The 25 best new hotels of 2017

From a hip hideaway in Morocco to a chic London hotel, our pick of the best places to stay.

UK

1 Lympstone Manor
Devon
On the edge of the village of Lympstone, this grade II listed Georgian manor is in 28 acres with views across the Exe estuary. It’s the brainchild of the chef Michael Caines, who attained two Michelin stars at his former restaurant at Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Devon. Caines, who was also involved with the ABode hotel chain until October, left Gidleigh this year to concentrate on the restoration of Lympstone Manor, which will have 21 elegant rooms in muted colours, opening in the spring. He will be chef patron at the hotel’s restaurant, which can be expected to pick up a Michelin star or two in due course.
Details B&B doubles cost from £245 (lympstonemanor.co.uk)

2 The Ned
London EC2
Named after Sir Edwin “Ned” Lutyens, who designed this former Midland Bank headquarters, the Ned will have 252 opulent rooms when it opens in April. The hotel, in the heart of London, is a collaboration between Sydell Group, the American hotelier, and Soho House, the British private members’ club. Rooms will have Afghan rugs and vintage furniture in the style of the 1920s and 1930s. There’s to be a gym with a full-size boxing ring (with boxing instruction available), a Cowshed spa with a 20m basement pool, a rooftop pool, a New York-style deli and various bars.
Details Rates are yet to be set (thened.com)

A Four Seasons Hotel is opening in the former Port of London Authority building, with its sculpture of Old Father Thames on the roof

3 Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square
London EC3
The eye-catching former headquarters of the Port of London Authority on Trinity Square dates from 1922, when it was opened by David Lloyd George, the prime minister. With its sculpture of Old Father Thames atop the roof, it’s a landmark building by the Tower of London — and from January 26 it will be turned into a five-star hotel. The 100 comfortable rooms will be in muted colours. Among the highlights are a restaurant by Anne-Sophie Pic, the only French female chef holding three Michelin stars, a spa with a 14m pool, and a chic cocktail bar. For something a bit cheaper near by, try the lively new Ibis Styles Southwark-Borough Market Hotel, with rooms from £106 (ibis.com).
Details Doubles cost from £344 before April 28 (fourseasons.com/tentrinity)

4 The Principal
Liverpool
Opening in “late” 2017, The Principal in Liverpool will be the latest in this plush, fun hotel chain, which opened properties in Manchester and York this year. This one is in the Martins Bank building, designed by Herbert James Rowse and opened in 1932; it was used to hide Britain’s gold during the Second World War. There are to be 227 rooms, a spa, a bar with DJs, and a restaurant.
Details Rates are yet to be set (ph-hotels.co.uk)

5 Another Place, The Lake
Ullswater, Lake District
On the shores of Ullswater, Another Place, created by the people behind the Watergate Bay Hotel in Cornwall, is due to open in August. There will be 40 colourful rooms with sisal-mat flooring, coffee tables made from slices of tree trunk, and directional lights. Expect a rustic-chic feel. Another Place is set in 18 acres of land and will feature an array of activities, including sailing, paddleboarding, open-water swimming, and cycling. There will also be a 20m indoor pool and spa treatment rooms. The hotel will be family friendly (with family suites) and dogs will be allowed.
Details B&B doubles cost from £160 (another.place)

6 Nobu Hotel Shoreditch
London EC2
Hipsters will be able to eat sushi and sashimi in style as Shoreditch gets its own Nobu Hotel in the spring. There will be 150 minimalist, Asian-influenced rooms based on an “east-meets-west philosophy”, as well as a 240-seat Nobu restaurant featuring dishes by Nobu Matsuhisa, such as beef teriyaki donburi, black cod miso, and lobster with wasabi.
Details Rates are yet to be set (nobuhotelshoreditch.com)

7 Harland & Wolff Headquarters
Titanic Quarter, Belfast
A boutique hotel with 120 bedrooms is scheduled to open in the summer in the former offices of Harland & Wolff, the shipbuilding company behind the Titanic. The sandstone and red-brick building, dating from 1900, was used by the company until 1989, but it has been bought by Titanic Quarter Ltd, which is behind the hotel plans. The interior will capture the opulence of the Titanic.
Details Rates are yet to be set (titanic-foundation.org, visitbelfast.com)

8 Southampton Harbour Hotel
Those about to head off on cruises will have a stylish place to stay before or after journeys when this hotel opens on the waterfront in June. As well as 85 sleek bedrooms, most with sea views, there will be a spa with a pool, and a rooftop seafood restaurant serving lobster, tiger prawns and soft-shell crab — plus an adjoining champagne bar. The shape of the hotel will resemble a large ship, with a deck-like terrace café.
Detail Rates are yet to be set (harbourhotels.co.uk)

9 Legoland Castle Hotel
Windsor, Berkshire
Stay in a castle-shaped hotel not far from the real castle in Windsor when this establishment opens in July. The 61-room hotel has bedrooms with two themes — knights and wizards. Each is bright, lots of fun and comes with free Lego gifts; there are separate sleeping areas for adults and children. Eat at the Tournament Tavern restaurant and explore the theme park (tickets are included in the price).
Detail B&B doubles cost from £572 for a family room for two adults and two children, with park tickets for two days (legolandholidays.co.uk)

Short haul

10 Bürgenstock Resort
Lake Lucerne, Switzerland
About 500m above Lake Lucerne, this resort will consist of four hotels with stunning views across valleys, mountains and the lake; the hotels will range from three to five star. Access to the carless area will be by a cable car. There is to be a spa, as well as a selection of restaurants. It opens in the summer and the four hotels are named the Bürgenstock (a slick five-star hotel), the Palace (a hotel dating from 1904 that is undergoing renovation), the Waldhotel (a stylish spa hotel) and Taverne 1879 (a refurbished tavern).
Details B&B doubles at Tavern 1879 cost from £142 (buergenstock.ch/en)

Hotel Danmark in Copenhagen embodies the Danish concept of hygge

11 Hotel Danmark
Copenhagen, Denmark
Experience the much-discussed Danish concept of cosiness — hygge — at this new property from Brochner Hotels. Hotel Danmark will have 88 rooms with retro furniture, four-poster beds and designer lights. A rooftop bar will offer city views and there will be an “urban vineyard garden”. It starts taking guests in April. Also opening in Copenhagen next year are Hotel Sanders, a chic 52-room establishment by the renowned ballet dancer Alexander Kolpin, due in April (hotelsanders.com; doubles from £227), and later Hotel Nimb, another stylish offering with Copenhagen’s first outdoor heated pool in a hotel (nimb.dk/en; doubles from £342).
Details Doubles at Hotel Danmark cost from £76 (brochner-hotels.com)

12 Hotel at Six
Stockholm, Sweden
Opening in March in the lively Brunkebergstorg district of Sweden’s capital, this will be a stylish hotel in a former bank with 343 smart rooms featuring contemporary art. There will be a rooftop restaurant with food by the award-winning chef Frida Ronge, and a cocktail bar, plus a brasserie and a separate wine bar.
Details Doubles cost from £215 (hotelatsix.com)

The refurbishment of Malaga’s Gran Hotel Miramar included the restoration of the Moorish arches and hand-painted frescoes

13 Gran Hotel Miramar
Malaga, Spain
More than £55 million has been spent on a big overhaul of this 1926 building that was previously the Hotel Principe de Asturias, opened by King Alfonso XIII, although it has since acted as a hospital and a courthouse. The work has included restoration of the Moorish carved wooden arches, old tiles, stucco ceilings and hand-painted frescoes. Rooms in the striking beachside hotel are whitewashed and minimalist. There is also a seafood restaurant and a spa. Gran Hotel Miramar has just had its soft opening.
Details Doubles cost from £140 (granhotelmiramarmalaga.com/en)

14 L’Amandier
Atlas Mountains, Morocco
L’Amandier will have six stunning suites with private terraces and superb views of the nearby Toubkal National Park when it opens in March. Expect an infinity pool, landscaped gardens, a tennis court and a sense of serenity amid the mountains. The look throughout is of pared-down elegance. The activities on offer will include spa treatments, hiking, mountain biking and horse riding. Trips to nearby Berber villages can also be arranged.
Details B&B doubles cost from £160 (lamandierhotel.com)

Minimalist style at The Fontenay, on the shores of Lake Alster, Hamburg

15 The Fontenay
Hamburg, Germany
This 131-room hotel opening in the summer on the shores of Lake Alster will have parquet flooring and a minimalist style featuring shades of oatmeal. Many of the rooms, designed with ceiling-to-floor windows, will face across the lake, and it’s a ten-minute stroll to the city centre. There will be two restaurants (one run by a Michelin-starred chef), and a 20m indoor/outdoor rooftop pool.
Details Doubles cost from £295 (thefontenay.de)

16 Sani Dunes
Halkidiki, Greece
Sani Dunes is the latest hotel to open at Sani Resort, taking its first guests in July, overlooking the sparkling water of the Aegean off the picturesque Halkidiki peninsula. It is pitched at couples and families with children aged over 12. The highlight will be a spa with a Thai massage cabin, hot tub and steam room, but there’s also a private sandy beach. A club for teenagers will offer activities such as sailing, football and dancing.
Details Doubles cost from £110 (sani-resort.com); the Private Travel Company (theprivatetravelcompany.co.uk) has seven nights’ half board from £630pp, including flights and transfers

Long haul

Villa Marie comprises 21 bungalows close to Colombier beach on the island of Saint-Barth

17 Villa Marie Saint-Barth
Caribbean
The Sibuet family’s fashionable hotels in France have built up a loyal following — the latest property pitched at skiers, Terminal-Neige Totem, has just opened in Flaine (totem.terminal-neige.com). Yet the big news for 2017 is Villa Marie, which is taking guests in Saint-Barth, a French overseas collectivity. The hotel comprises 21 bungalows and three villas with whitewashed wood-panelled walls and flamboyant splashes of modern art. It’s close to Colombier beach and has a high-quality spa and a rum bar.
Details B&B doubles cost from £430 (saint-barth.villamarie.fr)

18 Soho House Mumbai
India
It has been a busy time for Soho House, with high-profile openings taking place in Istanbul in 2015 and in Barcelona this year. Next year the main event will be a new property in Mumbai. Opening in “late summer” with a spa with Cowshed products, cocktail bars and chic rooms, this will be the Soho House for the Bollywood set. Soho House fiends might also be interested to know that a property in Brighton, East Sussex, is mooted for 2018.
Details Rates are yet to be set (sohohouse.com)

19 The Duxton Club
Singapore
Take two colonial buildings and two renowned interior designers — Jacques Garcia (the French designer) and Anouska Hempel (best known for Hempel Hotel and Blakes Hotel in London) — and the result is the most exciting new hotel in Singapore. Its two properties are a short walk apart, with Garcia involved with the classic 138-room Duxton Terrace and Hempel the 50-room Duxton House, which will be more avant-garde and minimalist. Both will be ready in the Tanjong Pagar district by summer. Expect 1920s-inspired designs, poolside bars, cigar rooms and modern art.
Details Rates are yet to be set (starwoodhotels.com)

Whitby, the latest Firmdale Hotel in New York, has 86 colourful rooms

20 The Whitby Hotel
New York
Opening in the Midtown area of Manhattan in February, the Whitby is the latest Firmdale Hotel in New York. The UK-based group is opening 86 colourful rooms spread over 15 floors, with the design overseen by Kit Kemp, who is known for her bold use of colours such as bright orange and pink, as well as striking zigzag and pinstripe patterns. The hotel will include a 130-seat cinema.
Details Doubles cost from £734 (firmdalehotels.com)

21 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge
New York
On the Brooklyn side of the bridge, this hotel will have fine views of the Manhattan skyline. There will be a rooftop pool, spa and gym, as well as a tenth-floor cocktail bar, a choice of four places with menus by the award-winning chef Seamus Mullen and a market stall selling fruit, nuts and granola bars in the lobby. The 194 rooms are in calm, neutral colours, with reclaimed-wood walls, retro chairs, designer lights and ceiling-to-floor windows.
Details Rates are yet to be set (1hotels.com/brooklyn-bridge)

22 Wild Coast Tented Lodge
Sri Lanka
Just outside Yala National Park in the south of Sri Lanka, the Wild Coast Tented Lodge is made up of 28 fancy, air-conditioned tents, some with plunge pools and others set round a pool shaped like a leopard’s paw. Wild Coast overlooks the ocean and has a spa offering Ayurvedic treatments. It’s scheduled to open in October.
Details A tent sleeping two costs from £742 a night, all-inclusive (resplendentceylon.com)

23 Ocean’s Edge
Stock Island, Florida
On Stock Island, just off the northeast edge of Key West, this big new 175-room hotel is set in 20 acres of land, with six swimming pools. The rooms have a whitewashed, minimalist look and come with balconies that face the sea. It’s next to a marina and has a restaurant serving conch chowder, jerk chicken, yellowtail snapper and Cuban pork chops. The hotel opens early next year.
Details Rates are yet to be set (oceansedgekeywest.com)

24 Jabali Ridge
Tanzania
Opening in June, Jabali Ridge will be close to the banks of the Mwagusi River and is perfectly located for game drives. It’s in Ruaha National Park, the biggest in Tanzania, and will have villa-lodges with massive beds, and furniture made from reclaimed wood. It comes hot on the heels of Ikuka Safari Camp, another new, plush camp in Ruaha.
Details A ten-day full-board trip staying at Jabali and Ikuka costs from £3,925pp, including flights (expertafrica.com)

The villas at Hurawalhi Island Resort are pared down and slick, with wooden decks and sunloungers

25 Hurawalhi Island Resort
Maldives
The highlight of this new 90-villa, adults-only dream retreat in the Maldives is “the world’s largest all-glass undersea restaurant”. The villas are pared down and slick, with wooden decks with sunloungers (some have private plunge pools). There’s great diving.
Details A beach villa costs from £567 a night, B&B (hurawalhi.com)