The winners of T&C's Hotel Awards in the April 2024 issue are organized into six categories: wilderness, city, country, beachside, minimalist, and high-design. For the full list, see T&C Hotel Awards 2024: The Best-Looking New Hotels on the Planet.
&Beyond Punakha River Lodge, Bhutan
If the African safari is a state of mind—tented accommodations and lots of outdoor activities–it has come to the tiny Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan with the opening of this property from the acclaimed Africa-based operator and pioneer in sustainable travel—six glamping tents (and two villas with pools) near the winter residence of the Bhutanese royal family. Activities at Punakha River Lodge include hikes, mountain bikes, monasteries and temples riverine picnics, and sundowners with a view not of hoofed herds, but of snow-capped Himalayas. —Klara Glowczewska
To book: Punakha River Lodge.
Grand Hotel Son Net, Mallorca
Parentage matters. News that the owners of Andalucia’s Finca Cortesin were reinventing a 17th century palace in the foothills of Mallorca’s Sierra de Tramuntana has been shouted from Spain’s red-tiled rooftops for two years. Now it’s here, transformed with exquisite care into a 31-room hotel with tiles and tapestries, real art, and serious antiques. It has its own vineyard and citrus grove, and beaches and the island’s charming capital, Palma de Mallorca, are 20 minutes away by car. To book a trip to Spain: Virginia Irurita of Made for Spain and Portugal, virginia@madeforspainandportugal.com—John Newton
Estelle Manor, Oxfordshire
It’s near impossible to make a historic British country house fashionable, right? News to Sharan and Eiesha Pasricha, the creative team of Ennismore hospitality, which bought this Jacobean Revival manor house on 60 acres, then called Eynsham Hall, in 2018 and turned to Roman and Williams for the interiors. (R and W also worked on sister property Maison Estelle in Mayfair). Opulent maximalism? Check. A riot of colors, paintings and sculptures? Check. Four restaurants (including a high-end Chinese one from an ex-Hakkasan chef). Check. A vintage wine collection, palatial Roman-style spa, a sizable gym , and legions of staff? All check. Should mention: There are 108 rooms at Estelle Manor, spread among the main house, the stables, and the walled garden. Several areas are members-only. Have fun.—Klara Glowczewska
To book a trip to the UK: Jonathan Epstein at Celebrated Experiences jonathan@celebratedexperiences.com
Rissai Valley, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve, China
When time will feel right for China again, this handsome, stone-and-wood compound of 87 villas—the sixth Ritz-Carlton Reserve in the world—can be your entree into the beauties of northern Sichuan province. Nearby Juizhaigou is a UNESCO World Heritage site—protected mountains, forests, lakes, waterfalls, and a few surrounding villages. Back at the ranch are all the R-C Reserve comforts, including a kids’s club.
To book a trip to China: Mei Zhang at Wild China mei.zhang@wildchina.com
Domaine de Chalamon,near St-Rémy-de-Provence
This is the Provencal retreat of our dreams (one of the Domaines de Fontenille collection of restored country estates): a 16th-century building of pale stone with green shutters on an estate of landscaped gardens beyond which rows of cypresses and groves of olive trees stretch to the horizon. Domaine de Chalamon's pastel rooms go with the Provencal skies, and Chef Rémi Falsquelle’s restaurant (Provencal classics) has already become a destination.
To book a trip to France: Philip Haslett of French Promise, philip@frenchpromise.com.
Pieve Aldina,Tuscany
This estate (another project from the Domaines de Fontenille collection) was once a summer residence of the bishops of Siena. Its three main buildings still have their original terracotta roofs and beamed ceilings, while the 10th-century church on the property is a Romanesque highlight of Tuscany. Pieve Aldina's 22 guest rooms have a muted contemporary décor with a palette inspired by the earthy colors of the Chianti region, and the restaurant advocates for a kilometer-zero approach to food: which makes sense given that the bounty of Tuscany is right beyond the door.
To book an Italian trip: Andrea Grisdale at IC Bellagio andrea@icbellagio.com
Son Vell, Menorca
The beachiest, most rural of the Balearics just got its first hotel from the new Vestige collection of hotels and villas, whose mission is to scoop up and preserve Spanish properties of architectural significance, give them five-star frills, and change the experience of visiting Spain. The 34-room Son Vell is a pitch-perfect debut. The restored Italianate villa is located near many beaches and the island’s largest town, Ciutadella. The décor is understated Mediterranean with whitewashed walls and pale stone floors, enhanced by views of the surrounding estate. This is a place where the emphasis is on relaxing, and if you want to spend your days poolside and lingering over long lunches, no one will judge.
To book a trip to Spain: Virginia Irurita of Made for Spain and Portugal virginia@madeforspainandportugal.com
Our Method: To compile this list of great-looking new hotels around the world, we followed not whimsy but rules: 1) They had to have opened no earlier than 2023. 2) They had to have been nominated by either T&C’s well traveled editors or our roundtable of 37 globetrotting travel advisors (preferably both). There were 172 nominees, and 53 made it through our vetting process. Bon voyage!
This story appears in the April 2024 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW
Klara Glowczewska is the Executive Travel Editor of Town & Country, covering topics related to travel specifically (places, itineraries, hotels, trends) and broadly (conservation, culture, adventure), and was previously the Editor in Chief of Conde Nast Traveler magazine.
