From a quaint boutique in a sleepy Kent town to a sprawling resort in Milan, a number of hotels with a strong focus on exquisite interior design have cropped up across the world this year. To save you time, we scoured the globe to find the most exciting ones of the year. Read on for our refined shortlist...
Birch Selsdon
If it’s English country-house style with a modern twist you’re after, look no further than the recently opened 181-roomed Birch Selsdon, sister hotel to the award-winning Birch Cheshunt. Located just 30 minutes outside London, the historic 19th-century gothic manor has been renovated by London-based interior and furniture practice A-nrd, with designer and eco champion Sebastian Cox leading the rewilding of its grounds.
Birch describes itself as ‘a welcome respite from the noise and intensity of London’s concrete jungle’, with bedrooms that boast views of the surrounding 200-acre Selsdon Park. Inside is all sustainable and recycled materials, natural colours and forms. An in-house pottery studio and wellness space provide areas for quiet reflection, while a farm and lido bring you closer to nature. From £180 per night, birchcommunity.com
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The Georgian
There’s something of a Wes Anderson film quality about the exterior of The Georgian – an art deco jewel of a hotel that overlooks Santa Monica Bay and Malibu. Inside, London- and LA-based interior-design studio Fettle has brought its hospitality expertise (the studio is responsible for many of The Hoxton’s branches, as well as Munich’s Schwan Locke) to the hotel, with a careful restoration. All 84 rooms have a bright and fresh feel, while communal spaces give a glimpse into the building’s 1930s heyday by celebrating traditional elements – think chandeliers and original decorative reliefs. From approx £555 per night, thegeorgian.com
No. 42 Margate
Hot on the heels of the reopening of Fort Road Hotel is the nearby No 42 by GuestHouse – a boutique hotel set within a Victorian building situated along the old Margate promenade. Quintessentially British but with a contemporary twist, the interiors are bright and airy, opening out onto seafront balconies and the fast-changing Margate High Street.
GuestHouse has drawn on the seaside character of the town, creating a nostalgic ambience throughout the 21 bedrooms, Pearly Cow restaurant, rooftop bar and beachfront café. Among its seascape references are chalky whites, shell-shaped lighting and recurring scalloped motifs that appear in the bathrooms. From £155 per night, guesthousehotels.co.uk/no-42-margate
Le Grand Mazarin
French boutique hotelier Maisons Pariente is no stranger to design flourishes, but this new Paris opening is perhaps its most opulent site yet. One of several hotels set to open in the French capital in the coming months, Le Grand Mazarin is a lesson in aristocratic grandeur, with an eclectic array of fixtures and furnishings, and a tonal palette that exudes true glamour.
Interior designer Martin Brudnizki – also behind London hotel Broadwick Soho and New York’s The Beekman – is responsible for the decor in the 11 suites and 50 rooms. His signature whimsical touches and artistic flair are evident at every turn, but we can’t wait to see the basement cabaret bar that’s sure to become legendary. Opens 4 September. From approx £600 per night, legrandmazarin.com
Portrait Milano
This grand Milanese piazza building, which was once home to one of the oldest seminaries in Europe, has been renovated by Ferragamo hotel group, the Lungarno Collection. The company has spent the past decade on the redesign, transforming it into a lavish five-star hotel with 73 elegant suites. As it’s a listed building, close attention was paid to its original Italian design as well as the stately mansions of Milan’s past. Here you’ll find sumptuous materials and a rich colour palette. Rooms from approx £810 per night, lungarnocollection.com
Vermelho Melides
What with Jasper Conran’s recent renovation of Yves Saint Laurent’s Villa Mabrouka in Tangier and now Christian Louboutin’s Vermelho Melides, the fashion pack are going through a hotelier phase. Born of the desire to create a secret getaway in one of Portugal’s prettiest but lesser-known villages, Vermelho Melides is a 13-bedroomed hotel that has the soul of a maison de vacances.
Louboutin has filled the space with antiques and objects he has purchased from his travels over the years, creating an eclectic, maximalist yet intimate vibe. Finding a home away from home is no easy feat, but this well-heeled new destination could just be the solution. From approx £350, vermelhohotel.com
Villa Inkognito
A stone’s throw from the hotel Sommerro, in the middle of Oslo’s West End, Villa Inkognito is a quiet retreat for those looking for a luxurious escape. While it was originally built in the 1870s as a private summer residence, New York and London-based studio GrecoDeco has decked the private villa out in a mix of art nouveau, Italian and French furnishings, with touches of Japonisme for an international and cosmopolitan aesthetic. Single rooms from £495 per night, or rent the whole villa from £8,190 per night, sommerrohouse.com/ en/villa-inkognito
Montesol Experimental Ibiza
This iconic 33-bedroom hotel is a masterclass in Ibiza’s bohemian spirit. Dorothée Meilichzon of French interior-design studio Chzon has drawn on the island’s highlights – from its Mediterranean waters to its laid-back atmosphere – for its interiors. ‘We played with the bohemian side of Ibiza, using a lot of fabrics, patterns, fringes and pompoms,’ says Meilichzon. Alongside the more playful trimmings, you’ll discover natural materials set against a backdrop of cool marine blues and solar oranges. The redeveloped hotel is one of three recent hotel openings by Experimental Group, which was founded in 2007 by Olivier Bon, Pierre-Charles Cros and Romée de Goriainoff. From £245 a night, montesolexperimental.com.
Hotel Corazón
For those seeking an unconventional stay that allows a total disconnect from modern life, the Hotel Corazón is ideal. Straddling the villages of Deià and Sóller, the Mallorcan hotel bills itself as ‘luxury but wild’ and draws on the more charming elements of pastoral life. Across its 15 bedrooms, the decor is neutral and calming, replete with curvaceous furniture, earthy hues that glow in the sunshine, and romantic touches, such as wafting canopies above the beds. The hotel also offers guests the opportunity to participate in sound baths, art shows and guided hikes. From approx £435 per night, hotelcorazon.com.
