Villa Maïa hotel - Lyon, France

French real estate group Maïa has certainly made an impact with its 5-star debut into the hotel business. Located atop Lyon’s Fourvieère hill, what was once the site of a former hospital now houses a four-storey building designed by Paris-based Jean-Michel Wilmotte. 

The interiors by French interior designer Jacques Granges has used neutral oatmeal tones with accents of colour revealed in accessories such as the cashmere bed throw or the Murano drinking glasses, inspired by photographs by Charles Maze that hang above the bed.

Expansive windows pull in views of cluttered rooftops backed by the distant surge of the Mont Blanc, and landscaped gardens by Louis Benech are an evocative tableau best enjoyed from the adjacent heated indoor swimming pool.

Outside of the hotel, the tangle of cobblestone streets and the hodgepodge of gothic and Renaissance architecture of the city’s old town is just a 10-minute stroll away.