TINAJANI, PERU
Tinajani sits in a high-altitude canyon where tents look straight onto sheer rock walls and open sky, and where the landscape, rather than altitude bragging rights, provides the thrill. Set among wind-carved formations in the Tinajani canyon, the tented retreat strings a small number of suites across the terrain, each with wide decks and private hot tubs angled towards the stone amphitheatre beyond.
The design language is soft and earthy: canvas and timber, woven textiles and locally crafted ceramics calibrated to keep the focus on sky, rock and shifting shadow. Days are built around guided hikes, horse rides and stargazing rather than box-ticking excursions; evenings run to open-fire suppers and long soaks beneath the Milky Way. Crucially, the project is framed as a low-impact, community-connected camp, working with local partners on guiding, sourcing and cultural programming so the canyon is not just a scenic backdrop, but a lived-in landscape guests can meaningfully connect with.
NIHI ROTE, INDONESIA
On Sumba in eastern Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands, Nihi built a reputation for remote, barefoot luxury; with Nihi Rote, it takes the same idea to a quieter Indonesian island. Bo’a Beach on Rote Island, just off the southern tip of Timor, has long been known in surf circles. Here, just 21 villas step down towards a still-uncrowded turquoise break.
Villas come with private pools, open-air bathrooms and the brand’s trademark barefoot-but-meticulous detailing, with the ocean an almost constant presence beyond the deck. Surfers will claim the fast right-hand Bo’a barrel out front and shuttle to Nemberala’s long left; everyone else can dive the 16-plus sites ringing the island, angle for dogtooth tuna and giant trevally, or paddle through mangroves to hidden beaches. On land, Nirvana Wellness offers daily yoga, Pilates and recovery-focused treatments, while Nammo Beach Club and Ombak Restaurant turn line-caught fish, pizzas and grill nights into slow, sociable evenings. Through the Rote Hospitality Academy, the resort also works with local residents on training and cultural exchanges, ensuring guests engage with the community, not just the landscape.
ANANTARA XILING SNOW MOUNTAIN CHENGDU RESORT, CHINA
High in Sichuan’s western reaches, Anantara Xiling Snow Mountain Chengdu Resort is where ski-in, hot-spring-out quickly becomes a way of life. About an hour’s drive from Chengdu in Dayi County, the 111-key resort sits within a National 5A Tourist Attraction area, with easy access to both Xiling Snow Mountain’s ski slopes and the steaming Huashuiwan hot springs.
Interiors by Cheng Chung Design frame sweeping mountain and forest views, with rooms and suites ranging from 100 to 500 square metres, many plumbed with piped hot-spring water for private soaks. Off the pistes, there’s an Anantara Spa, wellness centre, pool and entertainment hub, plus a trio of dining options, including a multi-room Chinese restaurant and all-day venues. Add the fact that the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is just 20 minutes away, and the resort becomes a compelling new base for winter and shoulder-season escapes.
CHATRIUM RAWAI PHUKET, THAILAND
On the quieter southern edge of Phuket, Chatrium Rawai Phuket offers a slower, more grounded take on the island resort. Set along Rawai Beach, the property is shaped as much by its surroundings as by its scale, with layered buildings designed to open up views of the Andaman Sea rather than dominate the shoreline.
Interiors favour light, space and ease, creating a relaxed rhythm that suits both families and long-stay travellers. Beyond the rooms, the resort’s energy centres on shared experiences: beachside dining inspired by local fishing culture, a generous pool deck, wellness facilities and easy access to nearby islands via long-tail boat. Rawai’s working fishing community and Sea Gypsy Village lend the area a sense of continuity often missing elsewhere on the island. Chatrium Rawai Phuket feels less like a destination resort and more like an invitation to settle into place. —Pakkee Tan
FREGATE, SEYCHELLES
After closing in 2022, Seychelles private-island icon Fregate returns in October following a complete rebuild and with a stronger sense of purpose. The reimagined island will feature just 14 private pool villas and three large estates, including The Owner’s Estate—effectively a private peninsula with its own helipad and protected marina access.
At the centre sits an expanded Plantation House, now incorporating a yacht club, spa and a new Sunset Bar where evenings unfold in golden light and wide-angle ocean views. The culinary vision has also been reset: Fregate aims to be around 80 per cent self-sufficient, drawing from its own regenerative farm and responsible fishing to create menus with near-zero food miles. Conservation remains central to the island’s mission, with more than 3,500 Aldabra giant tortoises and the once-critically endangered Seychelles magpie robin thriving under long-running biodiversity programmes.
BVLGARI RESORT RANFUSHI, MALDIVES
The Maldives is not short of glossy new resorts, but Bvlgari Resort Ranfushi is the one everyone will be talking about. Set on a 20-hectare private island in the Raa Atoll, it brings the Italian jeweller’s quietly extravagant style to 54 villas, including a showpiece Bvlgari Villa on its own islet, all designed by long-time partners Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel.
Four signature restaurants, including Il Ristorante – Niko Romito and jewel-box Japanese omakase counter Hōseki, give it the culinary firepower to match the setting. Conceived with sustainability in mind, the resort favours low-profile buildings over the lagoon and places strong emphasis on protecting the house reef. For Maldives regulars and first-timers alike, this feels less like another castaway cliché and more like a polished new chapter for the archipelago.
ABBAYE DES VAUX-DE-CERNAY, FRANCE
Just 45 minutes from Paris, Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay feels like a high-fashion country house grafted onto a 12th-century Cistercian abbey set within 185 acres of parkland. Now run by Paris Society, the hospitality group behind Maxim’s and Apicius, the estate has emerged from a four-year, €60-million revamp led by Cordélia de Castellane, artistic director of Baby Dior and Dior Maison.
The result is 145 individually decorated rooms and suites spread across the abbey, former stables and pavilions, their patrician proportions softened by quietly playful details. At La Ferme des Vallées, 39 additional rooms and a cottage primed for full buyouts add another layer of bucolic escape. Designed as a four-season playground, the estate offers pedal boats and fishing on the lake, woodland trails, yoga and spa rituals, plus a well-equipped kids’ club with supervised activities throughout the day. Dining ranges from fine-dining at Les Chasses and monastic-chic Réfectoire des Moines to relaxed bistros and a family-friendly trattoria.
HOSHINOYA NARA, JAPAN
Japan has increasingly turned its historic buildings into places to stay, and Hoshinoya Nara is among the most ambitious projects to date. Set in Nara, the former capital about an hour from Kyoto and best known for its deer-filled park, the red-brick Nara Prison was built in 1908 on a radial plan imported from the West. Once one of the “Five Great Prisons” of the Meiji era, it is now an Important Cultural Property and will reopen as a museum in April.
From June 2026, the wider complex will also operate as a 48-room Hoshinoya under a long-term agreement with the Ministry of Justice to preserve and repurpose the site. Architect Rie Azuma retains the vaults, steel-barred doors and long corridors, softening them with wood, textiles and light; suites are formed by merging former cells into distinct sleeping, living and dining zones. Expect quietly theatrical Japanese-French cuisine using Nara produce in a detached hall, alongside programming rooted in architecture and heritage, from guided walks through former cellblocks to museum-led experiences that reframe the site as a civic space rather than a relic.
IMPERIAL HOTEL, KYOTO, JAPAN
Kyoto’s Gion district has no shortage of ryokan and discreet boltholes, but the arrival of Imperial Hotel, Kyoto puts a grand-hotel spin on the neighbourhood’s performing-arts heritage. Opening in March, the property occupies a historic performance hall, reworking its volumes into a hotel that nods to both the Imperial brand’s century-plus legacy and the district’s geiko and maiko culture.
Expect public spaces that play up stage-like sightlines, layered lighting and materials drawn from traditional theatre craft, alongside rooms that feel more residential than palatial. For repeat Kyoto visitors, the appeal lies in how it mediates between worlds: close enough to Yasaka Shrine, Hanamikoji and the teahouses to feel plugged in, yet offering the comfort, service training and F&B hierarchy associated with its Tokyo flagship.
WALDORF ASTORIA LONDON ADMIRALTY ARCH, U.K.
Six Senses London, which we spotlighted in our 2025 openings list for its wellness-forward, sustainability-minded approach, finally opens this year and remains one of the city’s most anticipated arrivals. It is not the only blockbuster, though. Few new hotels can match the symbolism of Admiralty Arch, the Grade I-listed monument at the end of The Mall facing Buckingham Palace, now painstakingly converted into Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch, with around 100 rooms tucked behind its stone façade.
The hotel will also introduce a series of residential-style suites within the arch itself, aimed at longer-stay guests who want to be steps from St James’s and the West End. Inside, the mood is clubby and grand: a serious spa, a subterranean bar that nods to past power-player residents, and headline dining from Clare Smyth in the main restaurant and Daniel Boulud at a more relaxed rooftop venue. With postcard views of royal processions, it is as much for Londoners as it is for overnight guests.
KIMPTON TSIM SHA TSUI, HONG KONG
Kimpton’s long-anticipated Hong Kong debut arrives with confidence and scale. Set in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui, the brand’s largest global property channels its signature “human hospitality” ethos into a design-led urban retreat that feels attuned to the city’s pace and personality.
Architecture and interiors draw subtle cues from Hong Kong’s maritime history, from the hotel’s V-shaped form framing Victoria Harbour to tactile details that echo the city’s industrial past. Guest rooms are calm and cocooning, balancing playful Kimpton touches with a sense of polish that suits the skyline-facing setting. Public spaces lean social rather than ceremonial, anchored by chef-driven dining, a rooftop pool and bars that shift easily from day to night. More than a place to stay, Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui positions itself as a lifestyle hub—one that feels distinctly of Hong Kong, without slipping into pastiche. —Pakkee Tan
SIX SENSES THE PALM, DUBAI, U.A.E.
Six Senses The Palm, Dubai brings the brand’s wellness-first mindset and eco-leaning design language to one of the city’s most recognisable addresses. Due mid-2026 on Palm Jumeirah, it is carefully positioned to feel private while still offering clear views of the Dubai skyline. Architecture and interiors reference local coral reefs, with undulating rooflines, organic silhouettes and finely detailed façades inspired by patterns found beneath the sea.
The social and spiritual heart is a 60,000-square-foot club and Six Senses Spa, conceived as a multi-layered retreat where hammams, biohacking technology and slow rituals coexist. Across the resort, a modern majlis-style hub brings together restaurants, bars, kids’ and games rooms, the library and function spaces, all set amid landscaped jebels, valley paths and intimate courtyards.
This story first appeared on GRAZIA Singapore.
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