Funtour

16/07/2022

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.

16/07/2022

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.

16/07/2022

Walking into the W’s first Middle Eastern outpost is like entering a never-ending party: Chill-out music plays in the sleek lobby (even at 8 a.m.), and the handsome staff from Mexico, New Zealand, Tanzania, and Russia, among other countries, hand each arriving guest a mocktail. The hotel’s Sisley Paris Spa and restaurants (there's Papermoon Milan and Peruvian spot COYA) are attracting expats and locals eager for a more global experience. The 442 rooms are filled with curves: rounded frames for the desks and bed platforms, arabesques on walls and curtains, and circular chairs positioned to take in the seafront or the evolving skyline of starchitect skyscrapers. Business travelers will appreciate the convenient location in the West Bay financial district, the attentive service, and the lap pool with resistance current.

08/07/2022

Located inside the high-end Landmark Mall, the Mandarin Oriental’s little sister is easy to miss. The serene reception area and library-like lounge lie up a flight of steps; all-day dining and drinks happen at the MO Bar, at street level below the lobby. Wellness travelers, style mavens and creative types, will love the hotel’s spa-like vibe (not to mention its actual, 25,000-square-foot spa, complete with a spacious gym and indoor heated pool), contemporary design, and attention to detail. The central location—with shops and corporate offices at your doorstep—is just icing on the cake.

08/07/2022

Totaling 160 combined rooms and suites, this property is a collection of eight boutique hotels dotted around Doha’s Souq Waqif, the Qatari capital’s central marketplace where vendors hawk everything from spices and oud incense to gold and live falcons. The most historic of the properties is the Bismillah, the city’s oldest hotel, which dates back to the 1950s and now comprises two private residences with ornately tiled balconies overlooking the action outside. Guests can beat the desert heat with a dip in the swimming pool or a rejuvenating visit to the spa’s hammam.

08/07/2022

Together, the nine 21c Museum Hotels (and counting) comprise North America’s only multi-venue museum dedicated exclusively to 21st-century art. Opened in 2018, the Kansas City location breathes new life into the 1888 Savoy Hotel and Grill, where President Harry S. Truman was such a regular that his favorite booth is now marked with a plaque. The hotel’s gallery welcomes rotating exhibits, but guests don’t have to leave their beds to see art: Each room features photographs of penguins and Antarctic landscapes shot by brand co-founder Laura Lee Brown. Continuing that chilly theme, the 21c chain is home to a flock of four-foot-tall, recycled-plastic penguins, which the staff moves around throughout the day. The K.C. ones are sky blue, and if you fall hard for them you can pick up a ceramic replica in the gift shop.

04/07/2022

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.

04/07/2022

The staff at this hotel in Belgravia near Hyde Park “go out of their way to do anything and everything to make your stay terrific”—all while wearing uniforms designed by Giorgio Armani. The weathered brick and Portland stone building has interiors colored to evoke the five elements. Rooms, reached via a corridor of black corrugated wood paneling, are mostly in shades of white with accents of brown and purple, and have Sapele hardwood veneers and Egyptian cotton linens. Nahm offers contemporary Thai cuisine like quail salad with sour-plum leaves.

04/07/2022

04/07/2022