Travel
Check in to the world of impeccable design, sharp service, dazzling views and any excuse for cocktails.
Test case
Los Angeles
Ours Living
Brendon Garner and Ricky Chan founded Ours Living with a try-before-you-buy ethos. Working with design-focused brands, the friends fitted out an open-plan studio apartment – Home no 001 – in the buzzing Arts District of Downtown LA with mid-century furniture, lush plants and luxury toiletries that are free to use – then available to buy. From shaving kits by Grown Alchemist and Malin and Goetz candles to fresh Stumptown Coffee and the Stephen Kenn sofa, Ours Living doubles as a tasteful concept store, and offers a helping hand to US artisans and designers. Staying here costs just north of €200.
View to thrill
New York
1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge
Like its sister properties, the new 1 Hotel takes its cue from its surroundings. The rooms mix reclaimed wood and floor-to-ceiling windows with soft hemp-blend mattresses and organic-cotton sheets. Come here for the best of both worlds: a break from the bustle of the Big Apple and fine views of its iconic skyline.
1hotels.com
Right track
Paris
Eurostar lounge
Business Class passengers can expect an attractive upgrade. Opened February, the lounge by London’s Softroom is part of an ongoing revamp of Paris-Nord.
Art house high
Montréal
Hôtel William Gray
There’s no shortage of hotels in Montréal’s old quarter but Hôtel William Gray is a lesson in putting quality first. Located on the St Lawrence River in two historic former townhouses, the 127-room space was whipped up by Camdi design and furnished with the work of Canadian artist Steven Spazuk. The rooftop terrace offers some of the finest views of Montréal and a decent-sized cocktail menu to try while soaking up the panorama.
hotelwilliamgray.com
Pillow talk
Seville
Mercer
The scent of citrus is wafting from a pomelo tree on the private terrace and into the elegant junior suite of the brand new Mercer Hotel in Seville. The space’s 12 rooms and suite are hidden in the former Casa Palacio Castelar in the historic Arenal neighbourhood. The decor is a mix of over-the-top southern-Spanish grandeur – marble staircases and an Andalusian courtyard – and contemporary touches from Italian furniture mainstays Flexform and Cassina. Try the regional sherry and take in the rooftop view.
mercersevilla.com
Teak performance
Jakarta
Gunawarman
A red-brick façade sets the tone for this 35-room premises in the Senopati neighbourhood. The wood-panelled suites and floor-to-ceiling windows in the breakfast room wouldn’t look out of place in an English manor – and the wood is Indonesian teak. The uniforms come from local fashion designer Auguste Soesastro.
thegunawarman.com
Covert op
Barcelona
Midmost
Expect parquet floors in the bedrooms and windows encased by wrought-iron balconies in this 56-key Barcelona bolthole. Relief from nearby Las Ramblas is guaranteed.
hotelmidmost.com
Village green
Bali
Hoshinoya Bali
Set amid farming villages and rice terraces, Hoshinoya Bali is Japanese operator Hoshino Resorts’ second foray overseas. Opened in January it boasts 30 villas, each with a private patio facing three canal-shaped swimming pools that cut through the property.Tokyo- based Azuma Architects & Associates designed the buildings to blend in: the villas borrow from the Balinese village vernacular.
kh hoshinoyabali.com
Rock on
Puerto Varas
Hotel Awa
Chile’s best beaches are inland on the banks of its sprawling lakes. Awa is a 16-room hotel with vast windows that overlook Llanquihue Lake and its inky black beach. The indoor pool boasts a dramatic volcano view.
hotelawa.cl
Raden: [New York] After a few years working for shoe firm Aldo, Josh Udashkin launched Raden in 2016, the luggage start-up behind this dashing number. The A22 comes complete with a usb charger and hardy Japanese-made wheels. The magnet-release zips are also an artful touch, creating a waterproof seal when closed.
Images: James Baigrie, Alexi Hobbs. Still Life: David Sykes
