Not sure where to head in 2024? Whether it’s a European city break, rural escape or something more far-flung, plenty of destination-in-their-own-right hotels are set to open in the next 12 months.
A host of fan favourites will head to new locations, with bohemian-cool Our Habitas touching down in Costa Rica, Six Senses’ first Japanese outpost arriving in Kyoto, and The Hoxton bringing their playful energy to easy-to-reach-by-rail Vienna.
For those after a hit of European wilderness, there’s new Grecian island escape Gundari on go-slow Folegandros, and Transylvanian hilltop retreat Matca, which will see historic farmhouses reimagined into a contemporary getaway close to forests where lynx and bear roam.
After somewhere arty? Firmdale Hotels’ third property in New York City will have colourful art-packed public spaces while in Australia, newbie boutique hotel Sea Sea in NSW promises a seriously creative stay, with its own photography exhibitions and music space.
Read on for the best new hotel openings worldwide to bookmark.
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Soneva Secret, Maldives
Opening: January 2024
Soneva Secret is comprised of 14 villas— (Soneva Secret)
Sustainability superstars Soneva are set to ramp up the polished and personalised service levels they’re renowned for even further with the launch of ultra bespoke Soneva Secret, a 14-villa outpost in the remote Haa Dhaalu atoll. Each smart villa will be staffed by a “barefoot guardian and assistant” – to organise marine biologist-led snorkel adventures and astronomy trips – and have its own private chef. As well as beach and overwater accommodation, with roofs which open to reveal the star-spangled sky, most special will be the Maldives’ first entirely floating villa, which can be moved on request to various mooring points via a tug throughout a stay.
From £2,460 per night; soneva.com
Matca Hotel, Romania
Opening: January 2024
Matca Hotel is set in a rural Romanian villa— (Matca Hotel)
Set to add new flourish to rural village Șimon on a hilltop with Bucegi and Piatra Craiului mountain views is Matca, which will have 16 rooms and 10 private villas. Guest rooms, inside two shingle-roofed farmhouses with inner courtyards, will feature quintessentially Transylvanian decor with a contemporary twist: think gates hand-carved by craftsmen from Făgăraș, intricate fabric embroidery, local objets d’art and botanical wall collages. As well as a spa and bar there’s Restaurant Stup, all about unhurried, slow cooking, which will serve the likes of buckwheat dumplings with pumpkin sauce, and parsnip creme brulee with praline custard. Matca is surrounded by pristine forests, meaning wholesome activities include hikes, bear safaris and beekeeping classes.
From £360, B&B; matcahotel.com
Borgo Tre, Lake Garda, Italy
Opening: Spring 2024
Borgo Tre is housed in an 18th-century farmhouse— (Georg Roske)
Another reimagined farmhouse with fresh draw will be Borgo Tre, an 18th-century property in the hills of Lake Garda. Transformed by the Hinteregger family, behind the Sonnwies wellness hotel in South Tyrol, it’ll pack slow-living allure in spades. The farmhouse’s six apartment-style suites, with two or three bedrooms apiece, will have gardens or a terrace, open fireplaces, light-toned linens and wooden furniture. For R&R there’s a mini spa, surrounded by olive trees, featuring an outdoor pool, yoga terrace and Kneipp bath, and stunning Lake Garda and Torri del Benaco vistas. Also on the agenda are Italian farm-style breakfast boxes, yoga retreats, Vespa adventures and rambles up Monte Baldo.
From £520, B&B; borgotre.com/hotel-in-torri-del-benaco
Our Habitas Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
Opening: Spring 2024
Our Habitas Santa Teresa will offer low-impact rooms and glamping tents— (Our Habitas Santa Teresa)
Hitting Costa Rica for the first time, bohemian favourite Our Habitas will touch down on the southernmost tip of Nicoya Peninsula in beach haven Santa Teresa, with 45 low-impact rooms and 10 glamping tents tucked under the palms. Expect horseback rides on the beach, jungle mountain biking excursions, wood-fired farm-to-table fare at Suawe restaurant, a beachfront infinity pool, surf shack and a laid-back atmosphere designed to foster connections with fellow guests.
From £560, room-only; ourhabitas.com/santa-teresa
Warren Street Hotel, New York City, USA
Opening: Spring 2024
After the success of NYC’s Crosby Street Hotel and The Whitby Hotel, Tim and Kit Kemp will open their third Stateside property, bringing extra rev to a former car park in Tribeca. Kit’s colourful, carefree interiors – including flamboyant headboards and fabric-covered walls – will feature in 69 rooms and suites, many of which will have floor-to-ceiling windows with lower Manhattan views. Fittingly, given Tribeca’s raft of art galleries, Warren Street’s communal spaces will display the likes of Sanaa Gateja’s Seeds of Joy – crafted with beads made from discarded paper – and Cornish ceramicist Carol Wainwright’s ‘wonky pots’. Plus, a brasserie restaurant, orangery and bar will no doubt be a magnet for NYC’s hippest creatives.
From £730, room-only; firmdalehotels.com
The Surrey, New York, USA
Opening: Summer 2024
The Surrey is getting a glow-up— (The Surrey)
Come summertime over in the Upper East Side, a storied hotel beloved by the great and the good – The Surrey – will begin a new chapter and have a serious glow up with the debut of The Surrey, a Corinthia Hotel. The Corinthia’s first US property will feature interiors by Martin Brudnizki, a world-class spa and exciting dining concepts in collaboration with Casa Tua.
Rates tbc; corinthia.com/en-gb/new-york
Sea Sea, Australia
Opening: Spring 2024
Sea Sea is a boutique lifestyle brand— (Sea Sea)
About to add a serious oomph of creativity to Australia’s Crescent Head is a 24-room boutique lifestyle hotel from George Gorrow and ceramic artist Cisco Tschurtschenthaler – the team behind stylish Bali hotel, The Slow. As well as 1970s-surf inspired rooms featuring artisan-made furniture and “audacious art”, there will be 24 hour in-house radio and spaces for live music and photography exhibitions. Food and drink offerings – in collaboration with mixologist Antonello Arzedi and chef Daniel Medcalf – are set to be just as appealing.
From £210, room-only; seaseahotel.com
The Hoxton, Vienna
Opening: Spring 2024
The Hoxton is coming to Vienna— (The Hoxton)
Wherever The Hoxton goes, flurries of hip city breakers follow. This year, for their 16th opening, all eyes turn to Vienna, where they’ll open a 196-room property inside a Carl Appel-designed modernist landmark, not far from the Stadtpark in the 3rd district. Looks-wise, it’ll mix mid-century Austrian design with geometric forms, and feature a striking double-height lobby with ridged steel columns. As well as Paris-meets-NYC vibes Bouvier bistro, basement speakeasy Salon Paradise, and a rooftop pool and bar, it will also have an events space called the Auditorium for gigs and comedy nights.
From £102, room-only; thehoxton.com/vienna
Gundari, Greece
Opening: May 2024
Hole up on lesser-known Greek isle Folegandros— (Gundari)
Santorini’s lesser-known neighbour Folegandros is all high-drama Grecian wilderness: whitewashed chapels, fragrant orange and lemon groves where donkeys potter, and a coastline fringed by the turquoise shock of the Aegean. Gundari, an all-suite boutique property set within a nature reserve where the rare Eleonora’s falcon can be spotted, will immerse wild-at-heart travellers into the island’s raw beauty from May. Twenty-five energy-efficient villas will have serene bedrooms featuring handcrafted timber details and marble floors, plus infinity pools heated by solar power. As well as a cliff-edge pool with swim-up bar, gym and organic farm-to-plate dining by renowned chef Lefteris Lazarou, there will be a showstopper spa set within a cliff for ancient healing therapies using wild herbs, plus a fleet of electric cars for guests to rent.
From £520, B&B; gundari.com
Kibale Lodge, Uganda
Opening: May 2024
Kibale Lodge is ideally positioned for chimpanzee trekking— (Kibale Lodge)
Volcanoes Safaris, who’ve pioneered gorilla and chimpanzee ecotourism in Uganda and Rwanda for 25 years, will open their fifth lodge on a 150-acre site dominated by a rocky outcrop with views of the Rwenzori Mountains, the Queen Elizabeth plains and the Kazinga channel. Ideally positioned for chimpanzee trekking in Kibale National Park – home to a 1,500-strong community of chimps – the lodge will have eight rooms and a villa as well as a spa, sauna and pool.
From £940 on a full-board basis inc. lodge activities and spa treatments; volcanoessafaris.com/kibale-lodge
Mara Toto Tree Camp, Kenya
Opening: Summer 2024
Another much-anticipated African safari opening set for summertime is Mara Toto Tree Camp in Kenya’s Masai Mara. The latest from Great Plains Conservation, dreamt up by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, will offer eight guests the chance to slumber elevated in the canopy in treehouse-stye accommodation.
Rates tbc; greatplainsconservation.com
Casa Monti, Rome, Italy
Opening: Summer 2024
Casa Monti has sprezzatura-inspired design— (Casa Monti/Laura Gonzalez)
From the same owners as La Fantaisie in Paris, Casa Monti will touch down in Italy’s charming, and arty Rione Monti neighbourhood with 26 rooms and 10 suites inside a grand, listed building. The creativity of the district will be reflected in Laura Gonzalez’s spirited interiors, inspired by the Italian sprezzatura – a feeling of relaxed ease and effortless elegance – and Milanese-style frescoes. A rooftop bar, trattoria and skincare brand Susanne Kaufmann outpost will add further appeal.
From £388, B&B; leitmotiv.fr/hotels/casamonti
J.K. Place Residence Club, Rome, Italy
Opening: Winter 2024
J.K. Place Residence Club has apartments in a 17th-century building— (J.K. Place Residence Club)
Towards the end of the year, Rome will also see the arrival of J.K. Place Residence Club, a sister property to popular boutique hotel J.K Place, offering 15 beautiful apartments in a 17th-century building on Via dei Prefetti.
Rates tbc; jkplaces.com
Six Senses Kyoto, Japan
Opening: Summer 2024
Six Senses Kyoto will be an ‘urban sanctuary’— (Six Senses)
Wellness experts Six Senses will make their Japanese debut, with an 81-room urban sanctuary with a central courtyard and tranquil gardens not far from Kyoto’s Gion district. Organic, earthy toned bedrooms will feature details inspired by Japanese folklore, such as The Moon Rabbit, and the 11th-century Tale of Genji. At a top-notch spa, traditional and scientific healing approaches will meet Zen culture, with treatments featuring ingredients chosen fortnightly reflecting Japan’s 24 micro-seasons. Other draws include a sushi restaurant, and brew and cocktail bars.
Rates tbc; sixsenses.com
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo, Japan
Opening: March 2024
Another hotel to watch is the first property from Janu – the little sister brand to ultra high-end Aman – which will launch in Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills in March with eight dining venues, a vast wellness centre, and 122 Jean-Michel Gathy-designed rooms.
From $750, B&B; janu.com/janu-tokyo
Kunda Himalayan Resort & Spa, Nepal
Opening: October 2024
For the ultimate escapism, this new resort will offer sustainable luxury and astonishing Mount Everest views. Set at an altitude of 3,280m, a series of low-impact “Himalayan Nest” dome accommodations, designed by Nomadic Resorts and boasting a deck, hot tub Himalayas views and personal butler, will set up camp. With respect to nature considered at every turn – from build through to operations – the resort’s striking architecture mirrors jagged mountain contours. Operated by Pumori Journeys, the resort will also have a restaurant specialising in dishes made using locally sourced high-altitude organic produce, plus a wellness centre and experiences such as horse riding along rhododendron trails, meditating with monks, and archery classes.
Domes around £700 inc. meals, some activities/wellness treatments (min. four-night stay); kundahimalayanresort.com
The Oberoi Rajgarh Palace, India
Opening: Winter 2024
Oberoi Rajgarh Palace converts a 200-year-old building into a hotel— (Oberoi Rajgarh Palace)
The Oberoi Rajgarh Palace, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh will see a 200-year-old palace ringed by sal forest open next to the Panna National Park, with an original lake overlooked by an infinity pool, and 66 opulent rooms.
Rates tbc; oberoihotels.com
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