Hot

THE

List
The world’s best new hotels,
and 15 reasons they’ll make you want
to pack your bags now.
 THE 2015

Hot List
The world’s best new hotels, and 15 reasons they’ll
make you want to pack your bags now.

What makes a new hotel today graduate from an of-the-moment scene to an enduring icon
that defines a city? “It’s not just about design—people often mistake the way a place looks for the
way a place feels,” explains André Balazs, who first made our annual Hot List in 1999
for The Mercer. “I live at the Chiltern Firehouse—I’ve slept in every room. I have to because if
I don’t, I can’t tell whether even the littlest details—like the brightness of a reading light—
are right.” What we’ve learned from the best hoteliers is that focusing this intensely on the
smallest things isn’t as obsessive as it sounds: As travelers become more sophisticated, luxury
must become more intuitive. Offering butler service because that’s what’s expected of a five-­
star hotel ultimately reads as soulless (unless, that is, it’s absolutely seamless and unintrusive)
and is in some ways less impressive than the quiet replenishment of the right brand of toothpaste
by invisible hands. This year, after poring over the intel of our staff and contributors—who
vetted more than a hundred recently opened hotels and resorts, from West Africa to Miami—
we found that what stands out are the properties which combine old-school extravagance
and service with just the right measure of modernity. You might even think of them as the new
cultural touchstones. The 60 hotels that follow and the details that make them special—we’ve
given you 15 as a jumping-off point—are a reason unto themselves to board a plane right now.

The key to finding the right hotel.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALICE GAO

● ● ● ●
Best Bargains Beachside Urbanist Design Stars
(Under $200 Escapes Standouts
a Night)

● ● ● ●
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Friendly Luxury Wild hotel listings

CON D É N A S T T R AV E L E R 2
HOT LIST 2015

FAR RIGHT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY PORTRAIT FIRENZE; COURTESY RAFFLES; COURTESY RITZ-CARLTON; COURTESY ROSEWOOD; COURTESY ROSE HOTEL. MIDDLE ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICHARD POWERS/COURTESY RIAD MENA & BEYOND;
RIGHT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY COMO; COURTESY MALLIOUHANA; GEORGE APOSTOLIDIS/COURTESY MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL GROUP; K ATHY YL CHAN; COURTESY MIAMI BEACH EDITION. MIDDLE ROW: COURTESY MONDRIAN;
COURTESY MONT ROCHELLE; COURTESY THE NORMAN; MARIA SHOLLENBARGER; COURTESY PALAZZO PARIGI. BOTTOM ROW: COURTESY PARK HYATT (2); COURTESY THE PENINSULA; COURTESY THE PIG ON THE BEACH; COURTESY PIKAIA LODGE.
LEFT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MILLIE KERR; COURTESY EL BLOK; COURTESY FONTEVRAUD L’HÔTEL; COURTESY FOUR SEASONS (2). MIDDLE ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY SIMON BROWN/COURTESY FIRMDALE; COURTESY WILDERNESS SAFARIS;
LEONOR MAMANNA; COURTESY HOTEL SAHRAI; COURTESY HOTEL SP34. BOTTOM ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY ICONIC SANTORINI; COURTESY ITC HOTEL; COURTESY LA GRANDE MAISON; COURTESY LA RESERVE; COURTESY THE LUDLOW
COURTESY THE BEAUMONT; ALICE GAO; ROBERTO FRANKENBERG; COURTESY WELIGAMA/RELAIS & CHÂTEAUX. BOTTOM ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUIS RIDAO; COURTESY CASAS DEL XVI; PHILIP SINDEN; IMEN MCDONNELL; MARA BALAGTAS.
FAR LEFT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY 21 BROAD; COURTESY ALILA JABAL AKHDAR; COURTESY ALMA HISTÓRICA; COURTESY AMAN; SHANTANU STARICK/COURTESY ARO HĀ . MIDDLE ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MATTHIEU SALVAING;

COURTESY THE SANCHAYA; COURTESY SINGULAR SANTIAGO; COURTESY SOHO HOUSE; HANYA YANAGIHARA. BOTTOM ROW: JULIEN CAPMEIL; COURTESY URSO; COURTESY VINA VIK; ALAN JENSEN; COURTESY WATCH HILL INN
21 Broad, Nantucket Alila Jabal Akhdar, Alma Histórica Aman Tokyo Aro Hā Wellness Resort, Edson Hill, Vermont El Blok, Vieques, Fontevraud L’Hôtel, Four Seasons Hotel Four Seasons Resort Maalifushi by Como, Malliouhana, Mandarin Oriental, Mandarin Oriental, The Miami Beach Portrait Firenze Raffles Istanbul Ritz-Carlton, Rosewood Beijing The Rose Hotel,
A restored 27-room Nizwa, Oman Boutique Hotel, Aman’s first urban New Zealand With its fireplaces and Puerto Rico Loire Valley The Westcliff, Orlando at Walt Disney Maldives An Auberge Bodrum, Turkey Taipei Edition On the banks of the The 185-room Rancho Mirage The first Rosewood hotel Venice Beach
Victorian mansion At this remote 78-room Montevideo, Uruguay property is an Overlooking Lake contemporary art Brutalist architecture In a meticulous renova- Johannesburg World Resort On remote Thaa Atoll, Resort, Anguilla Most of the 109 A new standard was set Mid-Beach is heating Arno, with views of the hotel is unabashedly Spare in design but in China soars high This casual 14-room
in the center of town resort 90 miles southwest A much-needed addition intimate, modernist Wakatipu, on the South collection, this 24-room is set against a tropical tion, a famous Set on a gorgeous Disney-goers finally this isolated, minimalist This classic rooms face the sea, in Taipei’s hotel scene up, due in large part to Ponte Vecchio, the swank, befitting its decadent in service, this above Beijing, with 283 California dream, a block
with a cheery aqua of Muscat, guests spend to the city, the 15-room 84-room aerie Island, this intimate manor house on 38 backdrop at this twelfth-century French hillside, this 117-room have a truly stylish 65-room getaway 44-room Caribbean which is impossible when this 303-room this 294-room Ian latest property from the location in Zorlu Center, 244-room hotel in the rooms, six restaurants from the boardwalk,
and yellow palette and their days hiking through 1920s town house is in floating 38 floors 20-room lodge is all acres (ten minutes from 22-room hotel, where abbey has been con- luxury mainstay just option, thanks to this hovers above coral charmer overlooking to miss thanks property opened; Schrager project with a Ferragamo hotel group an upscale shopping California desert has fire and bars, a world-class is a much-needed option
mod furnishings, ancient villages blissfully the center of one of above the city. On a about yoga, meditation, Stowe Mountain) feels carved louvers verted into a 54-room had a top-to-bottom 443-room resort. Kids gardens and schools of postcard-perfect to massive walls of afternoon tea in the bowling alley and an ice combines an unbeatable and cultural complex pits, three pools, and spa, and an executive for an area of Los
it’s made for weekend absent of any sign of South America’s most clear day, you can and health food that like staying at a transform the bright sun property with sleek— overhaul—time and love the waterslides dolphins and sea Meads Bay has taken windows; suites have Jade Lounge is a must rink, making it an all-in- location with 36 chic, that’s a reflection of astonishing views of the lounge that feels like a Angeles that was starved
visitors. modern life. underrated capitals. even see Mount Fuji. doesn’t taste like it. (wealthy) friend’s estate. into artistic shadows. yet soothing—interiors. money well spent. and lazy river. turtles. on a new life. private infinity pools. for locals and guests. one playground. pared-down rooms. booming modern Turkey. Coachella Valley. private club. for good hotels.
21broadhotel.com; alilahotels.com; from almahistorica.com; amanresorts.com; from aro-ha.com; from $3,300 edsonhillmanor.com; elblok.com; from fontevraud.fr; from fourseasons.com; fourseasons.com; comohotels.com; from aubergeresorts.com; mandarinoriental.com; mandarinoriental.com; editionhotels.com; lungarnocollection.com; raffles.com; from ritzcarlton.com; from rosewoodhotels.com; therosehotelvenice.com;
from $159. ● $500. ● from $185. ● $618. ● for four nights. ● from $300. ● $240. ● $195. ● from $350. ● from $449. ● $750. ● from $525. ● from $260. ● from $523. ● from $429. ● from $530. ● $370. ● $279. ● from $287. ● from $175. ●

Bahia Vik José The Beaumont, London Belle Mont Farm on The Brando, French Cape Weligama, Ham Yard Hotel, Hoanib Skeleton Coast Hôtel Plaza Hotel Sahrai, Fez, Hotel SP34, Mondrian London at Mont Rochelle Hotel & The Norman Tel-Aviv One&Only Hayman Palazzo Parigi, Milan Riad Mena & Beyond, The Sanchaya, Bintan The Singular Santiago Soho House Chicago Suján Rajmahal
Ignacio, Uruguay This 73-room Deco- Kittitian Hill, St. Kitts Polynesia Sri Lanka London Camp, Namibia Athénée, Paris Morocco Copenhagen Sea Containers Vineyard, South Africa The 50 individually Island, Australia Steps from the best Marrakech Island, Indonesia Lastarria Hotel The second-largest Soho Palace, Jaipur, India
A ten-suite main inspired renovation of a Eighty-four guest­ On Marlon Brando’s pri­ This collection of 40 Firmdale Hotels’ latest This African game The signature red The city’s most The 118 rooms at this This 359-room hotel on The latest addition designed rooms An old-school 1950s- shopping in Milan is Think of it as Marrakech Colonial design, first-rate This 62-room Chilean House debuts in the city’s A former royal
house and 11 art-filled 1926 Mayfair building is houses—­each with a vate atoll, Tetiaroa—30 colonial-style houses on venture occupies an changer is a state-of- awnings are still there, impressive boutique Latin District hotel the Thames has all the to Richard Branson’s at this boutique hotel era resort in the designer Pierre-Yves mod in the heart of the Euro-Asian cuisine, 19 retreat in Lastarria, a hip West Loop, in a 1907 guesthouse, the
bungalows sprawl across the brainchild of two wraparound veranda— miles off Tahiti—it has 35 the Indian Ocean, entire city block, with the-art camp with but almost everything hotel has 50 rooms, are like an adult’s idea hallmarks of its hotel collection is a in two historic town Whitsunday Islands, Rochon’s seductive new medina: Each of the villas and nine suites, and lively neighborhood with warehouse that’s been 30-room property
the dunes of Uruguay’s veteran restaurateurs, are spread across a 400- thatched-roof villas with surrounded by tropical 91 airy, colorful rooms, eight tented bedrooms else at this 208-room two pools, and a of a cool dorm: snug American counterparts renovated grand estate houses with a fragrant off the Great Barrier hotel, with 98 guest six rooms is decorated a long stretch of powdery some of Santiago’s best converted into a hotel has been transformed
José Ignacio coastline, and its Colony Grill acre organic farm that private plunge pools that gardens, has an a courtyard restaurant, and private plane classic was sumptuously knockout Givenchy but cheerful, with (buzz, high design) house with 22 rooms citrus garden between Reef, gets a glam rooms that are at once in an unexpected but sand have put luxury nightlife and restaurants, with 40 guest rooms, a into an eclectic
12 miles northeast serves one of the city’s grows a cornucopia of alone are worth the flight. on-site dive center for and a subterranean access to Skeleton updated in a $268 spa—the first modern fixtures and along with British flair on a 100-acre vineyard them are like no others makeover with 160 opulent and utterly harmonious blend of East within a 45-minute ferry has its own hopping Cowshed Spa . . . and a playground for color-
of Punta del Este. best English breakfasts. fruits and vegetables. underwater adventures. bar and bowling alley. Coast National Park. million renovation. in North Africa. furnishings. (color and whimsy). in Franschhoek. in the city. rooms and villas. comfortable. and West. ride of Singapore. rooftop bar and lounge. vintage-y boxing ring. loving design buffs.
thebrando.com;
bahiavik.com; from thebeaumont.com; bellemontfarm.com; from $2,550 for three capeweligama.com; firmdalehotels.com; wilderness-safaris.com; dorchestercollection hotelsahrai.com; from brochner-hotels.dk; morganshotelgroup​ montrochelle.co.za; thenorman.com; oneandonlyresorts.com; palazzoparigi.com; from riadmenaandbeyond​ thesanchaya.com; thesingular.com; from sohohousechicago.com; sujanluxury.com;
$800. ● from $600. ● from $1,700. ● nights. ● from $815. ● from $555. ● from $900. ● .com; from $840. ● $170. ● from $310. ● .com; from $330. ● from $240. ● from $435. ● from $615. ● $680. ● .com; from $235. ● from $620. ● $290. ● from $280. ● from $558. ●

Casa de Uco Vineyards Casas del XVI, Santo Chiltern Firehouse, The Dean Hotel, Dublin Delano Las Vegas Iconic Santorini, ITC Grand Bharat, La Grande Maison, La Réserve, Paris The Ludlow, New York Park Hyatt New York Park Hyatt Vienna The Peninsula Paris The Pig on the Beach, Pikaia Lodge, Tribal Hotel, Granada, Urso Hotel & Spa, Viña Vik, Chile Waldorf Astoria Watch Hill Inn,
& Wine Resort, Domingo, Dominican London If you want to be in the At the southernmost Greece Gurgaon, India Bordeaux Built in 1854 and just Tucked into a lively Midtown gets a serious The 143 rooms at Hyatt’s After a six-year, $580 Dorset, England Galápagos Islands Nicaragua Madrid High design and high- Amsterdam Rhode Island
Mendoza, Argentina Republic This quirky conversion of middle of the nightlife tip of the Strip, This whitewashed Right in the Golden Joël Robuchon’s a block from the Lower East Side block, dose of flash with first property in Austria million renovation, a A rustic-chic boutique The first true luxury All seven rooms at this With its neoclassical profile contemporary art Six grand town houses This 19-suite inn on Little
The 16-room minimalist Sixteenth-century houses an 1889 building—one district, you can’t do this shimmering 22-room retreat Triangle, with easy restaurant is the Champs-Élysées, this the 184-room brick the opening of this (a stately former bank storied Belle Époque retreat on Dorset’s ecolodge in the Galápa­ property—arguably the facade, delicate floral mix in the 22 suites were combined Narragansett Bay feels
resort was designed to have been transformed of the first fire stations in better than this 52-room 43-story tower with is set in a small village access to Agra and standout at this six- elegant mansion high-rise puts a new super-sleek 210-room headquarters) are some building has been dramatic World gos, this 14-room best boutique hotel in wallpaper, and spa, this here—all the more to create 93 stylish more like a beach house
blend into the sweeping into this intimate seven- London—into a 26-room modernist hotbed. When 1,117 suites is a high above the Jaipur, the resort has room hotel in France’s turned 40-room bijou twist on downtown hotel in one of the of the largest in Vienna, transformed into Paris’s Heritage coast, it has pioneer has every the country—have 78-room hotel adds a impressive for their rooms on the (with full kitchens and
landscape—a 790-acre room hotel that feels hotel and restaurant you’ve settled in, head more subdued version Aegean. Its infinity 100 rooms and four celebrated Bordeaux hotel has been restored industrial cool with city’s most anticipated and the hotel is just a most talked about hot a standout locavore creature comfort amid a private terraces and a gracious note to a quiet setting, overlooking prestigious Herengracht, laundry facilities),
vineyard backed by like the second home of is where the beautiful to the Rooftop Bar for of the typical Vegas pool, carved into monumental villas— wine region. to its Belle Époque lofty city views and (and expensive) new five-minute walk from spot, with 200 rooms restaurant and 23 cozy wildlife-rich landscape. quirky, colorful mix of side street near the 11,000 acres of vineyards a 15-minute walk making it ideal for family
the snowcapped Andes. your dreams. people hang. the best views in Dublin. experience. the hillside, is epic. all fit for a maharaja. splendor. soaking tubs. skyscrapers. St. Stephen’s Cathedral. and a sublime spa. guest rooms. fabrics and artwork. trendy Chueca district. in the Millahue Valley. from Museumplein. vacations.
lagrandemaison pikaialodge​galapagos
casadeuco.com; casasdelxvi.com; from chilternfirehouse.com; deanhoteldublin.ie; delanolasvegas.com; iconicsantorini.com; itchotels.in; from -bordeaux.com; from lareserve-paris.com; ludlowhotel.com; park.hyatt.com; park.hyatt.com; from peninsula.com; from thepighotel.com; from .com; from $7,560 for tribal-hotel.com; from hotelurso.com; from vinavik.com; from thegoodland.com; watchhillinn.com; from
from $400. ● $340. ● from $730. ● from $130. ● from $200. ● from $685. ● $305. ● $420. ● from $840. ● from $225. ● from $795. ● $425. ● $840. ● $570. ● three nights. ● $125. ● $210. ● $1,200. ● from $525. ● $555. ●

3 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R For a complete list of properties by category, visit cntraveler.com/hotlist.

HOT LIST 2015
21 Broad, Nantucket
A restored 27-room
Victorian mansion
in the center of town
with a cheery aqua
and yellow palette and
mod furnishings,
it’s made for weekend
visitors.
21broadhotel.com;
from $159. ●
Bahia Vik José
Ignacio, Uruguay
A ten-suite main
house and 11 art-filled
bungalows sprawl across
the dunes of Uruguay’s
José Ignacio coastline,
12 miles northeast
of Punta del Este.
bahiavik.com; from
$800. ●
Casa de Uco Vineyards
& Wine Resort,
Mendoza, Argentina
The 16-room minimalist
resort was designed to
blend into the sweeping
landscape—a 790-acre
vineyard backed by
the snowcapped Andes.
casadeuco.com;
from $400. ●
For a complete list of properties by category, visit cntraveler.com/hotlist.
Alila Jabal Akhdar,
Nizwa, Oman
At this remote 78-room
resort 90 miles southwest
of Muscat, guests spend
their days hiking through
ancient villages blissfully
absent of any sign of
modern life.
alilahotels.com; from
$500. ●
The Beaumont, London
This 73-room Deco-
inspired renovation of a
1926 Mayfair building is
the brainchild of two
veteran restaurateurs,
and its Colony Grill
serves one of the city’s
best English breakfasts.
thebeaumont.com;
from $600. ●
Casas del XVI, Santo
Domingo, Dominican
Republic
Sixteenth-century houses
have been transformed
into this intimate seven-
room hotel that feels
like the second home of
your dreams.
casasdelxvi.com; from
$340. ●
Alma Histórica
Boutique Hotel,
Montevideo, Uruguay
A much-needed addition
to the city, the 15-room
1920s town house is in
the center of one of
South America’s most
underrated capitals.
almahistorica.com;
from $185. ●
Belle Mont Farm on
Kittitian Hill, St. Kitts
Eighty-four guest­
houses—­each with a
wraparound veranda—
are spread across a 400-
acre organic farm that
grows a cornucopia of
fruits and vegetables.
bellemontfarm.com;
from $1,700. ●
Chiltern Firehouse,
London
This quirky conversion of
an 1889 building—one
of the first fire stations in
London—into a 26-room
hotel and restaurant
is where the beautiful
people hang.
chilternfirehouse.com;
from $730. ●
Aman Tokyo
Aman’s first urban
property is an
intimate, modernist
84-room aerie
floating 38 floors
above the city. On a
clear day, you can
even see Mount Fuji.
amanresorts.com; from
$618. ●
The Brando, French
Polynesia
On Marlon Brando’s pri­
vate atoll, Tetiaroa—30
miles off Tahiti—it has 35
thatched-roof villas with
private plunge pools that
alone are worth the flight.
thebrando.com;
from $2,550 for three
nights. ●
The Dean Hotel, Dublin
If you want to be in the
middle of the nightlife
district, you can’t do
better than this 52-room
modernist hotbed. When
you’ve settled in, head
to the Rooftop Bar for
the best views in Dublin.
deanhoteldublin.ie;
from $130. ●
HOT LIST 2015
Aro Hā Wellness Resort, Edson Hill, Vermont
New Zealand With its fireplaces and
Overlooking Lake contemporary art
Wakatipu, on the South collection, this 24-room
Island, this intimate manor house on 38
20-room lodge is all acres (ten minutes from
about yoga, meditation, Stowe Mountain) feels
and health food that like staying at a
doesn’t taste like it. (wealthy) friend’s estate.
aro-ha.com; from $3,300 edsonhillmanor.com;
for four nights. ● from $300. ●
Cape Weligama, Ham Yard Hotel,
Sri Lanka London
This collection of 40 Firmdale Hotels’ latest
colonial-style houses on venture occupies an
the Indian Ocean, entire city block, with
surrounded by tropical 91 airy, colorful rooms,
gardens, has an a courtyard restaurant,
on-site dive center for and a subterranean
underwater adventures. bar and bowling alley.
capeweligama.com; firmdalehotels.com;
from $815. ● from $555. ●
Delano Las Vegas Iconic Santorini,
At the southernmost Greece
tip of the Strip, This whitewashed
this shimmering 22-room retreat
43-story tower with is set in a small village
1,117 suites is a high above the
more subdued version Aegean. Its infinity
of the typical Vegas pool, carved into
experience. the hillside, is epic.
delanolasvegas.com; iconicsantorini.com;
from $200. ● from $685. ●
4 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R
FAR RIGHT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY PORTRAIT FIRENZE; COURTESY RAFFLES; COURTESY RITZ-CARLTON; COURTESY ROSEWOOD; COURTESY ROSE HOTEL. MIDDLE ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICHARD POWERS/COURTESY RIAD MENA & BEYOND;
RIGHT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY COMO; COURTESY MALLIOUHANA; GEORGE APOSTOLIDIS/COURTESY MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL GROUP; K ATHY YL CHAN; COURTESY MIAMI BEACH EDITION. MIDDLE ROW: COURTESY MONDRIAN;
COURTESY MONT ROCHELLE; COURTESY THE NORMAN; MARIA SHOLLENBARGER; COURTESY PALAZZO PARIGI. BOTTOM ROW: COURTESY PARK HYATT (2); COURTESY THE PENINSULA; COURTESY THE PIG ON THE BEACH; COURTESY PIKAIA LODGE.
LEFT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MILLIE KERR; COURTESY EL BLOK; COURTESY FONTEVRAUD L’HÔTEL; COURTESY FOUR SEASONS (2). MIDDLE ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY SIMON BROWN/COURTESY FIRMDALE; COURTESY WILDERNESS SAFARIS;
LEONOR MAMANNA; COURTESY HOTEL SAHRAI; COURTESY HOTEL SP34. BOTTOM ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY ICONIC SANTORINI; COURTESY ITC HOTEL; COURTESY LA GRANDE MAISON; COURTESY LA RESERVE; COURTESY THE LUDLOW
COURTESY THE BEAUMONT; ALICE GAO; ROBERTO FRANKENBERG; COURTESY WELIGAMA/RELAIS & CHÂTEAUX. BOTTOM ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUIS RIDAO; COURTESY CASAS DEL XVI; PHILIP SINDEN; IMEN MCDONNELL; MARA BALAGTAS.
FAR LEFT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY 21 BROAD; COURTESY ALILA JABAL AKHDAR; COURTESY ALMA HISTÓRICA; COURTESY AMAN; SHANTANU STARICK/COURTESY ARO HĀ . MIDDLE ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MATTHIEU SALVAING;
COURTESY THE SANCHAYA; COURTESY SINGULAR SANTIAGO; COURTESY SOHO HOUSE; HANYA YANAGIHARA. BOTTOM ROW: JULIEN CAPMEIL; COURTESY URSO; COURTESY VINA VIK; ALAN JENSEN; COURTESY WATCH HILL INN
El Blok, Vieques, Fontevraud L’Hôtel, Four Seasons Hotel Four Seasons Resort Maalifushi by Como, Malliouhana, Mandarin Oriental, Mandarin Oriental, The Miami Beach Portrait Firenze Raffles Istanbul Ritz-Carlton, Rosewood Beijing The Rose Hotel,
Puerto Rico Loire Valley The Westcliff, Orlando at Walt Disney Maldives An Auberge Bodrum, Turkey Taipei Edition On the banks of the The 185-room Rancho Mirage The first Rosewood hotel Venice Beach
Brutalist architecture In a meticulous renova- Johannesburg World Resort On remote Thaa Atoll, Resort, Anguilla Most of the 109 A new standard was set Mid-Beach is heating Arno, with views of the hotel is unabashedly Spare in design but in China soars high This casual 14-room
is set against a tropical tion, a famous Set on a gorgeous Disney-goers finally this isolated, minimalist This classic rooms face the sea, in Taipei’s hotel scene up, due in large part to Ponte Vecchio, the swank, befitting its decadent in service, this above Beijing, with 283 California dream, a block
backdrop at this twelfth-century French hillside, this 117-room have a truly stylish 65-room getaway 44-room Caribbean which is impossible when this 303-room this 294-room Ian latest property from the location in Zorlu Center, 244-room hotel in the rooms, six restaurants from the boardwalk,
22-room hotel, where abbey has been con- luxury mainstay just option, thanks to this hovers above coral charmer overlooking to miss thanks property opened; Schrager project with a Ferragamo hotel group an upscale shopping California desert has fire and bars, a world-class is a much-needed option
carved louvers verted into a 54-room had a top-to-bottom 443-room resort. Kids gardens and schools of postcard-perfect to massive walls of afternoon tea in the bowling alley and an ice combines an unbeatable and cultural complex pits, three pools, and spa, and an executive for an area of Los
transform the bright sun property with sleek— overhaul—time and love the waterslides dolphins and sea Meads Bay has taken windows; suites have Jade Lounge is a must rink, making it an all-in- location with 36 chic, that’s a reflection of astonishing views of the lounge that feels like a Angeles that was starved
into artistic shadows. yet soothing—interiors. money well spent. and lazy river. turtles. on a new life. private infinity pools. for locals and guests. one playground. pared-down rooms. booming modern Turkey. Coachella Valley. private club. for good hotels.
elblok.com; from fontevraud.fr; from fourseasons.com; fourseasons.com; comohotels.com; from aubergeresorts.com; mandarinoriental.com; mandarinoriental.com; editionhotels.com; lungarnocollection.com; raffles.com; from ritzcarlton.com; from rosewoodhotels.com; therosehotelvenice.com;
$240. ● $195. ● from $350. ● from $449. ● $750. ● from $525. ● from $260. ● from $523. ● from $429. ● from $530. ● $370. ● $279. ● from $287. ● from $175. ●
Hoanib Skeleton Coast Hôtel Plaza Hotel Sahrai, Fez, Hotel SP34, Mondrian London at Mont Rochelle Hotel & The Norman Tel-Aviv One&Only Hayman Palazzo Parigi, Milan Riad Mena & Beyond, The Sanchaya, Bintan The Singular Santiago Soho House Chicago Suján Rajmahal
Camp, Namibia Athénée, Paris Morocco Copenhagen Sea Containers Vineyard, South Africa The 50 individually Island, Australia Steps from the best Marrakech Island, Indonesia Lastarria Hotel The second-largest Soho Palace, Jaipur, India
This African game The signature red The city’s most The 118 rooms at this This 359-room hotel on The latest addition designed rooms An old-school 1950s- shopping in Milan is Think of it as Marrakech Colonial design, first-rate This 62-room Chilean House debuts in the city’s A former royal
changer is a state-of- awnings are still there, impressive boutique Latin District hotel the Thames has all the to Richard Branson’s at this boutique hotel era resort in the designer Pierre-Yves mod in the heart of the Euro-Asian cuisine, 19 retreat in Lastarria, a hip West Loop, in a 1907 guesthouse, the
the-art camp with but almost everything hotel has 50 rooms, are like an adult’s idea hallmarks of its hotel collection is a in two historic town Whitsunday Islands, Rochon’s seductive new medina: Each of the villas and nine suites, and lively neighborhood with warehouse that’s been 30-room property
eight tented bedrooms else at this 208-room two pools, and a of a cool dorm: snug American counterparts renovated grand estate houses with a fragrant off the Great Barrier hotel, with 98 guest six rooms is decorated a long stretch of powdery some of Santiago’s best converted into a hotel has been transformed
and private plane classic was sumptuously knockout Givenchy but cheerful, with (buzz, high design) house with 22 rooms citrus garden between Reef, gets a glam rooms that are at once in an unexpected but sand have put luxury nightlife and restaurants, with 40 guest rooms, a into an eclectic
access to Skeleton updated in a $268 spa—the first modern fixtures and along with British flair on a 100-acre vineyard them are like no others makeover with 160 opulent and utterly harmonious blend of East within a 45-minute ferry has its own hopping Cowshed Spa . . . and a playground for color-
Coast National Park. million renovation. in North Africa. furnishings. (color and whimsy). in Franschhoek. in the city. rooms and villas. comfortable. and West. ride of Singapore. rooftop bar and lounge. vintage-y boxing ring. loving design buffs.
wilderness-safaris.com; dorchestercollection hotelsahrai.com; from brochner-hotels.dk; morganshotelgroup​ montrochelle.co.za; thenorman.com; oneandonlyresorts.com; palazzoparigi.com; from riadmenaandbeyond​ thesanchaya.com; thesingular.com; from sohohousechicago.com; sujanluxury.com;
from $900. ● .com; from $840. ● $170. ● from $310. ● .com; from $330. ● from $240. ● from $435. ● from $615. ● $680. ● .com; from $235. ● from $620. ● $290. ● from $280. ● from $558. ●
ITC Grand Bharat, La Grande Maison, La Réserve, Paris The Ludlow, New York Park Hyatt New York Park Hyatt Vienna The Peninsula Paris The Pig on the Beach, Pikaia Lodge, Tribal Hotel, Granada, Urso Hotel & Spa, Viña Vik, Chile Waldorf Astoria Watch Hill Inn,
Gurgaon, India Bordeaux Built in 1854 and just Tucked into a lively Midtown gets a serious The 143 rooms at Hyatt’s After a six-year, $580 Dorset, England Galápagos Islands Nicaragua Madrid High design and high- Amsterdam Rhode Island
Right in the Golden Joël Robuchon’s a block from the Lower East Side block, dose of flash with first property in Austria million renovation, a A rustic-chic boutique The first true luxury All seven rooms at this With its neoclassical profile contemporary art Six grand town houses This 19-suite inn on Little
Triangle, with easy restaurant is the Champs-Élysées, this the 184-room brick the opening of this (a stately former bank storied Belle Époque retreat on Dorset’s ecolodge in the Galápa­ property—arguably the facade, delicate floral mix in the 22 suites were combined Narragansett Bay feels
access to Agra and standout at this six- elegant mansion high-rise puts a new super-sleek 210-room headquarters) are some building has been dramatic World gos, this 14-room best boutique hotel in wallpaper, and spa, this here—all the more to create 93 stylish more like a beach house
Jaipur, the resort has room hotel in France’s turned 40-room bijou twist on downtown hotel in one of the of the largest in Vienna, transformed into Paris’s Heritage coast, it has pioneer has every the country—have 78-room hotel adds a impressive for their rooms on the (with full kitchens and
100 rooms and four celebrated Bordeaux hotel has been restored industrial cool with city’s most anticipated and the hotel is just a most talked about hot a standout locavore creature comfort amid a private terraces and a gracious note to a quiet setting, overlooking prestigious Herengracht, laundry facilities),
monumental villas— wine region. to its Belle Époque lofty city views and (and expensive) new five-minute walk from spot, with 200 rooms restaurant and 23 cozy wildlife-rich landscape. quirky, colorful mix of side street near the 11,000 acres of vineyards a 15-minute walk making it ideal for family
all fit for a maharaja. splendor. soaking tubs. skyscrapers. St. Stephen’s Cathedral. and a sublime spa. guest rooms. fabrics and artwork. trendy Chueca district. in the Millahue Valley. from Museumplein. vacations.
lagrandemaison​ pikaialodge​galapagos
itchotels.in; from -bordeaux.com; from lareserve-paris.com; ludlowhotel.com; park.hyatt.com; park.hyatt.com; from peninsula.com; from thepighotel.com; from .com; from $7,560 for tribal-hotel.com; from hotelurso.com; from vinavik.com; from thegoodland.com; watchhillinn.com; from
$305. ● $420. ● from $840. ● from $225. ● from $795. ● $425. ● $840. ● $570. ● three nights. ● $125. ● $210. ● $1,200. ● from $525. ● $555. ●
For a complete list of properties by category, visit cntraveler.com/hotlist.
HOT LIST 2015
21 Broad, Nantucket
A restored 27-room
Victorian mansion
in the center of town
with a cheery aqua
and yellow palette and
mod furnishings,
it’s made for weekend
visitors.
21broadhotel.com;
from $159. ●
Bahia Vik José
Ignacio, Uruguay
A ten-suite main
house and 11 art-filled
bungalows sprawl across
the dunes of Uruguay’s
José Ignacio coastline,
12 miles northeast
of Punta del Este.
bahiavik.com; from
$800. ●
Casa de Uco Vineyards
& Wine Resort,
Mendoza, Argentina
The 16-room minimalist
resort was designed to
blend into the sweeping
landscape—a 790-acre
vineyard backed by
the snowcapped Andes.
casadeuco.com;
from $400. ●
For a complete list of properties by category, visit cntraveler.com/hotlist.
Alila Jabal Akhdar,
Nizwa, Oman
At this remote 78-room
resort 90 miles southwest
of Muscat, guests spend
their days hiking through
ancient villages blissfully
absent of any sign of
modern life.
alilahotels.com; from
$500. ●
The Beaumont, London
This 73-room Deco-
inspired renovation of a
1926 Mayfair building is
the brainchild of two
veteran restaurateurs,
and its Colony Grill
serves one of the city’s
best English breakfasts.
thebeaumont.com;
from $600. ●
Casas del XVI, Santo
Domingo, Dominican
Republic
Sixteenth-century houses
have been transformed
into this intimate seven-
room hotel that feels
like the second home of
your dreams.
casasdelxvi.com; from
$340. ●
Alma Histórica
Boutique Hotel,
Montevideo, Uruguay
A much-needed addition
to the city, the 15-room
1920s town house is in
the center of one of
South America’s most
underrated capitals.
almahistorica.com;
from $185. ●
Belle Mont Farm on
Kittitian Hill, St. Kitts
Eighty-four guest­
houses—­each with a
wraparound veranda—
are spread across a 400-
acre organic farm that
grows a cornucopia of
fruits and vegetables.
bellemontfarm.com;
from $1,700. ●
Chiltern Firehouse,
London
This quirky conversion of
an 1889 building—one
of the first fire stations in
London—into a 26-room
hotel and restaurant
is where the beautiful
people hang.
chilternfirehouse.com;
from $730. ●
Aman Tokyo
Aman’s first urban
property is an
intimate, modernist
84-room aerie
floating 38 floors
above the city. On a
clear day, you can
even see Mount Fuji.
amanresorts.com; from
$618. ●
The Brando, French
Polynesia
On Marlon Brando’s pri­
vate atoll, Tetiaroa—30
miles off Tahiti—it has 35
thatched-roof villas with
private plunge pools that
alone are worth the flight.
thebrando.com;
from $2,550 for three
nights. ●
The Dean Hotel, Dublin
If you want to be in the
middle of the nightlife
district, you can’t do
better than this 52-room
modernist hotbed. When
you’ve settled in, head
to the Rooftop Bar for
the best views in Dublin.
deanhoteldublin.ie;
from $130. ●
HOT LIST 2015
FAR RIGHT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY PORTRAIT FIRENZE; COURTESY RAFFLES; COURTESY RITZ-CARLTON; COURTESY ROSEWOOD; COURTESY ROSE HOTEL. MIDDLE ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICHARD POWERS/COURTESY RIAD MENA & BEYOND;
RIGHT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY COMO; COURTESY MALLIOUHANA; GEORGE APOSTOLIDIS/COURTESY MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL GROUP; K ATHY YL CHAN; COURTESY MIAMI BEACH EDITION. MIDDLE ROW: COURTESY MONDRIAN;
COURTESY MONT ROCHELLE; COURTESY THE NORMAN; MARIA SHOLLENBARGER; COURTESY PALAZZO PARIGI. BOTTOM ROW: COURTESY PARK HYATT (2); COURTESY THE PENINSULA; COURTESY THE PIG ON THE BEACH; COURTESY PIKAIA LODGE.
LEFT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MILLIE KERR; COURTESY EL BLOK; COURTESY FONTEVRAUD L’HÔTEL; COURTESY FOUR SEASONS (2). MIDDLE ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY SIMON BROWN/COURTESY FIRMDALE; COURTESY WILDERNESS SAFARIS;
LEONOR MAMANNA; COURTESY HOTEL SAHRAI; COURTESY HOTEL SP34. BOTTOM ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY ICONIC SANTORINI; COURTESY ITC HOTEL; COURTESY LA GRANDE MAISON; COURTESY LA RESERVE; COURTESY THE LUDLOW
COURTESY THE BEAUMONT; ALICE GAO; ROBERTO FRANKENBERG; COURTESY WELIGAMA/RELAIS & CHÂTEAUX. BOTTOM ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUIS RIDAO; COURTESY CASAS DEL XVI; PHILIP SINDEN; IMEN MCDONNELL; MARA BALAGTAS.
FAR LEFT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY 21 BROAD; COURTESY ALILA JABAL AKHDAR; COURTESY ALMA HISTÓRICA; COURTESY AMAN; SHANTANU STARICK/COURTESY ARO HĀ . MIDDLE ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MATTHIEU SALVAING;
COURTESY THE SANCHAYA; COURTESY SINGULAR SANTIAGO; COURTESY SOHO HOUSE; HANYA YANAGIHARA. BOTTOM ROW: JULIEN CAPMEIL; COURTESY URSO; COURTESY VINA VIK; ALAN JENSEN; COURTESY WATCH HILL INN
Aro Hā Wellness Resort, Edson Hill, Vermont El Blok, Vieques, Fontevraud L’Hôtel, Four Seasons Hotel Four Seasons Resort Maalifushi by Como, Malliouhana, Mandarin Oriental, Mandarin Oriental, The Miami Beach Portrait Firenze Raffles Istanbul Ritz-Carlton, Rosewood Beijing The Rose Hotel,
New Zealand With its fireplaces and Puerto Rico Loire Valley The Westcliff, Orlando at Walt Disney Maldives An Auberge Bodrum, Turkey Taipei Edition On the banks of the The 185-room Rancho Mirage The first Rosewood hotel Venice Beach
Overlooking Lake contemporary art Brutalist architecture In a meticulous renova- Johannesburg World Resort On remote Thaa Atoll, Resort, Anguilla Most of the 109 A new standard was set Mid-Beach is heating Arno, with views of the hotel is unabashedly Spare in design but in China soars high This casual 14-room
Wakatipu, on the South collection, this 24-room is set against a tropical tion, a famous Set on a gorgeous Disney-goers finally this isolated, minimalist This classic rooms face the sea, in Taipei’s hotel scene up, due in large part to Ponte Vecchio, the swank, befitting its decadent in service, this above Beijing, with 283 California dream, a block
Island, this intimate manor house on 38 backdrop at this twelfth-century French hillside, this 117-room have a truly stylish 65-room getaway 44-room Caribbean which is impossible when this 303-room this 294-room Ian latest property from the location in Zorlu Center, 244-room hotel in the rooms, six restaurants from the boardwalk,
20-room lodge is all acres (ten minutes from 22-room hotel, where abbey has been con- luxury mainstay just option, thanks to this hovers above coral charmer overlooking to miss thanks property opened; Schrager project with a Ferragamo hotel group an upscale shopping California desert has fire and bars, a world-class is a much-needed option
about yoga, meditation, Stowe Mountain) feels carved louvers verted into a 54-room had a top-to-bottom 443-room resort. Kids gardens and schools of postcard-perfect to massive walls of afternoon tea in the bowling alley and an ice combines an unbeatable and cultural complex pits, three pools, and spa, and an executive for an area of Los
and health food that like staying at a transform the bright sun property with sleek— overhaul—time and love the waterslides dolphins and sea Meads Bay has taken windows; suites have Jade Lounge is a must rink, making it an all-in- location with 36 chic, that’s a reflection of astonishing views of the lounge that feels like a Angeles that was starved
doesn’t taste like it. (wealthy) friend’s estate. into artistic shadows. yet soothing—interiors. money well spent. and lazy river. turtles. on a new life. private infinity pools. for locals and guests. one playground. pared-down rooms. booming modern Turkey. Coachella Valley. private club. for good hotels.
aro-ha.com; from $3,300 edsonhillmanor.com; elblok.com; from fontevraud.fr; from fourseasons.com; fourseasons.com; comohotels.com; from aubergeresorts.com; mandarinoriental.com; mandarinoriental.com; editionhotels.com; lungarnocollection.com; raffles.com; from ritzcarlton.com; from rosewoodhotels.com; therosehotelvenice.com;
for four nights. ● from $300. ● $240. ● $195. ● from $350. ● from $449. ● $750. ● from $525. ● from $260. ● from $523. ● from $429. ● from $530. ● $370. ● $279. ● from $287. ● from $175. ●
Cape Weligama, Ham Yard Hotel, Hoanib Skeleton Coast Hôtel Plaza Hotel Sahrai, Fez, Hotel SP34, Mondrian London at Mont Rochelle Hotel & The Norman Tel-Aviv One&Only Hayman Palazzo Parigi, Milan Riad Mena & Beyond, The Sanchaya, Bintan The Singular Santiago Soho House Chicago Suján Rajmahal
Sri Lanka London Camp, Namibia Athénée, Paris Morocco Copenhagen Sea Containers Vineyard, South Africa The 50 individually Island, Australia Steps from the best Marrakech Island, Indonesia Lastarria Hotel The second-largest Soho Palace, Jaipur, India
This collection of 40 Firmdale Hotels’ latest This African game The signature red The city’s most The 118 rooms at this This 359-room hotel on The latest addition designed rooms An old-school 1950s-­ shopping in Milan is Think of it as Marrakech Colonial design, first-rate This 62-room Chilean House debuts in the city’s A former royal
colonial-style houses on venture occupies an changer is a state-of- awnings are still there, impressive boutique Latin District hotel the Thames has all the to Richard Branson’s at this boutique hotel era resort in the designer Pierre-Yves mod in the heart of the Euro-Asian cuisine, 19 retreat in Lastarria, a hip West Loop, in a 1907 guesthouse, the
the Indian Ocean, entire city block, with the-art camp with but almost everything hotel has 50 rooms, are like an adult’s idea hallmarks of its hotel collection is a in two historic town Whitsunday Islands, Rochon’s seductive new medina: Each of the villas and nine suites, and lively neighborhood with warehouse that’s been 30-room property
surrounded by tropical 91 airy, colorful rooms, eight tented bedrooms else at this 208-room two pools, and a of a cool dorm: snug American counterparts renovated grand estate houses with a fragrant off the Great Barrier hotel, with 98 guest six rooms is decorated a long stretch of powdery some of Santiago’s best converted into a hotel has been transformed
gardens, has an a courtyard restaurant, and private plane classic was sumptuously knockout Givenchy but cheerful, with (buzz, high design) house with 22 rooms citrus garden between Reef, gets a glam rooms that are at once in an unexpected but sand have put luxury nightlife and restaurants, with 40 guest rooms, a into an eclectic
on-site dive center for and a subterranean access to Skeleton updated in a $268 spa—the first modern fixtures and along with British flair on a 100-acre vineyard them are like no others makeover with 160 opulent and utterly harmonious blend of East within a 45-minute ferry has its own hopping Cowshed Spa . . . and a playground for color-
underwater adventures. bar and bowling alley. Coast National Park. million renovation. in North Africa. furnishings. (color and whimsy). in Franschhoek. in the city. rooms and villas. comfortable. and West. ride of Singapore. rooftop bar and lounge. vintage-y boxing ring. loving design buffs.
capeweligama.com; firmdalehotels.com; wilderness-safaris.com; dorchestercollection hotelsahrai.com; from brochner-hotels.dk; morganshotelgroup​ montrochelle.co.za; thenorman.com; oneandonlyresorts.com; palazzoparigi.com; from riadmenaandbeyond​ thesanchaya.com; thesingular.com; from sohohousechicago.com; sujanluxury.com;
from $815. ● from $555. ● from $900. ● .com; from $840. ● $170. ● from $310. ● .com; from $330. ● from $240. ● from $435. ● from $615. ● $680. ● .com; from $235. ● from $620. ● $290. ● from $280. ● from $558. ●
Delano Las Vegas Iconic Santorini, ITC Grand Bharat, La Grande Maison, La Réserve, Paris The Ludlow, New York Park Hyatt New York Park Hyatt Vienna The Peninsula Paris The Pig on the Beach, Pikaia Lodge, Tribal Hotel, Granada, Urso Hotel & Spa, Viña Vik, Chile Waldorf Astoria Watch Hill Inn,
At the southernmost Greece Gurgaon, India Bordeaux Built in 1854 and just Tucked into a lively Midtown gets a serious The 143 rooms at Hyatt’s After a six-year, $580 Dorset, England Galápagos Islands Nicaragua Madrid High design and high- Amsterdam Rhode Island
tip of the Strip, This whitewashed Right in the Golden Joël Robuchon’s a block from the Lower East Side block, dose of flash with first property in Austria million renovation, a A rustic-chic boutique The first true luxury All seven rooms at this With its neoclassical profile contemporary art Six grand town houses This 19-suite inn on Little
this shimmering 22-room retreat Triangle, with easy restaurant is the Champs-Élysées, this the 184-room brick the opening of this (a stately former bank storied Belle Époque retreat on Dorset’s ecolodge in the Galá­pa­ property—arguably the facade, delicate floral mix in the 22 suites were combined Narragansett Bay feels
43-story tower with is set in a small village access to Agra and standout at this six- elegant mansion high-rise puts a new super-sleek 210-room headquarters) are some building has been dramatic World gos, this 14-room best boutique hotel in wallpaper, and spa, this here—all the more to create 93 stylish more like a beach house
1,117 suites is a high above the Jaipur, the resort has room hotel in France’s turned 40-room bijou twist on downtown hotel in one of the of the largest in Vienna, transformed into Paris’s Heritage coast, it has pioneer has every the country—have 78-room hotel adds a impressive for their rooms on the (with full kitchens and
more subdued version Aegean. Its infinity 100 rooms and four celebrated Bordeaux hotel has been restored industrial cool with city’s most anticipated and the hotel is just a most talked about hot a standout locavore creature comfort amid a private terraces and a gracious note to a quiet setting, overlooking prestigious Herengracht, laundry facilities),
of the typical Vegas pool, carved into monumental villas— wine region. to its Belle Époque lofty city views and (and expensive) new five-minute walk from spot, with 200 rooms restaurant and 23 cozy wildlife-rich landscape. quirky, colorful mix of side street near the 11,000 acres of vineyards a 15-minute walk making it ideal for family
experience. the hillside, is epic. all fit for a maharaja. splendor. soaking tubs. skyscrapers. St. Stephen’s Cathedral. and a sublime spa. guest rooms. fabrics and artwork. trendy Chueca district. in the Millahue Valley. from Museumplein. vacations.
lagrandemaison pikaia​lodge​galapagos​
delanolasvegas.com; iconicsantorini.com; itchotels.in; from -bordeaux.com; from lareserve-paris.com; ludlowhotel.com; park.hyatt.com; park.hyatt.com; from peninsula.com; from thepighotel.com; from .com; from $7,560 for tribal-hotel.com; from hotelurso.com; from vinavik.com; from thegoodland.com; watchhillinn.com; from
from $200. ● from $685. ● $305. ● $420. ● from $840. ● from $225. ● from $795. ● $425. ● $840. ● $570. ● three nights. ● $125. ● $210. ● $1,200. ● from $525. ● $555. ●
5 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R For a complete list of properties by category, visit cntraveler.com/hotlist.
HOT LIST 2015
21 Broad, Nantucket
A restored 27-room
Victorian mansion
in the center of town
with a cheery aqua
and yellow palette and
mod furnishings,
it’s made for weekend
visitors.
21broadhotel.com;
from $159. ●
Bahia Vik José
Ignacio, Uruguay
A ten-suite main
house and 11 art-filled
bungalows sprawl across
the dunes of Uruguay’s
José Ignacio coastline,
12 miles northeast
of Punta del Este.
bahiavik.com; from
$800. ●
Casa de Uco Vineyards
& Wine Resort,
Mendoza, Argentina
The 16-room minimalist
resort was designed to
blend into the sweeping
landscape—a 790-acre
vineyard backed by
the snowcapped Andes.
casadeuco.com;
from $400. ●
For a complete list of properties by category, visit cntraveler.com/hotlist.
Alila Jabal Akhdar,
Nizwa, Oman
At this remote 78-room
resort 90 miles southwest
of Muscat, guests spend
their days hiking through
ancient villages blissfully
absent of any sign of
modern life.
alilahotels.com; from
$500. ●
The Beaumont, London
This 73-room Deco-
inspired renovation of a
1926 Mayfair building is
the brainchild of two
veteran restaurateurs,
and its Colony Grill
serves one of the city’s
best English breakfasts.
thebeaumont.com;
from $600. ●
Casas del XVI, Santo
Domingo, Dominican
Republic
Sixteenth-century houses
have been transformed
into this intimate seven-
room hotel that feels
like the second home of
your dreams.
casasdelxvi.com; from
$340. ●
Alma Histórica
Boutique Hotel,
Montevideo, Uruguay
A much-needed addition
to the city, the 15-room
1920s town house is in
the center of one of
South America’s most
underrated capitals.
almahistorica.com;
from $185. ●
Belle Mont Farm on
Kittitian Hill, St. Kitts
Eighty-four guest­
houses—­each with a
wraparound veranda—
are spread across a 400-
acre organic farm that
grows a cornucopia of
fruits and vegetables.
bellemontfarm.com;
from $1,700. ●
Chiltern Firehouse,
London
This quirky conversion of
an 1889 building—one
of the first fire stations in
London—into a 26-room
hotel and restaurant
is where the beautiful
people hang.
chilternfirehouse.com;
from $730. ●
Aman Tokyo
Aman’s first urban
property is an
intimate, modernist
84-room aerie
floating 38 floors
above the city. On a
clear day, you can
even see Mount Fuji.
amanresorts.com; from
$618. ●
The Brando, French
Polynesia
On Marlon Brando’s pri­
vate atoll, Tetiaroa—30
miles off Tahiti—it has 35
thatched-roof villas with
private plunge pools that
alone are worth the flight.
thebrando.com;
from $2,550 for three
nights. ●
The Dean Hotel, Dublin
If you want to be in the
middle of the nightlife
district, you can’t do
better than this 52-room
modernist hotbed. When
you’ve settled in, head
to the Rooftop Bar for
the best views in Dublin.
deanhoteldublin.ie;
from $130. ●
HOT LIST 2015
FAR RIGHT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY PORTRAIT FIRENZE; COURTESY RAFFLES; COURTESY RITZ-CARLTON; COURTESY ROSEWOOD; COURTESY ROSE HOTEL. MIDDLE ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICHARD POWERS/COURTESY RIAD MENA & BEYOND;
RIGHT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY COMO; COURTESY MALLIOUHANA; GEORGE APOSTOLIDIS/COURTESY MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL GROUP; K ATHY YL CHAN; COURTESY MIAMI BEACH EDITION. MIDDLE ROW: COURTESY MONDRIAN;
COURTESY MONT ROCHELLE; COURTESY THE NORMAN; MARIA SHOLLENBARGER; COURTESY PALAZZO PARIGI. BOTTOM ROW: COURTESY PARK HYATT (2); COURTESY THE PENINSULA; COURTESY THE PIG ON THE BEACH; COURTESY PIKAIA LODGE.
LEFT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MILLIE KERR; COURTESY EL BLOK; COURTESY FONTEVRAUD L’HÔTEL; COURTESY FOUR SEASONS (2). MIDDLE ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY SIMON BROWN/COURTESY FIRMDALE; COURTESY WILDERNESS SAFARIS;
LEONOR MAMANNA; COURTESY HOTEL SAHRAI; COURTESY HOTEL SP34. BOTTOM ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY ICONIC SANTORINI; COURTESY ITC HOTEL; COURTESY LA GRANDE MAISON; COURTESY LA RESERVE; COURTESY THE LUDLOW
COURTESY THE BEAUMONT; ALICE GAO; ROBERTO FRANKENBERG; COURTESY WELIGAMA/RELAIS & CHÂTEAUX. BOTTOM ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUIS RIDAO; COURTESY CASAS DEL XVI; PHILIP SINDEN; IMEN MCDONNELL; MARA BALAGTAS.
FAR LEFT, TOP ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY 21 BROAD; COURTESY ALILA JABAL AKHDAR; COURTESY ALMA HISTÓRICA; COURTESY AMAN; SHANTANU STARICK/COURTESY ARO HĀ . MIDDLE ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MATTHIEU SALVAING;
COURTESY THE SANCHAYA; COURTESY SINGULAR SANTIAGO; COURTESY SOHO HOUSE; HANYA YANAGIHARA. BOTTOM ROW: JULIEN CAPMEIL; COURTESY URSO; COURTESY VINA VIK; ALAN JENSEN; COURTESY WATCH HILL INN
Aro Hā Wellness Resort, Edson Hill, Vermont El Blok, Vieques, Fontevraud L’Hôtel, Four Seasons Hotel Four Seasons Resort Maalifushi by Como, Malliouhana, Mandarin Oriental, Mandarin Oriental, The Miami Beach Portrait Firenze Raffles Istanbul Ritz-Carlton, Rosewood Beijing The Rose Hotel,
New Zealand With its fireplaces and Puerto Rico Loire Valley The Westcliff, Orlando at Walt Disney Maldives An Auberge Bodrum, Turkey Taipei Edition On the banks of the The 185-room Rancho Mirage The first Rosewood hotel Venice Beach
Overlooking Lake contemporary art Brutalist architecture In a meticulous renova- Johannesburg World Resort On remote Thaa Atoll, Resort, Anguilla Most of the 109 A new standard was set Mid-Beach is heating Arno, with views of the hotel is unabashedly Spare in design but in China soars high This casual 14-room
Wakatipu, on the South collection, this 24-room is set against a tropical tion, a famous Set on a gorgeous Disney-goers finally this isolated, minimalist This classic rooms face the sea, in Taipei’s hotel scene up, due in large part to Ponte Vecchio, the swank, befitting its decadent in service, this above Beijing, with 283 California dream, a block
Island, this intimate manor house on 38 backdrop at this twelfth-century French hillside, this 117-room have a truly stylish 65-room getaway 44-room Caribbean which is impossible when this 303-room this 294-room Ian latest property from the location in Zorlu Center, 244-room hotel in the rooms, six restaurants from the boardwalk,
20-room lodge is all acres (ten minutes from 22-room hotel, where abbey has been con- luxury mainstay just option, thanks to this hovers above coral charmer overlooking to miss thanks property opened; Schrager project with a Ferragamo hotel group an upscale shopping California desert has fire and bars, a world-class is a much-needed option
about yoga, meditation, Stowe Mountain) feels carved louvers verted into a 54-room had a top-to-bottom 443-room resort. Kids gardens and schools of postcard-perfect to massive walls of afternoon tea in the bowling alley and an ice combines an unbeatable and cultural complex pits, three pools, and spa, and an executive for an area of Los
and health food that like staying at a transform the bright sun property with sleek— overhaul—time and love the waterslides dolphins and sea Meads Bay has taken windows; suites have Jade Lounge is a must rink, making it an all-in- location with 36 chic, that’s a reflection of astonishing views of the lounge that feels like a Angeles that was starved
doesn’t taste like it. (wealthy) friend’s estate. into artistic shadows. yet soothing—interiors. money well spent. and lazy river. turtles. on a new life. private infinity pools. for locals and guests. one playground. pared-down rooms. booming modern Turkey. Coachella Valley. private club. for good hotels.
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Cape Weligama, Ham Yard Hotel, Hoanib Skeleton Coast Hôtel Plaza Hotel Sahrai, Fez, Hotel SP34, Mondrian London at Mont Rochelle Hotel & The Norman Tel-Aviv One&Only Hayman Palazzo Parigi, Milan Riad Mena & Beyond, The Sanchaya, Bintan The Singular Santiago Soho House Chicago Suján Rajmahal
Sri Lanka London Camp, Namibia Athénée, Paris Morocco Copenhagen Sea Containers Vineyard, South Africa The 50 individually Island, Australia Steps from the best Marrakech Island, Indonesia Lastarria Hotel The second-largest Soho Palace, Jaipur, India
This collection of 40 Firmdale Hotels’ latest This African game The signature red The city’s most The 118 rooms at this This 359-room hotel on The latest addition designed rooms An old-school 1950s- shopping in Milan is Think of it as Marrakech Colonial design, first-rate This 62-room Chilean House debuts in the city’s A former royal
colonial-style houses on venture occupies an changer is a state-of- awnings are still there, impressive boutique Latin District hotel the Thames has all the to Richard Branson’s at this boutique hotel era resort in the designer Pierre-Yves mod in the heart of the Euro-Asian cuisine, 19 retreat in Lastarria, a hip West Loop, in a 1907 guesthouse, the
the Indian Ocean, entire city block, with the-art camp with but almost everything hotel has 50 rooms, are like an adult’s idea hallmarks of its hotel collection is a in two historic town Whitsunday Islands, Rochon’s seductive new medina: Each of the villas and nine suites, and lively neighborhood with warehouse that’s been 30-room property
surrounded by tropical 91 airy, colorful rooms, eight tented bedrooms else at this 208-room two pools, and a of a cool dorm: snug American counterparts renovated grand estate houses with a fragrant off the Great Barrier hotel, with 98 guest six rooms is decorated a long stretch of powdery some of Santiago’s best converted into a hotel has been transformed
gardens, has an a courtyard restaurant, and private plane classic was sumptuously knockout Givenchy but cheerful, with (buzz, high design) house with 22 rooms citrus garden between Reef, gets a glam rooms that are at once in an unexpected but sand have put luxury nightlife and restaurants, with 40 guest rooms, a into an eclectic
on-site dive center for and a subterranean access to Skeleton updated in a $268 spa—the first modern fixtures and along with British flair on a 100-acre vineyard them are like no others makeover with 160 opulent and utterly harmonious blend of East within a 45-minute ferry has its own hopping Cowshed Spa . . . and a playground for color-
underwater adventures. bar and bowling alley. Coast National Park. million renovation. in North Africa. furnishings. (color and whimsy). in Franschhoek. in the city. rooms and villas. comfortable. and West. ride of Singapore. rooftop bar and lounge. vintage-y boxing ring. loving design buffs.
capeweligama.com; firmdalehotels.com; wilderness-safaris.com; dorchestercollection hotelsahrai.com; from brochner-hotels.dk; morganshotelgroup​ montrochelle.co.za; thenorman.com; oneandonlyresorts.com; palazzoparigi.com; from riadmenaandbeyond​ thesanchaya.com; thesingular.com; from sohohousechicago.com; sujanluxury.com;
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Delano Las Vegas Iconic Santorini, ITC Grand Bharat, La Grande Maison, La Réserve, Paris The Ludlow, New York Park Hyatt New York Park Hyatt Vienna The Peninsula Paris The Pig on the Beach, Pikaia Lodge, Tribal Hotel, Granada, Urso Hotel & Spa, Viña Vik, Chile Waldorf Astoria Watch Hill Inn,
At the southernmost Greece Gurgaon, India Bordeaux Built in 1854 and just Tucked into a lively Midtown gets a serious The 143 rooms at Hyatt’s After a six-year, $580 Dorset, England Galápagos Islands Nicaragua Madrid High design and high- Amsterdam Rhode Island
tip of the Strip, This whitewashed Right in the Golden Joël Robuchon’s a block from the Lower East Side block, dose of flash with first property in Austria million renovation, a A rustic-chic boutique The first true luxury All seven rooms at this With its neoclassical profile contemporary art Six grand town houses This 19-suite inn on Little
this shimmering 22-room retreat Triangle, with easy restaurant is the Champs-Élysées, this the 184-room brick the opening of this (a stately former bank storied Belle Époque retreat on Dorset’s ecolodge in the Galápa­ property—arguably the facade, delicate floral mix in the 22 suites were combined Narragansett Bay feels
43-story tower with is set in a small village access to Agra and standout at this six- elegant mansion high-rise puts a new super-sleek 210-room headquarters) are some building has been dramatic World gos, this 14-room best boutique hotel in wallpaper, and spa, this here—all the more to create 93 stylish more like a beach house
1,117 suites is a high above the Jaipur, the resort has room hotel in France’s turned 40-room bijou twist on downtown hotel in one of the of the largest in Vienna, transformed into Paris’s Heritage coast, it has pioneer has every the country—have 78-room hotel adds a impressive for their rooms on the (with full kitchens and
more subdued version Aegean. Its infinity 100 rooms and four celebrated Bordeaux hotel has been restored industrial cool with city’s most anticipated and the hotel is just a most talked about hot a standout locavore creature comfort amid a private terraces and a gracious note to a quiet setting, overlooking prestigious Herengracht, laundry facilities),
of the typical Vegas pool, carved into monumental villas— wine region. to its Belle Époque lofty city views and (and expensive) new five-minute walk from spot, with 200 rooms restaurant and 23 cozy wildlife-rich landscape. quirky, colorful mix of side street near the 11,000 acres of vineyards a 15-minute walk making it ideal for family
experience. the hillside, is epic. all fit for a maharaja. splendor. soaking tubs. skyscrapers. St. Stephen’s Cathedral. and a sublime spa. guest rooms. fabrics and artwork. trendy Chueca district. in the Millahue Valley. from Museumplein. vacations.
lagrandemaison pikaialodge​galapagos
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6 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R For a complete list of properties by category, visit cntraveler.com/hotlist.
HOT LIST 2015

A M A N , T O K YO

Who Doesn’t
Want to Swim
in a Pool 34
Floors Above
the Ground?
Every fan of Aman hotels and
resorts—or “Amanjunkies,” as
we’re called—knows that all of the
company’s 28 properties have two
things in common: a modernist,
sometimes Brutalist aesthetic
that’s at once elegant and warm;
and a fabulous pool. In fact, in
the annals of memorable hotel
pools, Amans win the award for
most distinguished: They’re
always long and always dignified
(there’s never a pool bar in sight),
and they always, always have
terrific views. But the pool at the
Aman Tokyo—the company’s
debut metropolitan property—may
beat them all. On the thirty-fourth
floor, it’s a luxuriously lengthy,
almost-five-foot-deep rectangle of
pale-blue water, surrounded
by floor-to-ceiling windows that
AIR FRANCE MADAME/CONDÉ NAST FRANCE

offer panoramic views of the

entire city. (On a clear day, you
can see all the way to Mount Fuji,
60 miles away.) The rest of the
hotel—hushed, sophisticated,
and clean-lined—is impressive
too, but for sheer awe, there’s
nothing better than taking a dip.
–Hanya Yanagihara

7 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R Photograph by Roberta Valerio

HOT LIST 2015

BRONFMAN; LESLIE SIMITCH (FRAMED PHOTOGRAPHS BY LUCIEN CLERGUE). THIRD ROW: COURTESY EDITION HOTELS; ISABEL WILKINSON; JEAN-GEORGES VONGERICHTEN
FIRST ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY CAROL HAN; COURTESY YABU PUSHELBURG; FIONA BYRNE. SECOND ROW: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY EDITION HOTELS; HANNAH

T H E M I A M I B E AC H E D I T I O N Not that South Beach won’t always be fabulous, but these days, the cool kids from both

It’s an coasts (not to mention Europe and South America) are flocking to Mid-Beach, which
runs from 23rd to 63rd streets. The Soho Beach House opened on Collins Avenue and 43rd
Instagram Street back in 2010, but it took Ian Schrager’s Miami Beach Edition (opened in December)
to solidify the neighborhood’s status. One look around the glittering Yabu Pushelberg–­
Darling designed white-and-gold lobby during Art Basel was all the evidence you needed that Mid-

for a Reason Beach had arrived: Marina Abramović and curator Klaus Biesenbach in one corner; models
Jourdan Dunn and Toni Garrn in the subterranean bowling alley; and at night, seemingly
the entire population of art and fashion world heavy hitters dancing away in the basement
nightclub. The next day, everyone gathered again to recover at Tropicale—the hotel’s
outdoor space, with two teak-decked swimming pools and a bar . . . and the perfect setting
for all those Instagrams (some shown above) everyone was taking. –John Wogan

8 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R
HOT LIST 2015
H OA N I B S K E L E T O N Namibia’s Skeleton Coast
C OA S T C A M P, N A M I B I A is essentially millions of acres
Let’s Face It— of stone and sand—most of
them scoured clean of human
Coming Here civilization by wind, heat,
Will Make Your and drought. It’s also one
of the more challenging places
Friends Jealous on the entire planet to reach,
which is what makes Hoanib
Skeleton Coast Camp—
a collection of eight living
room–sized tents accessible
only via a small propeller
plane—even more remarkable.
Yes, it’s one of a handful of
safari outlets in the country
to have flying rights over
Skeleton Coast National Park
to the Atlantic Ocean, letting
you observe desert elephants,
9 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R
giraffes, and lions in their
element. But it’s the palace-
in-the-desert experience
that Hoanib conjures out of
nowhere that will truly
leave you floored: There
are the mangoes and
patisseries at breakfast,
the flannel-­wrapped hot
water bottles under crisp
white sheets and thick duvets
at bedtime, the afternoon
drinks in chaise longues by
the small infinity pool, and all
sorts of other moments of
coddling hospitality in the
midst of completely
inhospitable—and achingly
beautiful—emptiness.
–Maria Shollenbarger
One of the eight tented
camps at Hoanib.
Photograph by Adrian Gaut
HOT LIST 2015

T H E B E A U M O N T, L O N D O N

London’s Hottest
Hoteliers Aren’t
Even Hoteliers
It’s a predicament all of us have encountered as
the host of a successful dinner party—your guests
are having such a good time eating and drinking
that it appears they may just stay . . . all night.
Now, some of us would start setting out the cereal
bowls, giving our friends a sign that the time had
come. Others might push back from the table and
announce, “Last one out, get the lights. Just don’t
burn the place down.” But if you are Chris Corbin
and Jeremy King, the duo behind Corbin & King,
London’s most successful restaurant team for
more than 30 years, you’d do what’s only natural
after all that experience: build some bedrooms
and open your first hotel. (Continued on page 11) ➝

Chris Corbin, left, and Jeremy King

in front of The Beaumont.

10 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R Photograph by Carol Sachs

HOT LIST 2015

Clockwise from top left: The Club Room, a private bar for guests of The Beaumont; a chauffeur
stands ready at the entrance; the Art Deco–inspired lobby; an architectural extension houses
a suite designed by the artist Antony Gormley; the old-school elevator display; the front desk.

Chances are, you’ve probably dined at one of the Corbin & King
restaurants that populate London and serve as elegant harbors of
hospitality at the end of a long day of doing business—The Wolseley,
Fischer’s, Colbert, the Colony Grill Room. But for all of the duo’s
success in hosting diners, they never thought about completing
the hospitality circuit, as it were, and letting folks stay the evening.
That is, until six months ago when they opened what instantly
became London’s hotel-of-the-moment, The Beaumont.
“I guess it’s the natural extension of what we do,” says King.
“For years, we’ve had offers to run the food and beverage in someone
else’s hotel. Then we got to thinking, ‘We know how to do hospitality
better than anyone. Owning a hotel is the way to go. We can do this.’ ”
And, indeed, they do exactly this, bringing to bear on their
new project decades of wisdom, high standards, attention to detail,
and enthusiastic (if not downright clairvoyant) service. London’s
high-end market is terrifically crowded, so it’s no small accomplish-
ment that The Beaumont has managed to distinguish itself so
quickly, a feat that King attributes to the values which he and Corbin
take care to instill in their team.
“Too many hotels are run from the boardroom, not from the floor,”
he says. “When Chris and I decide to open a restaurant, the first
thing we do is create a place we want to go, so with this hotel we cre-
ated a place we wanted to stay.” And yet it’s not an entirely selfish
endeavor. King says he and Corbin see themselves as “catalysts” to
make things happen for their guests. “You have to remember, always,”
says King, “that the great hotels and restaurants are spaces—almost
like stage sets—in which people can live out their special moments.
That’s a great gift I have: to create those worlds.” –Michael Hainey

11 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R Photographs by Carol Sachs

HOT LIST 2015

ISLAND
TIME(LINE)

1846: Herman
Melville’s first
book, Typee, an
account of his
experiences in the
Marquesas Islands,
is published.

1891: Paul Gauguin

arrives in Tahiti.
Although he was
largely ignored
in his lifetime, one
of his paintings
recently sold for
nearly $300 million.

1908: The Blue

Lagoon, Henry
De Vere Stacpoole’s
story of two kids
stranded on a South
Pacific island, is
published.

1960: Fa’a’ā Inter-

national Airport
opens in Papeete,
Tahiti, putting
French Polynesia
on the tourist map.

1966: The first

overwater bunga-
low debuts on
Raiatea, birthing a
design trend copied
from Mexico to the
Maldives.

1978: Dino
De Laurentiis
shoots the campy
drama Hurricane
on Bora Bora.

1998: Air Tahiti Nui

launches. Today,
it takes just eight
hours to reach
Papeete from Los
Angeles.

An eight-passenger Britten-Norman 2014: The Brando

Islander makes the twice-daily 20-minute resort opens on
flight from Papeete to Tetiaroa. Tetiaroa, a group of
12 islets a short
flight from Papeete.
Its 35 beachfront
T H E B R A N D O, T E T I A R OA , F R E N C H P O LY N E S I A
villas, each with
We Still Can’t Resist the a private sundeck
and plunge
Allure of the South Seas pool, offer their
own aquamarine
paradise—perfect
for viewing the
Cultural obsessions come and go, but our fascination with the South Pacific—and its promise of an out-of-time,
atoll’s 160 fish
out-of-place paradise—endures. Here, a brief chronology of the film and books that inspire our collective species, as well
tropical fantasies, as well as the travel developments that made getting to, and staying on, that elusive flower- parrots and
scented island possible . . . including the most recent reason to go, The Brando resort. –Paul Brady frigate birds.

12 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R Photograph by Roberto Frankenberg

HOT LIST 2015

B A H I A V I K J O S É I G N AC I O, U R U G U AY

 It’s the Modernist

Beachside Dream
Ramshackle cabanas—part
surf shack, part weekend
home—have long been a fea-
ture of the sparsely populated
eastern coast of Uruguay, 100
miles from the capital, Monte-
video. But Bahia Vik, which
opened in January amid the
dunes of José Ignacio, the chic
seaside town near Punta del
Este, puts a new twist on this
regional architecture. The
main building has ten suites,
and there are an additional
11 stand-alone villas scattered
across the sand. Inside, the
two- to four-bedroom homes
are coolly luxurious, with
original artwork, skylights,
and soaking tubs big enough
for two. But the greatest fea-
ture, of course, is having the
surf right outside your door.
–Paul Brady

Hotelier Carrie Vik on her travel philosophy:

“Lots of people travel to many, many
places, but what everybody seems
to be looking for is something unique—
where they’re learning by being in
a destination. It’s about the location,
but it’s also about the culture.”

Counterclockwise from top:

A beachfront villa with an Atlantic
Ocean view; oversized bathrooms
have deep soaking tubs and
rainfall showerheads; four swim-
ming pools face the water.

13 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R Photographs by Matthieu Salvaing

HOT LIST 2015

The early-
morning view
from Table 17
at L’Oiseau
Blanc, in Paris.

T H E P E N I N S U L A , PA R I S

The Best Seat

in the House
(Not to Mention
in All of Paris)

Peninsula Hotels’ first European property How far in advance a manager. We’ll try What would be the
is a showstopper, a painstakingly restored should we call? to give you special ideal season and
nineteenth-century Haussmanian building At least a month, treatment. And you’ll time to maximize
where Gershwin wrote An American in Paris maybe six weeks, get preference if you’re the experience? In
in 1928. But it’s the 360-degree views from ahead. And come with staying at the hotel. the summer, between
its classic French restaurant, L’Oiseau Blanc, a party of four—we about 9 and 10:30
that are drawing discerning locals, as well prefer not to seat two What’s the next-best p.m. We have some
as in-the-know visitors who want to see or three at that table. table if 17 is booked? very nice sunsets.
the Eiffel Tower without, you know, actually Most tables have The sky gets orange
going there. The tallest structure in Anything else that very good views of and dark red—it’s
Paris is about a mile away but looks close will increase our the Eiffel Tower. But amazing. But really,
enough to touch from Table 17, also known chances? If it’s a if there are only two you’ll have that sense
as the most coveted table in town. We asked special occasion— of you, Table 25 is that you’re levitating
L’Oiseau Blanc’s manager, Benoît Legros, your anniversary, very romantic and over the rooftops
how to book it. –Meredith Bryan for example—tell also near the window. of Paris on any night.

14 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R Photograph by Scott Schuman

HOT LIST 2015

These Two Very M A L L I O U H A N A , A N A U B E R G E R E S O R T, A N G U I L L A

Different Hotels Are Go for the Aesthetic . . .

Anguilla is a very Anglo
Reinventing the island, and Malliouhana
its title as Anguilla’s most
elegant hotel. Now expect
tasteful extravagance that
Bay. But it’s not so much
the views that are
drawing crowds as chef

Way We Think About

was, for decades, one of channels Palm Springs by Jeremy Bearman’s flaw-
its most staunchly way of Morocco: lemon- less cuisine, from the

the Caribbean traditional hotels. But

then the quintessentially
Californian Auberge
Resorts (Auberge du
Soleil; Calistoga Ranch)
bought it, closing the
doors for a three-year,
multimillion-dollar
Counterclockwise hotel displays original
from top left: work by local artists; renovation. When it
Malliouhana, above late afternoon in the reopened in November,
Meads Bay Beach; the lobby at Malliouhana. Malliouhana reclaimed
yellow and ice-blue walls,
vibrant striped-cotton
house-made coconut yo-
gurt at breakfast to
dhurries on the floors, the sesame-rum poke
ornate glass sconces hung (tuna tartare) at dinner.
from beveled mirrors. –Maria Shollenbarger
(Continued on page 16) ➝
. . . or Go for the Food
Everyone on Anguilla
wants a table at Malliou-
hana’s eponymous restau-
rant, overlooking Meads

15 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R Photographs by Alice Gao

HOT LIST 2015
B E L L E M O N T FA R M O N K I T T I T I A N H I L L , S T. K I T T S
Go for the Aesthetic . . .
This 400-acre sustainable
organic farm, the vision of
Trinidadian entrepreneur
Val Kempadoo, has vast,
windswept grassy dunes
and chaise longues that
telegraph Cape Cod.
But Bill Bensley—one of
the masters of tropical
interior design—created
guest rooms that are like
a polished version of
the Caribbean ideal, with
dark hardwood floors,
four-poster beds covered
in Frette linens, open-air
showers, and outdoor
claw-foot tubs.
16 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R
. . . or Go for the Food
Belle Mont Farm could
rival your local farmers’
market—the resort grows
100 varieties of mangoes
alone—and guests are
encouraged to head into
the field to pick fresh
lemongrass, cassava,
garlic, and breadfruit.
The haul you return with
will be served alongside
Clockwise from
your snapper, lobster, top left: A sampling
or swordfish—caught of what’s grown
about an hour before at Belle Mont Farm,
you sit down to eat it. St. Kitts; slippers laid
out at day’s end; the
–John Wogan
lobby veranda over-
looks the Caribbean;
the Great House pool.
Photographs by Alice Gao
HOT LIST 2015
LA GRANDE MAISON,
BORDEAUX
You Might Fly
All the Way
to France Just
for This Meal
It may sound extravagant
to plan a trip around a single
restaurant (especially if it’s
in a city with no direct flights
from the U.S.). But what if the
restaurant is in a five-star ho-
tel? That’s the concept behind
Bordeaux’s La Grande Maison,
17 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R
a meticulously restored nine-
teenth-century mansion which
is a collaboration between
French wine mogul Bernard
Magrez (owner of the legend-
ary Château La Tour Carnet
vineyard, one of his 40 wine
estates around the world) and
the venerable Joël Robuchon, Organic lamb
whose Michelin stars light raised in Pouillac,
about 30 miles
up an empire of restaurants
away, is served
from New York to Singapore. with a lemongrass-
Its six guest rooms are deco- infused broth.
rated with ornate Pierre Frey
silk wallpaper, Hermès bath
products, and touches of
Photograph by Oddur Thorisson
 HOT LIST 2015

Napoleon III style—a fitting
end note to a dinner that lacks
for nothing. The menu in the
main dining room reads like
a canon of Robuchon’s greatest
hits, including langoustine
and truffle ravioli, chateaubri-
and with foie gras, and
heavenly seasonal fruit–filled
pastries. The wine list is excep-
tional, even for Bordeaux,
with more than 250 bottles of
Grands Crus Classés de Bor-
deaux—the highest classifica-
tion for wines of the region.
And with Magrez’s personal
art collection hanging on the
walls (there’s a Dan Hays
painting and photographs by
Valérie Belin), you can con-
sider this trip money well
spent—a decadent furthering
of your aesthetic and sensory
education. –Rochelle Bilow

Joël Robuchon
on La Grande
Maison’s sideshow:
“I’ve introduced the
tradition of
découpage, which
you don’t see anymore
at restaurants. The
whole dining room
looks on while the
maître d’hôtel cuts an
entire piece of meat,
like an énorme côte de
boeuf on the bone.”

Clockwise
from top left:
A porter in
La Grande
Maison’s lobby;
the cheese
trolley; head
sommelier
Renaud Roland
at work; a
table setting.

Photographs by Oddur Thorisson CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R 18

HOT LIST 2015
A R O HĀ W E L L N E S S R E T R E AT,
NEW ZEALAND
Detoxing Doesn’t
Have to Be
Punishment
The very words wellness
retreat can conjure visions
of marching through
the desert under the bak-
ing sun while trying to
survive on a handful of
almonds, or committing
to some kind of Germanic
health asylum that in-
volves caffeinated
19 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R
PHOTOGRAPH BY SHANTANU STARICK/COURTESY ARO HĀ WELLNESS RETREAT
colonics. But Aro Hā and health-conscious meals the sustenance for your A view of the
its Zen-like cedar cabins that are gluten-, dairy-, twice-daily yoga sessions, dramatic
South Island
are thankfully upending and meat-free—but don’t held in simple studios that
landscape
those stereotypes. Located taste like it—will find bring the outdoors in (like from the yoga
on New Zealand’s South them here: The “ricotta” the one pictured here), or studio.
Island, it’s about an hour made from macadamia a lakeside hike amid an al-
northwest of Queens­ nuts, the amaranth bread, pine backdrop so engulf-
town, right on colossal and the beet sashimi are ing you’ll hardly notice
sapphire Lake Wakatipu. satiating in the best pos- that you’ve logged ten
Guests looking for sible way. And you’ll need miles. –Paul Brady
 HOT LIST 2015
R I A D M E N A & B E YO N D, M A R R A K E C H
Finally, a Twenty-
First-Century Riad
The beauty of a Moroccan riad
is undeniable, but even the
most die-hard fan may find
herself growing a little weary
of what can come to feel like
a one-size-fits-all aesthetic:
tilework, white Berber rugs,
woolen tribal throw pillows in
reds and ochers, cut-metal
lanterns. Yes, it’s all lovely and
20 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R
traditional, and yet one
sometimes wishes for a little
innovation. But at Marrakech’s
six-room Riad Mena, run by
expat Londoner and first-time
hotelier Philomena Schurer
Merckoll and located deep
in the medina, the riad gets an
update. It’s nothing too off-
puttingly radical—cut-metal
lanterns still cast starry dots
of light around the palm tree–
planted courtyard at night,
and cushions sewn with tiny
sequins still wink when the
sun hits them—but Merckoll,
who has a background in con-
temporary art, has added pops
of modernity: a Jacobsen
Egg chair and side tables in the
Philomena Schurer
Merckoll, owner, Riad
Mena & Beyond, on
what she’s learned as a
first-time hotel owner:
“Different nationalities
have different
priorities. Americans’
top priority is service.
The French value
food. And the Brits
just want to make sure
there’s lots of alcohol.”
Clockwise from
top left: The
Eileen Gray Suite
with Moroccan
lantern; the
rooftop dining
PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICHARD POWERS/COURTESY RIAD MENA & BEYOND
area; the open-
air salon; and the
riad entrance.
style of the Saarinen Tulip ta-
ble, as well as bright, Panton-
inspired lamps in the rooms.
She’s also updated the plumb-
ing throughout her conjoined
early-1900s properties—no
small thing for anyone who’s
ever had to grimace through an
icy shower on vacation here.
–Hanya Yanagihara
HOT LIST 2015

R A F F L E S , I S TA N B U L

Everyone
Should
Vacation
Like an
Oligarch
Once
in His Life
Sure, subtlety is fine, but
who among us doesn’t want
to indulge their inner pasha
now and again? With a
rooftop helipad, 24-hour
butler service, a cellar stocked
with thousand-dollar bottles
of Château Margaux, and
near-priceless Bosphorus
views, the new Raffles, a few
miles north of the Golden
Horn, is unabashedly
ostentatious. For more proof,
check out the tallies below.
–Paul Brady

PHOTOGRAPH BY JENNY ZARINS/COURTESY RAFFLES

The Signature rooms

have butler service,
private balconies,
and floor-to-ceiling
windows overlooking
the Bosphorus.

250 21 $79,291 5 feet 188,570

BY THE
NUMBERS

Orchids purchased Full-time butlers Cost to install Length of the Square feet of
every week on call the spa’s hammam bath towels marble in the hotel

21 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R
HOT LIST 2015
Clockwise from top:
The facade of the Waldorf
Astoria Amsterdam; one
of the 93 rooms; the hallway
leading to the lobby.
WA L D O R F A S T O R I A A M S T E R DA M
Everything Old
Is New Again
The key to a memorable restoration
isn’t just knowing what to toss—it’s
knowing what to keep as well. Just look
at what Waldorf Astoria did (and didn’t
do) at its Amsterdam hotel.
22 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R
What they kept: Nothing’s
more iconically Amsterdam
than the seventeenth- and eigh-
teenth-century canal houses.
Which is why the company left
intact the facades of the six
Golden Age–era brick-and-sand-
stone buildings that make up
the hotel. Also untouched: the
Rococo friezes by eighteenth-
century painter Jacob Maurer.
What they added:
The outside may be classic
Amsterdam, but inside, it’s all
twenty-first-century flour-
ishes—a waterfall-embellished
indoor pool, a Guerlain Spa,
Murano glass light fixtures,
and, of course, flat-screen
TVs—presented amid a palette
of elegant creams and taupes.
–Gisela Williams
Photographs by Alan Jensen
HOT LIST 2015

ALIL A JABAL
A K H DA R , O M A N

We’re Calling
It: Oman
Has Arrived
If the only thing you knew
about Oman was its location,
you might never go at all. Yes,
it’s stable (and safe), but it’s
also hemmed in on its southern
border by Yemen, and Iran is
just across a narrow stretch of
sea. And yet, as with people,
judging a place by its neighbors
is never a good idea. That’s
certainly true of Oman, a
country of four million which
offers not only an outpost of
calm and peace in a region that,
unfortunately, we associate
largely with fear and strife, but
an antidote to the glitter and
artifice of its neighbor Dubai,
the sole Gulf country that
attracts American tourists in
significant numbers. It also has
some of the most spectacular
landscapes you’ll see anywhere,
from beaches that rival those in
Brazil or Hawaii, to epic
windswept deserts, to the
fantastically craggy, gulch-filled
Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar Range,
which, at nearly 10,000 feet at
its peak, is one of the Middle
East’s highest. It’s here, 6,500
feet in the air, that you’ll find
the Alila Jabal Akhdar,
a 78-room resort inspired by
both European ski lodges
and local village homes. In
these mountains, you can hike
through surrounding towns
and farmland and sit down to a
HOTELS AND RESORTS; HANYA YANAGIHARA (2)

plateau-top picnic, but the best

FROM TOP: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY ALILA

activity might be just walking

around the property on a star-
smeared night, marveling
at the improbability of the place
itself. –Hanya Yanagihara

Counterclockwise
from top: Alila’s
pool; a lounge area; the
Sultan Qaboos Grand
Mosque (worth the three-
hour drive to Muscat).

23 CON D É NA S T T R AV E L E R