Following the pandemic and its restrictions, the world finally seemed to open up for travel again in 2023, resulting in a hospitality renaissance. With a certain vibrancy driving the design of many new openings over the past 12 months, Wallpaper* travel editor Sofia de la Cruz has selected these 10 colourful hotels – from mountain retreats to city boltholes – to inspire your 2024 holiday plans.
10 colourful hotels to inspire your 2024 escapes
01. Otro Oaxaca, a hotel embracing its Mexican region’s traditional textures
Grupo Habita’s property in Oaxaca proves that this southern Mexican city is a bona fide hot-ticket destination. Set on the edge of the pedestrianised plaza of the 16th-century Santo Domingo de Guzmán, the high red terracotta walls of the 16-room Otro Oaxaca give little hint of what lies beyond – which is an intriguing sequence of interlocking pavilions, shadowed corridors, narrow Jenga-like staircases, and courtyards and terraces that local architects RootStudio have clad with brick, limestone, raw concrete and reclaimed wood to reflect the textured mood of traditional Oaxacan design.
02. W Budapest, an eclectic mix of neo-Renaissance architecture and Hungarian heritage
In all its splendour, the Drechsler Palace, a 140-year-old neo-Renaissance building located in the city centre on Andrassy Avenue, has an imaginative new life – a W hotel with 151 rooms and suites, plus a perfect-to-people-watch restaurant, a chummy lounge, a deep underground spa, and even a speakeasy.
Right across the street from the State Opera House (where Angelina Jolie was recently spotted filming the Maria Callas biopic), this palace, originally designed by architects Ödön Lechner and Gyula Pártos, had previously been a fabulous café spilling out to the street and also the HQ for the Hungarian Institute of Ballet. After an extensive renovation, interior design studios Bowler James Brindley and Bánáti + Hartvig have now morphed the property into a delightful fit for the 21st-century traveller.
03. Hotel Drei Berge, a dream-like retreat in the Swiss mountains
Hotel Drei Berge is nestled in the cliffside of the Bernese Oberland Alps in Switzerland, some 1,638 meters above sea level. The idyllic property is courtesy of Ramdane Touhami, the multi-dexterous creative force best known for his work at Officine Universelle Buly and his Parisian art direction agency Architecte Recherche Industrie, who discovered the picturesque village of Mürren in 2022 and then acquired the historic hotel, formerly known as Hotel Bellevue, shortly after.
Utilitarian yet filled with finesse, Hotel Drei Berge exemplifies the thoughtful ethos that Touhami is known for – elevated and desirable yet remaining true to its intrinsic identity, which in this case is the traditional mountain community.
04. Infinito Suite at Palazzo Avino, sea views with elegant minimalism
The Infinito Suite at Palazzo Avino is an unmissable penthouse designed by Neapolitan architect Giuliano Andrea Dell'Uva. Perched on the picturesque hillside that makes up the town of Ravello in Italy’s Amalfi coast, luxury hotel Palazzo Avino first put down its cliffside roots in the 12th century, when it was constructed for an aristocratic local family.
Over the centuries, it has changed several hands and undergone a host of renovations and expansions, but it functioned mainly as a private home until 1997, when it was transformed into a stunning boutique hotel by the Avino family, led by sisters Mariella, Attilia and Maria Vittoria. It now boasts a Michelin-star restaurant, a spa, a rooftop lobster and martini bar, a boutique (The Pink Closet, designed by Cristina Celestino), a heated pool overlooking the coast, and a penthouse suite.
05. Aldo Rossi's Hotel Il Palazzo in Japan, where architectural extravagance reigns supreme
In Fukuoka, situated in Japan’s far west, Aldo Rossi’s Hotel Il Palazzo still stands today — and it is just as otherworldly as when it was first built in 1989. 34 years later, the building finds itself under its third ownership since its founding, with a redesign launched by the hotel’s original interior design studio, Uchida Design Inc, who centred their approach on ‘softness and natural materials'. Established by the legendary late Japanese designer Shigeru Uchida, the studio is now led by Kiyoshi Hasebe — who worked closely alongside the founder and stands as studio director since Uchida's death in 2016.
06. Martin Brudnizki’s Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York, striking spaces set within an original mansion
The freshly minted Fifth Avenue hotel and its 153 rooms cleaves close to the real estate adage about ‘location, location, location’. Set on the corner of 28th Street and, well, Fifth Avenue, it’s within walking distance to Madison Square Park, the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings, and a clutch of tent-pole museums and galleries such as the Gagosian, Lisson Gallery and Fotografiska.
The hotel occupies two buildings – a handsomely restored 19th-century brick and limestone manse, and a new 24-storey glass tower. All of which, given the small number of guest rooms, translates into an unusually spacious interior with the most striking spaces set within the original mansion, every corner reworked and reimagined over a seven-year renovation project.
07. Il Capri Hotel, an intimate and elegant neo-Gothic Venetian-style pink palazzo
Intimacy and elegance are the order of the day at one of Capri’s newest boltholes. Il Capri Hotel, housed in a neo-Gothic Venetian-style palazzo, stays faithful to the traditional codes of the property, first converted into a hotel in 1899.
Graziella Buontempo and Arnaud Lacombe of the Parisian Savoir Vivre Group respected the original building in contemporary detailing. The nightclub in the basement joins other amenities including a large roof terrace, swimming pool and outdoor terrace overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. ‘It’s timeless Capri meets Italian vacation home,’ the duo note.
08. Locke am Platz, a design-led city escape in Zürich
Locke, known for its trendsetting lifestyle aparthotels, recently debuted in Switzerland with its 15th property, Locke am Platz. Nestled in Zürich's Enge neighbourhood, the launch marks the brand's entrance into the Swiss market.
In collaboration with London-based Sella Concept, led by Tatjana von Stein, Locke am Platz embraces Zürich's cultural identity and local flair through a distinctive and sophisticated design. Positioned amidst greenery and botanical gardens, the aparthotel is spread across six floors, comprises 80 units, and offers an idyllic city break.
09. Broadwick Soho, an independent luxury hotel in London
It is fair to label London's Soho as the beating heart of the British capital. With its 90 colourful streets, longstanding hospitality, pulsing nightlife, and eccentric street style, this vibrant area in the West End surely ensures a good time, every time. Broadwick Soho, an opulent contemporary 57-room retreat, including nine suites and a penthouse, is nestled in the neighbourhood's buzzy centre.
Brought to life by interior designer Martin Brudnizki, there's no other way to describe the hotel but as a sensory feast. The establishment combines Jazz Age opulence, Italian influences from travels around the country, a dash of English eccentricity, and a sprinkle of disco fabulousness.
10. Rosemary, a textural haven and contemporary Moroccan escape
Located next to Palais Bahia, the oldest neighbourhood in the Medina, Rosemary is a five-room riad that was five years in the making after its previous owner, a Frenchwoman called Rose-Marie, convinced Leenaert and her husband Ayoub to buy her three-storey manse – which had been renovated by the Belgian architect Quentin Wilbaux who’d been appointed by Unesco to map the Medina in the 1990s.
Following the traditional silhouette of a riad – sheltered rooms and loggias spilling out onto a central patio anchored by the arching branches of a 40-year-old Jacaranda – Rosemary is a thoroughly contemporary reimagining of a Moroccan fantasy, Leenaert tapping over 40 local artisans to rework the interiors with bespoke furnishings and finishes such as zellij (or zellige) tiles and tadelakt, a natural lime-based plaster common to the area.
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