While the pandemic has slowed down travel, it has not stopped the welcome news of new hotels opening. Properties spanning from Austin to Osaka continue to forge ahead with their plans and invite visitors to check in and stay a while.
We gathered some of the luxury hotel openings that should be on your radar. Whether you bookmark these destinations for a future trip or book a stay now to be among the first guests, our list of 16 brand-new hotels to visit this year (or beyond) will give you some travel inspiration.
Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection, Austin
This 1928 Italian Renaissance Revival mansion seems more like a country retreat than an Austin hotel. Spread across 10 acres (including English-style gardens), the property is a delightful throwback, from antiques like a working gramophone in the Listening Room to the classic bar carts in the guest rooms. It exudes Southern hospitality with extras like cocktail-making classes and punchbowl happy hours.
Amrit Ocean Resort & Residences, Palm Beach
In these times, wellness is needed more than ever. Recharge and recover at this Singer Island hotel, where your stay will revolve around nutrition, fitness, mindfulness, relaxation and sleep. When Amrit opens in December, seek care with integrated therapies, a wellness zone (with complimentary medicine practitioners, naturopaths, nutritionists, acupuncturists and osteopaths), the Aayush Hydrothermal Experience (the only indoor/outdoor hydrothermal ritual in Florida) and many more good-for-you offerings.
The riverfront D.C. hotel will get another chance at an opening August 20 (it originally launched in January). Sitting in Navy Yard, the hotel combines elements from its nautical surroundings and midcentury modern accents in 225 rooms that peer over the river or Nationals Park.
Come hungry: Danny Meyer (the restaurateur behind beloved favorites like NYC’s Gramercy Tavern) oversees trattoria Maialino Mare and rooftop bar Anchovy Social.
The former Taj Boston will be reborn as The Newbury, a boutique hotel that will be unveiled later in 2020. There will be some noticeable differences in the made-over hotel, including a retractable glass-rooftop Northern Italian restaurant from Major Food Group (whose other eateries include NYC’s Carbone) and contemporary, sophisticated spaces with handcrafted wood and marble accents from designer Alexandra Champalimaud.
Opened July 15, this design-forward hotel comes from the same team behind Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Palace Hotel Tokyo. The modular layout of the 212 light-wood-filled rooms and suites mimic bento boxes, and the thick brushstrokes above the beds recall Japanese calligraphy while adding a bold local element to each neutral space.
The aesthetic continues at UPSTAIRZ, an airy restaurant/lounge that fuses Japanese and French cuisine.
One of L.A.’s hottest neighborhoods gets a splashy newcomer. When it opens its doors in December, Pendry is set to become a Sunset Strip hub with restaurants from acclaimed chef Wolfgang Puck, a bowling alley, a live entertainment venue, a rooftop pool, a spa and a private social club that will be akin to Soho House. Of course, there’s also 149 rooms whose blue-and-tan hues evoke the beach.
Palm Beach will get a dose of Nantucket charm when White Elephant debuts November 4. The 32-room hotel will feel like its Massachusetts sister property with a breezy neutral color palette and hardwood floors. White Elephant also recruited the popular Nantucket sushi spot Lola 41 to handle the dining here.
Elsewhere, you’ll encounter amenities like a palm-tree-lined pool, Priority Bicycles and BMW vehicles and access to Barton & Gray yachts.
South Korea’s largest hotel group will launch its second U.S. hotel (the first is in NYC) September 24. The downtown Seattle hotel resides in a sleek 44-story tower, and the interior bears a chic update on midcentury modern, courtesy of the renowned designer Philippe Starck. The hotel partnered with Biologique Recherche on Le SPA, an intimate facility with the only couples room in the city.
Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection, Hawaii
The coronavirus made the Big Island hotel’s January grand opening short-lived. But Mauna Lani reopens September 1. Stay in the modern, muted tropical rooms, or get more privacy in the two-bedroom bungalows, which have 4,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor living space as well as their own pool and spa. And partake in Hawaiian activities like outrigger canoe excursions to making leis.
The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko, Japan
Situated along Lake Chuzenji and overlooking Mount Nantai, The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko is immersed in nature. Its location alone amid the shrines and temples of Nikko National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, makes this newly opened hotel special.
To make your stay even more tranquil, there’s an onsen — it’s the first Ritz-Carlton property to have an authentic hot spring — and a nightly meditation ritual in the lobby.
Hammetts Hotel, Newport, Rhode Island
This downtown Newport hotel opened in June, just in time to offer a slice of the Commercial Wharf and a terrace overlooking Newport Marina to summer travelers. The 84-room boutique hotel melds nautical and industrial influences for a thoroughly modern vibe. Watch for the August debut of Giusto restaurant, which will have an alfresco bar and spacious patio overlooking the marina.
This 1891 former bank is one of D.C.’s last Richardsonian Romanesque Revival-style buildings. Riggs has preserved much of the original design, including the ceilings, brass detailing and bank vault. Try the First Lady Suites, like the pink-filled space with vine-patterned wallpaper in honor of floral-loving Ida McKinley.
The February-debuted hotel reopens August 11 with the new Rooftop at Riggs, which serves panoramas and Mediterranean-inspired fare (which debuts August 13).
Japanese beauty in all its forms is the theme for this new hotel, set to welcome guests November 3. It enlisted in-demand designer André Fu (who did the fetching interiors at The St. Regis Hong Kong) for stylish accommodations that took inspiration from Japanese tearooms.
Another standout feature: it’s the only luxury hotel in the city center with a natural onsen.
Montage Healdsburg, California
Sprawling across 258 acres, this Sonoma hotel adds wine to many parts of the experience. Take a class in the yoga garden in the middle of the vineyard. The serene pool overlooks the vines. And of course, there’s a wine bar. But don’t forget the offsite winery experiences: take advantage of Montage’s partnership with highly regarded winemaker Jesse Katz at his newly opened Aperture Cellars to get a VIP tasting. The hotel will debut in the fall.
Brenton Hotel, Newport, Rhode Island
The amenities stand out at this boutique hotel, which opens July 31. Zip up to the sixth-floor Rooftop, which serves vistas as well as cocktails and bites amid a leafy setting. Try the personalized wellness offerings, ranging from having a Peloton delivered to your room to a staff-led biking trip. For a thoroughly Newport activity, charter the hotel’s Hinckley Picnic Boat for a sunset cruise.
Conrad Punta de Mita, Mexico
Tucked along two miles of sand in the lush Riviera Nayarit, the beach resort will have three pools, a spa with seven treatment rooms, a temazcal (a sweat lodge), a kids club and seven restaurants and bars. For active pursuits, there is an 18-hole Greg Norman-designed golf course and tennis and pickleball courts.
Check into one of the 324 contemporary rooms with coastal touches starting September 1.
