11 Selected Luxury & Designer Hotels From 2023

Every December I look back at my favorite new and previously undiscovered hotels. Travelers continue to make up for lost time (though staffing remains a problem and the world is becoming more confusing), and hotels continue to stagger. My kudos go out to the hotels that have opened. And my heart is full of love for those places that have held on, raised the bar and innovated.

My favorite hotels (listed here in alphabetical order) are not only pleasant corners for their guests, but also passion projects for their creators and good places to work for their teams. These are places where history happened, where sustainability matters and where dreams take off.

Borgo Santo Pietro

The intimate Borgo Santo Pietro is the passion project of Janet Tottrup, a former fashion designer, and her husband Klaus, who has made his name in real estate. When they bought it in 2001, it was in ruins. They have since invested in every detail of it, turning it into a place where every detail is fully realized, from the furnishings in the 22 rooms, villas and suites, to the 13 acres of manicured gardens, the "fermentation corner" at breakfast with an abundance of superfoods and the sustainable caviar service that can be added to the tasting menu in the one Michelin-starred restaurant. Tottrup discovered her passion for botanicals while working in London at Neil's Yard, and here she collaborates with cosmetologist Anna Buonocore to create a luxurious, plant-based and science-based skincare line.

Date

Thirty years ago, at the dawn of Asia's ultra-luxe resorts, it was all about the beach - beachfront bungalows and ocean views were the paramount amenities. The developers and designers at Datay thought differently.

Sale other properties in Barie 215 968 $

Italy,Barie

2 Bathrooms

160 м²

Sale villa in Bar with sea view 669 502 $

Montenegro,Bar

400 м²

Sale house in Bar with sea view 140 379 $

Montenegro,Bar

225 м²

Sale villa in Bar with sea view 1 727 748 $

Montenegro,Bar

20 Bedrooms

1200 м²

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Montenegro,Dobra Voda

92 Bedrooms

1400 м²

Sale villa in Bar with sea view 1 349 803 $

Montenegro,Bar

5 Bedrooms

497 м²

Although there is a beautiful slice of beach, the 121-room hotel is completely embedded in one of the world's oldest rainforests; its freestanding villas are surrounded by majestic trees and accompanied by a chorus of crickets and birds. Three decades, countless awards and a recent renovation show that connecting with nature is still important to Datay. In a way, it's an old-school hotel, with a weekly print newspaper and calendar of events. On the other hand, it's pretty progressive, especially on true sustainability issues - there are seriously trained natural scientists and consultants on duty, and nothing from the hotel goes to landfill.

Hotel de Len

The Italian city and town of the Dolomites, Cortina d'Ampezzo, is building major projects ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics. But it still has independent projects with soul, such as the Hotel de Len. (It's run by San Domenico Hotels, the brand behind the beloved Borgo Egnazio and several Masseria in Puglia.) "Flax" means "wood" in one of the local Ladin languages, and that describes the decor well. A wide selection of old spruce and Swiss cedar is made here - almost all reclaimed from other buildings - and much of it is unpainted and unvarnished. The 22 rooms are imbued with the scent of the forest. The design combines alpine tradition with modern simplicity, as well as breathtaking views (especially from the top floor lounge) of one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world.