The new year may have only just begun, but travel fans are already gearing up for the top new hotels of 2014. Ranging from Caribbean “indie” boutiques to full-fledged five-star Parisian offerings, this year’s hotel up-and-comers promise to be sleeker, more stylish and more service-driven than ever before. Just don’t forget your toothbrush!
The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto
Opening February
Japan’s historic capital may be big on palaces and temples, but it hasn’t always delivered when it comes to five-star luxury. That’s where the Ritz-Carlton comes in. Set directly on the scenic Kamogawa river – and sporting a Zen-and-then-some ESPA spa – the property’s 134 rooms and suites will be the largest in all of Kyoto.
Four Seasons Hotel Westcliff Johannesburg
Opening mid-year
South Africa’s commercial and cultural capital is often overlooked for the country’s more scenic destinations, like oceanfront Cape Town or safari-packed Kruger National Park. But the new Four Seasons should provide travelers with ample reason to stick around. Located in ultra-posh Westcliff, the Mediterranean-style hotel – which was formerly an Orient-Express property – is next to the Johannesburg Zoo, for a dose of African wildlife right from your guest room.
Viña Vik Millahue
Opening April
Viña Vik is the latest property – and the first in Chile – from the globetrotting Vik family, who own a trio of stylish, architecture-driven resorts in nearby Uruguay. Set on a 10,000-acre estate two hours south of Santiago (spin around: those 360-degree views are crazy), hilltop Viña Vik is both a working winery and art installation. Best part: There are only 22 rooms.
Indura Resort & Spa
Opening late February/March 1
Not to be outdone by its Central American frenemies in the region’s burgeoning “Drug war? What drug war?” tourism economy, Honduras will soon be home to the $133 million, 60-suite Indura. Besides the aquatic view porn around the mangrove-scaped critter cove of Tela Bay (blond anteaters, panthers and porcupines call it home), the 1,800-acre resort’s claim to fame will be its 18-hole, “eco-sensitive” golf course (managed by Troon) and a wellness spa.
El Blok
Opening mid-year
If everything you know about Vieques you learned from “Survivor,” you need to get back to Puerto Rico’s erstwhile bomb testing site. A W Hotel opened in 2010, ushering in a new era of tourism for the area. These days, El Blok’s the newest kid in town. Its mysterious website, which boasts a flashing series of high-res construction pics, teases with talk of 22 LEED-certified rooms, a rooftop pool and something called a “light well.” Whatever that is, we want one. Renderings hint at some sort of a doily aesthetic.
Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem
Opening late summer
Here’s a swank excuse to visit the Holy Land if you’re otherwise a bit jittery. A short schlep from the Old City, the 10-floor WAJ will have 223 rooms, two spas, a fitness center and restaurant fulfilling all your pan-Mediterranean nosh needs. If you truly want to make yourself at home (the place will also offer 30 private residences), they’re still hiring, according to their Facebook page.
Metropolitan by COMO, Miami Beach
Opening January
Just when you thought Collins Avenue was starved for hotel rooms comes Metropolitan by COMO, boasting 74 rooms in what was once the Traymore Hotel, established in 1939. The Met is definitely conjuring its ghost with its Art Deco good looks. The hotel will be wellness-minded to its core, offering the brand’s signature Shambhala therapies at its eighth-floor Urban Escape spa.
W Bogota
Opening Sept. 1
So what’s NYC-based Studio Gaia been up to, you ask? Designing the new 168-room W Bogota in the city’s buzzy Usaquen district, for one. They used Colombia’s El Dorado legend – a gold-dusted, C-3PO-cosplaying tribal chief who plunged into Guatavita Lake – as their muse in terms of lighting, color and texture. If you’re packing major pesos, there’s a presidential WoW Suite up for grabs. Expect the typical W perks, like its lounge-style lobby and Away spa.
Park Hyatt New York
Opening mid-year
Hyatt’s been slumming it in the Big Apple for long enough: Finally, it’s opening in proper posh fashion in the form of the Park Hyatt, designed by none other than Pritzker Prize-boasting Christian de Portzamparc. The 90-story condo/hotel hybrid (you might have seen it towering over things on West 57th Street opposite Carnegie Hall) will sport 5,000 square feet of retail and spa turf to go with its 210 guest rooms. That three-story lair (hit floor 20 in the elevator) crowning the place sports a 65-foot-long indoor pool.
Peninsula Paris
Opening Aug. 1
Hong Kong-grade luxury moves into the City of Light with the Peninsula’s Avenue Kléber opening this summer, only two years behind schedule (but who’s counting?). The brand’s first European property – close but not too close to the Champs-Élysées – will have 200 rooms, 43 of which are suites, a rooftop terrace, pool and spa. It joins fellow Asian hoteliers Shangri-La and Mandarin Oriental in Paris.