Shore things: 12 waterfront retreats making waves across the globe
Shore things: 12 waterfront retreats making waves across the globe
From lakeside resorts to private properties with spectacular sea views, take a virtual tour of the finest waterfront properties making a splash…
Pictured: Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, Beijing, China
Grotto, Canada
Experimental Toronto practice Partisans devised this unusual sauna, which sits perched atop a granite outcropping in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron
Grotto, Canada
Called Grotto, the sauna's sleek, angular burnt-cedar envelope echoes the silhouette of the main house it belongs to. Unlike the sleek, angular wood exterior, the interior is a jigsaw of complex, amorphous shapes
JW Marriott, Italy
Built on Sacca Sessola, the largest of the hundreds of islets scattered across the Venetian lagoon, the newest launch from hotel group JW Marriott is ‘a return to nature’, says its Milan-based architect Matteo Thun
JW Marriott, Italy
The sprawling property comprises 20 buildings – including private villas, and a spa and wellness centre – surrounded by a lush oasis of olive trees, ivy-trellised terraces and a vegetable garden that furnishes the resort’s two restaurants with fresh produce daily
Manshausen, Norway
It’s not often a hotel is owned by a celebrated Norwegian polar explorer (Børge Ousland in this case) but this sleek retreat Manshausen in northern Norway can stake such a claim. Conceived by Tromsø-based architect Snorre Stinessen, he hotel’s four cabins balance on a series of listed old stone jetties on the quayside, with sweeping views of the island’s rugged landscape and beyond.
Casa Swift, Chile
Designed by WMR Arquitectos, Casa Swift is a striking holiday home set amidst a typical Chilean coastal landscape
Casa Swift, Chile
While the height of the building was defined by the views, it was important to close off its southern façade off from strong winds, enabling a transparent (albeit sun-shaded) northwestern terrace overlooking the bay of Matanzas
Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, China
Rising from Yanqi Lake an hour’s drive from Beijing is this awe-inspiring marvel by hotel group Kempinski. ‘The circle is symbolic as the beginning in traditional Chinese culture, while the entrance is shaped like a fish’s mouth, symbolising prosperity,’ says its architect Zhang Haoi Ao, of Shanghai Huadu Architect Design Company
Sunrise Kempinski Hotel, China
Boasting 306 guest rooms and suites, the hotel offers views of the lake or the Yanshan Mountains
Sherwood, New Zealand
1980s motels don’t come more design-led than the Sherwood in Queenstown, New Zealand. Recently overhauled by architect Allistar Cox, the laidback retreat offers everything from four-star suites to a yoga studio; the main draw, however, is the unmatchable views over Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables.
Photography: Vaughan Brookfield
Tainaron Blue, Greece
Husband-and-wife architects Costas Zouvelos and Kassiani Theodorakakos have converted a deserted 19th century watchtower into a boutique hotel and retreat. Vistas of the surrounding sea and cliffs can me seen from the family room at the top of the property, which is situated at the southernmost tip of mainland Greece.
Photography: George Meitner
Wave House, Japan
Designed for an avid surfer and his family, this ocean-inspired residence by Apollo Architects & Associates is located just two-kilometres away from the sea in Fujisawa, Kanagawa. Inspired by a resort hotel, the functional and robust home has a relaxed ‘holiday feel’
Cabin at Noderhov, Norway
Four angular 'arms' spring out of a main core, anchoring this cabin by Atelier Oslo to its site within Norway's Krokskogen forest
Cabin at Noderhov, Norway
Cabin at Norderhov provides both refuge from and connection to its woodland surroundings
AL House, Brazil
Designed by São Paulo-based architect Arthur Casas and his team, AL House offers striking views of the Rio de Janeiro river and the wider state's countryside and surrounding forests
AL House, Brazil
Casas used warm Brazilian teak, known as cumaru, for the flooring and a natural colour palette for the interior throughout, complemented by generously sized windows that make the most of the ocean view
Lake Minnetonka Retreat, US
Over in Minnesota, Snow-Kreilich Architects has created a shoreline holiday home that puts Lake Minnetonka in the frame. The deftly combines theatricality and privacy, with the architects’ restrained approach lending elegance to the generous 8,667 sq ft space.
Photography: Paul Crosby