A new year brings with it another round of highly anticipated hotel openings to plan around. Mexico takes centerstage early in the year as a plethora of developments begin to open including Mar Adentro by Encanto - Acapulco's top design hotel. The first contemporary luxury hotel in Cabo, the uber-architectural property opens in January and adds a native hotelier touch to a region dominated by US brands like Auberge Resorts that debuts VieVage Los Cabos later this year as well as a Park Hyatt and Ritz Reserve in the works. In Mexico City, look for a mid-year debut of Thompson Hotels who teams with designers Niz + Chauvet for a mid-century Mexican spin on a capital city hotel. And in Puebla, the culinary capital of the country, Rosewood Hotels will unveil a colonial glamour compound with destination restaurant, rooftop bar and swimming pool with views of Iglesia de San Francisco.
In Europe, look for the reopening of Ritz Paris to coincide with March's Fashion Week and Hotel Crillon managed by Rosewood Hotels optimistically looking for a late-year opening. Nobu London makes its debut in the city's trendy Shoreditch neighborhood with a 156-room hotel and outpost of Matsuhisa eatery. Perhaps the hottest European opening is in Lake Como where Il Sereno (image above) becomes a five-star boutique sequel to Le Sereno Saint Barths. Just outside Como, the 30-room hotel is designed by Patricia Urquiola and will include a lakefront infinity pool and designer-decorated boats that will shuttle guests around the lake.
In the last year, Dubai has added a staggering number of hotel rooms to its inventory that will only grow in 2016 with the debut of Four Seasons DIFC in the Dubai International Financial Centre. Nearby, Bahrain has emerged as a formidable luxury player in the region and will soon be home to the region's first One&Only in an iconic beachfront location with two-and-half acre sporting lagoon and outpost of Hakkasan restaurant. In the US, look for Ace Hotel to open in New Orleans and The James along LA's Sunset Strip. Miami continues new hotel rollouts like Richard Meier's new take on Four Seasons The Surf Club and debut of Swire Hotel's EAST Miami in May. And as for burgeoning hotspots? Look for Colombia to sizzle with posh new Four Seasons Bogota and Tcherassi Hotel + Spa that's the long-awaited 42-room sequel to the popular boutique Cartagena hotel that will include rooftop pool, restaurant, boutique and interiors by Richard Mishaan.
