Rokona

16/09/2022

Badrutt’s Palace doesn’t skimp on extravagance, possessing all the perks one expects from a St. Moritz hotel. The glamorous alpine hideaway overlooks the ski resort’s famous lake, and has been the go-to destination for celebrities and royalty since it first opened in 1896: Alfred Hitchcock became a loyal guest after spending his honeymoon there, and even an elephant once graced its halls. Complete with towers and turrets, the snowcapped hotel feels straight out of a winter fairytale—with the views to boot—and the rooms and suites provide an upscale, toasty retreat after a day on the slopes (hot water bottles are tucked under the sheets each night). There’s a restaurant to fit every mood (11 in total) and nightcaps should be imbibed at the Polo Bar, a popular spot among locals. Time your stay wisely: the New Year’s bashes, we hear, are legendary.

16/09/2022

Opened in 1844 and operated by the same family ever since, this property has hosted the likes of Joan Miró and Plácido Domingo. Set in a garden near the Bahnhofstrasse shopping drag (Zurich's equivalent of Fifth Avenue), the hotel looks right onto Lake Zurich and the Alps—but that's not the only nice view. Inside, rooms tastefully mix Art Deco, Louis XVI, and Regency styles, and are individually decorated in neutral tones with red, purple, and teal accents—though, if you're lucky, you'll get a room with a balcony on the water. If you're keen to splurge more than you have, the Michelin-starred Pavillon is worth the indulgence.

16/09/2022

The Waldorf Astoria Beijing is a 2014 arrival in a gold-box building in the Wangfujing neighborhood. When you pull up to the entrance, you're greeted by an exterior resembling one of Beijing's temple palaces—but the interior is pure, intimate hospitality. Instead of a flashy, bustling lobby, the concierge desk sits in a space surrounded by high, gray walls painted with flowers, while bolder art pieces surprise you as you turn the hallways to your room. The 171 rooms delight with soft teal and tangerine accents and views across heritage rooftops.

06/09/2022

At this stately Vancouver Island hotel only three miles from downtown Victoria, it’s not uncommon to look out from your balcony or from the waterfront mineral pools and see pods of orcas swimming close to the shore. The 100-room hotel is inspired by an English manor house, complete with Tudor-influenced architectural touches and a charming pub serving halibut tempura and seafood chowder. While the property and the surrounding seaside village may evoke the old world, the Boathouse Spa is firmly rooted in the Pacific Northwest thanks to treatments that incorporate seaweed and marine clay.

06/09/2022

Towering over the Central Business District and the snaking ribbon of the Waller Creek Greenbelt Trail, this 37-story hotel is a mammoth new addition to the Austin skyline, ranking as the capital’s third-tallest building. With 1,048 rooms and suites and five restaurants and bars, the hotel can give the appearance of a Vegas-style mega-hotel, nowhere more so than at the palm-studded, cabana-lined rooftop pool deck. But look closer and you’ll find plenty of reminders that you’re in the Lone Star State, including a spa that incorporates mesquite wood and Hill Country–grown herbs into treatments, and grill house Garrison, where proteins are grilled and smoked with post oak from nearby Bastrop.

06/09/2022

This grand Louisville landmark was designed to impress when it opened in 1923, with its Georgian Revival facade, hand-painted coffered ceilings, mahogany furnishings, and Botticino limestone floors. (Befitting such pomp and circumstance, David Lloyd George, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, was the first person to sign the guest register.) The 293 guest rooms and suites feature thoughtful touches, such as equestrian prints and racing-themed throw blankets. But to truly get a taste of Derby City, you’ll need to order a Hot Brown: The open-faced turkey sandwich, topped with bacon and Mornay sauce, debuted here in 1926.

06/09/2022

Housed in an 18th-century mansion surrounded by lavender and cypress trees, this Relais & Chateaux property is a draw for both its proximity to Aix-en-Provence (it's a 15-minute walk to Cours Mirabeau) and countryside seclusion. The 23 rooms and suites have either a private garden of views of the sprawling grounds, and each one is outfitted in toile, cream, and crimson Louis XV furnishings. The outdoor pool is, of course, a highlight, as is the on-site wine cellar and spa. Head to the restaurant for a seasonal menu that pairs Provençale, French, and Mediterranean dishes with Bordeaux, Burgundy, and local wines—all served on the terrace during the summer.

01/09/2022

An emblem of hyphenated hotel-world majesty, of sun-struck Riviera grandeur, of dreams of open-top two-seaters and swaying palms and broken banks at casinos and Champagne corks a-popping. Draw up to what F. Scott Fitzgerald called the “flushed façade” of this magical hotel, where Tender is the Night begins, and it’s hard not to feel you’ve arrived. Built by the proprietor of Le Figaro when it was the world’s biggest-selling newspaper, it opened as a grand hotel in 1870, and is now part of Germany’s Oetker Collection. During World War I, it became a Red Cross hospital where the nurses, the general manager noted, liked to cool off in the sea between shifts. Perhaps, he thought, there’d be potential for a summer season, come peacetime—so he had a huge heated saltwater pool blasted out of the headland. Swanky, chintzy and swagged in ormolu, bedrooms are comfortable but old-fashioned, as are the pale marble bathrooms. Rather it’s the views, the atmosphere, the vases overflowing with roses from the garden that make it so special.

01/09/2022

The first hotel in Denver’s hip Lower Highlands neighborhood sits quietly on a residential street. It’s easy to mistake the nondescript façade for just another apartment building, but the cement exterior—a nod to the industrialists who built the city—is part of the carefully crafted narrative that’s become a signature of the Life House brand. Inside, the lobby feels like a prospector’s Victorian home, with Louis XVI Bergère chairs, velvet drapes, and cowhide throws; the 16 rooms upstairs range from king suites to bunk rooms. Its restaurant, Wildflower, keeps the story going with a menu honoring the neighborhood’s original Italian and Mexican settlers. At the low-lit bar, a young crowd sips old-fashioneds, bringing the story full circle from frontier outpost to modern urban epicenter of cool.

01/09/2022

01/09/2022