PATINA MALDIVES, FARI ISLANDS

Take note of Patina: judging from its debut property in the Maldives, you’re going to hear a lot more about this classy new hotel brand from Capella. Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan is behind the bodacious aesthetic, a tropicalmodernist vision of woody salas, low-slung buildings, and striking artworks, most notably the Skyspace chamber by Light and Space artist James Turrell. In the villas—some on the beach, some stilted over the lagoon—retractable glass walls open onto decks with private pools, while beds are wrapped in dovegray sheets and bathrooms come stocked with Haeckels products, which smell like the sea and won’t harm the stingrays swimming past outside. Elsewhere, there are 12 different dining concepts, each one a knockout; a swanky marina with a beach club and dock space for over a dozen superyachts; and a revelatory spa that combines age-old wellness practices with high-tech accouterments. patinahotels.com; doubles from US$2,180