Hotel openings Explore the world and stay in some of the best design-centric destinations

New hotels

Unique places to stay, in destinations of note

44 Casey Dunn

This West Texas desert retreat sits at the basin of the Big Bend National Park in Terlingua, a remote former mining town. First-time hotelier Lauren Werner fell in love with the location and developed the architecture and design to take advantage of the mountain views while respecting the landscape. With a nod to the concrete sculptures of Donald Judd (who made his home in Marfa to the north), 12 casitas plus a main house provide sanctuary from the extreme climate, while every window frames a breath-taking vista. The warm colour palette and raw textured walls create a natural synergy with the desert surroundings, enhanced with curated art, vintage finds and cosy alpaca blankets. Willow House, Texas

willowhouse.co

Parisian hospitality aficionado Experimental Group is bringing its fresh, elegant style to Venice with the opening of its first Italian hotel in the city’s vibrant Dorsoduro neighbourhood. Sited in a 17th-century renaissance palace, Il Palazzo has 32 rooms and suites, plus an Experimental Cocktail Club bar by local designer Cristina Celestino, a restaurant, garden and canal views. The group looked once Il Palazzo Experimental, Venice

again to Dorothée Meilichzon for the design of the remainder of the hotel. Her plush, curvaceous and comfortable modern interior includes handmade feature headboards, walls plastered in marmorino, marble terrazzo flooring and an autumnal palette of terracotta and burgundy velvet furnishings.

palazzoexperimental.com

Israel’s hotel renaissance continues with a dramatic entry from luxury hotelier Six Senses. Sited on a cliff-side plot in the Negev Desert, the new resort includes 58 suites and villas and a spa built into the ochre-hewn rock. Designed by architect Daniella Plesner to blend into the landscape, the buildings have neutral, muted tones and walls made from local stone that mimic the rocky surroundings. Six Senses Shaharut, Israel

Inside, round, smoothed edges and soft cream furnishings add a comforting feel. Keen to promote sustainable practices, the hotel’s Earth Lab will help educate guests on an eco-friendly stay, while the open-air amphitheatre and Bedouin tent restaurant provide evening entertainment under starry skies.

sixsenses.com

This boutique bolthole is the first hotel opening from Cofoco, Copenhagen’s collective of culinary entrepreneurs and the sustainable group behind a number of the city’s favourite restaurants. Coco Hotel, housed in a historic building on the popular shopping street Vesterbrogade, runs off a sustainable energy supply provided by Cofoco’s own solar park in Jutland. In addition to its 90 rooms, it also Coco Hotel, Copenhagen

includes an organic, plastic-free cafe that operates from early morning to midnight and a secluded courtyard garden. Local firm Jaja Architects was responsible for the playful design, which combines a Scandinavian sensibility with an eclectic mix of colours and textures and soft, feminine features.

coco-hotel.com

The Hoxton hotel group continues its expansion in London with a new opening south of the Thames. Its location is primed for art lovers, being within walking distance of Tate Modern, the Hayward Gallery and White Cube, though there is plenty within the new-build, warehouse-style building – the work of Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands – to keep a design-savvy traveller enthralled. Ennismore has designed the ground floor restaurant, bar and suites with an array of British furniture and craft, alongside artworks produced within the surrounding postcodes. Co-working space complements meeting and events facilities, a rotating art gallery and the piece-de-resistance, a rooftop bar and restaurant. The Hoxton Southwark, London

thehoxton.com

Stephen Kent Johnson

Details are slim, but Ace Hotel’s first outpost in Asia looks to be an exciting one with the opening of Ace Hotel Kyoto in Spring 2020. Designed in collaboration with long-term partner Commune Design and architect Kengo Kuma – the principal architect for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Stadium – the concept will marry Ace’s cultural hub ethos with “an exchange between east and west through arts and crafts”. The building itself dates back to 1926 but it will be extended, so the hotel will be part historic and part new-build. Inside, Kuma’s design will focus on natural materials and light-filled spaces, with the addition of hand-crafted pieces sourced from local artists and artisans. Ace Hotel, Kyoto

acehotel.com/kyoto