Los nuevos hoteles de lujo a los que realmente estoy prestando atención en 2026 y 2027
The infinity pool at Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, looking out over Peninsula Papagayo on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. My photo.
Opening information checked September 2026. Hotel dates have a habit of moving, particularly when the marble is still being installed, so reconfirm before arranging a trip around an opening.
There are enough new luxury hotels opening every year to make a person with a passport and an internet connection feel perpetually behind.
I keep a list.
It is not meant to include every five-star hotel with a new lobby and a press release. I am interested in the ones that might actually change where I would send a client. Sometimes that means a completely new resort. Sometimes it is a historic hotel restored so extensively that it deserves another look. Usually, there is a more useful reason: a destination needed a better hotel, an established favorite now has real competition, or the location creates a genuinely different trip.
I have personally stayed at Rosewood Amsterdam, Nekajui in Costa Rica and Four Seasons Resort and Residences Puerto Rico. I have also booked clients at Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor. For those hotels, I have either firsthand experience or actual booking experience to draw from.
For the rest, this is a watchlist, not a collection of pretend reviews. Opening photographs tell you what a hotel hopes to be. A client report six months later tells you what it is.
The shortest version
If you do not wish to read about every palazzo, private island and extremely persuasive swimming pool, these are the openings I am most excited about:
Danieli, Venezia for a grand, central Venice stay with Four Seasons service
Airelles Palladio Venezia for families and repeat visitors who want space on Giudecca
Zannier Île de Bendor for a private-island version of the French Riviera
COMO Le Beauvallon for Saint-Tropez by boat, with a real resort to come back to
Rosewood Courchevel for a more contemporary take on 1850, with Rosewood's family focus
Nekajui for a private, very polished beach resort on Papagayo, and one I have stayed at myself
Siari for a Riviera Nayarit resort with nature built into the stay
Amanvari for travelers who want the East Cape rather than conventional Cabo
Airelles Le Guanahani for the quieter side of St. Barth, under a new operator from November 1
The Park Gstaad for Four Seasons and Joseph Dirand in Gstaad, expected summer 2027
That is the shortlist. The more useful answer depends on where you are going, who is coming and whether being first through the door sounds exciting or mildly exhausting.
The best new luxury hotels in Italy
Italy did not especially need another beautiful hotel in 2026. It received several anyway.
The interesting part is that the strongest openings create genuinely different trips. Venice now has new answers for both central grandeur and resort-like space. Florence has two hillside retreats with very different personalities. The Dolomites finally have an Aman, and Lake Como has a contemporary new arrival across from Bellagio.
Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel | Venice
The Gothic atrium and staircase at Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel, inside the 15th-century Palazzo Dandolo. Image courtesy of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Danieli reopened as a Four Seasons in July 2026, occupying three connected palaces on the Riva degli Schiavoni, steps from Piazza San Marco. The 15th-century Palazzo Dandolo and its Gothic atrium remain the reason people have been walking into the lobby and looking up for generations.
What interests me is not simply that Four Seasons now runs a famous hotel. It is whether the renovation can improve the rooms and service while preserving enough eccentric Venetian grandeur to keep Danieli from feeling overly polished. Venice does not need another expensive hotel that could be anywhere, and I do not need a 15th-century palace to suddenly discover beige.
For a first trip, a short stay or a honeymoon built around being in the center of Venice, Danieli is enormously appealing. Aman Venice offers greater privacy, while Hotel Cipriani gives you gardens, a pool and a retreat across the water. Danieli puts you in the middle of Venice. The others give you space from it.
Before booking, I would want to know which building, which outlook and which room category you are actually getting. At a historic hotel like this, those details matter considerably more than the category name.
Airelles Palladio Venezia | Giudecca, Venice
Airelles Palladio gives Venice something it has very little of: room to exhale. Set on Giudecca, it has gardens, outdoor space and a proper children’s club, which is not a sentence one often gets to write about a Venetian palazzo.
That makes it especially interesting for families and repeat visitors who do not need to sleep beside Piazza San Marco. The tradeoff is equally clear. Going into the historic center means getting on a boat. Some travelers will find that inconvenient, while others will consider arriving everywhere by water to be the entire point.
Compare it with Hotel Cipriani for the resort experience and Danieli for a more central stay. The deciding question is how often you expect to return to the hotel during the day and whether wandering out after dinner matters to you.
The Lake Como EDITION | Cadenabbia
The floating pool at The Lake Como EDITION in Cadenabbia, looking straight across the water to Bellagio. Image courtesy of EDITION Hotels.
The Lake Como EDITION opened in 2026 inside a historic palazzo in Cadenabbia, on the western shore directly across the water from Bellagio. Its modern point of view gives travelers another alternative to the layered romance of Villa d’Este, Grand Hotel Tremezzo and Passalacqua.
The location needs to be understood properly. You get the view of Bellagio, which is arguably preferable to being inside it, but this is not a walk-out-the-door-and-stroll-around-town hotel. The private dock and boat access solve much of that problem. Frankly, on Lake Como, a boat solves an impressive number of problems.
I would consider it for couples, design-minded travelers and repeat Como visitors who want something more contemporary. Il Sereno is the closest stylistic comparison. If immediate town access matters, I would choose differently.
Aman Rosa Alpina | San Cassiano, Dolomites
Aman Rosa Alpina in San Cassiano, with the Dolomites doing what the Dolomites do. Image courtesy of Aman.
Rosa Alpina was already one of the grande dames of the Dolomites. After a major transformation, it returned as Aman Rosa Alpina, placing Aman service in the heart of San Cassiano rather than in an isolated mountain retreat.
That location is the reason it belongs high on this list. In the Dolomites, the hotel determines which valleys, restaurants, hiking routes and ski areas feel convenient. Aman gives you access to the wider Alta Badia experience, while FORESTIS is more inward-looking and intentionally removed.
They are both beautiful mountain hotels. They are not the same trip. Choose Aman Rosa Alpina if you want the mountains with excellent access to the villages and skiing around you. Choose FORESTIS if disappearing into the landscape is the point.
Aman or FORESTIS is the single question I get asked most about the Dolomites. Tell me why you're going and I'll tell you which →
Collegio alla Querce, Auberge Resorts Collection | Florence
The pool and cabanas in the terraced gardens at Collegio alla Querce, on the hillside above Florence. Image courtesy of Auberge Resorts Collection.
Collegio alla Querce opened above Florence in 2025, but it remains new enough to belong in this conversation. The former school has been transformed into a full resort with terraced gardens, a large pool and views over the city.
It is particularly useful for families and longer stays because it offers more space and resort infrastructure than most central Florence hotels. The compromise is that you cannot simply walk downstairs and be in the middle of Florence. A shuttle or car becomes part of the daily rhythm.
Villa San Michele is the natural hillside comparison, but the two feel different. Collegio is larger and more contemporary. Villa San Michele is more romantic and intimate. If you want to walk to dinner, neither is the obvious answer, and I would keep you in the city.
Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel | Fiesole
Lunch laid out on the terrace at Villa San Michele in Fiesole, with Florence spread out below. Image courtesy of Belmond.
Villa San Michele reopened in April 2026 after an 18-month renovation. The former Renaissance convent sits in Fiesole above Florence, surrounded by gardens and looking back toward the city.
Its appeal is beautifully simple. You spend the day in Florence, then you leave Florence. For a honeymoon or anniversary, returning to quieter gardens, a pool and the new Guerlain spa can be much more appealing than remaining in the busy center.
One of my client families dined at the hotel and found both the restaurant and setting beautiful. I would compare Villa San Michele with Collegio alla Querce first, then with Four Seasons Firenze or Portrait Firenze if walkability matters more than retreat.
Villa Timeo, Belmond Taormina Villas | Sicily
Villa Timeo reopened in 2026 steps from Grand Hotel Timeo. Guests can reserve individual rooms or take over the entire villa while retaining access to the restaurants, service and facilities of the main hotel.
That structure is what makes it useful. Private villas work beautifully for birthdays, multigenerational trips and groups of friends, but they often require sacrificing room service, a spa and somebody else worrying about dinner. Here, you get privacy without inheriting a second job.
The main decision is whether you need a room or the whole villa. For couples, Grand Hotel Timeo itself may still be the more straightforward choice. For a group that wants to be together without giving up hotel infrastructure, Villa Timeo becomes much more interesting.
Splendido, A Belmond Hotel | Portofino
Splendido is not new in any reasonable interpretation of the word. After its multi-year renovation, however, it deserves to be looked at again.
Martin Brudnizki’s redesign refreshed the rooms and public spaces while preserving the feature no designer could improve upon: the hotel’s position above Portofino. I would consider it for a honeymoon or a few indulgent nights within a longer northern Italy itinerary.
The practical question is whether you want to stay above Portofino or inside the village. Splendido Mare puts you below, while hotels in Santa Margherita make it easier to visit Portofino without making the town your entire trip. The walk down from Splendido is lovely. The walk back up is a decision.
New is not automatically better. Danieli or Aman Venice? Aman Rosa Alpina or FORESTIS? Collegio alla Querce or Villa San Michele? Send me your dates and who’s traveling and I’ll help you compare the location, room categories, benefits and, most importantly, which hotel actually makes sense for your trip.
New luxury hotels in Greece and Mallorca
Four Seasons Hotel Mykonos | Greece
A suite terrace and private pool at Four Seasons Hotel Mykonos, above Kalo Livadi Bay on the quieter southeastern side of the island. Image courtesy of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Four Seasons Hotel Mykonos opened in July 2026 above Kalo Livadi Bay, on the quieter southeastern side of the island. The location offers another way to do Mykonos for travelers who want access to Chora and the beach clubs without spending the entire vacation participating in Mykonos.
The hotel is arranged like a Cycladic village rather than one large resort building, with whitewashed architecture, stone paths and Aegean views. It should work well for couples, honeymooners and families who value Four Seasons infrastructure but do not want the scene immediately outside the bedroom.
Kalesma and Santa Marina are the comparisons I would make first. The right choice depends on how often you want to go into town, which beach experience you prefer and whether Mykonos nightlife is central to the trip or simply available if the mood strikes.
Fouquet’s Mykonos | Paraga Beach
Fouquet’s Mykonos opened on June 27, 2026 on Paraga Beach, on the southern coast of the island. It is Barrière’s first hotel in Greece and the fifth Fouquet’s after Paris, New York, Courchevel and Saint-Barthélemy, with 61 suites and three villas, Cycladic architecture and direct access to the beach.
The address tells you most of what you need to know. Paraga sits between Paradise Beach and Scorpios, which is the loud, sociable end of Mykonos and the opposite of Four Seasons over at Kalo Livadi. Being able to walk to the beach clubs is either the reason to book this hotel or the reason to book a different one.
It is also unusually well equipped for the island. There is an indoor pool, which almost nothing here has, a basketball court cut into the rock, Roka for dinner and a spa with Dr. Barbara Sturm that runs to ice baths and a hyperbaric chamber. This is a full hotel rather than a handful of suites and a view, which is rarer in Mykonos than the rates suggest.
I would look at it for couples and groups of friends who want the south-coast scene without sleeping above it. For a first season, I would ask carefully about which suites sit furthest from the music. Families who want quiet belong at Four Seasons or Kalesma instead.
Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor | Spain
Four Seasons Mallorca opened in 2024 after the transformation of the historic Formentor property. It is no longer brand new, but clients are still comparing it with Mallorca’s established hotels, and its remote northern setting continues to make it relevant.
I have booked clients here, and the central planning question is geography. Formentor is beautiful, quiet and well suited to travelers who want the resort and landscape to be a major part of the stay. It is less sensible for someone planning to cross the island every day for lunch in Deià and dinner in Palma.
La Residencia and the best Palma hotels are not simple substitutes. They create completely different Mallorca trips. Choose the region first, then the hotel.
New luxury hotels in France and the Alps
Zannier Île de Bendor | French Riviera
The pool and stone facade at Zannier Île de Bendor, on the private island off Bandol. Image courtesy of Zannier Hotels.
Zannier Île de Bendor opened in 2026 after a five-year transformation of the private island just off Bandol. With 93 rooms and suites, it offers a self-contained Riviera resort rather than another coastal hotel with a beach club and a very complicated parking situation.
This is one of the openings I find most interesting because it feels genuinely different. Zannier tends to design around the destination rather than requiring every property to announce the brand, and the island gives it a strong identity from the beginning.
I would consider it for couples, honeymoons and repeat Riviera travelers who want to swim, have long lunches and disappear for a few days. If you already have six dinner reservations along the coast, the island may feel less romantic by the third boat transfer. Isolation is either the pleasure or the problem.
COMO Le Beauvallon | Gulf of Saint-Tropez
A room looking across the Gulf of Saint-Tropez at COMO Le Beauvallon. Image courtesy of COMO Hotels and Resorts.
COMO Le Beauvallon gives travelers access to Saint-Tropez from across the Gulf, with resort grounds and boat service into town. The geography is the most important part of the proposition.
You can go into Saint-Tropez for dinner, shopping and the scene, then leave it. There are moments when taking a boat instead of joining Riviera traffic feels less like an amenity and more like excellent judgment.
The property should appeal to families and couples who want more of a resort than the smaller hotels in town provide. Compare it with Château de la Messardière and Cheval Blanc St-Tropez, but be honest about how many nights you expect to dine in town. Boat schedules and late dinners are not a tiny footnote.
Rosewood Courchevel Le Jardin Alpin | Courchevel 1850
The Signature Suite living room at Rosewood Courchevel Le Jardin Alpin, in Courchevel 1850. Image courtesy of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.
Rosewood Courchevel opened for the 2025 to 2026 ski season in the Jardin Alpin area of Courchevel 1850. It enters a market already crowded with palace hotels, strong spas and ski rooms full of very attractive knitwear.
The reason to consider it is a more contemporary interpretation of Alpine glamour, excellent ski access and Rosewood’s family focus. Still, Cheval Blanc, Airelles Courchevel and L’Apogée are established competitors. A new hotel cannot win merely by having a fireplace and direct access to the piste. Everyone has those.
For families, the real questions are room configuration, ski-school meeting points and whether getting from breakfast to a lesson requires a military operation. Those details matter more than the lobby.
Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa | Baden-Baden
Brenners is emphatically not new, but it reopened in late 2025 after the most extensive renovation in its history. It belongs here because Baden-Baden offers a slower, grand-hotel version of Europe that feels quite different from another capital-city stay.
Think spa culture, Black Forest excursions, long lunches and a town where taking the waters is considered an entirely respectable afternoon plan. I would not usually build a first trip to Germany around it, but it can be lovely within a wider Germany, Alsace or Switzerland itinerary.
This is best for couples and wellness travelers who find the slower pace charming. If you tend to ask what everyone is doing tomorrow before lunch has arrived, I would keep the itinerary moving.
New luxury city hotels in Europe
Rosewood Amsterdam | Netherlands
Twin beds, tall canal-side windows and the welcome amenity in our room at Rosewood Amsterdam, in the former Palace of Justice on the Prinsengracht. My photo.
Rosewood Amsterdam opened in 2025 inside the former Palace of Justice on the Prinsengracht. I have stayed here, so it has graduated from a hotel I was watching to one I have actual opinions about.
The building gives the hotel a genuine Amsterdam identity, and the canal location makes it easy to experience the city on foot. It feels refined without becoming generic, which is a more difficult balance than the opening photographs make it look.
This is one of the new hotels on the list I would book with confidence, particularly for couples and culturally focused city trips. My separate Rosewood Amsterdam review covers the rooms, location and what the stay actually felt like.
1 Hotel Copenhagen | Denmark
1 Hotel Copenhagen opened in 2025 in the former Skt. Petri, near Nørreport in the Latin Quarter. This is not a hotel I would cross an ocean specifically to see. It is a well-located design hotel in a city where the city itself is the point.
That distinction is not criticism. The address puts the Botanical Garden, Rosenborg, the canals and much of central Copenhagen within easy reach. The natural materials and sustainability focus also make suspiciously good sense in a city that was doing both before an international hotel brand arrived to explain them.
Consider it for a city break or the beginning of a larger Scandinavian itinerary. If the hotel needs to be the destination, I would look elsewhere. If you want to walk all day and return somewhere attractive, location wins.
New luxury hotels in Mexico and Latin America
Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena | Colombia
The restored facade of Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Cartagena, in Getsemani just outside the Walled City. Image courtesy of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Four Seasons Cartagena opened in April 2026 in Getsemaní, just outside the Walled City. The hotel occupies a collection of restored historic buildings, including a former cloister and the old Club Cartagena.
That context matters. Cartagena has too much personality to experience from a generic new-build hotel. Here, the architecture and neighborhood make the city part of the stay, while the location gives you access to the Walled City and the restaurants, plazas and energy of Getsemaní.
I would consider it for couples, honeymoons and a larger Colombia itinerary, perhaps followed by the beach. Casa San Agustín is the comparison for travelers choosing between a more intimate hotel inside the walls and a larger Four Seasons experience.
Amanvari | East Cape, Mexico
The pool at Amanvari looking out to the Sea of Cortez, on Baja California’s East Cape rather than the Los Cabos corridor. Image courtesy of Aman.
Amanvari opened in August 2026 on Baja California’s East Cape. Aman’s first Mexican property was always going to attract attention, but the remote landscape is the real reason it stands apart.
This is desert, mountains, estuary and Sea of Cortez, well removed from the established Los Cabos resort corridor. I would not choose Amanvari because someone asked for Cabo. I would choose it because they wanted Amanvari.
For couples, honeymooners and travelers who value privacy and landscape, the remoteness will be precisely the appeal. For someone expecting to dine in Cabo San Lucas every night, it is the beginning of a logistical misunderstanding.
Siari, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve | Riviera Nayarit
A penthouse terrace and plunge pool facing the Pacific at Siari, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve on Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit. Image courtesy of Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
Siari is the newest Ritz-Carlton Reserve, set between jungle, mangroves, cliffs and the Pacific on Riviera Nayarit. The Reserve properties interest me more than a standard brand opening because they tend to be smaller, more individual and more closely tied to their surroundings.
Riviera Nayarit is becoming a serious alternative to Los Cabos at this level. Siari should be compared first with One&Only Mandarina and the region’s other nature-led resorts, not automatically with every beachfront hotel in Cabo.
I will be watching the beach, room locations and family infrastructure closely. At a resort spread through dramatic terrain, where your room sits can change the stay more than the name of its category.
Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve | Costa Rica
The infinity pool at Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, looking out over Peninsula Papagayo on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. My photo.
Nekajui opened in 2025 on Peninsula Papagayo, and I have stayed here myself. Seeing it was useful because asking for “the nicest hotel in Costa Rica” is an efficient way to get an unhelpful answer.
Nekajui is polished, private and very much a resort. It differs from Nayara Tented Camp and The Springs in Arenal, where the rainforest and volcano shape the trip. It also differs from Four Seasons Costa Rica, despite sharing the same peninsula.
Choose the region before choosing the hotel. For a beach-focused stay on Papagayo, compare Nekajui with Four Seasons. If the volcano and rainforest are the reason you are going, start with Arenal and stop trying to make one hotel solve the entire country.
New luxury hotels in the Caribbean and Florida
Airelles Le Guanahani · St. Barth
Le Guanahani from the hill above: one peninsula, two beaches, and very little reason to leave.
Grand Cul-de-Sac · Joins Airelles November 1, 2026 · Formerly Rosewood Le Guanahani
Le Guanahani is not a new hotel, which is precisely why its next chapter interests me. Rosewood concludes its management of Le Guanahani on October 1, 2026, and the hotel joins Airelles on November 1, a remarkably quick transition for a property with this much history. So far, Airelles has said very little about what will change.
The setting does not need reinventing. Le Guanahani sits on a private peninsula between Marigot Bay and Grand Cul-de-Sac, its colorful cottages spread between two beaches on the quieter side of the island. It has always suited travelers who want St. Barth without leaving the property every six hours in search of the next reservation.
That is why the operator matters more to me than the name on the sign. Airelles is known for highly programmed, very polished resorts like Château de la Messardière in Saint-Tropez and Les Airelles in Courchevel, and Le Guanahani already has a strong identity of its own. The question is how much Airelles changes, and how much it wisely leaves alone.
For families especially, I will be watching closely. Le Guanahani has offered the kind of full-resort infrastructure that is surprisingly hard to find on St. Barth, in a calmer, more self-contained setting than St. Jean. Eden Rock puts you closer to the island's social center, and Cheval Blanc gives you Flamands Beach and a different kind of glamour. They are not interchangeable trips.
I would rather see the restaurants, children's programming, spa, service and rooms under Airelles than guess from a new logo. If you are planning St. Barth for winter 2026–2027, my guide to the best luxury hotels in St. Barth compares the island's major hotels by location, beach, atmosphere and who each one actually suits.
The St. Regis Aruba Resort | Palm Beach
The St. Regis Aruba opened in 2025 on Palm Beach. It is a lively, full-service resort in the middle of Aruba’s most developed hotel area, which makes it convenient for restaurants and activities but not remotely secluded.
I have not stayed personally. One of my clients visited with his family in June 2026 and had a very positive experience, which matters more to me than an opening-week ribbon cutting.
This works for families and couples who want easy access to Palm Beach and plenty happening around them. If your idea of Aruba is quiet and removed, I would compare it with options farther from the main resort strip.
Grand Hyatt Grand Cayman Resort and Spa | Seven Mile Beach
Grand Hyatt Grand Cayman opened near the quieter southern end of Seven Mile Beach. The first detail I noticed was not the spa or the restaurants. It was the roughly ten-minute drive from the airport.
That is a meaningful luxury with children. The resort itself is large, with the pools, dining and infrastructure to keep a family or group happily occupied. Travelers seeking intimate and tucked away should keep looking.
Compare it with The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman and Kimpton Seafire. The Grand Hyatt makes sense when plenty of resort around you is a feature rather than a drawback.
Four Seasons Resort and Residences Puerto Rico
Four Seasons Puerto Rico opened in late 2025 after the former St. Regis Bahía Beach was extensively reimagined. I have stayed here, and the hotel makes considerably more sense once you are on the property.
It is lush, quiet and surrounded by a nature reserve, with enough space and activity to operate as a real resort. At the same time, Puerto Rico is remarkably straightforward from the East Coast. You can have a proper tropical trip without adding a connection, ferry or complicated border day.
Dorado Beach is the comparison that matters, but the decision should not be made from room photographs. Beach, setting, restaurants and overall atmosphere are much more useful differentiators. My separate comparison puts them side by side.
Naples Beach Club, A Four Seasons Resort | Florida
Pools, cabanas and the Gulf beachfront at Naples Beach Club, A Four Seasons Resort, on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Image courtesy of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Naples Beach Club opened in late 2025 on Florida’s Gulf Coast. It is not the most exotic opening on this list. It may be one of the most useful.
There is real value in an excellent warm-weather resort that does not require three airports, a ferry and an emotional-support cappuccino, particularly when traveling with children. The hotel should work well for families, multigenerational trips, golfers and shorter winter trips.
The comparison may be South Florida or the Caribbean rather than another Naples hotel. The question is how much travel effort you want to spend in exchange for a more tropical setting.
The Vineta Hotel | Palm Beach
The Vineta gives Palm Beach a small, stylish alternative to its larger resort hotels. This is for travelers who want the town itself, with restaurants, shopping and a polished weekend atmosphere, rather than an all-day beach resort.
Compare it with The Breakers if beachfront facilities, scale and a broader resort experience matter. The deciding question is whether you are picturing Palm Beach or simply a beach. Those are different requests, even if both involve very good sunglasses.
New luxury hotels in Asia
Aman Nai Lert Bangkok | Thailand
Aman Nai Lert Bangkok opened in 2025 with just 52 suites in the historic Nai Lert Park. Bangkok is already one of the world’s great luxury-hotel cities, so opening another expensive property there is harder, not easier.
Aman’s answer is privacy, space and a major wellness focus inside a green enclave. I particularly like the idea of it at the beginning or end of a larger Southeast Asia itinerary, when two very comfortable nights may be the reason everyone survives the itinerary.
Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Capella and Four Seasons offer stronger river experiences. Aman suits travelers who prefer a quieter retreat and are willing to trade river life for privacy.
Opening soon, but I would not plan a trip around it yet
The Ritz-Carlton Bellagio | Lake Como
The Ritz-Carlton Bellagio has been “coming soon” for long enough that the opening timeline now deserves its own paragraph. The hotel is planned for the former Hotel Grande Bretagne in Bellagio, with 105 rooms and suites, gardens, indoor and outdoor pools, a spa and a private dock.
On paper, it fills a real gap. Bellagio itself has surprisingly little at the top end of the market, while many of Lake Como’s best-known hotels sit elsewhere. Still, I would not build an important trip around an unconfirmed date.
Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Villa d’Este and Passalacqua are open and bookable. If your dates cannot move, reserve one of them and allow the Ritz-Carlton to become a happy surprise rather than the reason your honeymoon needs an emergency spreadsheet.
The luxury hotels opening in 2027 that I’m already watching
Cambridge House, Auberge Collection | London
Cambridge House is scheduled to open in 2027 at 94 Piccadilly, opposite Green Park. The Grade I-listed Georgian mansion will become a 102-room hotel with historic suites, restaurants from Major Food Group and Baeden House, a three-floor wellness club with a pool and bathhouse.
This could become one of London’s most compelling new grand hotels for travelers who want Mayfair, genuine architectural history and serious wellness facilities together. Claridge’s and The Connaught offer proven service and long-established identities, while Cambridge House will have novelty, Green Park views and the risks that accompany any major opening.
I will be watching the first-season service, room acoustics and whether the public spaces feel lively or simply busy. The hotel deserves its own guide because the room categories and historic suites are already a small research project.
Ritz-Carlton Reserve at Cotton Bay | Eleuthera, The Bahamas
Ritz-Carlton Reserve at Cotton Bay is under construction on the southern end of Eleuthera, where the former Cotton Bay Club once stood. Current plans call for 110 rooms, branded residences, a spa, restaurants, pools and an 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones II.
This is not Harbour Island with a larger lobby. South Eleuthera is quieter and more remote, and Cotton Bay is roughly nine miles from Rock Sound Airport. The resort is being designed as a destination in itself, which should appeal to families, golfers and repeat Caribbean travelers who want a beautiful beach without giving up substantial resort infrastructure.
The comparison is less another hotel on Eleuthera and more a choice between very different Bahamas trips. The Ocean Club and Rosewood Baha Mar offer easier Nassau access and more happening around them. Harbour Island is smaller, more social and built around leaving the hotel. Cotton Bay should make the most sense for travelers who are happy to settle into the resort and let South Eleuthera be the point.
The opening date requires caution. Groundbreaking announcements targeted completion in 2027, while newer project materials refer to 2028. I would keep it high on the watchlist, but I would not arrange fixed travel dates around it until Marriott begins accepting reservations.
The Park Gstaad, A Four Seasons Hotel | Switzerland
The historic Park Gstaad is expected to reopen as a Four Seasons in summer 2027 after a transformation led by Joseph Dirand. Gstaad, Four Seasons and Joseph Dirand are a rather persuasive combination.
The question is whether enough of the original 1910 hotel survives for the property to feel like Gstaad rather than an exceptionally nice new Alpine hotel. The Alpina Gstaad and Gstaad Palace are already formidable alternatives.
I will be watching room configurations, ski logistics and summer programming. A Four Seasons in Gstaad should be excellent. It still needs to give travelers a reason to choose it over two hotels that already understand the destination.
Rosewood Rome | Italy
Rosewood Rome is expected to open in 2027 on Via Veneto across three historic early-20th-century buildings. Rome has no shortage of beautiful hotels, but it has fewer properties that get location, rooms, design and service right at the same time.
Rosewood will enter a crowded conversation that includes Hotel de Russie, Bulgari Hotel Roma and several excellent smaller hotels. I will be watching whether it feels genuinely Roman or simply extremely polished. Those are not always the same thing.
Rosewood Blue Palace | Crete
Blue Palace is expected to return as Rosewood Blue Palace in 2027 after a substantial transformation of the resort between Plaka and Elounda. I am interested because Crete deserves more attention from travelers who default to combining Mykonos and Santorini.
Crete is large enough to support a real trip, with beaches, villages, history, food and dramatically different landscapes. Rosewood could give travelers another reason to make the island the main event rather than an add-on.
I will be watching how extensive the finished transformation feels and how the resort compares with Crete’s best existing hotels. A new name on the sign is not the same thing as a new experience.
Cheval Blanc Pitrizza | Costa Smeralda, Sardinia
Hotel Pitrizza is expected to relaunch as Cheval Blanc Pitrizza in 2027. The property is operating during the transition, which makes this less a new opening than a significant change at an established Costa Smeralda hotel.
The question is whether Cheval Blanc can preserve the low-key, landscape-led glamour that makes this coastline appealing while adding the meticulous service associated with the brand. I will be watching the completed rooms, beach experience and spa, along with how it compares with the strongest hotels already on Costa Smeralda.
Le Mas Bellevue Saint-Tropez | France
Oetker plans to open Le Mas Bellevue in 2027 between Saint-Tropez and Pampelonne. The location immediately makes sense, offering access to town and the beach clubs without requiring travelers to sleep directly in the middle of either.
Oetker already understands this style of European resort through Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc and L’Apogée Courchevel. Still, transportation and beach arrangements will determine whether the location feels cleverly balanced or inconveniently in between.
COMO Le Beauvallon and Château de la Messardière are the early comparisons. I would wait for more detail before declaring where it belongs in the Saint-Tropez hierarchy.
Milaroca, A Belmond Hotel | Riviera Nayarit
Milaroca is expected to bring Belmond to Riviera Nayarit in 2027. With Siari and One&Only Mandarina already making strong arguments for the region, another resort needs more than a beautiful Pacific setting to distinguish itself.
Belmond is generally at its best when a property feels rooted in its surroundings. The interesting part will be whether it can bring that sensibility to a new-build beach resort rather than a historic train, palace or grand hotel.
Katanchel, A Belmond Hotel | Yucatán
Katanchel may be one of the 2027 openings I find most interesting conceptually. The restored Yucatán hacienda is planned with just 35 independent suites, creating the possibility of a Mexico itinerary built around Mérida, cenotes, Maya sites, food and the interior of the peninsula rather than the beach.
I would compare it with Chablé Yucatán and the region’s other hacienda hotels. The real test is whether Katanchel can carry a three- or four-night stay as an experience in itself, rather than serving only as a very lovely place to sleep between excursions.
Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara | California
Four Seasons expects The Biltmore Santa Barbara to reopen in 2027 after years of closure and a major renovation. At this point, treating it like a new hotel feels entirely fair.
Its return should matter for long weekends, family trips and California coast itineraries. Rosewood Miramar Beach and San Ysidro Ranch are the established comparisons, with very different levels of scale and privacy.
I will be watching how much of the old Biltmore character survives. Santa Barbara needed this hotel back. It did not need it to return without a personality.
Should you book a hotel immediately after it opens?
Sometimes, but I am cautious about the first few weeks of an important opening. Landscaping may need time, not every restaurant may be ready and service teams are still learning the building. Opening dates also have a charming habit of moving just after someone purchases nonrefundable airfare.
There are advantages to being early. New hotels may have better availability, introductory offers and room categories that become harder to secure once the first wave of coverage arrives. For a flexible trip, that can be fun. For a honeymoon or milestone birthday, I usually want a backup plan and very clear information about which facilities will actually be open.
The more useful question is not which hotel is newest. It is whether the new hotel is the best fit for this trip.
Four Seasons Mykonos being new does not make Kalesma less compelling. Danieli becoming a Four Seasons does not make Aman Venice less wonderful. Aman Rosa Alpina is not suddenly the correct Dolomites hotel for every traveler. The newest hotel in Saint-Tropez will not improve the trip if what you wanted was to walk to dinner every night.
Want help choosing the right hotel?
A new hotel is not automatically the best hotel. I help clients sort through the beautiful new openings, the classics that are still worth choosing, and the room categories that are actually worth the splurge.
I book luxury hotels around the world and, through Virtuoso, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Marriott STARS, Rosewood Elite, and other preferred hotel programs, I can often add preferred-partner benefits.
Trabajar conmigo no tiene ningún coste.
Costa Rica no te pide que te reinventes; simplemente te ayuda a sentirte bien contigo mismo. Descubre nuestra guía seleccionada con los complejos turísticos de spa de lujo y los refugios en la selva más revitalizantes.