The incredible new hotels worth travelling for in 2025

This is the week that minds turn from New Year’s resolutions (already broken) to new year travel plans (much more fun to keep). And whether you are looking for a slick city break, far-out beach escape or cool country retreat, there’s an extra frisson of excitement at being ahead of the curve and checking into one of the fresh crop of hotels for 2025.

While the £1,000-a-night room race shifts up a gear in London, and splashy safari lodges come with whisper-quiet electric game drives, there are also more low-key but just as lovely arrivals where rooms start from just £150. Also, pro hac: many hotels offer “soft opening” discounted rates while they are bedding in. So whatever your budget or travel resolutions, here are 20 new places to stay at on those 2025 trips.

United Kingdom

The Chancery Rosewood

London, England

When it comes to London’s ever-growing constellation of super-luxury hotels, a landmark location is everything. In 2023, Raffles took up residence in the historic halls of the Old War Office. In 2026, Waldorf Astoria will sweep in at Admiralty Arch at the top of the Mall. This year, there’s the Zetter Bloomsbury opening next to the British Museum, Six Senses giving the old Whiteleys department store a wellness makeover, and slick US hoteliers Auberge Resorts landing on Piccadilly with Cambridge House. The prime property, however, is the Chancery Rosewood, reimagining what was the US embassy on Grosvenor Square into a head-turning hotel.

There are big names from both sides of the Atlantic as part of the delegation, with Richard Caring reopening Le Caprice and celebrity-favourite Italian-American restaurant Carbone landing from New York. A star-spangled new classic. Opens late summer; doubles from £1,593 B&B (rosewoodhotels.com)

The Alfriston

East Sussex, England

The Signet Collection has been on a quiet roll in recent years, turning out playfully elegant, joyfully affordable British hotels (The Mitre at Hampton Court; Berkshire’s Retreat at Elcot Park; The Barnsdale in Rutland). Its fourth act will take place in the pretty village of Alfriston in the folds of the South Downs.

Interiors by West Sussex-based designer Georgie Wykeham draw on nearby Charleston (home of the Bloomsbury Group, just 10 minutes down the road) with hand-painted murals on the ceiling of the Orangery restaurant. The 38 bedrooms are an equally artsy mix of bold colour and eye-popping pattern with free-standing baths and canopied beds. A funky update on the classic country pile. Opens March; doubles from £150 B&B (signet.ltd)

Sharrow Bay Hotel

Cumbria, England

On the shores of Ullswater, Sharrow Bay is the granddaddy of British country house hotels, a fabulously frilly manor that opened in 1948. After closing in 2020, the hotel is now being brought back by local, family-run Ciel Hotels, which also has Askham Hall for foodies and two smart pubs with rooms in the Lakes.

It’s an ambitious plan, not only to revive the Victorian mansion house, but also to convert the stable block and walled kitchen garden bothies, slot in a spa on the steep bank, and dot cabins and treehouses in the orchards and woodland. Plus Askham’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Allium, will move to the hotel too. Whether it serves a fresh take on Sharrow Bay’s famous sticky toffee pudding remains to be seen. Opens 2025 (sharrowbay.co.uk)

Ardbeg House

Islay, Scotland

Whisky fans know Islay for its peaty, smoky single malts and the rugged isle is having something of a revival with new distilleries (now nine, with two more slated to open this year) matched by revamped places to stay (see the Machrie, which has been taken over by the folks who created Another Place, The Lake).

The smokiest spirit of all comes from Ardbeg, and fans will soon be able to bed down after a distillery tour at nearby Ardbeg House. What was the old Islay Hotel will be shaken up by Russell Sage Studio – also behind the maximalist interiors of Tain’s Glenmorangie House, from Ardbeg’s sister distillery. Expect 12 richly decorated bedrooms, a restaurant drawing on local produce and, of course, a well-stocked bar where peat pilgrims can raise a dram. Opens autumn; doubles from £225 B&B (ardbeg.com)

Europe

Château de la Commaraine

Burgundy, France

The owners of the Royal Champagne Hotel outside Epernay pop the cork on another wine-centric stay this summer. Set among rolling Premier Cru vineyards in the Burgundy village of Pommard, the historic château has been sensitively reimagined as a 37-room hotel with light woodwork and subtle colour (gold-toned pinks, sky blues) letting the original pale stone walls sing.

There’s a bar in the 14th-century tower to sample the estate’s silky pinot noirs and a restaurant (one of two) in the original cellar overseen by Ducasse disciple Christophe Raoux. Drink in the surroundings too, whether on a wine safari around other local vineyards, hot-air ballooning over the countryside or simply from the pool overlooking the vines. Opens summer; doubles from £663 B&B (chateaulacommaraine.com)

Experimental Chalet Val d’Isère

French Alps

Parisian pals Olivier Bon, Pierre-Charles Cros and Romée de Goriainoff shook up the bar scene with their Experimental Cocktail Clubs. When they branched out into hotels (first in their hometown a decade ago, now across Europe from Venice to Verbier), the mix of good times and gorgeous interiors was just as tempting. This is their second ski spot, a redo of the 113-room L’Aigle des Neiges hotel in the heart of Val d’Isère, with regular collaborator Dorothée Meilichzon behind the design.

Like the rest of the Experimental stable, the whole place is made for fun. The restaurant has trolley services of aperitifs, champagne, cheese and dessert. Playful décor touches include table legs made from ski poles and hidden yeti paws, while the Experimental Cocktail Club comes alive for après-ski – the Dr Barbara Sturm treatments in the spa will hopefully offset any indulgences. Now open; doubles from £350 (experimentalchaletvaldisere.com)

ROMEO Roma

Rome, Italy

It’s a big year in the Eternal City, with major sites having had a glow-up for the Catholic Jubilee, which occurs every quarter of a century. But even the Trevi Fountain’s refreshed gleam is not a patch on this glossy January arrival, a sculptural sweep of lacquered wood, ebony veneer and polished marble behind the historic façade of a 16th-century palazzo. It’s the futuristic vision of the late, great Zaha Hadid and Neapolitan multimillionaire Alfredo Romeo, who started work on the project more than a decade ago.

Part of the reason for the delay can be seen through the glass-bottomed pool – a Roman ruin was discovered during construction. Hadid is far from the only glittering name involved: there’s also a subterranean Sisley spa, rooftop Krug terrace and a restaurant by Alain Ducasse. Now open; doubles from £2,063 B&B (theromeocollection.com)

Lilløy Lindenberg

Vestland, Norway

Lilløy Lindenberg is a place to get far away from the rest of the world, on a private island off the Vestland coast in Norway. It may be just under an hour from Bergen, but once you’re ensconced in the four-bedroom farmhouse (which can be taken exclusively or by the room), all you’ll see is the surrounding fjords and mountains, and perhaps the dolphins that stop by. This is a choose-your-own-adventure kind of escape: get creative in the music study, soak in the sauna, explore the coastline kayaking, snorkelling or kitesurfing.

A deep focus on sustainability goes hand in hand with the pristine natural surroundings, so meals are plant-based using local ingredients, including seaweed from Lilløy’s underwater farm. Seclusion at its most soul-stirring. Opens February; doubles from £490 (thelindenberg.com/lilloey)

Soho Farmhouse Ibiza

Balearic Islands, Spain

There have been rumblings on the White Island for a while, but members’-club juggernaut Soho House is finally landing with a Farmhouse outpost in time for Ibiza’s club-hopping summer season. Details are hush-hush and gossip is high – island insiders say it’s taking over much-loved Cas Gasi in the countryside between Santa Gertrudis and San Rafael.

Doubtless, though, all the hallmarks of consistently packed-out Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire will be there, with a new-wave Balearic twist: rustically fashionable bedrooms, wellness experiences that run from Cowshed treatments to an outdoor yoga deck, and an organic kitchen garden restaurant and bar. Let the battle for bookings commence. Opens spring/summer (sohohouse.com)

Further afield

Waldorf Astoria New York

New York, US

The word legendary is overused, but it’s entirely apt when it comes to this storied Park Avenue address. Hotelier Conrad Hilton used to keep a photo of the Waldorf Astoria New York on his desk with the words “the greatest of them all”, and over the years, it has welcomed everyone from film stars to popes and presidents.

The Art Deco hotel closed in 2017 for a complete transformation by French designer Pierre-Yves Rochon and when it opens this year, it will be home to some of Manhattan’s largest guest rooms, a huge spa and two-storey American brasserie restaurant Lex Yard, overseen by Gramercy Tavern chef Michael Anthony. A star is reborn. Opens spring; doubles from £1,198 (waldorfastorianewyork.com)

The Vineta Hotel

Palm Beach, US

The glossy Oetker Collection operates a string of iconic addresses, from Le Bristol in Paris and Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on the Côte d’Azur to London’s Lanesborough. Now it lands stateside for the first time, putting on the ritz at The Vineta in Palm Beach. This monied Florida enclave is having a moment again, on screen with Apple TV’s Palm Royale and with a flush of new hotels (Palm House, from Cliveden’s owners, opened this winter).

The Vineta breathes fresh life into a nearly 100-year-old hotel, with glamorous restaurant Coco’s in the courtyard and a see-and-be-seen poolside surrounded by scalloped parasols, all two blocks from the designer stores of Worth Avenue. Opens spring (oetkercollection.com/hotels/the-vineta-hotel)

Albert Hotel

Fredericksburg, Texas

Kicking off 2025 in Wild West style, the Albert Hotel swung open its doors in the heart of Texas Hill Country this month. The 105-room property, which takes over four 19th-century buildings, is a game-changer for historical Fredericksburg as the town’s first proper hotel, and comes from the team behind South Congress Hotel in Austin.

The Saloon slings boilermakers (beers with a shot of whiskey) and all-day café the Pharmacy totes s’mores cookies (both opened in March). They’ll be joined by a restaurant from James Beard-nom Michael Fojtasek and backyard barbecue joint Junebug’s. There’s also a spa where treatments are infused with Texan wildflowers and a sunken pool designed to mimic nearby natural swimming holes. Saddle up for a Lone Star State adventure. Now open; doubles from £155 (alberthotel.com)

Hotel Sevilla

Mérida, Mexico

Mexican operator Grupo Habita consistently turns out some of the loveliest and most design-forward hotels in the country; recent hits include Brutalist-style Otro Oaxaca and Hotel Humano in surfy Puerto Escondido. Next up is this conversion of a 16th-century villa in the centre of Mérida, Yucatán’s colourful capital.

As a member of Design Hotels, the 22-room property will be as striking in the style stakes as its sibling hotels, mixing raw elements of the historical building with radically modern concrete inserts. Bedrooms will be arranged around two large terraces, while at street level there will be a handful of artfully curated stores. Opens February (designhotels.com)

The Malkai

Oman

This thoughtful deep dive into Oman’s deserts, mountains and heritage is a refreshing counterpoint in a region often associated with ever-more-shiny, superlative-chasing hotels. Each “journey” will take guests through three locations – a date plantation in the coastal plains of Barkaa near Muscat, the soaring Hajar Mountains and the remote Sharqiya Sands desert – bedding down in beautiful pavilions inspired by traditional bayt al-sha’ar Bedouin-style tents.

With a Land Rover Defender and personal guide on hand, itineraries run from snorkelling protected reefs and hiking to ancient forts, to farm-to-fork feasts and spa treatments using local rose water and frankincense. An intoxicating insight into Omani culture. Opens autumn (themalkai.com)

Cheval Blanc Seychelles

Mahé, Seychelles

French luxury behemoth LVMH has its stylish hands across the hospitality sector, everywhere from Belmond’s beautiful trains, boats and hotels to smart Scottish whisky stays (see Ardbeg House, owned by LVMH-backed Glenmorangie). With Cheval Blanc it operates “maisons” in glamorous one-percenter hot spots such as St Barts and St Tropez. The latest has landed on Mahé’s Anse Intendance beach in the Seychelles.

Here, the dazzling sand matches the sleek white and neutral interiors of the 52 vast Jean Michel-Gathy-designed villas dotted along the shore and rising up the rainforested hillside. Each comes with its own 12.5m pool, but there are plenty of other distractions, with five restaurants (sushi to French fine dining), surf simulator, Guerlain spa and pirate-themed kids’ club. Castaway chic for the UHNW crew. Now open; doubles from £2,062 B&B (chevalblanc.com)

andBeyond Suyian Lodge

Laikipia, Kenya

Think of the Suyian Conservancy in Kenya’s Laikipia region as a little-visited alternative to the Masai Mara. There’s a huge diversity of species, with rare black leopards, endangered African wild dogs, Grévy’s zebras and reticulated giraffes roaming the savanna and rocky outcrops of the 18,000-hectare conservancy.

AndBeyond opens the first lodge here this summer, in partnership with global conservation charity Space for Giants. The main hub and 14 suites sit among ancient rock formations, sculptural and elemental. Plus, with exclusive access to the landscape there’s none of the jeep jostling of other safaris; instead head out on foot, camel or horseback to get unrivalled close-up wildlife sightings. Opens July; doubles from £1,197 (andbeyond.com)

The Homestead

Nambiti, South Africa

From the first to the final lodge, as the Homestead becomes the last (for conservation reasons) to open in the Nambiti Reserve in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal. Nambiti is already popular for child-friendly safaris owing to its malaria-free status, and of the Homestead’s 12 suites, half will be set up for family groups (with equally outsized budgets).

Sustainability is also in sharp focus with low-impact design using local ironstone, green roofs that look like an extension of the grasslands, solar power and near-silent electric game vehicles that are estimated to prevent nine metric tons of CO2 emissions each year – for those who want a clean conscience with their deep pockets. As well as game drives, there will also be battlefield tours, Drakensberg hikes, stargazing and a chance to get stuck into conservation initiatives. Opens summer; doubles from £5,000, including all meals and beverages and twice-daily safari (homesteadlodge.com)

Nihi Rote

West Timor, Indonesia

Nihi Sumba is the stuff of tropical paradise dreams, set on an untouched palm-fringed beach where wild horses roam along the surf. Now, more than a decade in the making, the Nihi team is expanding its Indonesian outlook, with a second home on West Timor’s remote Rote Island, a two-hour flight from Bali.

On the brilliant white sands of Bo’a Beach there will be 22 thatched pool villas, year-round world-class surfing and “spa safaris” with out-in-nature treatments. But what there will also be is Nihi’s Hospitality Academy, training local people not only to work at the resort but preserve the island’s traditions. All part of Nihi’s go-slow, light-touch brand of luxury travel. Opens late 2025 (nihi.com)

The Tamborine

Queensland, Australia

Australia’s Sunshine State may be best known for its surf-pounded beaches and Technicolor reefs, but its lush hinterland is becoming an increasingly attractive option. Enter the Tamborine, which has just opened, set high above an escarpment on Tamborine Mountain, in the picturesque Scenic Rim region.

The 23-room escape was built as a hacienda-style motel in 1978 and the transformation retains a retro cool, with its restored mineral pool and complimentary aperitif hour Peacock O’Clock (try a glass from nearby Witches Falls Winery). In true motel style there’s no restaurant, but a hearty menu of bar snacks and a pantry stuffed with local treats including ice cream from Tommerup’s Dairy Farm to fuel adventures into that surrounding hinterland. Now open; doubles from £221 B&B (thetamborine.com.au)

The Sundays

Hamilton Island, Australia

In the heart of the Great Barrier Reef, the Sundays is the first hotel to open on Hamilton Island since ultra-luxe, adults-only Qualia arrived in 2007. The vibe here in contrast is consciously family-friendly with plenty of chic interconnecting rooms, convertible daybeds for kids, baby kit to borrow and ice cream happy hours.

Making a splash too will be a waterside restaurant from Sydney chef Josh Niland, known for his gill-to-fin whole-fish approach to cooking at his hit fine-dining spot, Saint Peter. Plus there are all the activities on the rest of Hamilton Island to dip into, from pickleball courts to sea kayaks, bush-walking trails and golf (mini and full-sized). Dive in. Opens April; doubles from £440 B&B (hamiltonisland.com)

Rates are room-only unless specified, otherwise and if not specified at all are yet to be confirmed.