Rooms in Europe with a water view
WHETHER they sit beside citysplitting rivers, Alpine lakes or seas, waterfront hotels connect guests to nature, through merely a glance out the window. The following new and renovated European hotels and resorts enjoy the reflected light of their littoral locales.
Hotel Excelsior Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik, Croatia
The 1913 landmark Hotel Excelsior Dubrovnik has long been celebrated for its location near the gates of the walled city overlooking the Adriatic Sea. In May, it will reopen after a seven-month renovation, promising 158 contemporary rooms divided between the original Villa Odak and a modern addition. Public spaces, including a light-flooded lobby and piano bar, have been reimagined, and outdoor dining, with views of the town’s red rooftops, remains.
Good Hotel, London
The Good Hotel doesn’t just face the Thames River. It floats on it or, at least, on a port off the river, known as the Royal Victoria Dock. The 148-room pop-up hotel crossed the North Sea to London from Amsterdam, opening in December for an intended fiveyear stay. Social sustainability is at its heart, with materials and food sourced locally and training and jobs for the unemployed. Most rooms are ship-style compact, but industrial public areas, including a workspace, restaurant and a parklike roof space, encourage lingering in view of the river.
Lympstone Manor, Exmouth, England
Opened in April in a former Georgian estate, Lympstone Manor overlooks the protected Exe Estuary in southwest Devon. Each of its 21 rooms is named after a bird found near the estuary. The space blends modern elements like free-standing bathtubs in living areas with vintage chandeliers and fireplaces. Owned by chef Michael Caines, the country-house hotel makes food its focus. The seven-course “Taste of the Estuary” menu features local seafood. Guests can walk off any food splurges on the site’s 28 acres and along its waterfront trails.
Hôtel Les Roches Rouges, St Raphael, France
On the French Riviera, between St Tropez and Cannes, the 50-room Hôtel Les Roches Rouges, a Design Hotel opening in May, pares an original 1950s building to its core to emphasise its seaside location. Nautical accents and Provençal ceramics decorate whitewashed rooms, some with ocean views. Two saltwater pools edge the crashing sea; the lap pool is cut into shorefront rock. Activities include snorkelling and paddleboarding. On land, guests can stroll the gardens, play pétanque or attend the outdoor cinema, all while listening to the surf. Rooms from 210 euros ($233); hotellesrochesrouges.com.
Westin Hamburg, Germany
Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the new Elbphilharmonie building on the Elbe River is best known for its concert hall within a glass crown atop a vintage brick warehouse. But it also contains the new 244-room Westin Hamburg, where curved window walls frame views to the river and the ships coming and going from the Hamburg port. The eighth-floor BridgeBar serves port and tonic cocktails and those panoramic views. An expansive spa features saunas, steam baths and an indoor swimming pool.
Hotel Lungarno, Florence, Italy
The “lungarno” in Hotel Lungarno translates to “along the Arno”, the river that bisects Florence. Owned by the fashion-famous Ferragamo family, the hotel closed this year for renovations and will reopen in June with 64 expanded rooms, including 10 spacious family rooms; 40 will overlook the Arno, as does the lounge terrace. Designer Michele Bonan references the waterway in the new blue-and-white colour scheme, a backdrop to the 400-piece art collection, which includes works by Picasso and Cocteau.
Gran Hotel Miramar, Malaga, Spain
The new Gran Hotel Miramar in Málaga, built in 1926 as a hotel and serving more recently as a courthouse, returns to its original purpose. Indoors, the arched atrium has been restored as a lobby, and geometric-patterned screens, keyhole recesses and perforated metal pendant lamps lend an Andalusian accent to its 200 rooms, which overlook palm-filled gardens or the Mediterranean. Opened in January, the hotel will add two outdoor swimming pools and a spa, and bring the number of restaurants and bars to five this spring.
Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay, Spain
Chef Nobu Matsuhisa and his partners, one of whom is Robert DeNiro, are expanding their hospitality empire to a growing string of Nobu Hotels. In June, they plan to open Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay on curvy Talamanca Bay. Its 152 guest rooms, most with sea views and all with terraces, adopt a palette of golden sand, pale driftwood and marine blues. There will be a Nobu restaurant, with the chef ’s signature Japanese-Peruvian dishes, as well as a glutenfree cafe and, in keeping with Ibiza’s reputation as a party place, a beach club.
Suvretta House, St Moritz, Switzerland
The serene Alpine lakes Champfer and Silvaplana lie below the stately Suvretta House, a 1912 mountain resort reopened this year with 181 refurbished rooms. Guests can take a chairlift above the Engadine Valley for mountain hikes, descend to walks along the chain of lakes threading the valley or just work up an appetite en route to two chalet restaurants run by the Suvretta House. Glaciers above and lakes below provide a scenic backdrop to tennis matches on the resort’s clay courts, swims in the outdoor pool or breaks on lounge chairs scattered across the lawn.