From a brand’s urban debut in New York to two London properties remaking the city’s skyline and a wellness retreat in Hungary, here’s a curated list of 10 hotly anticipated hotels coming online through 2021. That includes three lifestyle spinoffs from notable luxury brands that foster a creative and transformation environment.
Aman New York
Located on Manhattan’s famed Fifth Avenue in the Crown Building—the original home of the city’s Museum of Modern Art—the Aman New York marks the luxury brand’s first foray on the East Coast. Expect a refined yet elegant design from acclaimed architect Jean-Michel Gathy of Singapore-based Denniston that pays homage to the building’s Neoclassical architecture. With 83 rooms and suites and 20 luxe apartments, the true star of the show is the three-story Aman Spa. An urban sanctuary, it will feature a 65-foot-long indoor pool surrounded by firepits and daybeds. That’s just the beginning of the lavish amenities: There’s also Italian offering Arva, Nama restaurant—an interpretation of Japan’s washoku dining tradition—a subterranean jazz club, and wine library.
NoMad London
For NoMad’s first property outside the U.S., Sydell Group’s Andrew Zobler turned to Roman and Williams to transform a former 19th-century Covent Garden courthouse and police station into a 91-key hotel. Like its sister properties in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, the hotel will marry a classic European look with bohemian moments, expressed through the New York-based firm’s signature theatrical lens. Take the construction of the three-story glass atrium that connects the historic building to a new-build structure. Here, natural light will spotlight the cascading greenery, creating a moment of serenity in the bustling London neighborhood.
The Buda Resort
Visegrad, Hungary
About 30 miles north of Budapest, near the Danube River, an unfinished concrete structure once intended as a Hilton in Hungary’s Visegrad Hills is being transformed by Copenhagen-based Johannes Torpe Studios into the Buda Resort, a 210-key luxury spa retreat. Built into a former stone quarry, the form nods to its hillside setting. In fact, the property itself rests on circular columns, opening seven of the building’s floors up to a massive, 100-foot-tall rock that sits at the center of the lobby and serves as a breathtaking anchor. Based on the idea of a lotus flower—recognized as the symbol for the heart chakra—the design explores a sense of opening up from the earth to the sky.
The Londoner
Slated to debut early 2021, the 350-room Londoner, the latest from Edwardian Hotels London, is an architectural and design feat. Led by Woods Bagot, the 16-story hotel descends six feet below ground, where the ballroom, meeting rooms, spa, swimming pool and gym, hair and nail salon, barber shop, and two private screening rooms reside. The rooftop terrace, on the other hand, offers panoramic views of Leicester Square. With prolific firm Yabu Pushelberg behind the design, the refined interiors will be infused with the energy of the surrounding area. Art also plays a crucial role, including artist Ian Monroe’s commissioned tile façade that is inspired by 1930s-era London.
Surety Hotel
Des Moines, Iowa
Aparium Hotel Group, the Chicago-based developer known for transforming historic buildings in secondary markets into design-driven upscale hotels, has six properties launching through the spring of next year. Among them is the 138-room Surety in Des Moines, a collaboration between local firm Slingshot Architecture and Minneapolis-based DLR Group that celebrates its history while looking forward. Since it is located in the 1913-built Hippee building (also known as the Southern Surety Building—hence the hotel’s name referencing a surety bond in banking), the design is at once refined and comfortable, evoking the rich character of its Beaux-Arts structure.
Zentis Osaka
Japan
Japan’s Palace Hotel Group tapped Tara Bernerd & Partners to craft the first outpost of its new Zentis Hotels brand. Located in Osaka’s riverside Dojimahama area near business and entertainment zone Kita-shinchi, the inaugural location will feature a timeless palette with masculine touches throughout the 212 rooms and Upstairz restaurant, managed by Tokyo-based F&B operator Café Co. Raw materials like exposed brick and timber beams will meld with floor-to-ceiling windows in the lobby that overlook the outdoor greenscape. Opening this summer, the new build is the first in a series of hotels for Zentis, which is part of a larger licensing deal between the brand and the London-based design studio.
One&Only Portonovi
Montenegro
Denniston’s Jean-Michel Gathy is also responsible for One&Only’s first European resort in Montenegro’s secluded Boka Bay, which will frame mountain views and the Adriatic Sea, providing guests with an elegant haven in an otherworldly destination. A mix of 113 guestrooms and suites and 10 private homes, the property is designed as a contemporary spin on Venetian architecture, complete with red-tiled roofs and arched windows.
Pendry West Hollywood
After successful openings in San Diego and Baltimore, the lifestyle brand is ramping up its offerings with the 149-room Pendry West Hollywood. With an Art Deco-inspired look from London firm Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, the design will act as a love letter to Los Angeles. The lobby’s Old Hollywood vibe comes to life with a mirrored ceiling and black and white marble floor, continuing into the guestrooms that are dressed in a rich palette of teal, navy, and gold tones. The property will also feature a rooftop pool and lounge, a penthouse-level restaurant helmed by chef Wolfgang Puck, a music venue, screening room, café, and lower-level social club, the Britely, with bowling lanes.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
A reflag of the longstanding Hard Rock right off the Strip, the upcoming Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, part of Hilton’s Curio Collection, brings together an all-star cast of talent, with New York’s Rockwell Group, locally based Klai Juba Wald Architecture + Interiors, and Los Angeles firm Studio Collective collaborating on the design. Aside from its 60,000-square-foot casino, the reimagining will include more than 1,500 guestrooms and suites, five acres of poolside spaces and event venues, and restaurant options from the likes of Todd English and chef Nobu Matsuhisa.
The Rockaway Hotel
Queens, New York
Following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Rockaway Beach in Queens has undergone a revival. The beach town—a hidden gem for locals—will welcome the 53-room Rockaway Hotel this summer. Led by local firms Morris Adjmi Architects and Curious Yellow Design, the exterior reflects a beachside bungalow, drawing inspiration from the porches, clapboard, and cedar exteriors of the nearby homes. Meanwhile, the art-infused interiors convey a calming, retro atmosphere, flaunting materials like teak, linen, wool, leather, and rattan that complement a palette of rose pink and dusty blue.
Photos and renderings courtesy of Aman Resorts, Esmie Jonker, Benoit Linero, Roman and Williams, the Buda Resort, the Londoner, Aparium Hotel Group, Tara Bernerd & Partners, Christian Horan Photography, Matthew Placke, Virgin Hotels, and One&Only
This article originally appeared in HD’s June 2020 issue.
