New Hotel News

Issue #04-23: New Hotel News

What’s happening in the world of super cool new hotels? Check out our latest five most noteworthy openings of 2023 as featured by the editors at HotelMap™ & Roomcard™.

A new Tokyo hotel opens to become what “might be one of the most luxurious in Japan” Travel + Leisure and a Melbourne opening takes “the title of the city's highest hotel” Sydney Morning Herald. Hotel Dames des Arts provides 360-degree views that “alone are a reason to book” Conde Nast Traveller, Ikos Odisia is a “haven of serenity” The Telegraph on the island of Corfu and R48 Hotel & Garden features “a who’s who of global design talent” New York Post.

JAPAN: With “a glamorous sprinkling of Bulgari heritage” Conde Nast Traveller the brand-new Bulgari Hotel Tokyo “might be one of the most luxurious [hotels] in Japan” Travel + Leisure. The “breathtaking” Architectural Digest property “crowns the cloud-brushing apex of the new 45-storey Tokyo Midtown Yaesu tower” Conde Nast Traveller, taking over six floors of the building to provide “predictably spectacular” Architectural Digest views that are “some of the city’s best” Surface Mag. “The views from within are equally spectacular” Elle Decor thanks to lavish interiors dressed with “Italian marble flooring, elm wood portals, and mosaics inspired by traditional Japanese textile patterns” Elle Decor. “A taste of Italy is centre stage” Conde Nast Traveller in the spectacular on-site restaurant while in the two-level spa “the real showstopper is the pool floor” Travel + Leisure with mosaic tile and Venetian glass set against floor-to-ceiling windows.

Our favourite feature: The dramatic pool floor with mosaic tile, Venetian glass and unbeatable views.

GREECE: Providing an “elevated all-inclusive concept” The Telegraph the luxury Ikos resorts have built a strong fan base since launching on the island of Corfu back in 2015 and have successfully done the “seemingly impossible” The Times by “giving the all-inclusive concept a good name” The Times. The latest addition to the collection, Ikos Odisia, is “set next to the secluded, protected Dassia Bay” SheerLuxe occupying a “green and pleasant spot fringed by a sandy beach” The Times. A “collection of modernist white villas and bungalows topped with green roofs” The Spaces are peppered around the bay providing a “haven of serenity” The Telegraph. “On-property perks range from 10 indoor and outdoor pools, including adults-only options, to white sand beach access and a seafront Ikos Spa” Bloomberg.

Our favourite feature: The high-end interpretation of the all-inclusive concept.

FRANCE: The 360-degree views from the rooftop bar “alone are a reason to book” Conde Nast Traveller a stay at the brand-new Hotel Dames des Arts. “On a clear day you can see practically the entire city” Conde Nast Traveller, meaning a visit to the bar should be “top of your list of experiences for 2023” Country & Town House. “Embodying the culture and creativity of the Left Bank” Vanity Fair, which “has long been one of Paris’s most creative neighbourhoods” The Times, the new opening “takes its motivation from the film sets of the influential French New Wave movement” The Times and “aims to reignite the liberal cultural movement that Picasso, Coco Chanel and Hemingway established a century ago” Country & Town House.

Our favourite feature: The spectacular rooftop views that are reason alone to stay.

AUSTRALIA: Following on from the brand’s Perth opening in 2019, The Ritz-Carlton has just opened its second hotel in Australia, this time in Melbourne. Nine years in the making, the hotel is “unabashedly a prestige luxury offering” Vogue Australia providing “the crème de la crème of accommodation” Harper’s Bazaar Australia. Occupying the top 17 floors of an 80-storey building, the Ritz-Carlton Melbourne has “taken the title of the city's highest hotel” Sydney Morning Herald and the 80th-floor - home to both a cocktail bar and a restaurant - provides a “truly 360-degree view of Melbourne unlike any other offered in the city” Vogue Australia. The “opulent” Delicious restaurant is “set to be the city’s go-to culinary destination” Harper’s Bazaar and is the kind of place “you’ll want to dress up for” Harper’s Bazaar while the “intimate” Vogue Australia cocktail bar showcases exceptional spirits and rare vintages.

Our favourite feature: The opulent restaurant that you’ll want to dress up for.

ISRAEL: “Crafted from a renovated 1933 Bauhaus gem” New York Post along Rothschild Boulevard, the newly opened R48 Hotel & Garden comes from “the team behind Tel Aviv’s chic Hotel Montefiore” Architectural Digest. The “ultra-luxe, 11-key hotel” Architectural Digest features “a who’s who of global design talent” New York Post with Christian Liaigre behind the interiors and Piet Oudolf - “one of the masterminds behind the High Line in New York City” Architectural Digest - responsible for the landscape architecture. The hotel provides “a calm antidote to the city’s charismatic yet chaotic disposition” Conde Nast Traveller thanks to interiors that are “luxurious without a hint of fussiness” Surface Mag. The “experimental” Conde Nast Traveller Chef’s Table “focuses on intimate, occasion-dining showmanship” Conde Nast Traveller and has already proved to be a hit, booking out months in advance. Guests can also make use of a rooftop pool, which given the intimate size of the property, “is a guaranteed oasis” Conde Nast Traveller.

Our favourite feature: The experimental and intimate Chef’s Table.

Issue #03-23: A “glorious new landmark and a grande dame in the making” The Times arrives in Sydney, the first hotel from “legendary shoemaker Christian Louboutin” Vogue puts a sleepy Portuguese hamlet on the map and a “beloved architectural icon” Galerie reopens in Santa Monica. Plus, an “oceanfront sanctuary” CNN arrives on the island of Lombok and the first Andaz hotel in Thailand opens on a “coveted beach” Travel + Leisure.

Issue #02-23: An eco-conscious retreat opens on the “wild western edge” CONDE NAST TRAVELLER of “off-the-radar Sumba” VANITY FAIR, “a new tiki-cool hotel” NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC opens in Hawaii and “the UK's cosiest new hotel for 2023” CONDE NAST TRAVELLER joins Kent’s line-up of design-led, food-focused hotels. New brand Reverie launches two new hotels in Sri Lanka and the Mondrian group comes to Southeast Asia for the first time.

Issue #01 - 23: London’s most highly-anticipated new hotel finally opens at Battersea Power Station - “Europe’s most thrilling mall” THE TIMES - and a new Dubai hotel “has already cemented itself as an iconic addition to the city’s dazzling skyline”  TRAVEL + LEISURE. Milan welcomes two new luxury properties, including “the city’s most prestigious and audacious new luxury stay” CONDE NAST TRAVELLER, and Six Senses launches its “first ski-in, ski-out resort”  FINANCIAL TIMES in Switzerland.