Hotels with fresh ideas worldwide
INNOVATIVE design and other features that channel the destination unify the following coming and just-opened hotels, which are among the most promising debuts of the new year.
China
Amanyangyun, Shanghai
When a new reservoir threatened their destruction, an entire camphor forest and 50 Ming and Qing dynasty-era houses were moved 640 kilometres from the Jiangxi province to the outskirts of Shanghai and refashioned into Amanyangyun. After 15 years of conservation work, the 10-hectare resort was to open January 8, with 13 villas in the reconstructed houses featuring modern interiors and 24 additional suites. A cultural pavilion offers guests opportunities to practise calligraphy, watch an opera or partake in a tea ceremony. Rooms from CNY 6,900, or about $1,062; aman.com.
The Murray, Hong Kong
Formerly home to Hong Kong government offices, the iconic 1969 white high-rise known as the Murray Building will reopen this month as The Murray hotel. The British architectural firm Foster & Partners has undertaken its transformation to a 336-room hotel spanning 25 floors. Among five restaurants and lounges, the rooftop bar will overlook the city’s business district and Hong Kong Park. Rooms from HK$3,850, or about US$493; niccolohotels.hotels.com.
Indonesia
Capella Ubud, Bali
The designer Bill Bensley, whose extensive résumé includes the Four Seasons Golden Triangle Tented Camp in Thailand, brings his romantic colonial style to the Capella Ubud in the upland rice-growing region of Bali. Opening in early 2018, its 22 tents and a two-bedroom lodge come with plunge pools on a jungle property where even the gym, library and restaurants are tented. Activities range from guided walks to chocolate-bar making. Rooms from $838; capellahotels.com/ubud.
Italy
Vista Palazzo Lago di Como, Como
In the town of Como, at the southwestern end of the villaringed Lago di Como, the new Vista Palazzo Lago di Como, set to open in June, will retrofit one of the lake’s 19th-century palaces, using marble, wood and fabrics all sourced in Italy, to hold 18 suites and the town’s first rooftop restaurant and bar. Guests can tour the lake by Riva speedboat or seaplane. Rates from € 695 ($830); vistalagodicomo.com.
Mexico
Mukan Resort, Sian Ka’an Biosphere, Quintana Roo
On Mexico’s southern Caribbean coast, the Sian Ka’an Biosphere, a Unesco World Heritage Site, protects tropical forests, mangrove channels, lagoons and part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. To get to Mukan Resort, which opened on an islet in the preserve in December, guests of its four beachfront bungalows and five suites take a 45-minute boat ride from Tulum. Come to snorkel, paddle and fish. Rooms from $420; mukan.com.
Panama
Isla Palenque Island
Gulf of Chiriquí
The eco-focused Cayuga Collection, which runs Lapa Rios in Costa Rica among others, plans to open Isla Palenque Island Resort in the summer. The 400-acre island in the Pacific already has a sixroom villa and will add eight beachfront rooms. Guests can hike on land and explore the marine park off shore via kayak and paddleboard. Rooms from $600, including breakfast; cayugaonline.com.
Resort, United States
Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito, Montecito, California
Long closed and its future in limbo, the landmark Miramar By the Sea Hotel has been redeveloped and will open in summer as the Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito in the affluent Montecito enclave near Santa Barbara. The 6.5-hectare property, which its owners say has the only private beach in Southern California, encompasses some 161 rooms (many in cottages and bungalows), two swimming pools, six restaurants and bars, and a spa. Rooms from $825; rosewoodhotels.com.
United States
Sheldon Chalet, Denali National Park, Alaska
One might argue that any shelter in the Alaska wilderness is a luxury. But travellers to the Denali region will have a true luxury lodging option when the Sheldon Chalet opens in February. The fivebedroom lodge, 16 kilometres from Denali in a summitringed basin known as the Don Sheldon Amphitheater, promises running water and fine dining along with aurora viewing, skiing and guided glacier trekking. Rooms from $2,300; sheldonchalet.com.
Vietnam
Azerai Can Tho, Can Tho
The hotelier Adrian Zecha, who created Aman resorts, founded a new hotel group called Azerai that made its debut in Luang Prabang, Laos, in 2017. Its second property, Azerai Can Tho, is slated to open by year-end on the Hau River, a Mekong tributary, in Vietnam’s fourth-largest city. The 60-room resort features a spa, tennis court and two restaurants. Excursions include visits to the city’s famous floating markets, bike trips and sampan boat tours. Rooms from $250; azerai.com.