CHIC RETREATS

Stay at one of these new design-centric hotels on your next vacation. Situated in neighbourhoods brimming with independent boutiques and vintage shops, these locations offer beautiful interiors as well as plenty of unique retail experiences

PULITZER, AMSTERDAM

Located in the Nine Streets—the cobblestone side streets connected to Amsterdam’s main canals between Leidsegracht and Raadhuisstraat—the Pulitzer is a hotel set within 25 traditional 17th- and 18th-century canal houses that are luxuriously decked out to make you feel like a modern-day aristocrat. This neighbourhood is also the perfect place to shop for handmade leather goods, second-hand clothes and vintage accessories. pulitzeramsterdam.com

LEMAN LOCKE, LONDON

Whitechapel in London’s East End was once the hunting ground of the infamous Jack the Ripper. Thankfully, today it’s become better known for its outdoor markets (such as Brick Lane and Spitalfields), retro fashion, arts and crafts, and designer chocolates. At the stylish apartment-style hotel Leman Locke, each unit comes complete with a kitchenette, washing machine and dishwasher. The hotel’s prime location makes it a great place to begin exploring the artisanal food stalls and indie boutiques around Whitechapel. lockeliving.com/leman-locke

THE ROBEY, CHICAGO

Often compared to New York’s East and West Villages, Chicago’s Wicker Park is a neighbourhood of tree-lined streets and Victorian houses that oozes artsy cool. Stay close to it all at The Robey, a 69-room hotel in a 1929 Art Deco office building that was transformed by the Belgian design firms Nicolas Schuybroek Architects and Marc Merckx Interiors. The hotel’s sleek design brings to mind scenes from a hard-boiled American detective novel. therobey.com