Seasons – and premium Champagne. The perfect pre-prandial stopover before heading to Sushi Ginza Onodera Sushi, the 10-seater restaurant that serves Edo- (Tokyo-) style sushi from chef Takuya Kubo, or Kyoto Grill, the brasserie-style restaurant serving breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner, with charcoal-grilled meats, dry-aged cuts and seafood among its signatures

Where to switch off

The spa is one of the largest wellness areas in Kyoto, where facilities include a 20-metre indoor pool, Japanese ofuro baths, sauna, steam room, whirlpool, relaxation lounge and 24-hour fitness centre, alongside seven treatment rooms. Treatments draw on Kyoto traditions and seasonal ingredients. The Heian Tradition ceremony uses matcha, bamboo charcoal salt, camellia oil, rice milk, honey compresses, a sake bath and hot stones, while the Zen Ceremony focuses on full-body massage, ginger-infused hot towels and, in the longer version, another sake bath. There are also Sodashi treatments for jet lag and detox, alongside facials using Kotoshina, Biologique Recherche and Tatcha.

The verdict

Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto works because it understands that the garden is not a backdrop, but the point. The rooms are elegant, the food is strong, the spa is genuinely worth setting time aside for, and the location places guests inside one of Kyoto’s most atmospheric districts. But it is Shakusui-en that gives the hotel its character: koi in the pond, seasonal blossom, a glass bridge over ancient stonework, a tea house looking back towards the 12th century. Kyoto's beauty and history is unusually easy to take all at once.

Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto is located at 445-3 Myohoin Maekawacho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0932, Japan

Palácio Príncipe Real is a boutique Lisbon hotel with a backstory – tied to Portugal's aristocracy and the changing tides of the capital – and is infused with a sense of historic hedonism. Constructed in 1877 as a mansion for Diario de Noticias, co-founder of a Lisbon newspaper, the private residence was soon passed to the Teixeira da Mota family, who made it a centrepiece of Lisbon’s high society – famed for extravagant, decadent parties hosted in its lavish rooms – and would own it for more than a century.

Palácio Príncipe Real

The grand building is right at home in the surrounding Príncipe Real neighbourhood, an area established in the mid-19th century as a leafy residential haven for Lisbon’s aristocracy, and named in honour of King Dom Pedro V (Príncipe Real meaning ‘Royal Prince’), who reigned from 1853 to 1861.

After the Teixeira da Mota family moved out in 1980, the building slowly began to fall into disrepair. That was until retired British couple Miles and Gail Curley discovered the derelict building in 2015. Over the course of several years, they restored the classical architecture and ornate stucco, down to the hand-painted arabesque ceilings and azulejos (Portuguese tiles). Their attention to detail helped make the property into an award-winning boutique hotel, where historic glamour and contemporary craftsmanship meet.

Amid the grandeur, an unlikely, recurring motif throughout the hotel is the Indian runner duck – a nod to the small ecological farming business in Mallorca that the Curleys owned more than 20 years ago. Two Indian runner ducks, gifted by a friend, captivated the owners at the time, and are now suitably honoured.

At the heart of the hotel is a cascading stairway. Sunlight streams through a skylight, illuminating the pink walls. Up these stairs, are 25 restored rooms and suites. You might choose to sleep in the former family ballroom, or perhaps to soak up the views of a jacaranda tree from a window-side Drummonds roll-top bath.

Outside, the hotel opens up to a soothing oasis with a pool. The 1,400 sq m garden includes wisteria that climbs up the outside staircase, while deep-pink bougainvillea tumbles down the walls, and jasmine and lemon blossom add fragrance.

The residence’s Gatsby-esque grandeur nods to high-society parties past, but in its latest incarnation, this former palace has transitioned into a calming retreat where a more restrained elegance is the relaxing order of the day. Sip a glass of rosé in the grounds, peruse the neighbourhood shops (there are hilly, cobblestoned streets – pack comfortable shoes), or daydream beneath a jacaranda tree about the wild parties once hosted in the ballroom.

palacioprincipereal.com

Munich is the victim of more than its fair share of lazy Bavarian clichés, but beyond the beer halls and lederhosen lies a city with a far richer creative history than many visitors realise. ‘There are certain cities I feel like I just get very fast,’ says interior designer Tatjana von Stein, whose largest hotel project to date opens there this month. ‘Munich I found a little bit harder to grasp, if I'm totally honest.’

The admission is perhaps surprising. Von Stein was born in Munich to a German father and French mother before moving to the Austrian Tyrol as a young child. Now based in London, designing the latest offering from Irish-born lifestyle hotel brand The Dean has offered an opportunity to rediscover her birthplace from a fresh perspective.

What von Stein found was a city whose cultural identity proved far more layered than its reputation suggests. In the hotel’s Westend neighbourhood she discovered a burgeoning creative community, where pottery studios, wine bars and independent restaurants sit side by side, reminding her of her home in London. ‘Two big movements really came roaring out of the research: Jugendstil (the German and Austrian interpretation of Art Nouveau)... and the music industry (which boomed there in the 1980s). That really surprised me,’ she says. ‘I don't feel Munich is known for that kind of music scene at all.’

These seemingly disparate movements became the basis for the 281-room hotel’s interior, which oozes the sort of sultry sophistication that has become a hallmark of von Stein’s work, albeit dialled up a few notches. Working within the framework of an existing postmodern hotel, von Stein retained elements where possible – including the black stone floors in the lobby – before completely reimagining the public spaces as a sequence of increasingly theatrical interiors.

Wallpaper* checks in at The Dean Munich

What are the design standouts?

In the lobby, guests are greeted by softly curved Art Nouveau-inspired forms and floral motifs paired with flashes of 1980s glamour – lacquered finishes, reflective surfaces and polished metals that bring softness and warmth. A cream lacquer wall is set with stainless steel lighting by Cologne-based Studio Kuhlmann. ‘I don't want people to walk into a space and understand everything immediately,’ says von Stein of the design-era mash up. ‘I like nuance and discovery.’

Throughout the hotel, curator Christian Ganzenberg's site-specific art programme provides another layer of interpretation. Rather than attempting to match the interiors, the contemporary works deliberately create moments of friction – something von Stein sees as one of the project's strengths. 'Sometimes tension can be wonderful,' she says. 'Different people see and feel different things.'

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Further inside at Ibasho, a Japanese restaurant with a menu conceived by consultant chef Alex Craciun, the palette becomes warmer. Stained-glass screens reinterpret Jugendstil motifs in a more geometric language while apertures in the partitions frame views through the space. A glossy C-shaped bar and sunken seating area, topped by a mirrored ceiling, create a cosy cocktail spot within the restaurant. Rust-coloured carpets woven with floral motifs soften the room, in one instance climbing up the back of a banquette.

Vintage pieces, including designs by Josef Hoffmann, sit alongside von Stein's own bespoke furniture featuring fringing, velvet upholstery and glossy black veneer. The effect is one of controlled decadence: richly layered without ever tipping into excess.

Where to switch off?

‘I've always been obsessed with flow and tempo,’ she says of the hidden speakeasy. ‘Like the spaces are revving up, if you know what I mean.’ At The Dean, the interiors build to a crescendo in Noren, a small but richly decorated bar with a timber-lined ceiling that sits behind Ibasho. Here, tiger print sits alongside glossy timber, tapestry-style banquettes, mountain-inspired wallpaper and a lacquered bar illuminated by vintage Gabriella Crespi bamboo lamps, while custom lime-green Friendly Pressure speakers mounted to the ceiling inject an unexpected note of playfulness. Von Stein’s affection for this space is clear: ‘it’s such a vibe – an explosion of indulgence’.

The room to book

If the public spaces are designed as a crescendo, the guestrooms provide the exhale. Rather than starting from scratch, von Stein worked within the framework of the existing hotel, refreshing the rooms with new furniture, textiles and joinery while retaining much of the original architecture. Muted greens, soft curves and tactile finishes temper the visual exuberance of the public spaces below, creating rooms intended to restore.

The verdict

‘I would say we're primarily hospitality designers, and I think the part I love about that is the fact that we get to indulge in the story,' she reflects. Asked what unites her increasingly varied portfolio, von Stein is reluctant to pin it down. ‘I'm such an intuitive designer,’ she says. ‘It simply has to feel right.’ Judging by The Dean Munich, that instinct is remarkably well calibrated.

The Dean Munich is located at Landsberger Str. 68, 80339 München, Germany. Rates: €225 per night.

Since opening their debut in a former Freemason’s Hall in Shoreditch almost twenty years ago, Andaz have proven a canny ability to get ahead of the curve and open high-end hotels in up-and-coming neighbourhoods. Andaz Shanghai ITC follows suit, as the first lux stay in Xujiahui (the centre of the Former French Concession, aka Xuhui), set inside the new International Trade Centre complex. As is the Andaz way, the interiors are inspired by the locality, and this branch has gone for a nod to nostalgia. It’s an urban bolt hole, but the open-air movie nights, outdoor yoga and DJs in the cocktail bar make Andaz Shanghai ITC more than just a spot to rest your head.

Wallpaper* checks in at Andaz Shanghai ITC

What’s on your doorstep?

Slightly removed from the tourist trail, Xuhui is an enclave of heritage buildings, leafy parks and wide boulevard streets. Its main thoroughfares are fast-paced, but the side streets are homey, with the occasional impressive art deco apartment block or modernist civil building tucked away. The district’s supporting cast, which the Andaz design team took their inspiration from, is the distinctly Shanghaiese shikumen, or Lane Houses; the pre-war era micro-communities of dwellings that curl around communal courtyards with arched gateway entrances. Shikumen can date as far back as the mid-19th century, melding Chinese and European styles, and you can spot them around Xuhui, particularly those repurposed as cafés and boutiques. The area also comes with cultural cachet, as the home to Xujiahui Library, St. Ignatius Cathedral, and the Shanghai Film Museum, all within a 10-minute stroll of the hotel.

Who is behind the design?

This newly opened Andaz is part of a vast architectural project designed by the Hong Kongese P&T Group, the Xujiahui International Trade Centre. The ITC is a self-proclaimed ‘vertical neighbourhood’ of streamlined pathways, encompassing the Andaz, condo and office blocks, soon-to-open malls and the other ITC figurehead, Tower 2, which at 70 storeys and a soaring 370m in height, makes it the tallest tower in Puxi, the west side of the river.

The Andaz Shanghai ITC interiors are by HBA, who have artfully mirrored features of the heritage buildings of Xuhui to elicit an elegant time warp, while infusing a playful tone through the pops in colour and flow of lighting and space. Alleyway-like corridors lead into naturally light-drenched, high-ceilinged drinking and dining spaces. HBA’s Matthew Liu explains: ‘The communal spaces (the gym and swimming pool) were inspired by the historic rowing clubs along the Huangpu River. We are particularly proud of the dining rooms on the 14th floor. Architecturally, they reference traditional Shanghai lane houses; their proportions and spatial scale closely reflect those residential typologies.’ Think classy but cosy.

The 14th floor lobby is a design whimsy, with 1930s flashback elevators and a grand clock that has its own daily ritual at 5.30 pm, marking the moment when day becomes night. Grey brick provides a neutral backdrop to the colourful light fixtures and inviting textiles used throughout this floor, which also houses three lively dining spaces, the East Wing, the Rooftop Bar and the West Wing. ‘Brick was reinterpreted in multiple forms and materials across different areas of the hotel to define character, texture, and spatial identity,’ Matthew Liu told us. The vivid turquoise chandeliers of the East Wing and cluster of bright light globes and mirror balls in the Rooftop Bar are stand-out features, but honourable mentions go to the wellness floor’s triathlon mosaic by SONITE, art installations in the dining spaces by Debut Studio and Lu Jian Xin’s large wall piece ‘City Coordinates’, all accentuating movement and dynamism of the neighbourhood below.

The room to book

The 267 rooms come in five different types, each styled as the abode of a creative professional; the King rooms are the home of a fashion designer, the Twin rooms are the creative artist’s, the Andaz suites are the photographer’s house, the Premier suite is the florists and the unfathomably swish Executive suite is the jewellery designer’s pad, with all five decorated with art and artefacts to fit the profession. We loved the Andaz suite, a three-room affair on the corner of two corridors with sweeping views of Xujiahui below. Cameras deck the walls, as do used film reels and photography books, all adding fun detail and commitment to the theme. The sizeable sofa and bathtub in the Andaz suite are both ideal for reviving your feet after a busy day marching through the city, resetting before heading to the bar.

Voss water is plentiful throughout the room. Cans of Heineken beer and Coca-Cola sit cooled in the fridge, as do bottles of soda water. Spirits come in the form of Absolute Vodka, The Singleton Single Malt Scotch Whisky (Aged 12 Years) and most interestingly, a lightly spiced local Shanghai craft gin by Peddlers Gin Co, infused with lotus, cardamom, Sichuan pepper, Chinese cassia, and liquorice, to name just half the ingredients. TWG Tea bags and Nespresso coffee pods are also readily available.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Executive Chef of Andaz Shanghai ITC, Jesse Chen, is Shanghainese born and bred, and has returned home after working in Europe for a long stint. She tells us, ‘Sweet things bring people joy; I am a typical Shanghainese that way. I saw my mother and grandma cooking a lot of rich sauces like soy sauce and sweet and sour sauce.’ So on the East Wing’s menu, she showcases these Shanghai flavours with plates of braised pork belly, slow-cooked lotus root, marinated river prawns, and of course dim sum and bao.

In the West Wing, there’s a multicultural approach, typical of Shanghai, with a deli-like counter offering Spanish tapas and Italian bites. After grazing, there are tea-based cocktails in the Rooftop Bar, concocted by bar manager Van Li. The Pomelo Oolong with pineapple, Japanese yuzu and 10-year-old Lafroig is a smoky dream. His domain is afternoon tea by day and DJs and board games by night.

The verdict

Despite being China’s capital of nostalgia, finding glimpses of old school Shanghai can be elusive beyond The Bund, given the forward-facing and futuristic nature of the city’s design. So Andaz Shanghai ITC is something of a shrine to the city of yesteryear, putting working-class culture (communal living, kids' games, everyday flavours) on a pedestal through its design. It’s a heart-warming stay without being too kitsch, elegantly done but with a lot of character. Everything is seamless, as you’d expect from a chain so committed to understated luxury, but the ease is a particularly welcome respite from the fast pace of the city outside.

Andaz Shanghai ITC is located at Hongqiao Rd. 283, Shanghai, China 200030

Fans of the eco-conscious 1 Hotel chain will now have yet another reason for visiting Japan, with the latest addition to the brand’s portfolio in Tokyo’s Akasaka neighbourhood. Featuring 211 rooms, including 24 suites and three penthouse suites, a gorgeous pool and hammam, a dedicated gin bar and delicious Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, guests might find it hard to actually leave and go explore the city, though.

Wallpaper* checks in at 1 Hotel Tokyo, Japan

What's on your doorstep?

Located right in the heart of the city, 1 Hotel is within walking distance of fun-loving Roppongi, shopping in Azabudai Hills and a 20min stroll to the Imperial Palace Gardens, but with the pool, Hamman, excellent coffee at the Neighbors coffee shop adjacent to the reception, you might find it hard to leave the hotel altogether.

Who is behind the design?

Housed on the upper floors of the Akasaka Trust Tower, the interior design has been put in the very capable hands of Jun Aizaki of Crème. A stunning stone wall at the entrance on the ground floor sets the tone of the natural and eclectic palette of materials used throughout the space; distinctly Japanese Oya stone, reclaimed wood, handblown glass and hemp cord lamps. With a carefully selected variety of lamps and bespoke furniture, the design never gets repetitive, and there is a clear reference to the local setting (moss, bonsai, earthen walls) without the design being overly Japanese.

The room to book

Even the standard rooms feel spacious and inviting with ample use of subdued colours, wooden furniture and carefully selected lighting fixtures. The rawness of, for instance, the rough edges of the bathroom vanity, marble counters, reclaimed wood furniture and wood panelling adds an honesty to the sophisticated design that renders the rooms very cosy.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

The hotel’s main dining room, NiNi (a name meaning ‘two-two’ in Japanese), takes its inspiration from Mediterranean cuisine, while making abundant use of local Japanese ingredients, and is headed by Nikko Policarpio. Dinner offers fresh seafood dishes such as botan shrimp carpaccio, hamaguri clams (served with cucumber mignonette, yuzu kosho and olive oil Caviar), roasted scallops, homemade pasta (the zucchini ravioli being our favourite), simple charcoal grilled meat dishes (including chicken confit from Iwate Prefecture, pork chop from Yamagata and Tajima Wagyu) and a selection of vegetable side dishes.

Breakfast is the perfect blend of made-to-order mains (perfectly cooked omelettes, mushroom tartines, waffles, French toast, etc) and a carefully selected, but not overly complicated buffet.

Where to switch off

Guests can indulge in various treatments and massages (including hard-to-find in Tokyo couples massages) at The Bamford Wellness Spa, and are also given free use of the small but gorgeous pool and adjacent Hamman steam rooms.

The verdict

We love the stylish, honest and natural design throughout the hotel. Dining at NiNi is a treat, and with a well-selected wine and impressive non-alcoholic selection too, a new favourite addition to Tokyo’s vibrant dining scene. The rooms come with a well-stocked minibar and the pool and Hammam onsite, and delicious coffee at the hotel’s own coffee bar Neighbors, makes it hard to actually leave the hotel.

Book 1 Hotel Tokyo, 2 Chome-17-22 Akasaka, Minato City, Tokyo 107-0052, Japan. Rates from $550

Art deco architecture is as much a part of South Beach as sandy beaches and dancing on tables. The Delano Miami Beach has stood tall inside the same iconic building since 1947. After a six-year full-scale renovation, led by Elastic Architects, the latest reincarnation of the once hard-partying hotel – one of the most exciting recent hotel openings – brings its iconic luxury footprint back to Miami Beach with plenty of glamour and a more modern mindset that, while still convivial, puts wellness ever-so-slightly above late-night antics.

Wallpaper* checks in at Delano Miami Beach

What’s on your doorstep?

Located on Collins Avenue, the Delano sits in the middle of a stretch that’s seen the old guard flip – with The Shelborne by Proper opening last year and revamps of The Raleigh and the Shore Club (which soon fly the Auberge flag) coming down the pipeline. It’s also in a prime beachfront position, providing direct access to the Miami Beach Boardwalk and the Delano’s serviced beach area.

Who is behind the design?

The Delano is one of Miami’s most emblematic hotels. When it first opened, the sign read ‘nothing finer’. It also advertised air conditioning – a big deal back in the day; thankfully, now standard across the balmy Florida city.

Hotelier Ian Schrager, in collaboration with designer Philippe Starck, reignited the historic hotel into a sleek, scene-driven South Beach destination in 1995 and operated it for 25 years. The latest iteration, nay transformation, turned back the clock in some ways, honouring the hotel’s legacy, while also bringing it into the present. The design and management teams worked closely with the City of Miami Historic Preservation Division to stay on task. Aesthetically, there’s plenty to appeal to history buffs, from the terracotta floors emblazoned with the original emblem to the scene-stealing lobby, which shows off soaring columns and billowing fabric.

Despite its deep roots – and thoughtful choices that pay homage to its glam past – the Delano feels refreshingly on the pulse, thanks to its airy palette and impressive collection of works by Miami artists – including a mythical glazed stoneware relief by Nina Surel, oil paintings by Natalie Galindo and striking botanic sculptures by Alissa Alfonso that adorn the walls outside of Rose Bar.

The main pool area is now flanked by loungers and umbrellas, accented with lemon print underneath and playful fringe, plus a row of cabanas for VIP poolside hangs. Rooms are bright with crisp linens, light wood flooring and rugs evoking the soft sands below and large, ocean-facing windows. The dining concepts channel other vibe-driven destinations: the dynamic energy of Osaka, languid summers on Italy’s Mediterranean coastline.

The room to book

The Delano Miami Beach features 171 rooms and suites, decorated with crisp tonal hues, curved furnishings and oversized windows for gazing at the beach or the city skyline. For the ultimate in space and scenery, the swank 2,824 sq ft ocean-view penthouse offers unobstructed panoramas of the sandy shoreline and Atlantic waves from the three ensuite bedrooms, living and dining spaces and terrace.

If you’d rather soak in the social buzz, the two-storey poolside bungalows are the epitome of a Miami Beach holiday. Located just steps from the pool, each boasts a covered patio that effectively doubles as a cabana, allowing guests to enjoy food and beverage service without ever leaving the shade.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

It’s not a secret that Miami Beach is chock-a-block with great spots to eat and drink – a trio of them happen to reside at Delano Miami Beach, the result of a partnership with Paris Society, marking the group’s first restaurants in the United States. Gigi Rigolatto – a chic Italian eatery with outposts in Saint-Tropez, Paris, Dubai, Rome and Bodrum – brings its effortless elegance and coastal Italian cuisine to South Beach. Designed by Hugo Toro, the first-floor space, which extends from the air-conditioned dining room to the covered terrace, gleams with the sun-dappled warmth of plaster walls, carved wooden panels, archways and yellow Sienna marble. Signature dishes include seabream carpaccio, tomato salad, linguine alle vongole and grilled octopus.

On the fourth floor, at Mimi Kakushi, Elastic Architects and Pirajean Lees utilise wooden screens, textures, and hand-painted walls to transport Delano Members Club and hotel guests to Osaka, blending art deco-influenced design with modern dining. There’s an open sushi counter where chefs craft nigiri by hand as well as a menu of shareable Japanese plates such as tuna tartare topped with caviar, Wagyu and foie gras gyoza and miso black cod. The cocktail program, inspired by Sessue Hayakawa, celebrates the Japanese silent film star’s many on-screen characters through cinematic tipples and nonalcoholic options.

For a nightcap, the Rose Bar, just off the lobby, is back in all its glam glory, whether you belly up to the dusky-lit Rosso Lepanto marble bar for a Rose Old Fashioned or sip a Floral Negroni on one of the low-slung sofas that spill out into the lounge.

Where to switch off

Back in the Ian Schrager days, the basement was a nightclub. The glow-up, which taps into Miami’s wellness-oriented lifestyle rather than dance-till-dawn nights, replaces that more debaucherous after-dark fixture with a forthcoming wellbeing wing. There’s also a chic gym kitted out with tonal Technogym equipment and a fitness studio. Beachfront yoga sessions are also available to guests.

The verdict

Delano Miami Beach is a chic, grown-up – much-needed and welcome – addition to the South Beach scene. It’s a place where you can indulge in rosé by the pool, cocktails and late-night sushi. But there’s also a quieter emphasis on wellness. Guests might just as easily turn in early rather than stay out till dawn and rise for morning yoga. The service is friendly, warm, and young. Not inexperienced by any stretch, just vibrant and youthful. The Delano employs people who can match the fun, sunny energy of South Beach.

Book Delano Miami Beach, 1685 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139, United States. Rates: from $650

If you were to sail around Sardinia, it would be easy to glide past Poltu Quatu without a second glance. True to its name meaning ‘hidden port’, the small Sardinian village peeks through the mountains like a hidden oasis. Its topography is reminiscent of Greece, and its flora that of Spain, making the Italian island a cultural conglomerate, offering an environment that is distinctly different, yet familiar.

At the heart of the village is the new W Sardinia by Marriott Bonvoy. The hotel is nestled within the pre-existing architecture designed by Jean-Claude LeSuiss – he originally designed the resort's buildings in the early 2000s. The hotel replicates his signature style of white-washed facades and irregular arches (known as occhio de bue, meaning eye of the bull, a construction nightmare but one that results in a visual delight).

Sardinia became a tourism hotspot in the 1960s, and W Sardinia echoes this. There is a feeling of nostalgia and glamour within its interior, from the poolside bar, to the chunky bridge connecting the hotel suites to the main lobby, it is a surprising reposition for the company, known for having a vibrant party atmosphere, but now embarking on a new, elegant chapter – still with a sprinkling of W’s playful energy.

Wallpaper* checks in at W Sardinia - Poltu Quatu

What’s on your doorstep?

After perusing the small village of Poltu Quatu (home to a few boutique shops and restaurants), book a 15-minute taxi to the neighbouring village of San Pantaleo. Enjoy a gelato at Il Buon Gelato (we recommend the salted pistachio), and explore the bohemian village. Known for its art, head there on a Thursday to see the street market, or check out Sardinian artist Nicola Filia’s art gallery – he designed the W sculpture outside the hotel.

You can also choose to spend an afternoon at Surrau Winery and taste a selection of Sardinian wines against the backdrop of rolling vineyards. The winery itself is full of architectural intrigue, from its wooden ceilings to the large underground tunnel home to various wines.

Who is behind the design?

The design was spearheaded by Will Meyer and Gray Davis, founders of their eponymous New York design firm. The duo kept the architecture, flooring and pool completely original, while every interior detail is considered and locally made, including the large hand-sculpted art feature by Luca Scassellati behind the lobby deck, to ceramic vases by Walter Usai and tapestries by Fabrizio Sanna, to the woven carpet which nods to the crystal seas, a stone's throw away.

‘There’s something kind of mystical about the area,’ says Will Meyer. ‘There is a depth of history, and myth, and there's something kind of magical about it.’ Gray Davis continued to note, ‘I think the narrative is such a key element. We learned about the native Sardinian Nuragic civilisation, and the archaeological treasures found in Sardinia that were created by the civilisation, and that in itself felt very mysterious.’

From the minute you enter the building, the architecture strikes you as unique. As Davis explains, ‘[The architecture] speaks to a lot of the caves and kind of an underwater world. We really leaned into this and enhanced those elements within the main lobby living room area.’

This abstract storytelling was balanced with contemporary functionality. The designers created a space which slowly reveals itself. The lobby feels compressed and cosy, before entering the ‘Wet Deck’ which opens up as if stumbling upon a secret lagoon offering a sense of discovery. Meyer and Davis were also inspired by the mythology of the Janas, fairy-like creatures which resided in caves and ancient sites around the island. In Sardinian folklore they are the protectors of the fisherman on their journeys at sea. This is celebrated with a large mural at the back of the W Lounge restaurant.

The room to book

There is a lot of artistic expression across the 157 rooms and suites. From the vibrant veining of the stone cabinets to the chunkiness of the makeup vanity coupled with an overlapping mirror which mimics an oceanic ripple effect. Each suite feels like a secret grotto. Either book the premier room, which offers a private balcony to enjoy views of the pool below, or indulge in the deluxe suite, a more spacious room with a tub, lounging area, and large makeup vanity. In either room, the layering of materials creates a soothing oasis that encourages you to exhale as soon as you step inside.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

The Tanit restaurant, named after the ancient goddess of abundance, is perched overlooking the harbour where one can gaze at the yachts in transit. Breakfast is a main event here with a dedicated Dolce Room by Italian chef Fabrizio Fiorani offering an array of delectable pastries and cakes (the petite custard-filled fruit tart is divine). Dinner at the restaurant is fresh, local and light, and centred around seafood. We would recommend the freshly caught sea bass accompanied with garlic potatoes and roasted vegetables, followed by a symphony of frozen fruits stuffed with a refreshing sorbet. The cocktail menu stays classic, but fair warning: the drinks are strong.

If you want to venture out of the hotel and into the small village for dinner, we recommend Il Marchese for an authentic Italian experience. A table outside is perfect to watch the sky light up in sunset hues. Enjoy the fried courgette flowers and Matriciana pasta, with 18-month-aged pecorino romano and traditional pork cheek.

Where to switch off

The best place to switch off would be poolside. Don't miss the hidden sauna and steam room. The cave-like architecture makes it a soothing destination which perfectly captures Sardinia’s spirit.

If being active is your way of unwinding, then head to the resort's fitness centre, fully equipped with Technogym. W also suggests experiencing sunrise yoga and power walks around the marina.

The verdict

Stepping away from W’s party roots, the Sardinian location is more like a chic older sister, offering a more sophisticated stay while still uniting W’s signature energy. It's transportative, comfortably straddling the past and the future, and engulfed in timeless, Sardinian beauty.

W Sardinia - Poltu Quatu is located at SP59, 07021 Poltu Quatu OT, Italy. Rates: from £423

Nick Jones, founder of the Soho House group, has spent more than three decades shaping how a certain generation wants to eat, drink, work, linger and belong. At St. Clement, his anticipated new hotel in London, that instinct has been turned inward. Here, everything he finds annoying about hotels has been removed, softened or rethought: No fussy check-in, no paid-for minibar snacks, no laundry forms, no promise of a river view unless there is actually a river view. And certainly, no performative luxury.

At St Clement, Nick Jones rewrites the rules of the London hotel

St. Clement sits at 180 The Thames, part of the wider 180 Quarter being developed by British entrepreneur Mark Wadhwa, whose work around 180 The Strand has already pulled this once-overlooked pocket of the city into a cultural mecca for the groovy and cool: residences, restaurants, galleries, libraries, studios, and a new London square all stitched into one address. Jones knows the weight of the site and its privileged vista: ‘This is where London started,’ he says during a walk-through with Wallpaper*, looking out across the city.

The interiors, by London-based Eagle + Hodges – the studio founded by Alex Eagle with Sophie Hodges in 2016 – avoid the over-dressed mood of many new luxury hotels. It is polished and sleek, but it does not want to vaunt. In Jones’ own words: ‘This is our take on what a grand dame hotel like The Savoy would be if it were built today. Not bowler hats, stiff suits and high heels, but something a bit more relaxed, closer to cashmere and trainers.’ Indeed, the lobby has the ease of a laid-back, gallery-like private living room, with vintage furniture by George Nakashima and Jean Royère, blossom-heavy tables, and Richard Horwood’s 1799 plan of the City of London anchoring the walls.

All 90 rooms follow in spirit. The 450 sq ft entry-level rooms would pass as suites elsewhere. Jones calls one ‘bog-standard’ during the tour, then immediately points out the details that make it anything but: complimentary non-alcoholic minibar snacks, free laundry and steaming, proper luggage storage, and games boxes. ‘I hate paying for the minibar,’ he says. ‘I hate being charged for a Kit Kat.’

In the bathroom, a mirrored cabinet opens like a beauty apothecary, stocked with a Discovery Kit by beauty brand YLW (You’re Looking Well), Daba sunscreen, Laro dental care, Arlington shaving cream and Pleasing nail polish, among other essentials.

Standout details throughout include generous Eagle & Hodges-designed Rutland sofas and matching armchairs, glowing Brian Clarke glass screens, and bespoke Perfumer H amenities. Meanwhile, the 4,000 sq ft, two-storey penthouse – with its vast river-facing living spaces, fully equipped chef’s kitchen, library anchored by a vintage Bernar Venet sofa from 1993, and wraparound terrace – has the feel of a cinematic collector’s apartment. Rather than oversell the experience, Jones prefers to underplay the promise and let the hotel exceed expectations.

Food and drink venues are positioned as their own destination. Café Clement, the all-day restaurant and bar from chef Danny Bohan, reads like a London brasserie with French and Italian instincts: cheese soufflé with Gruyère and nutmeg; Sea bass carpaccio with citrus and herbs; an open Scottish lobster omelette with crème fraîche and tarragon served at breakfast, lunch and dinner; Roast duck for two with dripping potatoes and St Clement sauce.

Bobbi’s Bar takes the mood later. Open until 3 am and featuring a sound system by Devon Turnbull, it sits in a darker register: wood panelling, warm lamps, glowing bottles and the faint danger of staying one drink too long. A daybed running alongside the bar stools makes it an ideal spot for a final nightcap before bed. The cocktail to order is the Clementini – a mix of ‘Oranges and Lemons’ vodka, Champagne, Oyster Vermouth and olive oil. Add a pickle to make it dirty.

More is still to come. Lunette, chef Florence Knight’s first solo restaurant after Sessions Arts Club, will open on the top floor in September. A private screening room is also in the works, alongside a series of event spaces for dinners and parties of up to 100 guests. Then there is the Health Club & Spa. Set to open later this year for both hotel guests and members, it spans three levels and centres around a 25m pool running alongside the Thames. Around it: weight training, cardio, banya, steam room, hammam, sauna and ice baths.

As our tour with Jones comes to an end, it becomes clear that St Clement is not selling a one-night fantasy of London, but the promise of return. Jones wants the property to be used regularly, not simply visited once for the novelty of a new opening. That distinction matters. ‘We want people to decide to change this to be their new London address,’ he says, before the conversation turns to his plans to host a ‘cabbies’ breakfast.

St. Clement is located at 180, the Thames, 12 Temple Pl, Temple, London WC2R 2NF, United Kingdom

Tucked between two of Mallorca’s most photogenic villages, Hotel Corazón has found the answer to the popularity of the island’s mountainous spine: a sunbaked 18th-century finca where the outside world feels very far away.

Wallpaper* checks into Hotel Corazón, Mallorca

What’s on your doorstep?

Amid the 90km of the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range, rocky headlands studded with cypress drop to glittering coves. Along this range sits a trail of villages – Valldemossa, Fornalutx, Deià, Sóller – that have variously claimed the ‘most beautiful in Europe’ crown.

That said, predictably, the hordes have descended (or ascended). In high season, it can be difficult to move through the honey-coloured streets. Hotel Corazón sidesteps all of that. Between the amenity-rich Sóller and the picture-perfect Deià (both still worth a visit), a veer off the hairpin road brings you to a historic finca ensconced in palms.

Who’s behind the design?

The 17-room property is owned and run by photographer Kate Bellm and her husband, green thumb Edgar Lopez, and you can tell: everything here – from the interiors to the printed ‘newspapers’ left in each room – bears the mark of people who care deeply about how things look and feel.

The original restoration was led by Mallorca-based studio Moredesign, working alongside local artisans, metalworkers and ceramicists. The main body of the hotel sits around a cobblestone courtyard in shades of terracotta, punctuated by monstera-filled amphorae. The original chapel remains, repurposed now as a spa.

The dining terrace and conservatory were expanded and redesigned in 2024 by London-based designer Tatjana von Stein, who brought prior experience in Mallorca from her work on Làlia, a private members' club in Palma. These areas feel bohemian but never eccentric: hand-carved marble tables, mustard banquettes and benches adorned with sun motifs meet gingham napkins and sailor-striped cushions. The view of the Serra de Tramuntana from the terrace is breathtaking – particularly at dinner, when the peaks turn blue in the twilight and their summits swirl with cloud.

The room to book

Hotel Corazón has two suites, 13 individually designed superior and double rooms and two garden rooms. I stayed in one of the last – modest in scale but the most private on the property, set apart from the main building beside Lopez’s cactus and succulent garden. They’re cosy, with candy-pink bed linen, though let down somewhat by an almost total lack of storage.

Holy Wood, one of the superior rooms I also had the privilege of experiencing, is Jacques Couëlle-esque in its wobbly doors, rounded steps and bumpy surfaces. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a right angle here. These rooms combine stone, limewash and linen in the shades of pink, beige and sage, offset by sheepskin rugs, rough ceramics and oversized art.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

The hotel’s kitchen garden is integral to the dining offering. Farmer-in-residence Emma Philip harvests produce that reaches the plate within minutes, and chef Eliza Parchanska’s cooking is vibrant – finished with edible flowers which make each dish positively sculptural. Sweet potato noodles with spicy sesame dressing are transformatively good, a crispy rice salad with edamame and peanuts detonates on the tongue, and fried artichokes with pistachio aioli have a quality that seems somehow greater than the sum of their parts.

Where to switch off

Perched on a vantage point over the sea, the pool is surrounded by pampas grass and rosemary, with carritx-covered umbrellas, 1970s-style loungers and tasselled hammocks for comfort and shade. A WhatsApp ordering system is a good idea in theory, undermined by the area’s patchy signal in practice. Pilates and yoga sessions, offered free to guests, are an excellent way to get into the hotel’s clean-living spirit.

The verdict

For the aesthete, Hotel Corazón feels like heaven – from the whimsical interiors to the kitchen-garden cooking, every detail has been tended to with a rare level of conviction. In a corner of Mallorca that feels at risk of being loved to death, the property carves out its own paradise.

Hotel Corazón is located at Carretera de Deià, km. 56, 7, 07100 Sóller, Balearic Islands, Spain. Rates: from 350 EUR

Hudson, New York, began as Mohican land before becoming a prosperous river-port town after the American Revolution, built by Quaker merchants and New England whalers seeking inland trading routes along the Hudson River. As whaling declined, the town reinvented itself in the 19th century as a compact industrial hub of brickworks, foundries, textile mills and ironworks linked by river and rail. Like many American industrial towns, Hudson fell into decline after WWII. Over the past two decades, however, its remarkable collection of Georgian, Victorian and Italianate buildings has been revived by a thriving LGBT community, creative New York City transplants, second-home owners and antique dealers.

Pocketbook Hudson now occupies the town's largest historic building, a 70,000-square-foot former textile mill and pocketbook factory from 1883 that spans an entire city block. It has been reborn after years of abandonment into the Hudson Valley’s newest destination for hospitality, nightlife and the arts. The hotel encompasses 46 guest rooms and suites, a day-to-night café and bar, restaurant, communal bathhouse, subterranean nightclub, and three floors of multi-brand retail space.

Wallpaper* checks in at Pocketbook Hudson

What’s on your doorstep?

Book an Amtrak train from Manhattan’s magnificent Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station, housed in the city’s original Beaux-Arts post office building from 1914, recently renovated by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. In just two hours, you’ll arrive at Hudson Station with your feet firmly planted steps from Warren Street, the main artery of this tiny but mighty Catskills hamlet.

Traverse the de facto antique capital of the East Coast as you head down Warren and its side streets filled with furniture dealers, homeware shops, clothing boutiques, bars and restaurants. At the end of the shop-filled thoroughfare, pivot left on North 6th Street past the Hudson Harmonic (former German Lutheran Church) to Washington Street, and you’ll arrive at Pocketbook Hudson, with its towering three-story red brick edifice.

Who is behind the design?

A Covid-era daydream turned reality, Pocketbook is the culmination of six years of planning and renovation led by a cohort of partners including Gabriel Katz of MacArthur Holdings, developer and realtor Sean Roland, Nancy Kim, former design director of Ace Hotels, and Vipin Nambiar and Jeremy Selman of HN Capital. The newly minted hoteliers tapped their mentors at Salt Projects, the Tbilisi-based hospitality consultancy known for Georgia's industry-defining Rooms hotel brand. Together, they selected renowned architecture and design firm Charlap Hyman & Herrero for the overhaul at hand.

Winners of the prestigious 2026 Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Award for Interior Design, this was CHH's first full-scale hospitality project, lending a ‘residential’ take on the hotel and holistic repurposing of industrial spaces into immersive habitats.

Collaborating with a roster of local contemporary artisans and designers, each space has been outfitted with distinctive furnishings and crafts, from cascading ceramic washbasins and table lamps by Misha Kahn, to the waterproof jelly-moulded seating systems by Rich Aybar in the bathhouse. Artist WangShui led the hotel’s art curatorial program, commissioning paintings, mural works and photography by artists such as Tschabalala Self, Maryam Hoseini and Martine Gutierrez.

The room to book

The industrial bones of this former factory lend to giant interiors with soaring ceilings and unique architectural details. The spacious ‘Bathing Studio’ on the ground floor sports original burgundy-red window frames, which fill the limewashed space with natural sunlight. Highlights include an upholstered seating bench that runs the length of the room, a separate bathroom and toilet, and a tastefully cheeky shower porthole peering into the bedroom. The pièce de résistance is the stainless steel elevated bathtub behind the sleeping quarters. As the room name suggests, bathing is a lifestyle at Pocketbook, and the creative minibar has Casa Finca salts perfect for a nightcap soak.

Only the ‘Weekend Studio’, ‘Loft Studio’ and ‘Lounging Studio’ room categories lack an in-room soaking tub, yet follow the same ethos across: warm and off-green materials, stainless steel sink washbasins, natural wood bed frames and millwork by Primary Visual, exposed brick accent walls, CHH-designed linen pendants and chrome wall lights, a custom amenity skincare line by Village Common, glassware by Mamo, and lime green terry-clothed bathrobes from Eckhaus Latta.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

Open Wednesdays through Sundays for dinner service, Ambos is the headlining restaurant, named in memory of the factory's former proprietor and well-known Hudson bon vivant, Eleanore Ambos. Meaning ‘both’ in Spanish, the name is an accidental double entendre as chef Norberto Piattoni's menu pairs the staples of his native Argentine cuisine with the seasonal ingredients of the Hudson Valley.

Standouts include a Picanha steak with chimichurri, demi-glace, and rejilla potato, and a Black Sea Bass in Basque-style vasca sauce. Start with a fresh elderberry honey-dressed snap pea salad or choose from fail-safe delicious classics, including Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe or Pappardelle with a Mutton Ragu sauce.

For breakfast and lunch, the café runs a daily menu (opt for the perfectly fluffed scrambled eggs with spinach and toast), along with coffees, to-go pastries and baked goods. Come evening, the bar’s housemade brioche burger is not to be missed.

Offering more than just drinks, cultural magic at Pocketbook is thanks to Brand Director Shanekia McIntosh, who heads experiential programming and partnerships. She has brought in a repertoire of multi-hyphenate international and Hudson Valley DJs, artists, and performers such as Papi Juice, Bearcat, Autumn Knight, Fulathela, and Ahya Simone to headline the subterranean nightclub Ether, a lineup that feels more at home in New York City than in Hudson.

‘Our mantra is that each person who enters our space is a guest, whether or not they have a room for the night,’ explains McIntosh. ‘We want to make sure everyone feels welcomed and is having a good time. Pocketbook feels most alive to me when our community in Hudson is also here attending an event, grabbing dinner or drinks, and intermingling with out-of-towners on holiday.’

That ethos extends weekly to Tuesday and Wednesday community days, offering residents half-off entry to the baths, followed by free cultural programming, including live evening record spins in the lounge by Hudson-based artist and DJ Tshidi Matale.

Where to switch off

Veering far beyond a typical hotel pool offering, the Baths are available to overnight guests, members and day-pass visitors for unwinding amongst cold and warm plunge pools, a sauna and a rotating calendar of fitness classes. Opt for a deep-tissue massage with a practitioner or a classical Chinese medicine bodywork treatment on the upper level.

The verdict

An ambitious endeavour for a small town, Pocketbook is the missing puzzle piece from Hudson, cementing the town as its own cultural powerhouse and forecasting its continued evolution as one of the fastest-growing creative enclaves in the Tri-State area. With just 46 rooms, the main apparatus of Pocketbook centres the local community as its main economic engine amongst dining, drinks, shopping and wellness, as opposed to becoming a gilded enclave for vacationers.

Pocketbook Hudson is located at 549 Washington St, Hudson, NY 12534, United States

There is a particular kind of silence that you find only at high altitude. It arrives with thin air, settling on snow-muffled valleys and plateaus. The world below feels entirely theoretical. It is this silence that the Milanese architect Matteo Thun has spent years thinking about and which, this May, takes physical form in an extension at Hotel Bella Vista – a family-run retreat in Trafoi.

Explore Matteo Thun’s new vision for luxury in South Tyrol

Set deep inside the Stelvio National Park at the foot of the 3,905-metre-high Ortler massif, the tallest peak in South Tyrol, the project is, at its heart, a friendship made architectural. Thun and Gustav Thöni – Olympic alpine ski champion and co-owner of the hotel with his family – have spoken about expanding the property for years. The hotel itself dates to 1875, its original 36 rooms enduring through generations precisely because it has never tried to be anything other than what it is: a place shaped by landscape, not the other way around. Thun’s new wing, which adds 24 suites, a lounge bar, and a substantial wellness complex, cleaves close to that polestar.

‘When Gustav spoke about expanding the hotel, the image of the nest came naturally,’ says Thun. ‘You don't want to interrupt the landscape; you want to frame it, to live within it.’

The nest became the project’s organising principle – not as a literal form, of course, but as a sense of openness tempered by shelter, exposure softened by enclosure. With sensitivity to the spirit of place above all else, Thun conceived a structure that sits lightly on the ground, its exterior clad in regional alpine timber – Swiss pine, fir, oak – giving the building the quality of something grown, rather than built. ‘Wood is not a stylistic choice; it is a cultural and environmental one,’ he says. ‘The structure is clear, the surfaces are honest, the details are precise. In this way, the material loses any sense of pastiche. It becomes contemporary because it is used with discipline.’

Connecting a substantial new volume to a historic structure inside a national park – a process subject to lengthy permitting processes that paused the project for years – demanded equal parts patience and precision. The new reception solves one of the trickier physical problems: it sits between the 1875 building and the new wing as a shared arrival corridor, so that guests move between eras without rupture. ‘The historic house carries memory, time, and identity,’ says Thun. ‘We did not want to imitate it, but to extend its spirit.’

Where Thun’s architecture sets the frame, the interiors by Merano-based Studio Biquadra – led by Christina Biasi-von Berg, who spent five years working in Thun’s studio before founding her own practice in 2005 – are filled with warmth and narrative specificity. In the lounge bar, her palette draws directly from Italian sporting archives, specifically blue, white, and red hues referencing the Valanga Azzurra – the legendary Italian ski team whose greatest champion co-owns the hotel – to create a post-prandial mood that is equal parts gathering place and architectural memoir.

The 24 new suites, meanwhile, are pared back to essentials – large panoramic windows commanding uninterrupted views across the Stelvio and Engadine Dolomites, alongside pared-back interiors that allow the changing light to do the decorating.

In the adults-only spa – 550 square metres of indoor space opening onto 5,000 square metres of outdoor wellness terrain – Biasi-von Berg shifts register entirely. Natural stone, pale tones, and moss-green accents produce deliberate calm to frame the mountain panorama beyond. An infinity pool opens toward the Trafoi Canyon like a suspended terrace, whilst four saunas, an outdoor Jacuzzi, and a hot and cold relaxation zone complete the immersion.

For Thun, the extension, so many years in the making, reflects a definition of luxury that has quietly evolved over a long career. ‘In a place like Trafoi, luxury is not an addition; it is subtraction,’ he says. ‘It is space, silence, and the possibility to reconnect with nature. When architecture allows you to experience a place in its purest form – when time slows down, and the landscape becomes part of your inner space – then it becomes luxury.’

Hotel Bella Vista is located at Via Trafoi, 11, 39029 Trafoi, Italy

The next chapter in The Dorchester’s most ambitious transformation in over three decades has arrived in the form of a new Royal Suite by Pierre-Yves Rochon. The residence follows the renovation of all guestrooms and suites, as well as The Promenade, Vesper Bar, Artists’ Bar, The Grill and China Tang. While plans for a private members’ club on the rooftop are still to come, Rochon’s latest intervention continues the evolution of the Park Lane grand dame, whose guest list has spanned royalty, Hollywood stars and political leaders since opening in 1931.

Occupying a prominent corner position on the eighth floor, The Royal Suite looks out across Hyde Park’s treetops, the Serpentine and the wider London skyline, from the quartet of chimneys atop Battersea Power Station to the distinctive dome of the Royal Albert Hall. It is also among the largest hotel suites in the city, spanning up to 4,660 sq ft when configured with four interconnected rooms.

For the interiors, the French designer, who recently oversaw a three-year renovation of all 243 rooms and suites at Four Seasons Paris, turned to the legacy of theatre designer Oliver Messel, whose work for The Dorchester remains one of the defining references for the hotel’s exuberant character. Rochon describes the scheme as ‘a mix of traditional British elements, a palette of pastel tones, floral inspirations and details drawn from the 1950s’.

Tour The Dorchester’s Royal Suite

The experience begins through a gallery-like corridor washed in pale pink before entering an oval lobby anchored by a sculptural Bardiglio marble vase from Atelier Prométhée and a collection of historical paintings from the original suite, staged by art consultancy Visto.

The expansive living room is among the suite’s most breathtaking spaces. Celadon and blush tones soften an otherwise formal room, where a decorative ceiling inspired by 18th-century Scottish architect Robert Adam sits above a mirrored fireplace. Here, Rochon layers English and French influences with a collector’s eye: white lacquer and gold-patina ottomans by Henryot & Cie sit alongside armchairs upholstered in English garden-inspired fabrics by GP & J Baker, while a floral Tai Ping rug based on a design by André Arbus anchors the room.

Nearby, a study conceived as ‘a small dark-green box’ offers a moodier counterpoint. A varnished mahogany bookcase, Tisserant sconces, a Chinese-inspired red lacquer desk and a cane armchair lend the room the character of a private library. The shelves are lined with everything from the novels of Jane Austen to volumes on maximalism, automotive design and the English garden.

Meanwhile, the dining room, described by Rochon as having a ‘surprisingly garden-inspired decor’, is wrapped entirely in trellis-pattern wallpaper by Adam Ellis and crowned by a mirrored ceiling with a crystal chandelier by Delisle. A Chinese console and mirror, together with an Aubusson-style rug in shades of celadon and pale pink, subtly echo the aesthetic language established downstairs in The Promenade. A private, fully-equipped kitchen allows The Dorchester’s culinary team, led by director Martyn Nail, to host intimate in-suite dinners for up to ten guests.

The bedroom adopts a lighter tone. A four-poster bed dressed in pale blue silk anchors the space, while a sitting area upholstered in ivory faux leather with diamond-tipped stitching is layered with fabrics in soft shades of pink, blue and green. A polished timber dressing table and upholstered stool reinforce the room’s residential feel, while a figurative painting depicting a napping woman above the seating area adds a touch of theatrical drama. Beyond, a generous dressing room leads into a marble-clad bathroom with a double shower and a freestanding bathtub taking in views across the rooftops of Mayfair and glimpses of Hyde Park beyond.

As expected, the service offering has been thought out to match the scale of the residence. A dedicated butler oversees every stay, while privileges range from complimentary airport transfers and access to a chauffeur-driven car to personalised wellness experiences at The Dorchester Spa. In a nod to its setting, the hotel has also partnered with The Royal Parks charity, with a portion of proceeds from Royal Suite bookings supporting the conservation of London’s historic green spaces.

The Dorchester is located at 53 Park Lane, London W1K 1QA, UK. Rates for the Royal Suite start from £30,000 per night

When the Cori Hornbæk Hotel opens its doors this summer, it will not only revive a Danish architecture classic, but also herald a new hospitality era for the north shores of Zealand island, one that taps into the area's early 20th-century incarnation as a seaside resort.

Step inside the Cori Hornbæk on the Danish Riviera

On a sandy beach, facing the blue waters of the Kattegat strait, the Cori's original building was designed by Ole Falkentorp in 1935, bridging early modernism with a Scandinavian functionalism in a streamlined style that makes its soft curves and white volumes gleam under the region's softly luminous skies. A much-loved badehotel (seaside hotel), it was famous in the region for its role in the nation's health and holiday habits, as well as for its prominent position in the resort town of Hornbæk, but fell into disrepair after the Second World War. Enter developer Copi, a group with a strong track record for revitalising historical buildings in its home city, Copenhagen, which acquired the building at an auction in 2022.

Copi founder Jesper Brunander says: ‘One of our greatest passions is the restoration and transformation of heritage properties. For us, Cori represents a rare and exciting opportunity to restore Ole Falkentorp's architecture to its original purpose and former glory. On a more personal level, we all have a special and personal connection to Hornbæk. We wish to see this building, which we have known our whole life, come back to life, open its doors to locals and new guests.' Copenhagen-based Jon Clausen, of NVMBR Architects, and Scandinavian studio AART were in charge of the building's refresh and architectural updates, while London practice Afroditi took on the creative lead and the task of transforming the space for the 21st century.

‘We looked at amazing archive imagery,' says Afroditi founder Afroditi Krassa. ‘The hotel was very glamorous when it first launched. It attracted an international, artistic crowd. We had a meal with the owner, and I remember distinctly he said, “I don't want baby blue stripes in this hotel”. It summarised everything that we were already thinking.' The design team's pairing of the Nordic region's legacy in warm minimalism with a more international, contemporary spirit has resulted in a space where both locals and tourists can feel at home, where design is ever-present but effortless.

The building, which cuts a distinct figure against the area's fairly low-rise context, was woven into its surroundings with the help of landscape architects Effekt. Meanwhile, inside, Gubi collaborated with Afroditi to work on the majority of the furniture and a bespoke line for the hotel, which offers 77 rooms and five townhouses. It also encompasses a bar, a restaurant headed up by chef Brian Mark Hansen (whose career includes 16 years at the Michelin-starred Søllerød Kro), and a spa, all accessible to guests and locals like. ‘We want the people of Hornbæk to come, for Cori to be part of their daily life,' notes Krassa.

This balance between Danish tradition, a sense of place and a touch of contemporary, gentle luxury defines Cori's identity. ‘The most important thing to me is that you should feel that you're in a resort environment that's very natural, earthy and luminous,' says Krassa. Tapping into Cori's original soul of escape and glamour, and weaving in 21st-century sensibilities with a quiet, welcoming warmth, this project revives a period landmark for the next 100 years.

corihotel.dk

afroditi.com

Vibrant, colourful and intoxicatingly charming, Cartagena attracts throngs of romance seekers and holidaygoers looking for a good time. To date, the city’s hotel scene, with few exceptions, has been marked by boutique boîtes, with a mysterious magic that’s hidden behind imposing wood doors.

The debut of the 131-key Four Seasons Cartagena (among the most exciting new openings of April, nay the entire year) brings one of the world’s most well-established luxury hospitality brands to Colombia’s seductive Caribbean port – a move that will no doubt lure even more aesthetes and discerning travelers keen to pepper days with pampering spa sessions and refreshing dips in the pool in between coffee tastings, visits to local handicraft shops and cruising to the Rosario Islands.

Wallpaper* checks in at Four Seasons Hotel Cartagena

What’s on your doorstep?

Located in the lively Getsemaní neighbourhood, Four Seasons Cartagena is next door to Parque Centenario, which recently received a major facelift, and steps from the Walled City. Within its 16th-century stone walls travelers will find a warren of cobbled corridors, preserved Spanish colonial buildings splashed in shades of purple, yellow, red and blue, restaurants (if you want an unforgettable meal, book lunch or dinner at Rabo de Pez), artisan shops (Johanna Ortiz, AGUA by Agua Bendita and Mercedes Salazar are a few of my favorites), bustling plazas and cultural institutions, such as NH Galeria, which displays an impressive collection of contemporary Colombian art. If you’re not sure where to start, the hotel partners with Galavanta, a regional travel specialist, to curate bespoke experiences for guests, ranging from private outings to the city’s most emblematic residences to shopping excursions at the chromatic boutiques in Old Town.

Who is behind the design?

WATG took on the task of transforming a scattered collection of historic buildings in varying states of disrepair into a cohesive compound. Some structures were rebuilt from scratch, while significant time and investment went into restoring the most sacred spaces – notably the Cloister of Saint Francis, an almost biblical sight, with a quiet courtyard punctuated by four banyan trees estimated to be more than 100 years old, and the original Club Cartagena’s monumental split staircase, which now sits beneath a soaring, newly constructed glass roof.

The challenge wasn’t just conceptual but also spiritual. The question posed to all involved in the project was how to capture the seductive swagger and Caribbean charisma of Cartagena while also infusing a sense of serenity and resort-style amenities that give guests – whether weary from daily life or late-night dancing and drinking – a true reset. The answer? Acclaimed French designer François Catroux, in collaboration with Wimberly Interiors and AvroKO, shaped the interiors into a visual identity that embraces warmth and character. Intricate woodwork, sun-faded shades, and art, furnishings and textiles by Colombian artisans layer old-world charm and the creative expression of the current thriving art scene.

The room to book

Travellers staying at Four Seasons Cartagena can choose between colonial-style or contemporary rooms. The former, tucked inside old cloisters, shows off soaring ceilings, exposed brick, dark wood cabinetry and four-poster beds. Windowless bedrooms, cranked A/C and signature Four Seasons mattresses topped with fluffy pillows create the optimal sleep setup. The latter doesn’t skimp on character, but its style skews lighter and brighter with blond wood, striped area rugs, and a coastal palette of watery blues and sand. Framed artworks by Colombian artist Miguel Cárdenas hang in both categories. The duality of the accommodations isn’t just an aesthetic play (one that’s done exceptionally well, might I add) but also a nod to the past and present evolution of the destination and an acknowledgement of the weighty expectations of choosy Four Seasons loyalists.

For travellers who simply can’t decide which era speaks to them (or for whom privacy and space are the highest priority), the two-bedroom presidential suite, accessed by private elevator, expresses a modern interpretation of more traditional colonial elements, featuring high ceilings, historical arched windows overlooking the garden, plush furnishings, sleek marble bathrooms and a terrace with a plunge pool.

Staying for drinks and dinner?

The question isn’t whether you’re staying for dinner and drinks but rather which of the many outlets to patronise – all with a distinct point of view and a connective thread of tropical glamour, thanks to AvroKO and François Bompard, founder and creative director of SBM Interior Design and a protégé of Catroux, who carried out the late designer’s vision after he passed.

Start with sunset sips on the rooftop at El Palomar, a calm vantage point from which to look out over the city’s beautiful chaos. Once evening sets in, move on to pre-dinner drinks at Bar Lelarge, dedicated to architect Gastón Lelarge, which draws on 1940s Cuban influences with custom shelves for spirits and intricate woodwork, and serves signature cocktails made with premium spirits and local fruits like the sweet, citrus-y and spicy Dorado. If you prefer, it’s possible to imbibe in the atrium, where the moon casts a glow through the glass onto the marble floors as guests and locals clink glasses of mojitos and silver aperitivo carts roll through with fruit and cheese.

The Grand Grill, Major Food Group’s first foray into South America, is indeed grand in its design, but intimate in size, with tables underneath the soft, diffused glow of a pair of alabaster light fixtures and a lush, tropical ceiling by Eloín Rivera. Like the atmosphere – and as the name suggests – the menu leans on American grill classics, with crowd-pleasers like prawn cocktail, tableside crab Louis salad and prime cuts of meat.

Where to switch off

The hotel boasts the beautiful Umari Spa, built from the ground up within a structure monks used for food preparation and storage. Even within the frame of new construction, Wimberley imbues warmth and heritage with sun-faded terracotta tiles, large framed windows and high ceilings. A striking spiral staircase and gauzy relaxation lounge stocked with pitchers of refreshing hibiscus tea represent a contemporary counterpoint. The menu includes massages like the indulgent signature Amazonian nectar ritual and glow-boosting facials. You can also switch off at one of two rooftop pools, a halcyon perch above the thumping city.

The service

The service is exceptional. Four Seasons Cartagena doesn’t show any of the shakiness of a new opening; rather, the well-trained team approaches hospitality with warmth, friendliness, and attentiveness – the steady-handed mark of a long-running hotel that found its five-star footing years ago. If you need one example of that, while having a cocktail on the rooftop, I failed to realise the kitchen closed at 5 pm. The unflappable team brought me an in-room dining menu and had my order (ceviche) delivered right to my tucked-away corner booth.

The verdict

Four Seasons Cartagena isn’t just the best stay in the city from a design and service perspective; it’s an example of how to tell a story through hospitality. The soulful restoration and reinvention of the various buildings’ former lives shine throughout the property, offering a sanctuary of calm that cuts through the cacophony of honking horns and thumping bass, yet never leaves you wondering whether you’ve drifted entirely from the hum. Sophisticated always, serene in the cloister and spa, more convivial in the atrium and F&B spaces, it’s a destination designed to dazzle travellers who arrive with high expectations – and it delivers.

Four Seasons Hotel Cartagena is located at Cl de la Media Luna #8B #8B-44, Getsemaní, Cartagena de Indias, Bolívar, Colombia

This is the latest instalment of The Inside Story, Wallpaper’s series spotlighting intriguing, innovative and industry-leading interior design.

Oblouková 171 in Žatec is a building that almost wasn't. The Czech townhouse sheltered the same family for four decades before falling into serious neglect – and now emerges as one of the most compelling restoration projects in recent memory.

The story begins in the 1920s, when the current owners' great-great-grandparents settled in the town. Successive generations lived there until the Velvet Revolution, after which the house fell into disuse. By the time it passed to its current owners as an inheritance, it was barely standing. The roof leaked, ceilings were caving in, entire sections of the roof truss were missing and dry rot had spread through the structure.

The inheritors, as it happened, were architects – Jan and Barbora Hora of Ora – and they saw potential where others might have seen a write-off. When they discovered a spot in the attic where the family had hidden moonshine behind a beam, their minds were made up: the house had to be saved.

The renovation took eight years, and was predictably gruelling. Steel tie rods were used to brace the entire building; a collapsed vault was rebuilt; and a concrete slab replaced a ceiling so waterlogged it had sprouted a destructive fungus large enough, as the owners put it, to fill a skillet. Most demanding of all was the three-tiered hop-drying attic – a structure typical of Žatec and its hop-growing heritage – which required specialist craftsmen to restore.

From the outset, salvage and reuse were guiding principles. The owners had spent years collecting reclaimed materials – old floor tiles, handmade bricks, antique beams – and Oblouková 171 finally gave them a home. Rotten ceiling joists were replaced with hand-hewn beams sourced from a demolished house 400 kilometres away; red marble tiles were rescued from a skip; courtyard paving came from Šatov tiles that had sat in a barn for a century. The result is something of a Frankenstein house – a patchwork of parts gathered far and wide, stitched together with care and conviction.

Recreate the mood

Where new elements were unavoidable, they were handled with utmost taste. Custom ash-wood doors reinterpret traditional panelled designs; new windows faithfully match the profiles of the originals. The street façade was the thorniest problem: stripped of its detailing in the 1990s, it required historical photographs just to establish what had been lost. The architects then chose reinterpretation over reproduction, restoring the underlying geometry while simplifying the ornament. The result, with its pretty pastel symmetry, looks like something out of a Wes Anderson film.

The completed building now functions as guest apartments, a family holiday retreat and a taproom serving craft beer from a local brewery, which is fitting: Žatec – recently inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List – built its identity on hops. Oblouková 171 now raises a glass to that legacy while adding a new chapter of its own.

Since opening in 2019, The Newt in Somerset has exemplified the notion of a perfect ‘weekend getaway’ to the country that is as luxurious as it is bucolic. Owned by South African businessman Koos Bekker and his wife Karen Roos, the bolthole, located at 18th-century Hadspen House (a West Country estate), is best known for its Patrice Taravella-designed gardens and a 2,000-acre working farm, where the majority of produce for the hotel’s various rooms and restaurants is sourced.

The Newt introduces Yarlington Lodge

Now, the fairytale-worthy estate and spa is starting a new chapter with Yarlington Lodge, a revitalised Regency rectory within the grounds (just one mile away). In Tudor times, the estate was gifted by Henry VIII, at different moments, to two of his queens. Drawing from its fascinating history, Roos, in collaboration with Richard Parr Associates, carried out a multi-year restoration project, which also included the reimagining of the surrounding cottages, walled garden, formal lawns and historic woodland. Myriad influences inform the ‘Regency meets Empire’ interior design, including British, French, Dutch, Italian and South African nods. This stratified creative narrative strikes the perfect balance between heritage and contemporary design.

Yarlington Lodge accommodates up to 32 guests across a main house and two cottages, which share the historic walled garden, extensive grounds, indoor-outdoor pool and Palm House for entertaining. Playful references to the Gothic Revival and Napoleonic era are seen throughout, from fabric walls and canopy-tented ceilings to tented beds.