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

‘What does America look like?’ is a question whose answer has shifted incessantly across National Geographic’s 138-year history, from frontier landscapes and postwar prosperity to a nation tussling with its own complexities and contradictions. A new tome from Taschen meshes those perspectives together, using the magazine’s archive to survey the United States through a century of photography.

Tour the history, people, and beauty of the United States 

On the cover, the Mayflower II – a reproduction of the 17th-century ship – enters New York Harbour in 1957, greeted by a flotilla beneath a silver US Navy airship, with the Manhattan skyline hovering in the distance. Captured by B Anthony Stewart, the brilliant photograph perfectly frames the country’s founding mythology, technological ambition and appetite for spectacle, setting the tone for the 792 pages that follow.

National Geographic. The United States of America takes shape as a substantial XL Taschen edition. Organised geographically, the title journeys alphabetically through all 50 states before turning to US territories. Each chapter opens with a quote that waxes lyrical about its destination, drawn from figures ranging from musicians and scientists to authors and poets, which is then followed by an introduction by travel writer Joe Yogerst that traces the state’s history, culture and regional identity alongside National Geographic’s own coverage.

Recurring subjects include the grandeur of the American landscape, the growth of its cities, industrial and agricultural labour, transport, leisure, religion and regional traditions – all captured through a candid, occasionally irreverent lens. Collectively, the photographs chart the country’s shift from an agricultural and industrial power towards an increasingly urban, suburban and consumer-driven society, while objectively registering the environmental damage and social tensions that accompanied its growth.

National Geographic. The United States of America also maps the evolution of photographic technology. Early black-and-white images and Autochromes from the 1920s and 1930s give way to the saturated Kodachrome photography that came to define National Geographic’s postwar identity. During the 1970s and 1980s, staged scenes and picturesque travel imagery were increasingly joined by documentary work confronting pollution, poverty, urban decline and cultural change. Digital photography closes the century with an expansive, often ambiguous portrait of American life.

Photography editor David Walker examines this evolution in his introductory essay, ‘America the Beautiful’. He considers how the magazine’s photographers helped construct an aspirational national image rooted in exploration, prosperity and individualism, while frequently reinforcing the perspective of white, middle-class America. As its editorial priorities evolved, the archive began to accommodate a fuller and increasingly complex picture of the country – one marked by social unrest, ecological damage and regional identities threatened by economic and technological development.

The evolution can also be traced through the photographers themselves. Early figures including B Anthony Stewart, J Baylor Roberts, W Robert Moore and Willard R Culver arguably initiated the magazine’s carefully composed visual language. Later generations – among them William Albert Allard, Jodi Cobb, Nathan Benn, Jim Richardson, Cary Wolinsky and Michael Melford – introduced documentary immediacy, psychological depth and increasingly individual approaches to colour and composition.

Edited by Reuel Golden and designed by Andy Disl, the book pairs its photographs with captions by Jeff Z Klein and illustrations by Cristóbal Schmal. Its generous format allows each image to act as historical evidence, editorial construction and object of visual nostalgia. The 250th-anniversary edition revisits material first published by Taschen in 2016, presenting it anew at a moment when American identity is once again under intense examination.

‘National Geographic. The United States of America’, published by Taschen, is available now, priced £125

Storied jewellery and silverware house Buccellati and Armenian-Lebanese interior designer Chahan Minassian work together like caviar and mother-of-pearl. Having previously collaborated on the expansion of the Maison’s Milan flagship store with the opening of a grand ‘Piano Nobile’ showroom on its first floor, their creative partnership is back in bloom with an intimate caviar bar overlooking the courtyard.

Experience Buccellati’s Art de la Table in Milan

Dedicated to the art of entertainment, the new space visually references Buccellati’s timeless caviar tableware collection: an emblematic range dating back to the 1930s and beloved for its signature micro-beaded motif and exceptional silversmithing craftsmanship. The Palazzo’s Neoclassical bones, originally designed by Luigi Chierichetti and completed in 1839, converse effortlessly with the soothing colour palette that defines the furnishings and fixtures.

‘Maintaining a residential spirit was essential,’ says Chahan Minassian. ‘The objective was to create an interior that felt welcoming and lived-in while preserving the architectural grandeur of Palazzo Gavazzi. The mirrors introduce light, movement and depth, while the materials, textiles and Murano glass bring warmth and intimacy.’

Past a gallery-style entrance, the caviar bar unfolds across two levels, with a glazed mezzanine overlooking a central bar and an arrangement of plush lounge chairs and sculptural bistro tables that are reserved for clients and guests. Above, vaulted surfaces, clad entirely in copper, silver and smoky-grey mirrored panels, split daylight across the room.

Throughout, silvery greys and taupes co-exist with accents of bronze and gold, while velvet, Fortuny fabrics, textured leather and custom rugs counter the harder reflective surfaces. Minassian designed each piece of furniture for the room, then added vintage Murano glass chandeliers with a characteristic amber light. The same colours and materials appeared in Minassian’s earlier work on the Piano Nobile, creating continuity between Buccellati’s retail and hospitality spaces.

Alongside the micro-beaded caviar line-up, including wine glasses, holders, and serving plates, are Buccellati’s pieces made with Ginori, coloured glass from its Murano Collection and the Furry Animals series of sculptural silver creatures, as presented during the 2025 edition of Milan Design Week.

Buccellati is located at Via Monte Napoleone, 23, 20121 Milan, Italy

From Santiago Calatrava’s helical red-and-white Peace Bridge to Foster + Partners’ crescent-shaped The Bow, Calgary’s urban identity is seemingly defined by bold contemporary statements and relentless upward transformation. Yet those whose gaze extends beyond its palaces in the sky will be rewarded with midcentury gems and storied landmarks that carry memories of the city’s past. Making a case for the dynamism of adaptive reuse is the new restaurant Stable Palms Club, situated amid Kensington’s urban buzz and adjacent to well-known landmarks such as the Plaza Theatre and the Pointe Flatiron building.

The site was formerly home to Molly Malone’s, a long-standing Irish pub deeply woven into the neighbourhood’s social fabric, and later to Free House. Independent restaurant and nightlife group Block Hospitality collaborated with local design studio Way of Normal to transform the cavernous 3,600 sq ft space into a seductive midcentury Californian-style home primed for hosting.

Wallpaper* dines at Stable Palms Club, Cagalry

The mood: California comes to Calgary

Way of Normal approached the project as a conversation between intimate, interconnected rooms, each adopting the logic and scale of a private home. At its centre, the stainless-steel and red-oak bar acts as a visual stronghold, furnished with bespoke metal stools and small lamps mounted directly onto the counter. Beyond it, a sculptural archway frames a partially concealed sunken lounge that recalls a sultry conversation pit. Mirrors, portals and shifts in floor height extend this sense of discovery, obscuring the full plan from the entrance so guests can peel Stable Palms Club’s layers gradually.

The material palette continues the residential theme. Red oak envelops ceilings, beams, walls and fitted joinery in the amber density of a well-preserved 1960s house, punctuated throughout the dining room by stainless steel, aluminium, stone and deep-green zellige tiles. The treatment continues on the upper dining tier, where steel cladding introduces a cooler, sharper surface. These forms draw on Populuxe and Googie design, channelling the expressive architecture of roadside restaurants, motels and the space-age years into swooping openings, circular cut-outs and broad timber planes.

Elsewhere, custom joinery, commissioned lighting and furniture establish a consistent scale across the rooms. The dining tables alone took a year to develop, while several bespoke lights required over 18 months. Where possible, production was kept local, with reclaimed timber and aluminium used alongside reworked vintage furniture. Plants, table lamps and artwork bring the residential fiction into focus.

The food: elevated home comforts

Familiar smaller plates are given an inventive turn. Raw oysters come with classic mignonette and rhubarb hot sauce; bluefin tuna zuke is paired with fresh wasabi; and Southern-fried chicken thighs are marinated in koji and dill pickle. Mains then grow heartier with slow-cooked duck breast, brown-butter parsnip purée and apple jam; sea bass with fregola, asparagus and herb oil; and a 45-day dry-aged T-bone accompanied by black garlic, mushroom butter and veal consommé.

Chef Jordan Mayo says the menu has ‘something for everyone’; its breadth is shaped by French and Italian references. His recommendation? The entirely house-made beef burger with Gruyère, soubise onion and pickles, served alongside fries and a veal-stock bordelaise. He also singles out the ricotta gnocchi with lobster and fried focaccia croutons as an increasingly popular choice. Room for dessert? The brown-butter caramel tart arrives with malt ice cream and a sprinkling of sea salt, while the Black Forest sundae layers kirsch ice cream with macerated cherries.

That appetite for unexpected combinations continues at the bar, where Zachary Fox and Justin Dysiak preside over a programme of bright, refreshing cocktails made with irreverent ingredients and techniques. The ‘Et-Tu Brute?’ is a clarified Caesar in which frozen cherry tomatoes replace ice cubes, preventing dilution. ‘A Fistful of Dollars’, meanwhile, combines Italian tomato gin and balsamic vermouth to create a caprese-inspired Negroni.

Stable Palms Club is located at 1153 Kensington Crescent NW #001, Calgary, AB T2N 1X7, Canada

London diners have become used to the idea of a sushi-based omakase menu; now this Fitzrovia import – the first European outpost of Ushio Haruyoshi Bettei in Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu – is introducing the capital to multi-course menus of wagyu beef. Put aside any preconceptions of fatty meat, however: the dinner-only restaurant specialises in akami (lean) wagyu rather than heavy marbling. Almost all the meat has been imported from Japan, along with the chefs who grill it and the ceramics it’s served on – not great for air miles, perhaps, but a guarantee of the niche authenticity the restaurant offers.

Wallpaper* dines at Wagyu Yakiniku Ushio, London

The mood: Counter-top cool

The restaurant’s interiors have been modelled on the Fukuoka original, with the best seats arranged around the L-shaped counter behind which the chefs sear and serve, though unless you speak Japanese, don’t expect much in the way of cheffy chat. Not that beef-based banter is the point, says chef-owner Hakusei Chin. ‘At Ushio, we’ve always believed that the quality of the ingredients and the skill of the chef should speak for themselves, so we wanted the space to feel equally calm and focused.’

He’s certainly managed that. All the staff – from the chefs to the saké-pouring sommeliers – are charm itself, while ceramics sourced from Kyushu display the same individual character. A backlit shelf behind the counter carries ceramics from Arita, the Kyushu town where Japan’s first porcelain was fired four centuries ago. Some of it is Ko-Imari, the heavily decorated porcelain that Europe bought by the shipload from the 1600s; some from Lin, a modern range glazed to a metallic finish. Vases holding seasonal flowers come courtesy of ceramicist Taeko Kajihara, who builds her pieces by hand instead of throwing them on a wheel.

‘Rather than expressing Japan through decoration,’ Chin says, ‘we chose to work with natural materials like wood, stone and plaster, and to keep the space as minimal as possible. In doing so, the counter and the act of cooking naturally become the centre of the experience.’ That minimalism extends to the lack of any obvious signage on the exterior, but rest assured that once inside, the experience doesn’t feel in the slightest bit unwelcoming.

The food: Lean cuisine

Each course of beef, whether from an omakase of A5 wagyu, a six-piece tasting selection or the à la carte, arrives with a card with the relevant cut stamped on an illustration of a cow. First comes top blade served sashimi-style, the pink meat lightly scored and faintly marbled; it looks almost like a slice of fatty tuna garnished with a shiso leaf but tastes powerfully and lingeringly of beefy umami.

The rest of the cuts come cooked, treated to the briefest of sears on the grills (‘yakiniku’ means ‘grilled meat’ in Japanese) before being flipped over and plated up. One arrangement features a trio of tongue, tenderloin and kurimi (lean shoulder), simply seasoned with salt; another plate brings top blade lightly glazed with tare. The richest-tasting of all is sirloin seared with sukiyaki marinade and presented with an egg yolk and a dome of steamed rice.

This lighter style of beef, the restaurant claims, is higher in protein and lower in fat than traditional wagyu, with the result common to many omakase meals that you may still be hungry at the end. If you’re feeling peckish, ask for an extra course of Fukuoka-style wagyu curry of slow-cooked beef tendon, its gravy-like sauce scooped up with a wooden spoon – it’s as comfortingly unsophisticated as the rest of the meal has been elegantly refined.

Wagyu Yakiniku Ushio is located at 12 Charlotte Street, London, W1T 2LU, UK.

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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

A weekend in the woods – or indeed, any kind of wilderness – has perennial appeal when it entails a stay in a contemporary or vintage cabin. The humble architectural cabin is as romanticised as it is versatile; it may adapt to different terrains, climates and levels of social battery, but its quirky, pared-back allure remains. Here, from a midcentury gem in Sonoma County to an off-grid red hut set in Irish turf and a treetop hideaway swallowed by the Ecuadorian forest, we’ve handpicked ten cabins for design lovers with a discerning eye and a fondness for a good old wooden refuge.

Book ten of the world’s best architect-designed cabin stays

Cedar + Skye, Sea Ranch Living, California, USA

Twenty-five feet separate the floor from the ceiling in Cedar + Skye’s living room – arguably an extravagant gesture in a cabin built for two. Architect Ralph Matheson designed the midcentury home within Sea Ranch, the northern Californian planned community established in the 1960s, and it now belongs to Sea Ranch Living, The Sea Ranch Lodge’s collection of 13 renovated modernist homes. Downstairs, glass walls surround a freestanding wood stove and a kitchen finished with white quartz, Italian appliances and cerulean glass. Meanwhile, the bedroom occupies an open loft, with an en-suite shower, compact workspace and a skylight trained on the treetops and night sky. Stays include access to Sea Ranch’s recreation centres, private beaches and 50-plus miles of hiking trails.

Cedar + Skye is located within Sea Ranch, Sonoma County, California, USA; rates vary by date

Cucu, WestMeath, Ireland

Cucu is the latest addition to Irish company Samsú’s roster of bijou off-grid cabins. An hour from Dublin, the 20 sq m off-grid shelter occupies 350 acres of County Westmeath countryside, its tapered red form punctured by a single circular window. Studio Bucky, led by Irish architect Alexander Buckeridge, oversaw the architecture, merging a compact timber shell with plywood walls, terracotta tiles and copper details. A custom roll-top copper bath calls for rest and relaxation, while a private sauna extends the bathing ritual outside. The analogue kit supplies a cassette player, film camera, journals, dumb phone and local map; there is also a king-sized bed, wood-burning stove and locally roasted coffee.

Cucu is located on the Meath–Westmeath border, Ireland. Rates: from €225

El Hormiguero, Mindo, Ecuador

From the road, El Hormiguero by Añanku Cabins is a charcoal-black triangle half-swallowed by the ferns of Ecuador’s Andean Chocó. Estudio 2850 and Janna Lasso Hadweh positioned the 24 sq m A-frame on nine steel legs, leaving roots and undergrowth undisturbed beneath its blackened timber, metal and glass shell. The roadside flank cleverly comprises the cabin’s services, including a semi-open shower screened by eucalyptus slats, while the south-west façade faces towards Mindo and the mountains beyond. Stairs, tables and partitions shift to accommodate different uses within the compact interior. Upstairs, a ridge skylight opens the bedroom to the sky and funnels daylight down to the lower level when fog settles over the forest. Birdwatching begins on the charred-timber balcony; waterfalls and butterfly farms are nearby, and central Mindo is a seven-minute walk away.

El Hormiguero is located in Mindo, Pichincha, Ecuador; rates vary by date

JR’s Eco Hut, Nangus, Australia

This solid, A-frame wooden structure, designed by Luke Stanley Architects and located in the rolling hills overlooking the bushlands of south-western Australia, resembles the top half of a Swiss chalet, emerging from a gravel bed. A celebration of off-grid living, the eco hut is intended as a place for dropping out and forgetting the rest of the world, a feat facilitated by panoramic views and congenial midcentury élan, thanks to Anthony Hunt Design’s luxuriously minimal treatment of its airy interior. Solar power runs the lights, gas heats the water, and cooking happens outdoors on a Weber barbecue and twin-burner stove. In winter, the wood-fired tub keeps guests outside after dark; in summer, it becomes a plunge pool. In the morning, expect cockatoos returning to roost and a regional-produce breakfast ready to cook.

JR’s Eco Hut is located at 1214 Nangus Rd, Nangus NSW 2722, Australia; rates vary by date

ÖÖD at Sûr Jumigny, France

Sûr Jumigny pairs two mirrored cabins with two rather older neighbours: a 350-year-old wine cellar and a historic dovecote. The Cave cabin has a private terrace above the cellar, while Pigeonnier turns the dovecote’s chalk-white interior into a cold post-sauna shower. Designed and built by Estonian cabin maker ÖÖD House, the structures stand in a wildflower meadow on an old manor estate at the edge of Champagne. Host Godfrey Hill led the interiors and landscape execution, marrying mirrored glass with limestone, long grass and the estate’s 19th-century buildings. Each cabin sleeps two, with a kitchenette, private terrace, sauna and outdoor shower. Naturally, champagne awaits on arrival.

ÖÖD by Sûr Jumigny, 1 Rue du Jeu de Paume, 02160 Jumigny, France; rates from: €220 per night

Pan Treetop Cabins, Finnskogen, Norway

Moominvalley appears to have taken a detour into Finnskogen, leaving three steep, black cabins among the pines. Norwegian architect Espen Surnevik also borrowed from North American A-frames and electricity pylons, raising each 40 sq m structure eight metres above the forest floor on four supports. The cabins occupy the rocky ground lightly and can be removed without leaving a permanent trace. Each sleeps four to six, with heated floors, a kitchen, fireplace and full-height glazing trained on the birch, spruce and pine outside. Elsewhere, reclaimed barn materials frame a hot tub inside the roofless House with Three Walls. Autumn days can be spent hiking, canoeing and tracking elk (or perhaps elves).

Pan Treetop Cabins is located at Gjesåsen, Åsnes, Finnskogen, Norway. Rates from: £407 per night

Scrubby Bay, New Zealand

Scattered across Banks Peninsula, a rocky Pacific headland of muscular ridges, private coves and grassy hills, Annandale’s collection of spacious villas is the work of architect Andrew Patterson of Pattersons. Of the collection, Scrubby Bay comes closest to the ideal of the New Zealand bach: the cedar-clad villa stretches along the beach, with three sea-view suites, an eight-bed bunk room, a deck with a fire pit and an outdoor spa. Arrival, naturally, is effected by helicopter or a panoramic 40-minute drive along cliff-top farm tracks.

Scrubby Bay is located at Pigeon Bay 7583, New Zealand; rates on request

Skyhawk, Vermont, USA

Skyhawk sits in the woods at the foot of Mount Ascutney, with a bike trail tracing the edge of the property. Catherine and VW Fowlkes of Fowlkes Studio redesigned the midcentury cabin as a four-bedroom retreat for eight, opening the upstairs ceiling to create a lofty gathering room. Original wall boards were reused between exposed joists; rubber floors, caged bulkhead lights and custom steel kitchen furniture add a utilitarian note. Bedrooms swap wardrobes for peg rails and open niches, while a former bedroom serves as a timber-lined boot room. Outside, new Accoya cladding is paired with a large deck, where a built-in bench screens the hot tub. There is no TV, but Mount Ascutney makes a strong case for hiking, snowshoeing and skiing.

Skyhawk is located in West Windsor, Vermont, United States. Rates from: $375 per night (two-night minimum)

Vipp Salaca River, Latvia

Vipp Salaca River arrived at its riverside plot one log at a time. The listed fisherman’s house, built in 1876, was dismantled and rebuilt on 180 stones in Salaca National Park, having once served travellers between Riga and Wolmar. Now part of Vipp’s guesthouse portfolio, the 110 sq m cabin has interiors by Julie Cloos Mølsgaard. Dark log walls and a grey-brown ceiling frame a black Vipp V1 kitchen, mirrored fireplace and open living area. Upstairs, the master bedroom – freestanding bathtub included – overlooks the room below; a twin bedroom faces the woods. A separate terrace holds a wood-fired hot tub with panoramic views. The Salaca River Valley is perfect for kayaking, salmon fishing, cross-country skiing, swimming and autumn mushroom hunting.

Vipp Salaca River is located within Salaca National Park, Latvia; rates from: €375 per night (two-night minimum)

Yamanakako 1st, Japan

Two hours from Tokyo beside Lake Yamanaka, Yamanakako 1st forms part of the Sanu 2nd Home’s nationwide network of bookable retreats. Its Bee cabins were designed by Kotaro Anzai of ADX Architects, who combined a mountain-like profile with the structural logic of a honeycomb. Digitally slit cedar bends into curved partitions around the sleeping and work areas, while a floor-to-ceiling window borrows the surrounding woodland as scenery. Domestic timber construction and raised foundations limit disturbance to the site, while vacuum glazing and substantial insulation prepare the cabin for Japan’s humid summers and snow-heavy winters. Each cabin sleeps four, and features a kitchen, workspace and terrace.

Yamanakako 1st is located at Lake Yamanaka, Yamanashi, Japan; sa-nu.com; rates vary by date

If the middle seat were an aviation class, it would arguably be premium economy. Sitting above the discomfort of basic economy, yet below the ambition and luxuries of business class, it is an upgrade with an asterisk. Leave it to Emirates’ engineering acuity to reinvent this in-between class with zeal.

Emirates gives Premium Economy a first-class rethink

The UAE flag carrier has just equipped its modern A350 aircraft with a Premium Economy cabin comprising only 28 seats in a spacious 2-3-2 configuration. Each measures 20in wide, offers a pitch of up to 39in and reclines into a cradle position without impolitely encroaching on the passenger behind. Among its pioneering features is an integrated control unit capable of raising, lowering and locking a natty divider into place, creating a private setting for dining, working or sleeping. The seat itself can also be adjusted at the touch of a button, with dedicated lounge and meal modes.

Safran Seats’ U-Dream headrest is also part of the appeal, with adjustable leather wings that support the neck and head, accompanied by a manually deployed leather footrest intended to ease leg fatigue on long-haul flights. In addition, making its debut is a wireless charging pad, joined by a USB-C port and a tray table with an integrated phone holder. The latter can prop up a personal device as a second screen during meals or entertainment.

The entertainment system plays through a 13.3in 4K HDR touchscreen, while newly delivered A350s add left- and right-facing exterior cameras to the existing downward- and front-facing views – offering a window-seat experience regardless of your seat number. Flying long-haul? Expect reusable amenity kits in collaboration with United for Wildlife. Made using bio-based materials, including a cactus-leather alternative, the four designs depict endangered species and their natural habitats. Inside are Aveda skincare products, socks, an eye mask, earplugs and a dental kit.

The Business Class references continue at mealtimes, with regionally inspired menus developed by Emirates’ chefs and served on Royal Doulton china, accompanied by linen napkins and Robert Welch stainless-steel cutlery. Chandon Vintage Brut 2021, an Australian sparkling wine, is reserved for Premium Economy passengers across the airline’s network.

Emirates launched Premium Economy in 2022 and has since introduced it across every market currently served by its A350 fleet. The cabin was named Best Premium Economy Class at the Business Traveller Middle East Awards in 2024 and 2025, followed by Airline with the Best Premium Economy Class at the 2025 ULTRAs.

emirates.com

The latest hot ticket to arrive in London is not yet another velvety underground watering hole in the city's centre, but a chic midcentury-style salon for a creative posse. Bar Blondie sits amid the buzz of Queen’s Park’s Lonsdale Road, which has recently seen an influx of mews buildings turned into atmospheric restaurants, including Pyrá and Don’t Tell Dad.

The opening is driven not so much by the rock’n’roll associations of its name as by country-and-western influences and the artistic inclinations of award-winning sommelier Alexandra Price (most recently head of wine at Michelin-starred Plates) and Aussie restaurateur Elliot Milne (founder of Silver Tree Restaurants). The duo collaborated with architecture and design studio Macaulay Sinclair on the charming, intriguing interiors, and with Ryan Stanier, founder of The Other Art Fair, on the engrossing art curation.

Wallpaper* dines at Bar Blondie, London

The mood: Once upon a time in Queen’s Park

Queen’s Park’s rich history of influential creative residents and Lonsdale Road’s recent creative reinvention are palpable in the choices that shaped the interior. The mews’ architectural bones allowed an eccentric country-and-western theme to play alongside the leading idea: an artist’s residence. ‘We used legendary Italian director Sergio Leone, creator of some of the most culturally significant spaghetti westerns of all time, as one of our muses. The name “Blondie” comes from Clint Eastwood’s character in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,’ says co-founder Elliot Milne.

A sleek bar in stained sapele and burl wood anchors the intimate 45-cover room; its shelves are layered with records, midcentury books, vases and lamps sourced through Vinterior. Bar-stool backrests are upholstered in Nobilis Paris’ golden, cowhide-like Velours Faon, while vintage chrome dining chairs by Gastone Rinaldi – sourced by Milne and reupholstered by Craftwood UK Interiors – sit beside plush banquettes conceived with the ease of a living-room sofa. Country-inflected prints lend the upholstery a homely, slightly raw character.

Macaulay Sinclair worked with LightOn on a scheme combining architectural fixtures with custom dim-to-warm bulbs. ‘Every western saloon has a chandelier, so we found one in Murano glass,’ Milne explains. ‘We also have Murano glass wall lights between the vintage prints.’

Designed by Tateside, the sound system plays a collection of new and second-hand vinyl curated with the help of Audio Gold in north London. Art provides another dimension to the wood-panelled walls: Lucy Robson created the tender commissioned work As Above, So Below, while original spaghetti-western posters came from At the Movies Posters in Marylebone. Among them are a limited-release 1970s Japanese poster for the Dollars Trilogy and two black-and-white photographic stills from the set of For a Few Dollars More, dated 1967.

The food: the best of both worlds

The word ‘bar’ rather undersells the kitchen. Its concise, deftly executed menu draws on head chef Alastair Walling’s background in southern French cuisine and executive chef Alexander Busca’s Italian heritage. A selection of snacks and small plates begins proceedings: Maldon oysters with champagne mignonette; thinly sliced Wagyu bresaola best paired with the house focaccia; and a cherry and pineapple tomato salad with black olive tapenade. It is an unspoken rule that you can judge a restaurant by the quality of its tomatoes. These make a persuasive case.

Handmade on-site each day, pasta acts as the backbone of the menu. Choose between creamy fazzoletti with Devon crab, chilli and lemon, or punchy paccheri alla vodka with ’nduja and pecorino. From the grill, the Provençal-inspired monkfish tail is served with mussels and samphire in a broth sharpened by peppery aïoli. Room for dessert? Don’t miss the red Mayan chocolate mousse with apricot and a gentle drizzle of olive oil.

While the cocktail list covers enduring favourites – namely the Vodka Martini and Venetian Select Spritz – the comprehensive wine list is a love letter to the arts. It opens with a section titled The Writer, celebrating Joan Didion while exploring historic and rare grape varieties, before continuing to The Actor, which champions inventive winemaking and independent producers. The Architect, a nod to Ray Eames, spans classic and contemporary styles, while The Director, inspired by Sergio Leone, spotlights iconic estates and singular cuvées.

Bar Blondie is located at 19-21 Lonsdale Rd, London NW6 6RA, United Kingdom

‘To me, Seoul is more than just the familiar city I grew up in. It is a great source of pride,’ says artist Guimi You, whose dreamlike oil paintings soothingly drift between urban energy and the calm of nature. Across themes of kinship, isolation, and the dialogue between East Asian and Western artistic traditions, You renders scenes that flow and transport. Movement and stillness eloquently coexist on her canvases, giving each two-dimensional world a vivid sense of life.

Born and raised in Seoul, You spent a decade abroad – first in London, where she earned an MA in painting from London’s Royal College of Art in 2014, and later in California, which had a significant influence on her journey as an artist. This distance renewed her attachment to the city where she grew up: its cultural pulse, heritage and traditions, and the people she describes as home.

‘I feel proud of the Korean people, who are naturally accustomed to moving quickly and living with such energy and diligence, and of the many fields they have created and continue to develop,’ she tells Wallpaper*.

The Han River, which, in a way, both unites and divides Seoul, remains one of You’s greatest inspirations. ‘I believe that having such a vast river flowing through the heart of such a large metropolis is one of Seoul’s greatest treasures,’ she says. Its shifting colours and atmosphere inspired Us, on the Han River (2026), which depicts a couple crossing the water in a swan-shaped pedal boat at sunset, and is currently being presented by Lehmann Maupin at Frieze Seoul 2026 (2-5 September).

‘I especially love arriving at the river around sunset, watching the sky transform with the evening light, and staying until nightfall to experience the beautiful cityscape illuminated after dark,’ she adds. Here, You shares the places that define her hometown, from neighbourhoods lined with quaint stalls to art institutions filled with creative treasures. This is Guimi You’s Seoul.

What to see and do in Seoul, Guimi You’s tips

Where to stay

Bukchon Hanok Village

‘For international visitors coming to Korea for Frieze Seoul, I would recommend experiencing a hanok (a traditional Korean home) in Bukchon Hanok Village, a historic residential neighbourhood situated between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace, with traditional hanok houses clustered throughout the area. It is not a neighbourhood created solely for tourism; people still live there today, which gives the area a very authentic atmosphere.’

Bukchon Hanok Village is located at Gyedong-gil, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

Where to eat and drink

Hamgyeongdo Chapssal Sundae

‘If you’ve just arrived in Seoul and jet lag keeps you awake at night, take a taxi to Hamgyeongdo Chapssal Sundae. It’s open 24 hours, so you can go there anytime. It’s one of Seoul’s well-known restaurants for sundaeguk (blood sausage soup), and it’s been my favourite since I was a student. When you eat the meat in the soup, try dipping it in saeujeot (salted and fermented shrimp condiment).’

Hamgyeongdo Chapssal Sundae is located at 32 Songpa-daero 28-gil, Songpa District, Seoul, South Korea

Namdaemun Market

‘Namdaemun Market is always worth visiting. You can find almost anything there. If you get hungry, head to the grilled fish alley, where restaurants cook fresh fish over charcoal.’

Namdaemun Market is located at 21 Namdaemunsijang 4-gil, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea

Songnidan-gil Street

‘Songnidan-gil Street is full of unique cafés and restaurants, and it’s close to Seokchon Lake, Lotte World Mall, and Lotte World Tower. It’s a good place to spend an afternoon without any particular plan.’

Baekjegobun-ro 43-gil, Songpa District, Seoul, South Korea

Starfield Coex Mall

‘If you need a meal while visiting Frieze Seoul, head down to the basement level of Starfield Coex Mall. I recommend two places: Gangnam Gyoza and Hadongkwan. At Gangnam Gyoja, order kalguksu (hand-cut noodle soup). At Hadongkwan, try gomtang, a clear beef soup that has long been enjoyed in Korea. Both are classic local dishes. If you enjoy spicy food, have them with kimchi.’

Starfield Coex Mall is located at 513 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea

What to do

MMCA Deoksugung

‘The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art has several branches, but my favourite is the one within the grounds of Deoksugung Palace. Walking through the old palace grounds before arriving at the museum is one of the pleasures of visiting. If you’re lucky, you may also see the changing of the royal guard ceremony at the main gate of Deoksugung.’

MMCA Deoksugung is located at 99 Sejong-daero, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea

MMCA

‘At MMCA, fellow Lehmann Maupin artist Do Ho Suh is presenting his first full survey exhibition, including early pieces and new, never-before-seen works. The must-see show is on view until 9 February 2027.’

MMCA is located at 30 Samcheong-ro, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

Where to shop

Dongmyo Flea Market

‘Dongmyo is a good place to explore if you enjoy vintage clothing, secondhand books, old records, and other unexpected finds. Browsing is half the fun, and you may discover something special at a surprising price.’

Dongmyo Flea Market is located at 102-8 Sungin-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

Insa-dong Culture Street

‘Insa-dong is one of the best places to experience Korea’s traditional culture. If you’re interested in Korean painting, you’ll find shops selling hanji paper, brushes, ink, and other traditional materials.’

Insa-dong Culture Street, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

Where to detour

Jeju Island

‘If you’d like to experience another side of Korea after exploring Seoul, I hope you’ll visit Jeju Island. Many of the paintings I made last year were inspired by Jeju’s quiet atmosphere and landscapes. It’s a place I always find myself wanting to return to.’

For a place to stay, Wallpaper* suggests these elevated Jeju Island cabins by architect Byoung Cho.

Alaska Airlines has upgraded its nascent long-haul experience with the debut of an all-new International Business Class cabin aboard its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The exciting development is shared with Hawaiian Airlines, its sister carrier under Seattle-based Alaska Air Group.

Fly Alaska Airlines’ new International Business Class

Since joining the Oneworld Alliance in 2021, the West Coast carrier has expanded its reach to over 900 global destinations, with a special focus on Europe and East Asia. The new cabin made its debut on Alaska’s inaugural non-stop service from Seattle to Rome, with routes to Seoul Incheon and Tokyo Narita about to follow from its Pacific Northwest hub.

The 34-seat cabin adopts the original Adient Ascent design by Elevate Aircraft Seating, the joint venture between automotive seating specialist Adient and aerospace behemoth Boeing. Arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, every suite transforms into a fully flat bed and has direct aisle access. Privacy doors, koa wood-patterned floors and wall panels bring warmth to the cabin, while white marble surfaces incorporate wireless charging alongside personal power outlets. An 18in HD screen, paired with noise-reducing LSTN Sound Co headphones, offers over 1,500 films and TV shows.

On the amenities front, premium bedding and kits have been conceived by American heritage brand Filson, known for its weatherproof utility gear. A mattress pad, sleeping pillow, lumbar cushion and oversized duvet, finished in a beige check that complements the cabin’s teal accents, prepare each suite for lights out. Meanwhile, the collectable amenity bag comes in two colours inspired by the West Coast and contains Salt & Stone’s aluminium-free skincare products and other travel essentials, such as socks and eye masks. Passengers also receive a bespoke reusable bottle developed with certified BPA-free brand PATH Water.

Food follows the route. Destination-led dishes include a full English breakfast on London services and gochujang chicken with traditional banchan en route to Incheon. A standout is Alaska’s Chef’s (Tray) Table entrée, created with award-winning Seattle chef Brady Ishiwata Williams and featuring his signature short rib, sourced from Washington’s Klingemann Farms. Drinks span West Coast and European wines, including labels from the Stag’s Leap area, alongside Louis Roederer Champagne, handcrafted cocktails, regional craft beers, mineral water and freshly brewed Stumptown coffee.

Equally tantalising is the fact that Starlink’s satellite service, billed as the fastest Wi-Fi in the sky, is due to arrive on the airline’s 787-9 Dreamliners in the coming months, offering gate-to-gate connectivity for Atmos Rewards members.

alaskaair.com

It’s all go on Sloane Square: hot on the heels of Martino’s in the old Hugo Boss site, Clare Smyth’s Corenucopia round the corner on Holbein Place and a new pub from the Walmer Castle team opening in autumn comes this first international outpost of La Nouvelle Garde. The brasserie group has 10 Insta-friendly restaurants in its native France, including five in Paris and another five stretching from Lille to Marseille (Brasserie Bellanger, near the Gare du Nord, is excellent before a trip home on Eurostar). In true brasserie style, Olivia is open for everything from breakfast to a post-theatre nightcap after the Royal Court.

Wallpaper* dines at Brasserie Olivia, London

The mood: Cross-channel glamour

First impressions of the space (the old David Mellor cutlery showroom) are Gallic all the way, with a plant-strewn pavement terrace outside and checkerboard tiling within. Mirrors and Murano-style chandeliers soften the light pouring in through wraparound windows, while vintage posters and South of France postcards line the walls.

But co-founder Charles Perez has taken inspiration from the English, too, looking to the sort of grand Riviera hotels beloved of the holidaying aristocracy in the 1920s. Brits abroad, this is very much not, however. ‘The intention was to capture the energy and sophistication of that era through a contemporary lens, rather than recreating a period interior,’ says Mark Bithrey, founder of B3 Designers, the London-based studio responsible for the look of eight of Nouvelle Garde’s previous restaurants. ‘Textiles from Pierre Frey introduce layers of colour, texture and character, helping to create an environment that feels richly layered and distinctly French without becoming nostalgic or overly themed.’

The food: Brasserie classics done right

Head chef Rachide Sambu Baldé has a CV that takes in everything from old-school French (Galvin La Chapelle) to modern fine-dining (The Five Fields). But in the best brasserie tradition, this is not a kitchen focused on the creativity of the chef but on a menu of tried-and-tested brasserie classics that must come out right every time to have any chance of repeat custom.

In that, Brasserie Olivia succeeds. There are gougères full of gooey Parmesan, a garden-fresh plate of crudités to dip into salsa verde, butter-soft brandy-marinated foie gras, and bavette steak cooked rare with a mound of crisp, salty frites. Seafood is taken care of at an oyster counter for shellfish shucked to order and lobster tanks from which to select one’s own crustacean before having it anointed with garlic butter. The crêpe Suzette might not be quite as silkily luxurious as the one served at The Ritz, but it costs a sixth of the price. Spend any saved pennies sampling over 20 wines by the glass on a decent value all-French list.

But possibly the Frenchest thing of all is that dogs are made to feel very welcome – pack your Bichon Frisé in your chicest Chanel handbag.

Brasserie Olivia is located at 1 Sloane Square, London SW1W 8EE, United Kingdom

Turkey’s Cup of Joy has chosen Marylebone for its first address abroad. Founded in Istanbul’s Bebek neighbourhood in 2013, the speciality coffee and bakery brand now operates eight cafés across Turkey. Its London site occupies two floors on Blandford Street, opposite Jikoni, with coffee, pastries and an all-day menu served within an interior by EBBA Architects.

Wallpaper* visits Cup of Joy coffee shop, London

The mood: Istanbul in clay and stone

EBBA founder Benni Allan travelled across Istanbul while developing the project, visiting Cup of Joy’s existing cafés and studying the city’s stone walls, recessed openings and shaded courtyards. These architectural qualities informed the construction of the London interior. As such, clay plaster covers the ground floor and continues into the stairwell. Large pieces of Portland stone occupy the lower sections of the walls, with smaller fragments appearing higher up.

The studio selected and positioned each piece on site before applying the clay around its edges. The surface has the irregular composition of old masonry, though its form is distinctly contemporary. A continuous datum establishes a clear scale across the room. Within the thick walls, oak-lined recesses contain benches, retail displays, a water fountain and small seating areas. The oak bar sits diagonally across the ground floor, with tables and other custom furniture aligned to the same angle.

Timber and opaque glass panels cover the ceiling, producing an even, ambient light across the clay surfaces. The effect suits a room intended for both early coffee and long lunches, without exposing diners to the glare of individual spotlights. Woodblock flooring extends across both storeys, while a terracotta-concrete staircase with a matching steel frame connects them. Downstairs, clay plaster covers the ceiling and oak panelling lines the walls, creating a smaller, closely enclosed dining room.

The food: Coffee, eggs and Aleppo pepper butter

Cup of Joy’s house blend combines sustainably sourced Arabica beans from El Salvador, Brazil and Colombia, with flavours of dark chocolate, orange and hazelnut. Coffee is served in one-off ceramic cups made by co-founder and self-taught ceramicist Gökçe Kalyoncu. Their uneven profiles and glazed surfaces introduce a small element of variation to the daily flat white.

The all-day menu includes a bagel filled with feta and heirloom tomatoes, pistachio porridge, toasties and salads. Eggs Istanbul are finished with Aleppo pepper butter – a nod to the brand’s Turkish beginnings. For something sweet, Baba Au Tea consists of poppy-seed sponge soaked in orange rooibos syrup and topped with whipped cream.

Cup of Joy is located at 28 Blandford Street, Marylebone, London W1U 4BZ, United Kingdom

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.’

An ivory trunk cinched with navy and cobalt straps, its shell crowded with old airline stickers. An orange case bearing a jumble of destination labels. A powder-blue suitcase with coral corners and wheels. Together, they form Globe-Trotter’s second Renewed Collection (available 3pm BST today, 27 August).

Globe-Trotter makes a case for luggage with a past

This is the latest release under The Restoration Edit, the British brand’s programme for returning used cases to service. Its first drop sold out shortly after launch. For round two, another selection has passed through Globe-Trotter’s Hertfordshire workshop, where artisans have repaired each piece by hand. Handles, locks and structural elements are brought back into working order, while scuffs, softened leather and fading labels are left intact.

The cases’ survival owes much to the original construction. Globe-Trotter has made its cases from vulcanised fibreboard since its foundation in 1897, reinforcing them with vegetable-tanned leather and assembling them by hand. Its Hertfordshire production still employs manufacturing methods and machinery dating to the Victorian era. Restoration belongs to that same system: the shell can be repaired, components replaced, and the object sent back into use.

The visual friction is, arguably, the collection’s draw. Fresh straps sit against mottled corners; restored fittings share space with decals collected in transit. The colour combinations can be eccentric: blush-pink belts cross cream fibreboard, a green-handled wardrobe trunk opens onto dense florals, and coral corners punctuate a powder-blue shell. Each suitcase retains Globe-Trotter’s character, with colours and wear that exist as a one-off combination.

Later in 2026, Globe-Trotter will follow the Renewed Collection with The Archive, a second strand of the project built around historic cases drawn from the company’s own holdings. Each will be restored individually and presented as a collectable work.

The second drop of The Renewed Collection launches exclusively at globe-trotter.com at 3 pm BST today (27 August 2026).

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

It is not every day that passengers can encounter work by Chris Ofili, Wolfgang Tillmans and Max Ernst at the airport. Yet at Gstaad-Saanen Airport, Tarmak22 has made contemporary art a regular arrival. Named after the runway it overlooks, the exhibition space was founded in 2019 by Antonia Crespí and Tatiana de Pahlen. Its late summer show, ‘How to Dance in Flower Fields’, takes the plants of the surrounding Alps as its subject.

Curated by Crespí, the exhibition begins with the flower fields of the Saanenland, the Alpine region surrounding Gstaad. Artworks appear alongside botanical drawings and preserved specimens from archives in Zurich, Geneva and Bern. The local subject draws an international cast: Ofili, Tillmans and Ernst are joined by Yves Tanguy, Franz Gertsch, Chiara Camoni, Álvaro Urbano and Monica Ursina Jäger.

German biologist Ernst Haeckel provides the backbone to the show. He coined the word ‘ecology’ in 1866 and published Kunstformen der Natur, a collection of studies of plants and animals. His drawings turn scientific observation into images of startling intricacy. In the showcase, they explain why a flower can be evidence, artwork and object of wonder.

Dried gentians from the United Herbaria of the University and ETH Zurich bring the local landscape indoors. Long valued for their medicinal properties, they appear alongside Ofili’s flowering stems and masked pipers. Meanwhile, Max Ernst supplies blooms that could only have grown in the Surrealist imagination, and Tillmans finds tenderness in a photograph of two flowering plants that seem to embrace.

The view then narrows from Alpine panorama to forest floor. Gertsch concentrates on grasses, riverbeds and patches of woodland; Urbano makes plants and animals that initially appear real, only for their crafted surfaces to give them away; and Camoni uses grasses and leaves, pressing their forms onto silk until goblins, fairies and xapiri-like guardians emerge. In the two-channel installation Transient Traveller, Jäger follows the passage of botanical knowledge through science, natural materials and storytelling.

The archival highlight is Flore des Dames de Genève. Created in 1817, it contains almost 1,000 botanical drawings, largely copied by women whose contribution to scientific knowledge received scant recognition.

‘How to Dance in Flower Fields’ runs from 6 August to 6 September 2026; admission is free. Tarmak22 is located at Gstaad-Saanen Airport, Oeystrasse 29, 3792 Saanen, Switzerland

Grey is the universal colour of the corporate office. Versatile as a base, it can still feel uninspired when allowed to dominate. This raises the question: ‘What if a workspace felt like a second home?’ Maslow’s newest members’ house provides a welcome answer.

Step inside Maslow’s Kensington

A stone’s throw from High Street Kensington Underground station in London, Maslow’s occupies a grand mid-20th-century art deco building. Oversized entrance doors open into a soaring reception hall, where a turn to the right reveals the members’ club entrance – a discreet counterpoint to the scale of the foyer.

The group’s third club, following Mortimer House in Fitzrovia and 1 Warwick in Soho, Maslow’s Kensington’s defining feature is the integration of wellbeing into the working day – a principle that runs throughout the building.

On the ground floor, wellness-focused café Oria is divided into a casual dining room and a lounge for lingering over matcha or coffee. Designed to support energy and concentration, the menu prioritises unprocessed ingredients and contains no refined sugar. Our picks are the coconut matcha and the green-vegetable spelt pasta with pesto.

To the left of reception, a sculptural staircase rises past a mezzanine changing room stocked with amenities before reaching the main first-floor workspace. Large communal desks, sofas and armchairs provide numerous places to settle in for the day, with power points throughout. Warm timber joinery traces an oval ‘running track’ through the interior, organising the route between private phone booths, meeting rooms and expansive offices available to external companies.

At the rear of the first floor, the members-only gym is equipped with Technogym apparatus and a customised Paragon x Gym80 strength-training line. An adjoining movement studio houses Balanced Body reformers. Performance diagnostics include Technogym Checkup and InBody assessments, which measure factors such as mobility, balance and cognitive performance to help members understand their ‘wellness age’.

Mehrai Design led the interiors, with art curation and styling by Studio Mercy. Psychology and neuroaesthetics informed the sensory scheme, from planting to tactile cord seating and patterned upholstery. The experience extends to scent, giving the club the atmosphere of a luxury hotel, while a gentle soundscape and warm lighting create an environment conducive to both concentration and relaxation.

‘We created Maslow’s Kensington in response to a shift we’re seeing in how people want to work and live,’ says Guy Ivesha, founder and CEO of Maslow’s. ‘Too often, wellbeing exists separately from the working day, something people try to fit in before work, during lunch or afterwards. We wanted to challenge that model and create a place where movement, nutrition, connection and thoughtful design are built into everyday routines. Every element has been carefully considered to help people feel better, work better and get more out of their day.’

Memberships start at £300. Find out more via maslows.com

A basement gives a bar one immediate advantage: night arrives whenever the door opens. At Qode, beneath an outhouse in Gandipet on Hyderabad’s western edge, the light might dim, but the mood never does. Commissioned by Golkonda Hospitality, the Studio Nilasha-designed venue occupies 4,500 sq ft: a largely enclosed 3,000 sq ft basement and a further 1,500 sq ft outside. Entry begins in a corner of the café above, where a green-marble spiral staircase winds underground. Walnut encloses its outer curve and a mirror lines the inner face, cutting off the room above as guests descend. ‘Qode allows visitors to discover it gradually,’ says Nilasha, principal designer of her eponymous firm.

Wallpaper* dines at Qode, Hyderabad

The mood: marble underground

The central bar is the basement’s organising device. Black Marquina runs from the floor onto the counter, joined by deep-green Verde Guatemala marble and antique brushed brass. Above it, perforated brass and fluted glass form a tiered ellipse that works as lighting and bottle storage. Studio Nilasha designed the installation with lighting studio SPK Valo; from here, a three-dimensional ceiling spreads across the room, concealing pipes and wiring within its geometry.

Booths follow the perimeter in a loose, curved plan, creating pockets for groups without dividing the bar into separate rooms. Fluted walnut, black textured stone, antique mirror and tropical wallpaper make a suitably dense backdrop; emerald, topaz and burnt-sienna upholstery brings colour at seat level. Even the washroom joins in, with a monolithic Black Marquina basin, green tiles and a beaten-metal ceiling.

A set of doors changes the register entirely. Outside, the palette contracts to grey and green Kota stone, pale neo-cement, black-stained timber and stone-topped tables. Built-in seats gather around the existing trees, with branches and open sky replacing the basement’s geometric ceiling.

The food and drinks: Camembert, lamb and late hours

Qode’s menu covers Asia, the Mediterranean, Europe and India. The kitchen narrows the field to two recommendations. Start with baked Camembert, served with spiced honey, rosemary and roasted garlic for the table to share. Then order the Mediterranean braised lamb, pairing slow-cooked shanks with aromatic Arabic couscous. It has the substance required for dinner in a venue otherwise geared towards drinks and small plates. The bar does the same with Sakura San and Persian Jasmine, its two recommended cocktails.

Qode, The Golkonda Resort, Sagar Mahal Complex, Gandipet, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

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

Interior designer André Fu is best known for crafting a design philosophy that marries Eastern and Western sensibilities in contemporary matrimony. The Hong Kong-based interior architect has fine-tuned his practice over the course of 15 years, and his career has now been charted in a new tome published by Assouline.

With words by Wallpaper’s Singapore editor Daven Wu, the monograph, André Fu: A Designer’s Vision, explores a series of landmark projects, including The Upper House and the St Regis in Hong Kong, the Waldorf Astoria Osaka, Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto, and London’s Berkeley Hotel Pavilion Suites.

‘André Fu: A Designer’s Vision’

Fu is known for intertwining diverse cultural influences and artisanal craft, all tied together in a contemporary expression of relaxed luxury. Forthcoming projects such as the Dusit Thani Bangkok and Capella Taipei. His holistic lifestyle brand, André Fu Living, further embodies his signature modern style.

The tome is divided into three parts: Heritage Reimagined, Escape, and Cultural Dialogue. It looks at case studies of his work from restaurant Duddell’s in Hong Kong, which is fitted with a chic cityscape aesthetic, to the calming luxury showcased at the Residence Suites of Villa La Coste in France, to the Japanese art deco of the Waldorf Astoria Osaka.

Accompanying the projects are interviews between the designer and creatives who have either inspired or worked closely with him, including Daniel Calvert, the head chef of Sézanne, and designer and retailer Joyce Ma, giving a sense of Fu’s creative reach and influence.

‘André Fu: A Designer’s Vision’ from Assouline is released 24 July 2026, priced £100

This Italian seafood specialist began life on Milan’s Via Savona in 2007 before expanding to two further sites in Italy’s fashion and design capital, then opening outposts in the favoured grazing spots of the international jet-set: the Cheval Blanc Paris; Porto Cervo on Sardinia and Paraggi Bay on the Italian Riviera; a mountaintop in St Moritz. Now it’s arrived at The OWO, the former Old War Office reborn as a Raffles hotel, but with its own dedicated entrance on Whitehall Place so you never feel like you’re actually in a hotel. It’s proved to be an instant hit with London’s Italian expats; needless to say, you should dress up as if for Milan Fashion Week when dining here.

Wallpaper* dines at Langosteria London

The mood: Whitehall’s Italian job

Italian architect Carlo Samarati was also behind the look of the Langosterias in Milan and Paraggi and died before he completed the London outpost, with Thirtyone Design + Management as project architect. The group’s founder, Enrico Buonocore, describes Samarati as ‘a dear friend of mine whose untimely passing left a deep void,’ though Langosteria London stands as a fitting tribute.

A travertine and Italian walnut counter in the bar sets the tone, with bottle-green Verde Alpi marble floors flowing through into the more casual of the two dining rooms, with alcove seating along one side and a wine wall dividing the space from the Historical Room beyond. This is the former meeting room of the Old War Office, where original stone fireplaces and stucco ceilings contrast with hand-painted, hand-embroidered silk wallcoverings by Misha. Guests sit on custom-made chairs by Medea and dine at Molteni tables, flatteringly lit by bespoke Venini lamps.

‘We wanted to respect the architecture of the Old War Office while injecting it with a sense of Italian hospitality and effortless elegance,’ Buonocore says. ‘The core intention was to marry the excellence of Italian design with Britain’s majestic historical legacy.’

The food: A taste of Milan

While the menu features classic Italian fish and seafood of fritto misto and sea bass in a salt crust, the kitchen goes beyond the familiar with signature dishes imported from Milan: chateaubriand of black grouper, say, or orecchiette damare, a dish so well-timed it is almost impossible to differentiate between the springy texture of the sautéed seafood and the al dente pasta.

It is simple cooking constructed from high-quality Italian ingredients – Sicilian langoustine, Mediterranean yellowtail – and presented with a creative flourish. A carpaccio of tonno rosso has ruby-fleshed tuna sliced into ribbons and folded like the petals of a rose, with an almost liquid centre of candied tomato and basil. The Sardinian speciality of Mazzancolle prawns ‘alla catalana’ has a pair of fat pink prawns on a bed of Camone tomato, celery and red onion: an eye-catchingly alluring assembly of fresh, vivid flavours and vibrant colours.

Finish with a wobbly tiramisu; its creaminess is more at the macchiato than espresso end of the coffee spectrum. For something equally sweet but with considerably more kick, order a Prince Alfonso, an in-house cocktail creation that combines Zacapa 23 rum with Dubonnet and aged cherry: truly the cherry on top of a very glamorous cake.

Langosteria London is located at Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2BD, United Kingdom

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.

English fashion accessories designer Anya Hindmarch is the sort of traveller who could spend an entire 14-hour flight watching the aircraft inch across the in-flight map. She touches the outside of every plane for luck before boarding, bows three times to a new moon wherever she finds herself, and returns home with everything from orange blossom oil and kohl to pieces that eventually become part of her summer wardrobe. Travel, for Hindmarch, is another way of learning – architecture, history, food and culture experienced first-hand.

That curiosity sits alongside an instinct that has shaped her work since she founded her eponymous London business in 1987: the urge to give everything its place. The origin of one of her most enduring ideas is fittingly travel-related. After repeatedly unloading an assortment of currencies at airport security, she devised the Loose Pocket, a dedicated pouch for all the paraphernalia that otherwise drifts around a bag. The same logic has since run through her Labelled collection and countless purpose-built accessories, turning the contents of a handbag into something of a filing system.

Now, her travel fixation has its own destination. Following the debut of the Air Anya pop-up last year, Anya Travel has now arrived as a permanent collection and standalone store at The Village on Pont Street in London, gathering what Hindmarch calls ‘all of the travel organisational obsessive ideas I have had over the years’ into one place. Recycled-nylon suitcases and weekend bags sit alongside pouches, passport covers, eye masks, luggage tags and other in-flight essentials, while the store borrows its visual language from stations and airports, with thick waiting-room carpet, moulded plastic seating, rounded windows and a travel clock. A Concorde candle and tins of travel sweets add Hindmarch’s characteristic humour.

‘I spend much of my life between places, travelling in all its forms. It can be exhausting, but there’s something about being in transit. It’s the only time I allow myself to waste time and simply follow my heart,’ she tells Wallpaper*.

For the latest edition of In Transit, our interview series exploring the travel habits and philosophies of creative minds, Hindmarch shares the destinations, objects and rituals that have stayed with her – from her earliest memories of Marrakech to the beach in the Philippines where her husband proposed, and why she wants to sleep in Pompeii.

How Anya Hindmarch travels

What’s your earliest travel memory?

‘Marrakech, aged five. I remember people stroking my blond hair, oranges sold from baskets with their leaves still attached, and the water sellers.’

What role does travel play in your life now, personally and through work?

‘I love it. I travel far and wide for both work and pleasure, and nothing excites me like discovering somewhere new. I could happily watch the flight map for an entire 14-hour journey.’

What attracts you to a destination?

‘I love to learn, and nothing beats experiencing a place first-hand. I’m drawn to architecture, history, food and culture – anything that introduces me to something new.’

Do you pack for who you are or who you think you’ll become on that trip?

‘A bit of both. I also love buying things while I’m away. My summer wardrobe has become a collection of pieces gathered on my travels, each with its own memory and story.’

What’s the most unnecessary thing you bring ‘just in case’ – and the most essential?

‘Too many shoes. My diary is the essential – I write in it every day.’

What’s one garment, accessory or beauty tip you always rely on when travelling?

‘My longyis from Myanmar, which double as skirts, towels and cover-ups. I mostly wear them as skirts, with a shirt tucked in.

Do you have a travel habit – something you do every time, wherever you are, even if it’s irrational?

‘I always touch the outside of the plane for luck as I board. I also bow three times to a new moon and make a wish, wherever I am in the world.’

Who’s the most interesting person you’ve met while travelling?

‘Probably our guide in the Galápagos Islands.’

What’s the best thing you’ve ever brought back from a trip?

‘It’s impossible to choose: sand from the beach where my husband proposed in the Philippines; kohl that a local girl in Petra applied to the whole family so our eyes would look good in photographs – she was right; or orange blossom oil from Tangier. Buy it in bulk.’

What’s a place that changed the way you think, or taught you something lasting?

‘Always Japan – for its approach to manners, quality and discipline.’

Do you remember places more by how they looked or how they felt?

‘Both – and by how they smelled. It’s why nothing replaces actually being there.’

Do you tend to capture moments when you travel or let them stay unrecorded?

‘I take zillions of photographs, then savour them when I get home.’

Which place in the world feels most like you?

‘Morocco – the call to prayer, deafening birdsong, cold landscapes and hot sun. But I want to sleep in Pompeii.’

According to Anya...

Journey or destination? ‘Both.’

Window or aisle? ‘Window.’

Early or late flight? ‘Day flight, all the way.’

Fold or roll? ‘Fold.’

Plan everything or arrive and figure it out? ‘Plan beforehand, obviously.’

Go-to travel snack? ‘Wine gums and electrolytes.’

Who’s always on your playlist? ‘Paolo Conte.’

Ideal long-haul seatmate? ‘My husband or my work wife Kate.’

anyahindmarch.com

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

Merit Beauty is making its hospitality debut with The Ritz-Carlton, introducing beauty carts, in-room kits and a fragrance-paired martini at seven North American hotels. The collaboration will run throughout summer and early autumn at Ritz-Carlton properties in Toronto, Santa Barbara, Dallas, Washington DC, Naples, Los Angeles and New York, NoMad.

Beauty is now on The Ritz-Carlton’s room-service menu

Products are now appearing throughout the guest experience, from in-room dining to turndown and the bar. At selected hotels, Club Level guests will find a co-branded beauty cart stocked with complimentary Merit essentials: Great Skin Serum, a lightweight bi-phase formula that hydrates and brightens; Great Skin Double Cleanse, which removes make-up and gently exfoliates in one step; Clean Volume Mascara, offering buildable volume designed to last up to 16 hours; and the bestselling Flush Balm in Postmodern, a deep pink-brown shade. Merit Beauty educators will also visit selected properties to offer personalised product guidance.

The room-service menu provides another route into the collection. Guests can order beauty bundles housed in a custom canvas pouch, bringing Merit’s pared-back approach to getting ready into the bedroom. Come evening, co-branded chocolates and skincare samples may arrive at turndown, while participating bars will serve a ‘Minimalist Martini’ alongside a sample of the brand’s Retrospect fragrance.

A limited-edition travel kit combines the same four essentials in a co-branded pouch with an exclusive keychain, available in-room and online. ‘Merit creates products that are meant to live with you, especially when you’re on the go,’ says chief marketing officer Aila Morin. For the brand, hospitality felt like ‘a natural step.’

meritbeauty.com, ritzcarlton.com

Saikindō begins with a convincing piece of misdirection. At the end of the Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi lobby on Al Maryah Island, guests arrive at what appears to be a fashion atelier, lined with embroidered sukajan jackets and accessories inspired by 1980s Japan. A concealed door then opens onto a densely layered world of analogue sound, yakitori smoke and Bōsōzoku biker swagger. The bar takes its name from an informal Japanese way of asking, ‘How have you been?’ – apt for a watering hole aimed at the island’s after-work crowd.

Wallpaper* drinks at Saikindō, Abu Dhabi

The mood: James Bond in a sukajan jacket

AvroKO built the concept around three references: Japan’s 1960s Metabolism movement, the timber craft of vintage speakers and ‘Bond-zoku’. The studio describes the latter as James Bond having ‘traded the tuxedo for a sukajan jacket from the Bōsōzoku gang’.

The entrance corridor repeats circles and squares across its walls, its carved openings and backlighting recalling both radio static and modular Metabolist structures. In the main lounge, shallow timber speaker forms climb the walls; oak, jade velvet and polished metal give the room the warmth of vintage audio equipment. The central DJ booth directs the layout, flanked by vinyl shelves and two diagonal mixing stations, while the flush bar counter places bartenders and guests at the same eye line.

Elsewhere, the private Kūkan room pairs a concealed DJ booth with embroidered flaming tigers. Outside, a woven mural recasts Ultraman, King Kong and Godzilla as decorative craft.

The drinks: twelve songs on two sides

Beverage director Marco Corallo structured the Aji No Hibiki (‘Resonance of Flavour’) menu like a record, dividing its 12 song-inspired cocktails between Side One and Side Two. The bassline, tempo and melody of each track informed its flavour profile. Big Poppa combines sotol, Campari, wasabi, tomato dashi and vanilla; Like Sugar uses vodka, black sesame, banana, tonic and blueberry balsamic. Several drinks are also available as free-spirited serves.

Food comes from the 18-seat Robata Room, where chef Slamet Wahyudi serves A5 wagyu tartare with smoky mustard and a charcoal bun; lobster negima grilled with yuzu kosho butter; and Kobe sirloin skewers with yolk tare and torched spring onion.

Saikindō is located at Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi Global Market Street, Abu Dhabi, UAE

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.

Man Hon Luk founded Vinyl Pimp, the second-hand record shop that was a second home for London’s DJ community, in 2007, making him an east London scenester long before he was a chef. His cooking conversion came at a poker tournament in Austin in 2021 when he ate at the now Michelin-starred InterStellar BBQ, where pitmaster John Bates introduced him to the ceremony of Texan smoking. After training Stateside in the art of low-and-slow, Luk brought his newly acquired skills back to pop-ups in London, then a two-year residency at All My Friends in Hackney Wick – and now, following a £36k crowdfunder, this permanent home above Crate Brewery.

Wallpaper* dines at Hon’s BBQ, London

The mood: Hong Kong in Hackney Wick

Luk designed the first-floor room himself, taking as twin inspirations his Hong Kong heritage and the Hackney Wick music scene. A liberal use of red takes care of the Hong Kong half: ‘vivid, energising and a direct nod to Chinese culture,’ Luk says. The pinwheel-patterned tables and bar stools are custom pieces by his friend, the Chinese designer Mo Tong; the chairs and lighting in the private dining room are handmade by furniture and interior designer David B Ross at his workshop on Hackney Road. Other pieces have been recycled or repurposed from the site’s previous occupant Silo as a tribute to that restaurant’s zero-waste ethos.

As for the music, that’s covered by speakers hand-built by Noise Control Audio in south-west France. The company was founded by veterans of Nineties rave sound systems Spiral Tribe and Bedlam, and its kit has since been put to work at Glastonbury, Notting Hill Carnival and the Roundhouse. DJs and live performances are promised further down the line, with the room shifting from restaurant to music-led bar after the last food orders at 9.30 pm.

The operation splits between ‘the smoke’ and ‘the serve’, with the meat spending up to 12 hours in the outdoor smoker before being butchered and carved inside at an open kitchen encircled by a chrome counter.

‘That openness is very true to how Texas barbecue is meant to feel,’ Luk says, ‘nothing hidden, everything ritual. The red and the repurposed materials tie back to the Chinese and Asian flavours running through the menu, so the room and the food are telling the same story.’ Are you sitting comfortably?

The food: Chinese cooking, right on cue

Imagine all your favourite meat dishes from the Chinese repertoire, exposed to the smoke of a Texan barbecue pit. The idea is to order meat by the gram, though be aware that Luk arrives at the restaurant every morning at 5 am to start smoking, and when each meat is gone for the day, that’s it – so pre-order when you book a table, or eat early and finish the evening with drinks outside on the towpath terrace at Crate.

The small-plates format means that two people could pretty much work their way through the entire menu, though if you’re not so hungry, the one must-order is the beef short ribs with Sichuan peppercorn sauce, the fall-off-the-bone meat encased in a caramelised, chilli-spiked crust, any leftover sauce doing double duty as a dressing to drizzle over beef-dripping fried rice.

Other smokin’-hot hits include bite-sized cubes of Taiwanese pork belly, the fattiness of the melt-in-the-mouth meat cut through with wedges of fermented radish, ox cheek made woozily aromatic with five-spice, and deeply flavoured duck that is far better than the rather stiff pancakes it comes with. The ultimate Chinese-American mash-up, however, is the mac and cheese, for which it is the highest compliment to say that it tastes as it came out of a packet, if that packet also contained springy cubes of smoked lap cheong sausage.

Vegetarians get braised tofu, a tomato and melon salad and cauliflower with smoked corn sauce – but really, you’re in the wrong restaurant.

Hon’s BBQ is located on the first floor of Unit 7, The White Building, Queen’s Yard, London E9 5EN, United Kingdom

For hotel groups, the new flagship is increasingly an actual ship. Ritz-Carlton already operates three yachts, Orient Express launched the 220m Corinthian this year, and Aman will enter the category in 2027. Four Seasons joined the fleet in March with Four Seasons I, a 207m vessel that carries the brand’s hospitality from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean and Bahamas.

Its debut coincided with the group’s 65th anniversary – neat timing for a company extending its reach beyond hotels and private jets. The 34,000-gross-tonne feat (that being its volume rather than weight) rises across 15 decks yet holds just 95 suites. There are no internal cabins; every bed faces the ocean, and a one-to-one guest-to-staff ratio supports the promise of private-yacht hospitality at considerable scale. The result is the first and clearest expression of Four Seasons’ ambitions at sea.

Wallpaper* goes aboard the Four Seasons Yacht I

What’s on the itinerary?

Our journey from Valletta to Monte Carlo took in Malta’s honey-coloured fortifications, the Aeolian Islands, Ischia, the Argentario coast and the French Riviera, with the yacht arranging shore and sea experiences around food, history, adventure and restoration.

In Malta, guests might trace Valletta’s military architecture, walk the narrow streets of Birgu or visit the Ta’ Betta wine estate. Lipari brings archaeological collections, Aeolian cooking at Ristorante Sangre Rojo and tastings at Tenuta di Castellaro, while Ischia can be explored through Sant’Angelo and the gardens of Giardino del Nonno. From Porto Ercole, options stretch from Maremman vineyards and Michelin-starred lunches to a helicopter journey into Rome. The final days bring a heritage tour of Le Castellet, lunch in Èze and a private visit to Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild before arrival in Monte Carlo.

At selected anchorages, the yacht’s transverse marina opens across both sides of the vessel. Fold-out platforms create direct access to the water for swimming, tenders and water sports, turning the hull into a sea-level terrace.

Who is behind the design?

Tillberg Design of Sweden (TDoS) led the project from its initial ‘Christina O meets James Bond’ design and brand manifesto through master planning, exterior architecture, suites and key guest spaces. Finnish naval engineer Foreship contributed to the early technical concept, while Fincantieri translated the scheme into shipbuilding reality. Martin Brudnizki Design Studio shaped the principal restaurants, bars and social spaces, all under Prosper Assouline’s creative direction.

The central structural spine governs much of the experience. Pulling the principal supports away from the perimeter released the exterior walls for near-continuous floor-to-ceiling glazing. Suites face outwards, daylight reaches deep into the interiors, and the horizon becomes both view and navigation device. Darker tones across alternating bulwarks temper the visual height of the yacht’s decks. Suites function as self-contained residences that can be joined through panels absorbed into the surrounding joinery. ‘We made privacy a question of planning rather than enclosure,’ the studio explains.

Arrival takes place through the Salon, where wraparound glazing and long sightlines establish an immediate connection with the water. ‘The Salon is the first interior room to receive guests, conceived as the yacht’s living room,’ says TDoS. De Gournay’s embroidered chairs reference art deco furniture and early ocean-liner motifs, while Pistachio, the adjacent pâtisserie and coffee counter, and a nearby concierge establish the daily rhythm through coffee, pastries and conversation.

Across the yacht, warm woods, fitted carpets, expressive stone, glass and reflective metal give the interiors a residential register. In the suites, anigré-toned panelling with an Astrakhan finish sits alongside parquet, bespoke rugs and aqua-green surfaces inspired by Brazilian quartzite. Selected areas use highly accurate porcelain stoneware in place of rare natural stone, balancing visual depth with the fire, ultraviolet and maintenance requirements of a working vessel.

Specialist craft is integrated into the architecture: Clifford Glass Studio produced églomisé maps based on historic sailing charts; British artist Katherine Lloyd created the shell composition for Champagne & Caviar; and the main pool carries a bespoke fish mosaic inspired by Georges Braque’s Les Poissons.

MRD Lighting developed a layered scheme that follows the natural light by day and gives the interiors a warmer register after dusk. A centuries-old marine fossil even appears in one of the public washrooms. As the studio puts it: ‘We used history as texture rather than theme.’

The suite to book

Book the Funnel Suite for the project’s fullest architectural expression: a four-level, three-bedroom residence wrapped in sweeping curved glass. Spanning 9,975 sq ft, it contains a private pool, outdoor gym, kitchen, entertaining spaces and a lift connecting its floors. Its wraparound glazing forms what Four Seasons describes as the largest contiguous piece of glass at sea. The suite captures TDoS’s approach to the yacht as a whole: ‘Classical yacht symbolism reimagined through contemporary engineering, spatial invention and hospitality.’

The same principles continue through the other categories. Each suite has a sea-facing bed, floor-to-ceiling windows and a private terrace, with coordinated flooring and discreet thresholds. Sunbeam straw marquetry frames an oval mirror behind the bed, while bathrooms use aqua-green quartzite or stone-effect surfaces across double vanities, walk-in showers and soaking tubs.

‘The sea-facing bed, residential warmth, private terrace, crafted marquetry and intuitive technology recur throughout the accommodation,’ says the studio. ‘We wanted our design to remain coherent in ambience and quality at every scale.’

Staying for drinks and dinner?

With 11 restaurants and lounges, some editing is required. Sedna merits an early reservation. The yacht’s culinary centrepiece occupies an enveloping emerald-green dining room and serves contemporary French cuisine alongside a rotating chef-in-residence series. Participating chefs include Christian Le Squer of Le Cinq in Paris, Luca Piscazzi of Pelagos in Athens and Guillaume Galliot of Caprice in Hong Kong.

Miuna concentrates the experience around a 16-seat hinoki-wood counter. Executive chef Yusuke Yamamoto’s Mediterranean-season omakase draws on ingredients sourced along the route, travelling through sea bass usuzukuri with lemon ponzu, Mediterranean sea bream with green asparagus and pickled radish, hamachi nigiri with lime zest, akami zuke, chutoro with caviar and otoro with chives.

Terrasse handles the yacht’s everyday Mediterranean appetite, from breakfast and crudos to hearth-fired pizza, house-made pasta and fish selected from the daily market. Pistachio provides coffee, viennoiserie, filled-to-order cruffins and petits gâteaux, while the Salon shifts from breakfast to afternoon tea beneath its art deco-inspired embroidery.

Horizon Lounge brings Levantine dishes, a plunge pool and a beach-club setting to the upper deck. At sunset, Champagne & Caviar occupies an adults-only terrace overlooking the pool, accompanied by Katherine Lloyd’s shimmering shell artwork. Bar O takes over after dark with a nod to the cocktail culture of 1960s jet-set Europe with vintage spirits, tableside preparation and London-made églomisé tables.

‘We wanted each venue to be immediately recognisable while still belonging to the yacht’s broader narrative of glamour, discovery and maritime memory,’ adds TDoS. The variety is deliberate, but the recurring woods, deep greens, marble, glass and crafted surfaces maintain a coherent architectural identity.

Where to switch off

L’Oceana Spa occupies deck four, where tactile stone and intricate mosaic surfaces by Morandi Studio create a soothing visual identity. Some individual mosaic compositions required around 100 hours of work. A mixed-gender hammam for up to 12 guests anchors a thermal circuit containing an ocean-facing Finnish sauna, infrared sauna, aromatic steam room, cold plunge, cryotherapy chamber and spa pool.

Treatments draw on three skincare houses: Margy’s Monte Carlo, La Mer and Azorean biotechnology brand Ignae. The yacht-exclusive Four Seasons Miracle Broth Facial combines La Mer formulations with cryotherapy, sound and pressure-point techniques. Ignae’s Azorean Rebirth Body Ritual uses sea salt, botanical oils and a spirulina mask before a full-body and scalp massage.

The adjoining fitness centre keeps the water present through daylight and ocean views. Technogym equipment, Frame reformers and body-assessment technology are supplemented by yoga, cycling and meditation sessions on deck, making the horizon an active component of the workout.

The verdict

Four Seasons I is at its best in the choreography. Transfers, shore excursions, restaurant reservations and the daily sequence from breakfast to a marina swim and dinner unfold with remarkable precision. Staff are attentive, assured and genuinely personable, remembering preferences, communicating across teams and resolving changes quickly. The one-to-one guest-to-staff ratio registers through that consistency at every stage. The generous suites establish an unhurried pace, with sea-facing beds, private terraces and bathrooms that have the dimensions of a city hotel. Eleven restaurants and lounges, the pool, marina, spa, thermal circuit and fitness centre give each day endless possibilities. Those who weren’t converts of the yacht life will undoubtedly be now.

fourseasonsyachts.com

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

In 2023, Broadwick Soho, a Martin Brudnizki-designed hotel, arrived on the corner of Broadwick Street and Berwick Street in London’s Soho with pink elephants on the façade, a rooftop bar upstairs and Italian restaurant Dear Jackie below ground as its red-roomed heart. Now, one of its central characters is being recast.

Beefbar gives Broadwick Soho a carnivorous new chapter

This autumn, Monaco-born Beefbar will move into the fun-loving property, taking over Dear Jackie’s subterranean space and ground-floor sister bar, Bar Jackie. The new address, Beefbar at Dear Jackie, opens on 10 September 2026 with bespoke interiors and a redesigned terrace for day-to-night dining by Brudnizki – very useful in a neighbourhood where lunch has a habit of becoming last orders.

Founded in Monte Carlo in 2005 by Riccardo Giraudi, Beefbar has built its name by giving the steakhouse a Riviera-infused new identity: think prized cuts, glossy rooms, a bit of theatre, and enough international appeal to carry it to Paris, Milan, Mykonos, New York and beyond. The new Soho outpost will become its UK flagship, following the brand’s Chelsea opening.

Giraudi says he wanted Beefbar’s new UK home to have ‘real soul’, adding that Dear Jackie gives the team ‘freedom to be playful with the menu’. Broadwick Soho’s managing director Joshua Gardner puts it in typically Soho terms: ‘We don’t take ourselves too seriously, but we care enormously about every detail.’

The menu will centre on Japanese Kobe, Australian Wagyu and Beefbar’s signature sauce, alongside London-only dishes including Wagyu shepherd’s pie and a truffle-laced Cordon Bleu.

Broadwick Soho is located at 20 Broadwick St, London W1F 8HT, United Kingdom

The original Chef restaurant in Almaty, Kazakhstan, has spent 11 years serving dishes from an 1881 recipe book. Its second address, Chef Medeu, carries that historical fixation into the foothills, close to the city’s celebrated high-altitude skating rink. Here, the 1881 date has become a design brief. Alexandra Tsipkun of Tsipkun Interiors has shaped the 112 sq m restaurant as a 19th-century country estate – domestic in scale, layered with collected objects and unmistakably Almaty in its details.

Wallpaper* dines at Chef Madeu, Almaty

The mood: snow leopards by the fire

The compact main room accommodates 32 guests across sofas, armchairs and tables of varying sizes. An eight-seat communal table stands at its centre and can be divided into independent groups, giving the floor plan several seating arrangements while preserving comfortable circulation. A chandelier, wall lights and illuminated shelving provide pools of warm light, supported by discreet technical fixtures directed towards tables and circulation.

The main event is a 2.6m ceramic fireplace created specifically for the restaurant. Conceived as an enlarged version of a traditional tiled stove, it was assembled from tiles formed and painted by hand by ceramic artist Svetlana Plotnikova. Snow leopards, apples, swallows, horses and poppies appear across its saturated blue, green and red surface, translating the landscape and symbols of Almaty into architecture.

Across the room, the custom bar combines metal, bevelled mirrors and an oak marquetry panel. Open shelving incorporates glassware, tableware and collected objects into the composition, while lime plaster marked with patina and craquelure sits alongside brushed timber, rough-sawn decorative beams and hand-painted window reveals.

The food: like 1881

The 1881 cookbook provides the historical thread; the menu itself ranges widely. The clearest regional notes appear in a game assortment of air-dried and lightly smoked roe deer, venison and saiga antelope; pelmeni filled with veal and horse meat; and horse rib marinated for 24 hours in spiced broth before being cooked for eight. Oxtail receives a contemporary treatment, cooked sous-vide, finished on the grill and glazed with an 18-hour veal jus.

Breakfast brings pancakes, gravlax, red caviar, whipped butter and scrambled eggs arranged on a silver tray with a glass of sparkling wine. Later in the day, the restaurant’s take on a ‘happy meal’ combines a truffle burger, potato boats, truffle sauce, sparkling wine and fresh truffle shaved over everything. Kazakh tea with milk and roasted millet, conifer tea made with spruce-cone preserve, and house infusions ranging from sea buckthorn to horseradish and garlic complete the picture.

Chef Medeu is located at 582/3 Kerey-Zhanibek Khandar Street, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Depending on how discerning you are, when you choose a cocktail bar, you’re likely thinking about a few factors: the ambience, the bartenders’ talent, the drinks menu. Rarely, if ever, are you sparing a thought for the bar’s sustainability practices or their methods of tackling waste. That could soon change.

The bars creatively championing sustainability

Whether or not patrons realise it, bars can be pretty wasteful environments. Spilled drinks, ice, fruit skins, leftover ingredients and more all contribute to the footprint of a bar. With increasing awareness of our individual impact on the environment, that attitude is shifting. Many bars are taking their attempts at sustainability a step further, with unique approaches and methods that only add to their creativity. These aren’t just hippy spots, either. Several of them were featured on the inaugural list of Europe’s 50 Best Bars that dropped on 1 July 2026.

Take Himkok, in Oslo, a multi-award-winning cocktail bar and distillery. They source all ingredients locally, follow environmentally friendly production techniques, and implement methods to reduce water use. Their distillery is powered by renewable energy, and everything is made on-site. World-renowned Angelita, in Madrid, exclusively uses local produce and makes everything in their bar by hand with cutting-edge techniques like ancestral ferments, distillates, vacuum methods and modulated temperatures. More uniquely, they have a ‘no ice’ system that saves 45,000kg a year of water. Fura, in Singapore, takes things one step further. Founded by partners Christina Rasmussen (former head-forager for Noma) and Sasha Wijidessa, Fura is primarily plant-based, with ingredients harvested from their own garden. Perhaps controversially, non-plant-based items on the menu include the Jellyfish Martini, the logic being that it’s an ‘overly-prevalent’ species. If jellyfish isn’t for you, you can also enjoy ‘future proteins’ like crickets.

These kinds of extreme approaches to sustainability drive press around a bar, but they also impact every single aspect of how a bar operates and how a bartender works. Wanting to get a deeper idea of how these methods play out, we spoke to Hyacinthe Lescoêt, co-founder of Cambridge Public House, a spot in the Marais in Paris that combines the chill ambience of a pub with the expertise of a cocktail bar. When it comes to their approach, they prefer the term ‘responsibility’ over ‘sustainability’, believing it to be more defined. ‘As a business, we are responsible for our staff, for our community and for the planet. It is our duty to make sure we have a good impact,’ says Lescoêt. That commitment goes further than a vague statement; Cambridge is a B Corp that shares their ESG report and partners with an external agency to audit their emissions.

Day to day, they have a creative process that includes waste management from the very beginning. Their seasonal menu changes every week, and all of their cocktails focus on a local ingredient. More than that, it also needs to be completely used or compostable. ‘We still give all the tools and directions to the team to implement this in their creativity,’ says Lescoêt. ‘Yet, the best way of tackling waste is to not make any at all. Everything in the ingredients is used throughout the conception of the drink. And if we can’t, the last magic tool is a beautiful compost we have at the bar.’

Across Paris, in Montorgueil in the busy second arrondissement, restaurant and bar De Vie has a ‘farm to glass’ approach. They source their seasonal ingredients exclusively from producers and farmers in mainland France, ideally as close to Paris as possible. Seasonal means seasonal, too-fresh citrus fruits will only appear on the menu when French citrus is available; if they need acidity any other time, they use preserves or infused vinegars for acidity. When we asked about their approach to sustainability, they happily sent me a full, detailed rundown of their suppliers. Transparency is at the heart of their business.

There is a dialogue between the bar and kitchen that enables them to use up everything. For example, leftover fruit pulp from batches of wine or infusions produced by the bar team is processed in the kitchen and reincorporated into the menu. They do not use any ice at all in the bar, instead prebatching drinks. They have a refrigerated drawer unit that can be used as either a fridge or freezer, holding all batches at their desired temperature. I asked co-founder Barney O’Kane how this impacts the staff: ‘Working within this ethos means we have to carefully plan the next steps for all the stages of preparation and production associated with that produce. If we source carrots from a small farm, what will we use the carrot leaves for? We see these challenges as a positive, as it forces our hand and pushes us to create more interesting ways to utilise and re-utilise all our ingredients.’

While many of the bars championing more sustainable practices are in Europe, this is far from a localised phenomenon. Bars in Asia are particularly forward-thinking; Zest, in Seoul, has won awards specifically for its sustainable approach. They use at least one locally sourced ingredient in each of their signature drinks and are transparent about the exact farms they came from. Reka:Bar is a futuristic ‘cocktail lab’ specialising in inventive cocktails in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that is currently listed as one of the World’s 50 Best Bars. Founder Nick Choo kindly took time out of a European tour to guide me through their process. Reka offers a signature menu called the ‘Domino Effect’ wherein every cocktail uses the byproduct of the main ingredient of one drink as the secondary ingredient in another, creating a ‘chain reaction’ of flavour and minimising waste while ‘creating an exciting story for guests.’

Aside from their signature menu, says Choo, waste from their drinks is repurposed in their food, and vice versa: ‘We try our best to use every ingredient wholly; for example, we turn banana peels into a delicious gel garnish for one of our cocktails.’ Additionally, they work with ethical farmers who don’t use fertilisers and pesticides, such as A Little Farm on the Hill, whose ethos is that their farm grows soil, not plants. The bar itself is also designed to minimise the use of electricity with techniques such as all-LED lighting and an insulated interior to cut back on air conditioning. Prioritising sustainability doesn’t hold Reka back from being a boundary-breaking bar; the boundaries give them more licence to be creative. In their new ‘Magic’ menu, they recreate the flavour of expensive and high-carbon-footprint fruit such as lychee with low-carbon-footprint ingredients such as celery and guava.

Cocktail bars have long been stages for creativity, innovation, and, let’s face it, showing off. It’s not enough to just put together a nice martini anymore – it’s a competitive scene, and with hard times for the industry, bar professionals have to get more inventive all the time to save money, tackle waste, save money and get customers through the door. These ground-breaking sustainability practices do all of that and more, making a genuine impact on their footprint across the world while still delivering first-class experiences to guests. And as guests, if we can support sustainability initiatives and still get a delicious drink and memorable evening out of it, there’s really no losing.

In recent years, Edinburgh has become one of the most exciting food capitals in Western Europe, and one of the key players in this salivatory surge is chef-restaurateur Stuart Ralston. Glenrothes-born Ralston is a career chef who cut his teeth in New York before returning to Edinburgh to open Aizle in 2014. Ralston is hungry and restless; 12 years later, he has four restaurants in Edinburgh: Noto, Tipo, Vinette and Lyla. The last is the jewel in his crown. It occupies a regal spot in a Georgian townhouse on Royal Terrace, looking north over the city towards the Firth of Forth, and it holds one of the capital’s seven Michelin stars.

Lyla makes a night of it in Edinburgh

Since April 2026, Lyla has added four bedrooms upstairs to its offer. Each is named after an edible coastal plant: Aster, Linen, Samphire and Purslane. The rooms have been designed by Glasgow-based studio Scarinish, which also designed the restaurant on the ground floor in 2023. Across the restaurant and rooms, the designers have deployed a clever amount of warmth and character to soften the lofty grandeur of those Georgian proportions. In the bedrooms, dark wood joinery is balanced with bold and graphic textiles by Orcadian designer Hilary Grant. Furniture and lighting have brass details that glint among the painterly wall colours. The mood is hallowed, without being stuffy or pretentious. That legendary Edinburgh light completes the scene. Beds are huge and comfortable, which is what really matters after the epic tasting menu that takes place downstairs.

The food is still the star of the show at Lyla. It is a charismatic seafood-based tasting menu of great skill and imagination, heart and soul. We’ll confess to being a little tired of the tasting-menu format, but in Ralston’s hands it’s a deft and personal adventure. This is fare with flair; each dish is deeply intriguing and utterly delicious, a precarious balance that escapes too many chefs flirting with the Michelin crowd. Over three canapés, ten courses and four petit fours, we were introduced to squid-as-ramen; sorrel sorbet; laminated brioche with wild garlic butter; a crunchy langoustine with burnt apple; lobster, kingfish, halibut, scallop, trout and crab in forms each more beguiling than the last. It’s a fishy fandango, in the very best sense.

The experience of Lyla’s tasting menu has that magic ingredient all too often overlooked in fine dining: joy. And it feels all the more enjoyable, frankly, for our being able to roll upstairs to an epic bed, without even needing to consider engaging with the outside world. Satiated, swaddled, and rendered comatose, we then awoke from a magnificent slumber and had breakfast brought to our room first thing. A beautiful breakfast picnic affair, it consisted of fresh pastries, a banana-chocolate miso muffin, sea trout gravlax, cheese, berries, juices and coffee. Before catatonia took hold, we departed back to real life, grateful for 12 hours of wonderment, and equally grateful that those muffins aren’t within easy reach on a daily basis.

We took the opportunity to quiz Stuart Ralston about Lyla’s expansion from restaurant to rooms and the Edinburgh dining scene beyond.

Wallpaper*: Your restaurants each have a clear personality. What is Lyla's?

Stuart Ralston: Lyla’s identity is very much centred around Scottish seafood. Scotland has some of the finest seafood in the world, and I wanted to create a restaurant that put that at the forefront, treating it with the same level of care and attention that you might traditionally associate with meat-led fine dining. It’s a Michelin-starred restaurant, but the ambition isn’t simply about refinement. It’s about showcasing the quality of our waters, our producers and our coastline through a contemporary tasting menu. The experience is intimate, focused and ingredient-led, with seafood at the heart of everything we do.

W*: How does the ethos of your food at Lyla extend into the hospitality experience?

SR: The food and hospitality are completely connected. We put a lot of emphasis on making the experience feel personal and engaging rather than formal. We have a world-class front-of-house team that leads the service and creates the atmosphere in the room, but it’s also important to me that the chefs are involved directly with guests. Many of the dishes are served by the chefs themselves, who spend time explaining the ingredients, producers and thinking behind each course. I think there’s something special about hearing directly from the person who prepared the dish. It creates a stronger connection between the kitchen and the guest and gives people a better understanding of the work and care that goes into the food.

W*: Do the Georgian bones of the building inspire a certain mood that you play with in the Lyla experience?

SR: Absolutely. The building already had a sense of elegance and permanence before we ever touched it. What appealed to me was that we didn’t need to fight against that. Instead, we could work with it. There’s a restraint to Georgian architecture that I really admire. The proportions are beautiful, but they’re not trying to shout about it. That’s something we’ve tried to carry through the restaurant. The space feels considered and understated rather than theatrical.

W*: How has Edinburgh’s food scene evolved since you first opened Aizle?

SR: When we opened Aizle, there were already some excellent restaurants in Edinburgh, but the scene feels much broader and more confident today and has grown a lot. What’s been particularly exciting is seeing a generation of chefs and operators building businesses with a really clear point of view. There’s a willingness now to create something distinctive rather than follow a particular formula. People are building businesses that reflect their own personality, values and style of cooking, and diners have responded positively to that.

Lyla Restaurant & Rooms is located at 3 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh EH7 5AB. Dinner starts from £185 per head. Overnight stays for two including dinner are £715, while room-only rates begin at £345, both including breakfast.

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

Penang Road’s skyline has grown a great deal taller since 1885, when Teochew merchant Tan Yeok Nee built what is now the sole survivor of Singapore’s four grand mansions as his private residence. The house went on to serve as a British railway official’s home, then St Mary’s Home and School for Eurasian Girls, then a traditional Chinese medicine clinic – a sequence of occupants that Bar Kap, the new cocktail bar occupying the manse’s ground floor, has turned its entire drinks menu around. The rest of the house has been given new life too, with a restaurant, offices and exhibition space elsewhere on the grounds.

The mood: Heritage restored, reimagined room by room

DP Architects’ restoration of the grand pile keeps the antique timber beams and carved details of the main hall intact, while local design studio Farm adds mirrored surfaces that expand the hall’s sense of scale. A Y-shaped bar console anchors the space, built for watching the pours up close. Two private rooms sit off the hall: the Carriage Room, dressed in fabric and painted brass to suggest a train compartment, and the Chamber, styled after a Chinese medicine apothecary and fitted out to display the bar’s clay-ageing vessels.

The drinks: six cocktails, six eras, one shared history

The menu, developed with Studio Ryecroft, tracks the building’s eras through six cocktails apiece. The Pepper Peddler mixes baijiu, gin and makgeolli into a peppery, chocolate-tinged highball honouring Tan Yeok Nee’s spice trade, whilst the Dynamo, aged in purple clay using an 8,000-year-old technique, layers Irish whiskey, amaro and dark soy into something dense and savoury. The food menu runs a similar arc, from a salmon roe and yuzu granita through Mee Kapitan – a mala-spiked house noodle with pork and shrimp paste – to a rendang-stuffed Bar Kap Bao. After all its previous lives, this house has finally found one worth staying up late for.

Bar Kap is located at 101 Penang Rd, House of Tan Yeok Nee, Singapore 238466

Unplugged understands that one of modern travel’s greatest luxuries is being unreachable. Since 2020, the UK’s original off-grid cabin escape has built its offer around three-night digital detoxes, placing solar-powered cabins within easy reach of major cities and asking guests to lock away their phones, abandon Wi-Fi and return to older forms of entertainment: books, maps, board games...

Unplugged introduces its first seafront cabins

Its latest move takes that idea to the coast. Barclay and Wilfred, the brand’s first seafront cabins, sit in Porlock, Somerset, high above the water with open views towards the sea. The blueprint remains familiar – compact timber cabin, phone lockbox, an emergency Nokia, hot shower, log burner, Piglet in Bed linen, books, games and instant camera – but the setting shifts the mood entirely.

Barclay is the harder-earned arrival, reached by a steep drive and a hike up to the cabin, with views over the coastline and shore once you reach the top. Wilfred offers its own approach through Exmoor National Park, with the option of taking the UK’s steepest A-road before arriving at views of the Celtic Sea. Both are dog-friendly, fully enclosed and designed in-house for one or two guests.

The surrounding area is equally enticing: pebble beaches at Porlock and Bossington, a wood-fired barrel sauna by the water, Exmoor walks at Heddon’s Mouth and the Valley of Rocks, seaside pubs, tea rooms and dinner at Locanda on the Weir, where the menu is built around local and foraged ingredients.

All escapes are for minimum three nights, with stays starting from £540 per cabin.

unplugged.rest

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

Channeling wabi-sabi style, Matchaful’s new Ritual Bar in Brooklyn offers tea drinkers a moment of zen in a bustling city. In the expanded space, carved from an apartment building near the Williamsburg café, curious minds can take pause to learn about the craft of Japanese tea through guided tastings, matcha whisking ceremonies and more. As these intentional experiences unfold, the intimate atmosphere keeps guests grounded in the present.

‘We realised most people never get the chance to hear the stories behind what they're drinking or learn how it's traditionally prepared,’ Matchaful founder Hannah Habes tells Wallpaper*. ‘The Ritual Bar gives us the opportunity to bring those stories to life.’

Habes enlisted Now or Never (NoN) Studio, a Brooklyn-based interior architecture and design firm, to seamlessly expand the original café, which first opened in 2024 and is one of the brand’s many locations in New York.

The Ritual Bar marks the expansion’s crown jewel. With seating for eight, the cosy space features paper pendant lights by Troy Lighting that produce a soft glow and textured limewash walls that absorb sound. Natural maple and oak wood warm up the space, from the custom bar stools to floating shelves that display ceramics made by local artisans. The green-veined counter, made of Cipollino Verde marble, further mirrors nature.

‘We were drawn to natural materials and textures that feel warm, calming and timeless because we wanted the space to reflect the same care that goes into the teas we source,’ says Habes.

Beyond the Ritual Bar – where walk-ins can also grab a seat across from a tea educator and order from a season menu when reservation-based classes aren’t in session – the café now includes a larger outdoor space. The landscaped patio beckons visitors to settle in during warmer months. A matcha grinder room, where customers can view the traditional stone matcha grinding technique in action from behind a glass window, will also open inside of the café later this year.

Throughout the café, minimal decor leaves room ‘for the guest to notice’ everything, says NoN Studio founder Jamie McGlinchey, from ‘the shadow of daylight’ and ‘the grain of the wood’ to the tea-making processes occurring around them. ‘The design prioritises presence, ritual and ambiance over decoration, allowing the experience and the act of making matcha to remain the focus,’ she says.

‘Above all, we want people to feel welcome,’ Habes adds. ‘Our hope is that wherever someone spends time, they leave feeling more connected.’

Matchaful is located at 92 Berry St, Brooklyn, NY 11249

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 cities that appear in films, and then there is New York, which has a way of making films appear inside it. A24’s On Location in New York City is built around that premise: a movie lover’s guide to 179 places across the five boroughs that have conquered the silver screen and are still open to this day. Much like our own Wallpaper* Travel Guide series, the volume exudes the charm of pre-internet travel publishing.

There are maps, categories, addresses, telephone numbers, symbols (for cash only, adults only, open late, landmark, and so forth) and an index of all the locations and films mentioned, making it easy to navigate. This is New York, scene by scene.

A24 turns New York into a cinephile itinerary

Celine Song, whose Past Lives (2023) and Materialists (2025) both star the city as itself, opens the tome with a love letter to New York City and to the film crews who make shooting there possible. ‘I love New York. I am in love,’ she writes. ‘I love the parks and the restaurants and the stores and the piers and the sidewalks and the piles of trash and the corners that turn gold with the sunset once a day.’ For Song, the city is ‘ugly, brutal, messy’ as much as it is beautiful, and that is precisely why filmmakers keep returning to it.

The guide spans six categories. Entertainment & Sightseeing covers the city’s monuments, museums, cinemas and theatres, from big-ticket New York fixtures such as the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall and Grand Central Terminal – where Terry Gilliam staged 1,000 extras waltzing beneath the concourse’s celestial ceiling for The Fisher King (1991) – to more particular inclusions, such as the Judd Foundation, whose SoHo interiors Adrian Lyne used in 9½ Weeks (1986).

The Shopping section turns the city into a retail set: department stores, bookshops, toy stores, tattoo parlours and diamond dealers. Toy shop FAO Schwarz is the obvious pilgrimage, with Tom Hanks’ giant ‘Walking Piano’ from Big (1988) still in residence after the store’s move to Rockefeller Plaza; the Diamond District brings the more frantic cadence of Uncut Gems (2019), all upstairs rooms and handshake deals. Bergdorf Goodman, meanwhile, gets its own mythology: ‘Unlike Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Printemps,’ the book notes, ‘there is only one Bergdorf’s, and it can only be experienced in New York.’

The Eating chapter gives restaurants their due as New York cinema’s great supporting characters. For pop-culture pilgrims, Bubby’s in Tribeca appears in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) as the workplace of Andy’s boyfriend Nate, while Raoul’s in SoHo brings oysters, steak frites and Valentine’s Day melodrama via Sex and the City: The Movie (2008). A must-visit for its pastrami on rye as much as its cinematic credentials, Katz’s Delicatessen made cameos in three films released in 2007 alone, and has its own sign – ‘Where Harry met Sally… hope you have what she had!’ – hanging above the table where Meg Ryan performed the sultry scene. There is also a section for that most democratic of New York film props: the hot dog cart.

For those seeking to extend the night, Nightlife takes the guide to a darker and after-hours territory, moving from old pubs and hotel bars to club rooms built for bad decisions. Basement in Queens, seen in Babygirl (2024), is a concrete techno club beneath Knockdown Center, with a no-photo policy. Sitting on a corner across the street from Tompkins Square Park, 7B (known locally as Horseshoe Bar, for its U-shaped counter, or Vazac’s, from its past as a Polish catering hall) offers the kind of timeless, grimy ambience that is hard to resist.

Parks & Recreation opens up the city’s green spaces, skating rinks, pools, ballfields and strange pockets of leisure. Naturally, Central Park gets the full treatment as New York’s great outdoor set. The book closes with Photo Opportunities: a section for striking the pose where the movies already did. There is the operational Tribeca firehouse from Ghostbusters (1984), Mick Dundee’s lamppost on Fifth Avenue, the Queensboro Bridge view from Manhattan (1979), Times Square as emptied at great expense for Vanilla Sky (2001), and the Statue of Liberty, because even disaster movies need an icon.

As Song puts it, ‘New York City is probably the most photographed city in the world, and for good reason. It is a stunner! Ever-changing, always perfect, endlessly-inspiring, one hell of a city.’

‘On Location in New York City’, available for $36 via A24 or for £28 via Mack Books

For chef and restaurateur Vicky Lau, food has never existed in isolation. A lifelong interest in art, craftsmanship and design first drew her to study graphic design in the US, and continues to inform an approach that has helped redefine fine dining in Hong Kong by treating food, architecture and hospitality as inseparable.

Her new restaurant in Sheung Wan, opening 4 August 2026 just a few steps from the original two Michelin-starred Tate Dining Room, now closed, is the clearest expression yet of that thinking. Seating just 20 guests, the two-storey, 5,500 sq ft space devotes more than 60 per cent of its footprint to the unseen rituals of hospitality: an exceptionally well-equipped kitchen, wine cellar, office, laundry and generous back-of-house spaces where the team can eat, rest and prepare for service.

Designer Chris Shao, whose studio spans New York, Shanghai and Dubai, has translated that philosophy into architecture, creating interiors that feel unmistakably Lau's own.

The arrival is treated as the first act. The façade is finished in metal printed to resemble marble, its fine vertical veining gives little indication of what lies beyond. There is no automatic door or sensor; guests press the brass ring set into it before stepping through a ceramic arch into the reception.

‘I dream of time at Tate feeling like being welcomed into an elegant private home, where only a few guests are received and every detail unfolds with quiet grace,’ Lau says.

The rooms unfold gradually in soft shades that range from warm taupe, mushroom beige and ivory to mocha brown, soft pewter and sage expressed through a remarkable level of craftsmanship with eggshell lacquer and plaster finishes, handmade ceramics, and French textiles embroidered in China. Much of the furniture and lighting has been custom designed, including chairs with a discreet drawer that slides out to form a shelf for a mobile phone. Adjustable sconces cast a gentle glow across each table through their illuminated stems.

Upstairs, via a spiral staircase that introduces a subtle art nouveau note, a private dining room for 12 centres on the chef's table. Embroidered dandelion and mushrooms shimmer across a curtain, while a carpet traces the pattern of ginkgo leaves.

The refinement of the interiors owes much to Lau's clarity of vision, Shao says. ‘She was very decisive when I would show her options for fine details. She immediately knew what she loved, or didn't.’

The same precision extends beyond the dining room into the kitchen, where Lau continues to refine her distinctive interpretation of French-Chinese cuisine. A Korean charcoal grill sits alongside a powerful gas wok, artisan bread proofer and dedicated deck oven, while guéridon service allows dishes to be completed tableside, preserving both temperature and aroma.

Among the inaugural dishes is 'Ode to Pigeon', inspired by the ancient craft of clay-baking, where the breast is wrapped in red clay before being served alongside mui choy, spiced poultry jus and a clear broth made from fig bark and pigeon bones.

‘I often think of the tasting menu as a form of kung fu, a discipline built on small, precise movements, from the selection of ingredients to the delicate balance of flavour and presentation. Every plate is custom-designed for its dish, and each sauce carries meaning, an ode to nature and to what we're given, so every meal becomes a celebration.’

Tate opens on 4 August 2026 at G/F, 68 Lok Ku Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, tate.com.hk

Estonian artist Merike Estna and curator Natalia Sielewicz are currently putting their country in the spotlight at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale, where they have turned the Estonian Pavilion into a working studio, performance space and slow-form painting in progress. Titled ‘The House of Leaking Sky,’ the exhibition is on view until 22 November 2026 at Patronato Salesiano Leone XIII in Venice’s Castello district, inside the former Church of Santa Maria Assunta.

Estna, whose practice stretches painting across objects, floors, garments and performance, paints daily in public view, beginning with a blank canvas and a first pour of paint directly onto the pavilion floor. By the close of the biennale, the work will have grown into a single expansive painting across 22 canvases, expected to measure around 22 by six metres.

So what might an artful duo miss about home when they're away? We asked Estna and Sielewicz to share their recommendations for what to see and do in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, from art and architecture to food, walking routes and the everyday textures of the city.

What to see and do in Tallinn, Merike Estna and Natalia Sielewicz’s tips

Where to eat and drink

Karjase Sai

‘Close to Balti Jaam railway station, the city’s main transport hub, Karjase Sai is not to be missed for a sweet treat and a perfectly brewed coffee. It does get crowded at weekends, but it’s well worth the wait.’

Karjase Sai is located at Marati tn 5, 11712 Tallinn, Estonia

Klorofüll

‘Located inside the ARS Art Factory – home to artist studios – vegan café Korofüll is a hidden gem in Tallinn. The menu shifts monthly, always thoughtfully composed with local ingredients and an inventive edge.’

Klorofüll is located in ARS Kunstilinnak, Pärnu mnt 154, Ruum 208, 11317 Tallinn, Estonia

Pegasus Restoran

‘Opened as a café in 1962, Pegasus became a key meeting point for artists and writers during the Soviet era. Now a restaurant in its original building, it remains relevant within Tallinn’s social life – its black bread a particular standout.’

Pegasus Restoran is located at Harju tn 1, 10146 Tallinn, Estonia

What to do

Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM)

‘Housed in a renovated former boiler house, the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia is a non-profit, artist-run initiative founded in 2006 by artists Elin Kard, Neeme Külm and Marco Laimre, alongside historian Anders Härm.’

Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM) is located at Kursi tn 5, 10415 Tallinn, Estonia

Estonian Museum of Design and Applied Arts

‘One of Tallinn’s most compelling spaces for contemporary visual art, seen through design and material culture. Exhibitions sidestep grand narratives, instead unpacking Estonia’s social and political histories through objects, textures and forms with their own ideological weight.’

Estonian Museum of Design and Applied Arts is located at Lai 17, 10133 Tallinn, Estonia

Merimets / Stroomi

‘A 30-minute walk from the city centre lies a forest that feels far removed from the city, offering a glimpse of Estonian nature. For a longer walk, follow the beach towards Kopli to reach Põhjala Creative Factory – home to designer studios, cafés and other places to hang out at.’

Where to shop

Rüütel & Matilda English Bookshop

‘A fantastic independent second-hand bookshop opposite St Nicholas’ Church. Inside, you are met with a delightful mix of poetry, fiction, theory and art. What makes it particularly special is a dedicated shelf of Estonian writers translated into English.’

Rüütel & Matilda English Bookshop is located at Rüütli 4, 10130 Tallinn, Estonia

Sorcerer

‘Sorcerer is an artist-led collective built on a circular ethos, where every piece is upcycled and one of a kind. Garments, bags and jewellery dissolve aesthetic and gender codes through unexpected cuts and sculptural forms, with a touch of myth and magic.’

Sorcerer Studio is located at Kaevuri 1, Tallinn, Estonia (appointment only)

Camilla Meshiea and Ryan Sheehan’s Counter 71 earned a loyal following in Shoreditch for its intimate chef’s table format. Now the pair have reimagined the venue as Appalachia, drawing on the culinary traditions of America’s eastern mountain range. This time, it’s personal: Meshiea’s mother’s family settled in Georgia before working their way west to Nebraska, while Sheehan’s Irish family put down roots in Savannah, where Meshiea and Sheehan later met and married. The space has been refreshed rather than rebuilt, with chef Ali Borer, formerly of Smoking Goat, brought in to lead the refocused kitchen.

Wallpaper* dines at Appalachia, London

The mood: A home from home

Meshiea says that the vibe at Appalachia should feel like she’s throwing a party for her customers – which means ‘flattering lighting and a room a little too small for the head count’. Extra covers have been created thanks to new countertops hewn from the same marble as the original counter now running along the windowsills, with flip-out stools squeezed in to make the most of the room. ‘At our launch parties, we could already feel the dynamic shift,’ Meshiea says. ‘Staff had to wiggle through a tighter space, and everyone felt a kinetic energy bristling in the crowd.’

The fast turnaround between Counter 71 and Appalachia was necessarily short to limit the time the restaurant was closed. ‘Independent restaurants like ours are a dying breed,’ Meshiea says, ‘so we’ve had to be inventive. Our design inspiration is informed by wanting our passion and personalisation to be palpable to customers. Ryan did a lot of the building work himself, so brings that sense of home and community to the space.’

Much of the art on the walls has come from the couple’s own home in Fulham: in the downstairs bar, Water Water is by painter Betsy Cain, a connection made through Meshiea’s friend Susan Laney of Laney Contemporary in Savannah, while Migration, upstairs, is by another Savannah-based friend, artist Lisa Watson. A giant textured mirror, meanwhile, also from the couple’s home, suggests mountainous topography. ‘I wanted the sense of Appalachia as a theme or concept to feel present only obliquely,’ Meshiea says.

The food: Fire and fusion

Borer’s cooking brings together the disparate strands of Appalachian culinary tradition forged from centuries of immigration and fuses them with fire-led, Thai-influenced technique. The result is a melting pot of American, European and Asian influences, which might result in anything from a curried crab omelette with chilli, ginger and seaweed butter sauce to a smoked pork chop with spiced collard greens, with sophisticated touches elevating the homely preparations: the butter-brined half chicken comes with miso grits and black pepper gravy.

With Sheehan in charge of the basement bar, called Lowcountry, the drinks here are as important as the food. Meshiea describes her husband as an encyclopaedia of bourbon, and the bar houses a collection of rare bourbons and rye whiskies. But there are contemporary takes on the American classics, too: try a banana pudding Sazerac, made with brown-butter-washed rye, vanilla rum, banana liqueur, absinthe and Peychaud’s Bitters – though not, perhaps, matched to the banana pudding choux bun on the dessert menu. You can have too much of a good thing, after all.

Appalachia is located at 71 Nile St, London, N1 7RD, United Kingdom

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