So often New Year’s resolutions center around stopping something — smoking, eating junk food, watching reality TV shows — that we forget about the going. But with this list of stunning hotels opening in 2013, it’s time to remedy that. From peaceful escapes overlooking the Pacific to a towering palace looking down on London, a slew of impressive properties will try to woo visitors. Read on to see the 20 that we can’t wait to check into in the new year.
United States
The Quin Hotel, New York
New York City’s historic 57th Street Buckingham Hotel—built in 1929 and frequented by musical legends like pianist/composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski and Metropolitan Opera greats Giuseppe De Luca and Giovanni Martinelli—will be restored as The Quin Hotel. The 18-story gem is to open February 2013 and aims to capitalize on its artistic heritage and its location, which is within walking distance of cultural hotspots like Carnegie Hall, the Museum of Modern Art and the 57th Street gallery district. The hotel will have 200 rooms, an art gallery featuring works by Irish painter Patrick Graham, an American eatery, a spa partner and a business center.
Capella Washington D.C., Georgetown
Washington, D.C. visitors will soon be able to check in to this new luxury Georgetown hotel opening February 2013. Located on the C&O Canal and near Rock Creek Park, Georgetown University and the Kennedy Center, the hotel will have 49 guest rooms and 12 suites, each with a dedicated personal assistant available 24/7 to take care of tasks such as airport transportation and setting up private museum tours. Other highlights: a rooftop infinity pool and the tastefully decorated Capella Living Room—also staffed with a personal assistant—where you can relax near the two-story onyx fireplace and have a refreshment or two.
Salamander Resort & Spa, Middleburg, Va.
Set on 340 acres in the picturesque countryside of Virginia’s Loudoun County (just an hour from Washington, D.C.), the Salamander Resort & Spa is slated to open in August 2013. The sprawling resort will include an equestrian center and 22-stall stable (for those who want to bring along their horses), a 23,000-square-foot spa with “treehouse” treatment rooms overlooking the woods and nearby stream, and indoor and outdoor event spaces, including a 100-year-old restored barn. An equestrian-themed restaurant with wine bar and terrace boasting views of Virginia’s wine country will serve Virginia Piedmont-influenced cuisine.
The Langham, Chicago
Chicago’s riverfront Mies van der Rohe building—the last high-rise designed by the late architect—will soon house a glamorous hotel. The Langham, Chicago, set to open in summer 2013, will include 320 luxe guest rooms, a 9,000-square-foot spa and 20,000 square feet of meeting space. The 52-story River North structure, which was put on the National Register for Historic Places in 2010, will include a Palm Court restaurant with afternoon tea service and access to the river jetty for hotel guests who’d like go for a quick cruise.
El Encanto, Santa Barbara, Calif.
This peaceful escape (now part of the Orient-Express Hotels portfolio) is set among the hills overlooking the Pacific and will be restored to its original elegance by its scheduled opening in March 2013. Many of El Encanto’s 92 California-style bungalows will include in-room fireplaces and private terraces with views of the resort’s seven acres of gardens, Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean. A personal concierge will connect guests with special requests—perhaps a candlelit dinner for two? The hotel’s close proximity to Northern California’s wineries and art galleries will likely make it an ideal location to spend a long weekend.
Latin America
Waldorf Astoria Panama
Waldorf Astoria’s first Latin American resort, Waldorf Astoria Panama, will open in March 2013. The 130-room hotel sits in the trendy Calle Uruguay neighborhood, just 15 minutes from Marcos A. Gelabert International Airport and within walking distance of the sprawling La Cinta Costera park. Hotel highlights include a 2,500-square-foot spa, outdoor pool, 1,200-square-foot fitness center and four hotspots to grab a bite or a tropical cocktail: a sushi bar, an American- and French-cuisine brasserie, a lobby bar, and a terrace and pool bar.
Europe
Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace St. Petersburg
Expected to open in spring 2013, Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace St. Petersburg is a restored palace once home to a Russian princess. The hotel’s grand marble staircase is accented with gold and bronze molding, painstakingly returned to its 1820s glory using the original architectural drawings as a reference. One of the palace’s former courtyards is now the glassed-in Tea Lounge, which will serve breakfast, tea and light dinner. Guests will also be able to dine on Italian cuisine at Percorso, Asian cuisine at Sintoho, or have a glass of cognac at Xander bar. A four-level luxury spa with an enclosed rooftop pool and several treatment rooms is also in the works.
The London Edition
The 177-year-old Berners Hotel in London’s Fitzrovia district will soon be transformed into a swanky Edition Hotel, the boutique brand owned by Marriott International and headed up by hotelier extraordinaire Ian Schrager. The company is keeping details about the new London hotel confidential, but if it’s anything like The Istanbul Edition, which opened in 2011, it will include stylish, high-tech rooms, a luxe spa and top-notch dining. The luxury lifestyle brand is set to have six hotels by 2015—Miami is up next, and is slated to open fourth quarter 2013.
Shangri-La Hotel, at The Shard, London
Only a hotel in a towering glass spire could offer views like these. The Shard (designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano and now the tallest building in Western Europe) is soon to be home to Shangri-La Hotel, at The Shard, London, which will boast 185 deluxe guest rooms and 17 suites with incredible views of the city. Guest rooms will include signature beds that use patented body-contouring technology, LCD TVs and hi-fi equipment. The hotel’s café will feature numerous cooking stations serving cuisine from around the world. And let’s not forget the indoor infinity pool and fitness center with unrivaled panoramic views of the London skyline.
The Peninsula Paris
The Hong Kong-based Peninsula Hotels group makes its European debut with The Peninsula Paris in late 2013. Rather than erecting a new building, the Paris hotel will occupy a century-old structure—a Beaux-Arts gem constructed in 1908 that once housed the Majestic Hotel. The luxe hotel group is taking great measures to ensure the building is restored to its original grandeur and that it blends seamlessly with the existing Parisian architecture in the posh 16th arrondissement. Once complete, it will house 200 guest rooms and a spa on the enviable Avenue Kléber near the iconic Champs-Élysées.
Shangri-La Bosphorus, Istanbul
Shangri-La Bosphorus, Istanbul will be the luxury hotel brand’s first in Turkey when in opens in the first quarter of 2013. The hotel sits on the shore of the Bosphorus Strait in the Besiktas district near the Dolmabahce Palace, and will be the second tallest building on the coastline when completed. Shangri-La Bosphorus, Istanbul’s186 guest rooms—which include 17 suites with sea views—will have a contemporary design scheme with Asian touches. Both Western and Asian cuisine will be offered at the hotel restaurant, and afternoon tea and tapas will be served in the Lobby Lounge, which includes a tea lounge, bar and outdoor terrace. CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La will specialize in Chinese healing therapies and will have two hammams.
Asia
Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai
The sleek Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai opens in March 2013, and sits on the banks of Shanghai’s Huangpu River among the financial district’s towering skyscrapers. Throughout the sleek high-rise, you’ll find the warm hues and modern furnishings for which the luxury hotel group is known. The hotel will include 318 spacious guest rooms and 44 suites, including one duplex suite and an 8,481-square-foot presidential suite, as well as 210 apartment units—serviced by the hotel—with panoramic views of the river. Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai will also have six different dining venues (one serving fine Chinese cuisine), an indoor pool with plush loungers and a 13-treatment room spa.
The PuSen Forest Retreat and Spa, Shaoxing, China
One of the more unique getaways to debut in 2013, The PuSen Forest Retreat and Spa will be made up of 50 meticulously restored Zhejiang Province homes, all between 200 and 400 years old. These gorgeous Chinese villas, decorated with elaborate carvings, are tucked into the lush mountain forests of Shaoxing prefecture. When the remote retreat opens in the second quarter of 2013, guests can book villas (some with private pools), dine at two on-site restaurants and get treatments at the relaxing spa.
Regent Bali
Regent Bali is an exotic retreat in the Sanur district and is set to open in June 2013. The resort promises to be a serene tropical escape with 10 acres of lush Balinese-style gardens and 656 feet of golden sandy beach. It has one sprawling beachfront villa with a private pool, a hot tub, and its own spa treatment room (with a steam room no less). But most guests will find themselves in one of the hotel’s 94 suites, which aren’t too shabby either—each has butler service, traditional Balinese décor and gorgeous views of either the gardens or the island of Nusa Lembongan and the Indian Ocean.
Rosewood Beijing
The 279-room Rosewood Beijing, opening summer 2013 in the Chaoyang business district, will have unusually large rooms—the average size is 538 square feet—rivaling a luxury Beijing apartment, with walk-in closets, spacious bathrooms, window seats, muted Asian-style décor and natural finishes. Would-be guests can expect a spa (with five overnight spa suites), yoga studio, indoor pool and gym; nearly 33,000 square feet of space for meetings and events (including an 8,249-square-foot ballroom with an outdoor garden); and seven restaurants and bars featuring international cuisine.
Cheval Blanc Randheli, Maldives
Sprawled out on a remote island in Maldives’ Noonu Atoll, Cheval Blanc Randheli (part of LVMH’s luxe hotel portfolio) will be nothing short of extravagant when it opens next summer. The 45 airy loft-style villas—some set on the white-sand beach, others on stilts over turquoise waters—feature private infinity pools, impeccably appointed interiors and jaw-dropping views of the surrounding lagoon. Guests will be able to unwind in the Cheval Blanc Spa and take advantage of the island locale with a fleet of traditional dhoni boats (Maldivian fishing boats) specially crafted for Cheval Blanc. The idyllic retreat will also include four restaurants, ranging from fine dining to a fish market, as well as cigar and wine cellars.
Africa and the Middle East
The St. Regis Abu Dhabi
The St. Regis Abu Dhabi will have 283 luxe rooms, including 55 over-the-top suites when it opens in February 2013. It will occupy 16 floors (starting at the 33rd) in one of the two swanky Nation Towers high-rises on the Abu Dhabi Corniche. The sleek, modern towers are linked by a 656-foot-high sky bridge that will house the hotel’s most lavish guest suite: the three-bedroom, 11,679-square-foot Abu Dhabi Suite, which will not only have unparalleled 360-degree views of the Arabian Gulf and the city’s skyline, but its own movie theater, gym and private spa, too. The suite comes with 24-karat gold leaf and shimmering crystal accents, leather-tiled and velvet-upholstered walls, and a grand staircase that leads to the master bedroom. Guests will be able to choose from more than 10 eateries and bars, including Rhodes 44, named for its famed chef Gary Rhodes.
The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal
Already accepting reservations for March 2013, The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal will debut with a private beach, a palatial 17,222-square-foot outdoor pool, European-inspired gardens and Renaissance architecture reminiscent of 15th- to 17th-century Venice. Guests can check in to one of the hotel’s 87 one- and two-bedroom villas—each with an outdoor terrace overlooking the Grand Mosque (the largest in the UAE)—or opt for one of its 447 resort-style suites and guest rooms. The 21,500-square-foot spa will appeal to both men and women, with a hammam, steam room, salon, fitness center, outdoor plunge pools and 15 treatment rooms.
Mahali Mzuri, Kenya
In 2013, Sir Richard Branson’s exclusive Virgin Limited Edition collection of retreats welcomes a new member: Mahali Mzuri, a minimal-footprint safari camp in Kenya’s Motorogi Conversancy just north of the Maasai Mara National Reserve. The eco-friendly retreat will include 12 luxury canvas tents perched on platforms, each with a bedroom, sitting room, in-suite bathroom and, most importantly, a terrace with sweeping views of the landscape and its intriguing wildlife—think lions, giraffes and wildebeests. The lavish camp will offer daily game drives and guided walks in the Motorogi and Olare Orok Conservancies, plus the opportunity to tour the local village to learn more about the Maasai people.
The Ritz-Carlton, Herzliya, Israel
The Ritz-Carlton is making its Israeli debut in 2013 with The Ritz-Carlton, Herzliya, a coastal resort overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The seaside getaway (the first ever kosher Ritz-Carlton, complete with a synagogue, kosher kitchens and Shabbat elevators) is centrally located—just 15 minutes from Tel Aviv and an hour from Jerusalem. Decorated in calming shades of gold and blue, the 197 luxury guest rooms—including 82 studio, one- and two-bedroom suites—will have views of the sea. Guests will be able to relax in the Eastern Mediterranean sun at the rooftop pool or by lounging on the beach.
Photos Courtesy of Langham Hotels International, Capella Washington, Waldorf Astoria Panama, Shangri-La Bosphorus, Regent Hotels and Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC
