The It List 2008
A good hotel is a place to rest your head; A great hotel has the power to transform the travel landscape. For Travel + Leisure's third annual It List, we trekked (literally) across the globe to determine the select properties you'll be going to next. Here, from beach resorts to city hideaways, our editors' picks for the best new hotels of 2008.
[Design] Puebla, Mexico
La Purificadora
Mexican hoteliers are just beginning to explore the notion of adaptive reuse by turning old structures into design-forward, modernhotels. Grupo Habita was a trailblazer when it sheathed a dilapidated 1950s building in Mexico City in a frosted-glass envelope, and with the opening of La Purificadora, it has brought the same concept to the colonial town of Puebla, a Unesco World Heritage site. The company enlisted legendary Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta and his son, Victor, to repurpose a 19th-century former water purification plant (from which the hotel takes its name) into this 26-room property. By far our favourite spots are the lobby - with its triple-height ceiling, grey slate floors, purple low-lying couches and a completely open wall - and the rooftop bar, which has a transparent swimming pool that runs along the building's edge. The only gripe is the hotel's location: though on the fringe of Puebla's historic centre, it's separated from the cobblestoned streets by a multi-lane boulevard.
Doubles from $160. 802 Callejón de la 10 Norte, Paseo San Francisco; +52 222 309 1920; www.lapurificadora.com
[Beach] Riviera Maya, Mexico
Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya
If you ever had any doubts about the arrival of the Riviera Maya, a once-sleepy stretch of sand 64 kilometres south of Cancún, then try booking a room at the new Mandarin Oriental, one of the most anticipated hotel openings this year (we had to put our name on two waiting lists to get in). Hassle aside, it's easy to see why the property is red-hot. The winning Mandarin formula - exemplary service, forward-reaching design, a first-rate spa - has taken root in a pristine Mexican coastal environment. Hectares of mangrove forest, including an on-site cenote, surround a lovely - albeit small - stretch of powdery sand. The 128 boxy white villas give beach chic new meaning, with polished stone floors, rough limestone walls, spare four-poster beds and sculptures by prominent Mexican artists. We'll admit, we did experience a bit of sticker shock at checkout. But it's worth it. This is the most sophisticated resort on Mexico's eastern coast.
Doubles from $480. Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo; +52 984 877 3269; www.mandarinoriental.com
[Country] Te Awanga, New Zealand
The Farm at Cape Kidnappers
Pastoral chic has never looked this good. Located on a working sheep and cattle farm in the North Island's Hawke's Bay, one of the country's top wine regions, this 26-room lodge uses natural fabrics, woods and metals in sophisticated ways: halls are adorned with black tin animal sculptures, chairs are upholstered with shearling and burlap curtains hang from large metal grommets. Details like black and white sheep photos and barn doors that close off indoor spaces also add a nice tongue-in-cheek touch. With attentive service, excellent local wines and a full range of amenities including a cliff-hugging championship golf course, the Farm navigates the fine line between formality and accessibility.
Doubles from $810, including breakfast and dinner. 448 Clifton Rd; +64 6 875 1900; www.capekidnappers.com
[Beach] Hamilton Island, Australia
Qualia
Billing itself as Australia's first seven-star hotel, Qualia has the requisite luxury trappings (personal infinity pools, a 1000-bottle wine cellar). But the real stars here are architect Chris Beckingham and chef Stephane Rio, who have modernised the notion of an Australian reef resort. The airy one-bedroom pavilions combine native styles (corrugated-iron roofs) and materials (plantation hoop pine, Bowen granite) with restraint. At the restaurant, Rio's use of indigenous ingredients extends to breakfast, when waffles are served with wattleseed and Kaffir-lime syrups.
Doubles from $1450. 02 9433 3349; www.qualia.com.au
[Renovation] New York, US
The Plaza
We don't require 24-carat gold-plated Sherle Wagner taps in our hotel bathrooms, though there's lots that's pertinent in Fairmont's $400 million remake of Henry Janeway Hardenbergh's 1907 Beaux Arts icon. The layout of the Palm Court's famed stained-glass ceiling was re-created pane for pane, with the help of New York's Landmarks Preservation Commission and touch-screen AMX systems in the 282 rooms make it easy to control lighting, contact the concierge and summon your butler. But service is a little shaky (it took 39 minutes for an ice bucket to arrive) and most of the Central Park views went to the 152 new condos. Still, for a European-palace-style experience, this is the only game in town.
Doubles from $730. Fifth Avenue at Central Park S; +1 212 759 3000; www.fairmont.com
[City] Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Hotel Fasano Rio de Janeiro
Restaurateur and tastemaker par excellence Rogério Fasano has opened his second hotel, this one in Rio's perennially chic Ipanema. To design the 91 rooms, Fasano made an unexpected choice: Philippe Starck, whose penchant for provocation doesn't intuitively jibe with laid-back Carioca chic. But it works. Fasano's own preference for warm, natural palettes seems to have toned Starck down. The hotel's rooms and suites are spare and breezy, with white walls, Mies daybeds and burnished Sergio Rodrigues chairs.
Doubles from $525. 80 Av Viera Souto; +55 21 3202 4000; www.fasano.com.br
[Country] The Cotswolds, UK
Cotswolds88hotel
There are plenty of mod manor hotels in this area but Cotswolds88hotel stands above them all. Owner Marchella De Angelis combines unusual upholsteries, eclectic midcentury and antique furniture, an impressive collection of Murano glass and the odd bit of mock taxidermy. It's utterly delightful but there are a few false notes: too-loud music in the lobby and chastising notes throughout.
Doubles from $350, including breakfast. Kemps Lane, Painswick; +44 1452 813 688; www.cotswolds88hotel.com
[City] London, UK
Haymarket Hotel
"Why not have some fun!" may well have been what Kit Kemp said as she released her arsenal of bold colours and supergraphic effects on the public spaces of the former American Express London headquarters in the heart of the theatre district. Masters of the clubby/cosy/contemporary (e.g., London's Soho Hotel, Knightsbridge Hotel and one of our all-time favourites, the Charlotte Street Hotel), the designer and her husband and business partner Tim Kemp know how to create properties that strike a perfect balance between a classic English manor house and a buzzy, film- and art-world haunt.
Doubles from $510. 1 Suffolk Place; +44 20 7470 4000; www.firmdale.com
[Rustic] Etosha, Namibia
Onguma Plains, The Fort on Fisher's Pan
Northern Namibia is Africa's Next Great Safari Frontier - in part owing to its plethora of wildlife, but also because of its wealth of luxury lodges, like this camp on a private 20,000-hectare game reserve, minutes from Etosha National Park. Onguma takes the bush lodge in a bold new direction. The main lodge features brushed-metal sconces and Middle Eastern lanterns while the two canvas walls in the guest rooms can be opened to reveal a mesh window that makes the plains look like an Impressionist painting.
Doubles from $760, all-inclusive. +264 61 232 009; www.onguma.com
[Rustic] Benguerra Island, Mozambique
Azura Lodge
With the opening of Azura, a 14-villa hideaway on Benguerra Island, Mozambique finally has a property that can compete with the best the region has to offer. Azura is pulling out all the stops: private plunge pools, a chef imported from the the UK's Michelin-starred Fat Duck. The buildings were handmade from trees felled by past cyclones; rooms are outfitted with artisanal furnishings (the wooden beds were carved by local craftsmen); and gracious islanders make up the butler staff.
Doubles from $945, all-inclusive. +27 11 258 0180; www.azura-retreats.com
[Beach] Capri, Italy
J.K. Place Capri
Surely the new J.K. Place Capri is one of Europe's most stylish recent openings. And that it can be found on Capri - which, despite its reputation, still has some unspoiled corners - is music to our hotel-obsessed ears. This charming spot is sing-out-loud gorgeous, and in its mellow atmosphere, we felt like we were staying at a chic friend's house. The design is nautical with a twist: round porthole-style interior windows, sea-blue walls, crisp white sofas and houndstooth-print stools. Guests have the run of the house; we loved picking fresh chillies from the garden to sprinkle on pasta, and drinking Bellinis on the terrace.
Doubles from $820, including breakfast. 225 Via Provinciale Marina Grande; +39 081 838 4001; www.jkcapri.com
[City] Bal Harbour, Florida, US
The Regent Bal Harbour
Make no mistake: Regent's first property in the US wants nothing to do with South Beach. While it's got the beautiful beachfront and headline-grabbing features (the country's first Guerlain Spa, a $4 million art collection), there's no Euro-lounge soundtrack pumping into the lobby. This is a place for adults - which is appropriate, given that The Regent is also the first major hotel to open in the old-line Bal Harbour Village in 52 years. Here, it's all about the signifiers of luxury: Anichini bedding, plasma television screens embedded in bathroom mirrors and a dazzling crystal chandelier. At times, it might seem over the top, especially when coupled with service that's a touch overbearing (solicitous restaurant waiters actually thanked us for enjoying our dish), but the hotel is a welcome alternative for those in search of Miami's grown-up side.
Doubles from $500. 10295 Collins Avenue; +1 305 455 5400; www.regenthotels.com
[Small] Bodrum, Turkey
Casa Dell'Arte
If the '90s was the decade of the design hotel, then let's call the '00s the era of the art hotel. One of the best examples of the trend comes in the form of the appropriately named Casa dell'Arte, set in a quiet corner of Torba Bay, in the southern Aegean resort town of Bodrum. More than 200 original Turkish paintings are displayed at this beachfront villa, including portraits by well-known Turkish artist Nuri Iyem. Accents in the 12 guest rooms are meant to complement the artwork, from the carefully considered (and primarily natural) lighting to the subtle details (faux skin rugs, sinuous light fixtures).
Doubles from $735, including breakfast. Mutlu Sokak; +90 252 367 1848; www.casadellartebodrum.com
[Business] Tokyo, Japan
The Peninsula Tokyo
It's no easy feat to raise the bar in a city like Tokyo, where upmarket hotels seem to populate every corner. Which is why Peninsula pulled out all the stops for its first outpost in the city. The group spent 15 years looking for the perfect piece of land, and finally found a lot surrounded by parks, virtually across the street from the Imperial Palace and blocks from the Ginza. And unlike other hotels in its category, the 24-storey tower is the first freestanding luxury hotel to be built in 10 years. The incredible palace views - the best of any Tokyo hotel - won us over, but Peninsula didn't stop there. The rooms are among the city's largest, starting at over 50 square metres, and - appropriately - its most high-tech. Gizmos range from the convenient (panels that display outside temperature and humidity) to the luxe (Lavazza espresso machines).
Doubles from $605.1-8-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku; +81 3 6270 2888; www.peninsula.com
[Rustic] San Pedro, Chile
Tierra Atacama Hotel and Spa
This 32-room adventure hotel in the Atacama Desert is one of the most ambitious new design statements in South America. The owners, along with a team of architects, photographers and a landscape painter, were inspired by the surrounding landscape. But rather than building in the traditional manner, they used unorthodox materials (plates of oxidised iron, sandblasted glass) alongside adobe, rammed earth and shale. In some cases, important details seem to have been afterthoughts. While architecturally stunning, the pool lacks shade. But such foibles are forgiven when you consider the inspired interiors, midcentury-style furniture covered in raw linen, cowhide throws, curtains made from desert seeds. In fact, it's so well done you could almost overlook the main attraction, the Atacama Desert. The hotel employs a staff of expert guides to take you biking in the salt flats, hiking and climbing on volcanoes.
Doubles from $1460 for two nights, all-inclusive. +56 2 263 0606; www.tierraatacama.com
[Green] Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Hotel Terra
Enviably set on the slopes of one of America's most legendary ski resorts, Hotel Terra marks the debut of the Terra Resort Group (the country's first eco-hospitality brand). The 72-room property is modern (along nouveau western lines, with black wooden furniture and faux-suede curtains) and seriously committed to the environment. Those floor-to-ceiling windows? They regulate temperature and capture natural light, all part of the building's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified design. The linens are 100 per cent organic, as are the products at the spa, and the rooftop hot tub is maintained with non-chemical cleaners. Then there are simple additions that we hope will become hospitality standards: aluminum dispensers in bathrooms (eliminating plastic containers), Sigg-style water bottles in rooms that guests can refill at stations throughout the hotel and recycling bins hidden in the closets.
Doubles from $145. 3335 West Village Road; +1 307 739 4000; www.hotelterrajacksonhole.com
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