Multiple Regions Hotels, Other, Resorts
Design-led escapes: 8 spaces worth travelling for
Warren Street Hotel | Orangery | New York
From sculptural cafes to serene retreats, these are the places where design takes centre stage. This curated collection brings together the spaces that linger in our minds long after checkout – places where architecture, materiality and mood elevate the experience of travel itself
Christian Louboutin’s eclectic coastal hideaway in Portugal
In the quiet coastal village of Melides, Portugal, Christian Louboutin’s Vermelho is more than a boutique hotel – it’s a love letter to craft, culture and personal expression. The 13-room retreat feels like an intimate home, filled with treasures from the designer’s own collection: Spanish bargueño chests, Baroque ceramic appliqués, embroidered velvet sofas and azulejos in deep ocean blue. Designed in collaboration with architect Madalena Caiado and friend Carolina Irving, the building is intentionally understated from the outside, but richly detailed within – much like the Indian bangle that inspired its concept. Each room is unique, but Room 17 is Louboutin’s favourite, complete with a terrace bathtub and a decadent mix of materials from Mexico, Spain and Portugal. Red, naturally, appears throughout – on shutters, floors and textiles – but never overwhelms. Instead, Vermelho captures something quieter: a deeply personal vision of place, anchored by design, community and atmosphere.
A crafted calm in the heart of Kuala Lumpur
Located in Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle district, the 253-room RuMa Hotel and Residences tells the story of the Malaysian capital’s past through craft and material, while creating a place of rest and respite from the urban pace. Outfitted by Shanghai-based architecture and interior design firm MQ Studio, this inner city sanctum is filled with historic and cultural references, such as the six antique pillars at the entrance that were salvaged from a Malaysian home, and copper detailing on brilliant display in the hotel’s reception area, where a burnished metallic ceiling along with quarried stone walls give a nod to the country’s tin mining history.
A clean and contemporary take on colonial design abounds in the guestrooms – awash with timber, rattan and lantern-style lamps, reflecting a productivity-meets-domesticity concept. This idea of a ‘home away from home’ is evident at every turn in the hotel, and it’s no wonder. Rumah (Malay for ‘home’), after all, is where the heart is.
A joyful collision of colour and pattern in Tribeca
Coco Chanel once famously quipped, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take at least one thing off.” The Kit Kemp Studio creative team behind Warren Street Hotel ignored her advice when conceptualising this freshly minted New York property in the city’s funky Tribeca neighbourhood. Their defiant design instincts paid off. The property is best described as bold, with textures, colours and patterns that are at once head-scratching – and yet somehow harmonising.
Step into your room and you’re front-and-centre with embellished headboards, custom upholstered furniture to whimsical bespoke lighting – a jewel box of treasures for those who like their accommodation to speak of place. Several suites feature beautifully landscaped terraces and gardens with wooden trellising sparkling with lights while ferns, cedars and pollinating plants encourage wildlife. The unique design elements are mixed with eclectic artworks, many exclusive to the hotel, including pieces by sculptors Tony Cragg and Wendell Castle. These carry through to Warren Street Bar & Restaurant (pictured here), a modern brasserie serving a classic menu of dishes infused with global influences. Don’t know whether to look at your plate or the walls? That’s a fun conundrum.
Design meets Zen in a Thai café unlike any other
You could be forgiven for thinking you’ve been teleported to the Basque countryside when you first glimpse Harudot, so Gaudi-esque is the curvilinear building – the swooping rooftop and voluptuous curved walls. But while Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi preferred to use titanium in his marvels – not in the least the Guggenheim Bilbao – Harudot is, quite remarkably, mostly clad in wood. Inside and out. Also remarkably, it’s not in Spain, but rather the Thai beachside province of Chonburi, around 125 kilometres southeast of Bangkok. While Harudot looks like a work of art, this is no gallery – it is, in fact, a cafe, home to an outlet of Nana Coffee Roasters.
The landlord’s infinity with Japanese Zen inspired the project, with Thai-based IDIN Architects commissioned to work their signature “integrating design into nature” ethos. The word haru means ‘spring’ in Japanese – a time of new beginnings and growth. IDIN took this dialectical nugget and created a space that is all about natural elements, as earthy as it is grounding, right down to the baobab tree standing proud in the inner courtyard, peeking toward the sky in one of the roof’s many voids. The connection to nature continues throughout: indoor ribbon seating that resembles a walking trail; outdoor chairs made from resin mixed with coffee grounds, rice and leaves; terrazzo floors studded with flower-petal fossils. This winner of the ‘Social Space’ category in the FRAME 2024 awards was clearly designed to slow your pulse – then kick-start it with a strong cup of java.
Sustainable spa design meets alpine serenity in the Dolomites
The Dolomites region of northern Italy is set to steal the world spotlight over the coming year, thanks to hosting much of the Winter Olympics in early 2026. You’ll be happy to hear it’s already shining brightly thanks to the recent makeover of the Olympic Spa Hotel in Val di Fassa, which now features a sleek new wing of 10 rooms courtesy of acclaimed Italian architectural firm NOA. Given the fragility of this mountain landscape, sustainability was top of mind when it came to design – think a green roof to ensure natural insulation, and structures that into the environment, both in materials and form; the freshly minted building is hidden in the nooks of a slope, surrounded by a meadow and with access to the main hotel via an underground passage.
The beauty of the Dolomites also stars in private spaces, where you might find suspended alfresco beds for summertime, starry-night snoozing, or a stone fountain from which pure mountain water gushes from a spring 3,500 metres below the surface. A highlight – quite literally – is the retreat’s sauna (pictured here), reachable through the Alpine surrounds via an aerial pathway that at once plays with the profile of the mountains and gives you reason to pause… And exhale. At the end of the walkway? Dive into a wellness world replete with Tibetan bell vibration therapy, massages using flowers foraged from your surrounds, and forest bathing – for total immersion.
Design contrasts and sky-high serenity in Singapore
Suspended between sky and earth, The Singapore EDITION offers a multi-sensory escape from the city’s density. Designed by Safdie Architects (of Marina Bay Sands fame), with interiors by Cap Atelier, this bold new hotel balances clean-lined minimalism with layered experiences. Its most striking feature? A 43-metre rooftop pool that floats above the city, complete with a circular oculus and views across greenery toward Orchard Road.
Rooms are calming and all-white, ideal for decompression in this overstimulating city. But colour and contrast arrive elsewhere: in Josh Nyland’s richly textured seafood restaurant, FYSH; in the palette of the hotel’s lively cocktail bars; and most notably, in the lush, sunken tropical garden that grounds the entire design. Sculptural staircases, Venetian plaster, and textural restraint all contribute to a sense of quiet sophistication. In a city known for extremes, The Singapore EDITION succeeds in creating an oasis that feels surprisingly grounded – even when you’re floating above it all.
Tunisian craft and Saharan stillness come together in Douz
Surrounded by 14 hectares of rolling golden dunes at the gateway to the Sahara Desert, The Residence Douz celebrates the melting pot of European, Middle Eastern and African cultures that have influenced Tunisia over centuries. The palm-filled all-villa oasis in Southern Tunisia features 50 villas with terraces, along with two gourmet restaurants and a sprawling Spa boasting a large hammam, traditional Moorish Baths and Indigenous-inspired treatments. The villas and communal areas incorporate vibrant artwork from emerging Tunisian painters and sculptors as well as hand-woven carpets, while the lobby showcases refined masonry patterned with Tozeur bricks, and intricate brass Arabic lanterns as striking pendant lights. With various UNESCO World Heritage Sites on its doorstep and an expansive pool on site to cool off in, The Residence Douz makes a compelling case for a stylish desert escape.
Where wellness floats between ice and sky in Swedish Lapland
In Swedish Lapland, where the Lule River freezes in winter and flows freely through summer, Arctic Bath offers an extraordinary stay that floats – quite literally – between seasons. Designed by architects Bertil Harström and Johan Kauppi, the circular timber structure freezes into the river ice in the colder months and drifts on its surface in warmer ones. Its minimalist cabins (six on water, six on land) are connected by walkways and built with natural materials that blend into the landscape with barely a trace.
Wellness here is elemental: hot and cold plunges in open-air tubs, a central cold-water pool kept at 3.9°C year-round, and spa rituals focused on balance, stillness and nature. You might finish the day with crystal therapy or a five-course meal built around clean, local ingredients – then fall asleep beneath the aurora. So much more than a hotel, Arctic Bath is a sensory reset in one of the world’s most fragile and awe-inspiring environments.
Latest Articles
Don't miss the latest from Luxury Travel