New hotel news

Issue #05-23: 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™.

Discover “a cool new place to stay in Spain's prettiest city” Conde Nast Traveller and the “first ever urban hotel” Forbes from Six Senses. Plus, “the most hotly anticipated new boozer of the year” Financial Times opens in “a bucolic Somerset village” House & Garden, a buzzing new opening comes to the “hottest weekend mini-break destination” The Times of the moment, and “a destination for next-gen wellness” Evening Standard opens in the northern jungle of Thailand.

ITALY: The “first ever urban hotel” Forbes from Six Senses has just opened in Rome as “part of a new drive to bring sanctuaries to bigger cities” Conde Nast Traveller. Housed in the 15th-century Palazzo Salviati Cesi Mellini following a sensitive restoration, the property retains many original features including the facade and “monumental staircase” Falstaff Travel. Plus, “to demonstrate the brand's commitment to local communities and sustainability” Falstaff Travel, Six Senses also renovated the façade of the neighbouring church of San Macello al Corso. The lobby, home to a bar and piazza-style restaurant, “has quickly become a gathering point for well-heeled locals” Conde Nast Traveller while the serene spa provides a tranquil escape from the Eternal City with “a modern take on Roman baths” Forbes and a menu of personalised facials and body cocoons.

Our favourite feature: The buzzing piazza-style restaurant

UK: Following on from the highly-acclaimed original Birch hotel, which opened in Hertfordshire in 2020, “promptly snatching the title of Sunday Times Hotel of the Year” The Times, Birch Selsdon has just opened in Croydon - the surprising “hottest weekend mini-break destination” The Times of the moment. Set among “200 acres of sprawling green grounds and ancient woodland” Conde Nast Traveller that have been “rewilded by designer Sebastian Cox” Dezeen, the new opening continues the brand’s hybrid members' club concept with “181 rooms alongside a wellness space and lido, co-working facilities and a medley of restaurants and bars” Dezeen. “It’s Soho House without the stuffiness” The Times.

Our favourite feature: The open-to-all members’ club experience.

SPAIN: “A cool new place to stay in Spain's prettiest city” Conde Nast Traveller, this new Nobu Hotel has opened right in the historic heart of Seville. Providing a “fusion of Japanese sophistication and Andalusian charm” World Travel Magazine the hotel’s “overall effect is soothing” Conde Nast Traveller. Guests can enjoy “a magnificent view” Falstaff Travel that’s “as Sevillian as they get” Conde Nast Traveller from the rooftop bar and restaurant with the cathedral and its bell tower right next door. There is, of course, a signature Nobu restaurant while other stand-out features include a “pretty glass courtyard and marble staircase” Elite Traveler, a rooftop pool and a 24-hour gym.

Our favourite feature: The spectacular views over Seville’s cathedral and bell tower.

THAILAND: Solidifying Thailand as “a destination for next-gen wellness” Evening Standard Aleenta Retreat Chiang Mai combines classic resort facilities with “science-based treatments, doctor consultations and bespoke nutritional programmes” Evening Standard. The spa is “the hotel's raison d'être” Conde Nast Traveller with everything from traditional Thai massages and Chinese reflexology to herbal compress rub-downs and acupuncture sessions on the menu. The entire setting, however, has a calming aesthetic with “a central pool flanked by bamboo and frangipani trees” Conde Nast Traveller surrounded by four antique Thai dwellings that are “each a teakwood wonder” with stilted floors and wood shingle roofs. There’s also a beautiful Garden restaurant that serves “plant-forward menus” Nuvo in an “open-air reclaimed teak structure” Nuvo.

Our favourite feature: The science-based spa treatments.

UK: Opening in “a bucolic Somerset village” House & Garden The Three Horseshoes is “the most hotly anticipated new boozer of the year” Financial Times. A “field-to-fork menu” Conde Nast Traveller from “indomitable New Zealand-born chef” Financial Times Margot Henderson - the chef-patron of Rochelle Canteen - is one of the main draws while “five beautifully designed rooms” Conde Nast Traveller provide a charming base for a relaxing stay in the country. Low ceilings, a wooden bar and an open fire provide all the essential ingredients for a quintessential pub experience while bedrooms with an “easy elegance” House & Garden and an English country garden filled with apple trees and tulips enhance the experience further.

Our favourite feature: The field-to-fork menu from the chef-patron of Rochelle Canteen.

Issue #04-23: 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.

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.