The best new hotels in 2025, from iconic properties to boutique stays
From a luxury resort in West Timor to a new Raffles Hotel in Singapore and the ultimate Italian villa in Portofino, these are the new properties to book this year.
This year heralds plenty of big-brand hotel debuts in locales that range from Venice to Saudi Arabia. But with a growing demand for private villas, biophilic boltholes and boutique city digs, many of 2025’s most interesting new hotels are smaller in scale.
Far from the Bali bustle, the acclaimed NIHI Sumba is opening a sister property on West Timor’s remote Rote Island. Surfing will be top of the agenda at NIHI Rote for guests of the 23 pool villas opening at year’s end. Oberoi will unveil Vindhyavilas, a luxury tented camp adjacent to India’s remote Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, creating an ideal bookend to a stay at its popular Vanyavilas near that other tiger hotspot, Ranthambore.
Meantime, Banyan Group’s 100th resort will open in April at Singapore’s zoo precinct. With an emphasis on nature-inspired digs, The Mandai Rainforest Resort by Banyan Tree will include treehouse suites. Closer to home, Baillie Lodges is set to reopen New Zealand’s iconic Huka Lodge in March following an extensive refurbishment.
For urbanites, the legendary Waldorf Astoria New York will reopen following a top-to-toe makeover courtesy of celebrated designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, while Mandarin Oriental is repurposing a century-old Art Nouveau courthouse within Vienna’s Ringstrasse into a 151-guestroom hotel.
And for train lovers, Britannic Explorer, A Belmond Train launches in July with 18 cabins, taking three-night journeys through Cornwall, the Lake District and Wales. Food will be courtesy of Michelin-starred, paddock-to-plate pioneer Simon Rogan. There will also be hikes and wild swimming. Here are the other hotels to watch out for.
One&Only Moonlight Basin, Montana
With a moonshine “shack” hidden in the forest and cosy fireplaces in each of the 73 guestrooms and suites and 19 cabins, One&Only’s first resort in the US will offer guests year-round adventure (and off-piste mooching) in Montana’s glorious Big Sky. Guests can ski in and ski out in winter or jump the resort’s private gondola. Bike, fish, kayak and hike in nearby greater Yellowstone in the warmer months. Opening this northern summer, the alpine resort sprawls across 97ha, tucked away among fragrant pines and with stunning mountain views. Families are well catered for across several large, luxury cabins.
Amyth of Nicosia, Cyprus
Nicosia is the last divided capital in Europe, home to both Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. It lies off the beaten tourist trail, with most visitors making for the island’s beaches. Yet, it’s a city with a fascinating history and intriguing architecture. Opening in March within the atmospheric old walled town, the Amyth hotel is housed in a century-old villa with just seven guestrooms and three suites. The building’s heritage features have been lovingly restored, including old tiled floors, decorative painted ceilings and an impressive grand staircase. The pretty courtyard provides respite from the summer heat. Best time to visit is April-May or September-October with the hotel ideally placed to explore on foot.
Mondrian Gold Coast
Design-savvy Mondrian makes its Aussie debut at Burleigh Heads with a 24-storey hotel offering a blend of studios, suites, beach houses and a scraper-topping Sky House. Mondrian is well known for its Insta-worthy style; in Doha, Dutch designer Marcel Wanders delivered a 24-carat gold elevator and oversized Swarovski chandeliers. On the Gold Coast, designers are taking a more laid-back approach inspired by the region’s surf, sand and pandanus-studded coastline. A ground-floor restaurant will spill on to the street; a third-floor restaurant and pool club will offer dress circle views.
Villa Beatrice, Portofino, Italy
Launching in July, perched high on a private spit overlooking the Gulf of Portofino, Villa Beatrice is the ultimate la dolce vita fantasy. Sleeping 10 in five guestrooms with ravishing interiors by hotel design maestro Martin Brudnizki (for whom beige is a dirty word), the private palazzo features a romantic tower, rooftop terrace, plunge pool and quaint cottage hidden in a citrus grove. With a resident butler and chef on call, the villa forms part of a comprehensive renovation of the famous Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, Portofino, located a short walk up the hill.
Beatrice is just one of a bevy of upscale hotels opening in Italy this year. The J.K. Place Roma hotel is adding a Maison with 15 apartments in a 17th-century building, a five-minute walk from the hotel. Six Senses Milan will open in the heart of the city’s artistic quarter, the chic French hotel brand Airelles lands in Venice with 45 rooms across three 16th-century buildings on Giudecca Island. Orient Express La Minerva debuts a 93-room hotel in a 17th-century palazzo, steps from Rome’s Pantheon. Also watch for Nobu Hotel Roma, The Carlton Milan and the Lake Como Edition opening on the western shore, complete with a floating pool.
Six Senses London
The Art Deco Whiteley department store in London’s Bayswater, steps from Hyde Park, will reopen this year as a Six Senses hotel with 109 guestrooms and suites and a private social and wellness club (hotel guests are granted automatic membership). Foster + Partners is responsible for the restoration of this handsome building, dating from 1911 and once the largest emporium in the world, replete with a cinema and rooftop golf course. Modern-day entertainments will revolve around a world-leading day spa that includes a 20m indoor pool beneath a striking domed ceiling.
Park Lane Copenhagen
Opening in January with a typically stylish Scandi palette in Copenhagen’s affluent northern district of Hellerup, minutes from the sea and overlooking the gardens of Oregard Museum, the elegant Park Lane makes an exciting addition to the city’s hotel scene. The former cinema building, dating from the early 20th century, has been reconfigured to house 69 guestrooms (with the old ballroom converted to suites) featuring high ceilings and large windows and a serene creamy colour scheme with contrasting wooden floors, burnished brass detailing and rich fabrics.
SALT of Anji, China
Mauritian-based The Lux Collective is launching its “eco-luxury” brand SALT in China’s Anji in the northwest of Zhejiang province in May. Designed as a base for exploring some of China’s most compelling landscapes, the resort is the work of South African architect Peter Rich, who has devised a series of stone villas and guestrooms, 108 in all, inspired in part by the curvaceous forms of Gaudi and surrounded by mountains, lakes and towering bamboo forests. Located in the Yangtze Delta, 2½ hours from Shanghai, the resort includes an outdoor pool, wellness centre and a “honey and tea lab” celebrating the region’s famed white tea.
Serlas Wing, Badrutt’s Palace Hotel, St Moritz, Switzerland
On St Moritz’s ritziest street, a new six-storey wing represents the first addition to the legendary Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in more than a century. The glamorous extension includes 25 guestrooms and suites (think: sophisticated oak wood finishes and wool wall panelling) within a credit card’s toss of high-end boutiques, as well as an ingenious underground pedestrian tunnel linking the hotel to the town square.
Raffles Sentosa Singapore
Line up those Sentosa Slings. After 138 years the legendary Raffles is opening a second Singapore outpost. Set on a hilltop overlooking Tanjong Beach and the South China Sea on the southern tip of Sentosa Island, the resort will feature 62 private pool villas set within verdant tropical gardens. With five restaurants and a large day spa, the resort offers the perfect spot to reset and recharge while being only 10 minutes from the buzz of downtown Singapore.
Maison Barriere Vendome, Paris
Debuting this month on a quiet street between Place Vendome and the Tuileries Gardens (and more importantly just a three-minute stroll from the Angelina tearoom), the elegant Maison Barriere Vendome is styled as a chic pied-a-terre with just 26 guestrooms and suites. Each of the individually decorated rooms takes its design cue from a famous woman, such as Marie Curie, Simone de Beauvoir, Josephine Baker and Sarah Bernhardt. The largest suite, named for George Sand, has a balcony overlooking the Tuileries and a library inspired by the novelist’s charming maison in central France. The South American-themed restaurant is named for Frida Kahlo.
Fairmont Golden, Prague
Given its elegant streets and architecture, Prague often stands in for Paris on the silver screen, but Fairmont has bypassed all those Romanesque and Baroque beauties to instead restore a concrete and glass Brutalist classic in the old town. The former InterContinental was Prague’s first five-star international hotel, opened in the 1970s, designed by Czech architect Karel Filsak. Following a four-year renovation, Fairmont is planning for a northern spring opening with 320 guestrooms, six restaurants and a day spa with outdoor pool.
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