6 minute read
Hotel Confidential
With renewed vim and vigour, investment and innovation, GHA partner hotels are upping the ante on accommodations and accoutrements by leaps and bounds. Lauren Ho has some of the highlights
The pandemic years have not been easy for anyone, not least those in the hospitality sector. All the more reason to applaud the intrepid hotels, spas and restaurants – some new, some renovated and some rebranded – spotlit here, each of which emerged from lockdown with admirable brio, leaping far ahead of the pack. By every metric, these are exciting times, especially for indecisive travellers who are now tormented by the delightful conundrum of which Global Hotel Alliance property – never mind which part of the world – to favour for their next vacation.
Should one, for instance, decamp to Mexico, where Grand Hotel Cancún managed by Kempinski (kempinski.com) – a handy 90-minute drive from the ancient Mayan city of Tulum – is putting the finishing touches to its reopening with front-row seats to the Caribbean, a children’s club and a 400m (1,300ft) stretch of beach? Or perhaps prep for the 2023 opening of Viceroy at Ombria Resort Algarve (viceroyhotelsandresorts.com) where southern Portugal’s fabled landscape of cork and oak forests, fig trees, citrus groves and ancient cobble-street villages is the dreamy setting for a handsome resort framed by a rolling 18-hole golf course?
Halfway around the world, the Capella (capellahotels.com) is making its Australian debut in 2023 in sunlit Sydney in a golden-stoned Edwardian Baroque pile which Make Architects has transformed into a 192-room pleasure dome clad in marble, walnut and stone, Frette linen and soothing green walls.
A delightful conundrum: which GHA property to favour for the next vacation?
MEXICAN MAGIC Above: Grand Hotel Cancún, managed by Kempinski
WIZARD OF OZ Left: Capella Sydney in the Sandstone Precinct
IRISH CHARM In central Dublin, The Westbury hotel has had a recent refurb
The freshly minted Portrait Milano (lungarnocollection.com) is another tantalising possibility – a stunning boutique hotel with just 73 suites ensconced within the old walls of the 16th-century former Archiepiscopal Seminary, one of Europe’s oldest. A bonus for fashionistas is that the hotel opens straight onto the old Piazza del Quadrilatero, the largest public square in Milan’s fashion district.
For beach-based relaxation come the autumn of 2023, Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Muscat (nikkibeach.com) will have all the bases covered for a sublime time-out. If the sea doesn’t tempt, then perhaps one of the resort’s three pools might – or perhaps one of the mega yachts moored in the marina might also do.
For some properties, the devotion to rejuvenation extends beyond a guest’s wellbeing. It’s worth, in other words, keeping an eye out in the coming months and year as a swathe of newly renovated or rebranded hotels and resorts return online.
For instance, the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, an Amsterdam landmark for more than 155 years, has been reimagined as the Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky (anantara.com), the revitalised grande dame rolling out one surprise after the other, including private canal cruises in a restored, vintage saloon boat, and a bespoke dining experience in the middle of a tulip field.
In central Dublin, The Westbury (doylecollection.com) has recently emerged from a tip-to-toe refurbishment inspired by the 1930s ‘Grande Hotel’ Art Deco style, which includes new guest rooms and suites on the fifth floor. Special treats include the Luxury Terrace Suites, which pair views over Dublin city with Italian marble; the mirrored cocktail bar – and a conviction that this is a life well led.
Looking equally smart in its new drapery is The Dupont Circle
MAKING A SPLASH The vaulted pool and relaxation room at Portrait Milano
MUSCAT MARVEL Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Muscat is due to open in the autumn
BACK TO LIFE Right: Martin Brudnizki brings new vibrancy to The Dupont Circle in Washington, DC
GRANDE DAME Left: the revitalised Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam
TASTE AND ELEGANCE Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer, the fine-dining restaurant at Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin
(doylecollection.com), where legendary designer Martin Brudnizki has breathed new life into this Washington, DC stalwart with a 1950s aesthetic of bold colours, leafy terraces and artwork by the Irish sculptor John Behan and actorturned-photographer Dennis Hopper.
Of course, what’s a holiday without great food? This is, after all, not the time to be on a diet. On that front, a number of A-lister hotels don’t pull their punches.
Exhibit A is the recent appointment of Reto Brändli who brings his twoMichelin-star shine to his new role as head chef at Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer, the flagship restaurant of the Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin(kempinski.com). Here, the food is as sophisticated and visually delightful as its mood-lit dining room – think organic Landes duck liver paired with lobster, orange and basil; Breton wild caught turbot, and Tandoori South African spiny lobster.
Over at St Lucia’s fabulous Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort (viceroy hotelsandresorts.com), the resort’s two restaurants have been renovated and their menus completely reimagined. At Bonté, Creole flavours reign with jerk spiced chicken and shrimp tacos paired with a commanding beachfront
SWEET AS PIE Bonté restaurant at Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort celebrates the Caribbean
PRECISION PLATING Head chef Reto Brändli at Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin
THE WARMEST WELCOME Kempinski Palace Engelberg in the Swiss Alps
location and sunsets. Meanwhile, Saltwood lures with oysters, Tomahawk and wagyu steaks, plus rum cocktails and majestic views of the Pitons.
On the subject of cocktails, The Bar at 15 Stamford at The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore (kempinski.com) has rolled out a heady new cocktail menu whose notes are drawn from the Austronesian Islands, the unusual drinks spiked with everything from sugarcane juice syrup, mezcal and edible glitter to banana liqueur and jasmine tea.
And should there be just a little tinge of regret at all that enthusiastic retoxing, the voluptuous spa with its bracing views of the Swiss Alps at the Kempinski Palace Engelberg (kempinski.com) is exactly what the doctor ordered for your detoxing regimen. Needless to say, the quality of the facilities and botanical-based treatments is beyond reproach, from a full-body dry brush, massage or facial to the bio sauna and Himalayan salt-stone fireplace.
For more information or to join the programme for free, visit ghadiscovery.com or download the GHA DISCOVERY mobile app.
CALLED TO THE BAR The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore’s Bar at 15 Stamford
