Editor's Pick: Top 10 Hotels and Resorts by Design

Our homes away from home, hotels are where the magic happens, when you’re out on the open road.

With wanderlust kicking back in full gear, we have canvassed high and low for the hidden design gems that are in themselves a destination. Here are our top 10 picks of the crème de la crème that will make every mile of your journey count.

Dante’s Digs

25hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino is the first Italian property from the culturally resonant hotel brand 25hours, known for its irreverent, yet functional aesthetics in provocative urban locations.

Name: 25hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino
Location: Florence, Italy
Year of Completion: 2021
Architect: GLA-Genius Loci Architettura Studio F
Interior Designer: Paola Navone, Studio Otto/Mailand Size 10,750 square metre
Number of Rooms: 171

Sea for Yourself

Sprawling some 300,000 square metres of land on Cam Ranh Bay’s prime coastline, Alma Resorts offers an around-the-clock paradise for nature lovers and families. Conceived by ONG & ONG, Feigin Architects, and ARA Design, with landscapes by Intaran Design, the resort embraces a design mandate of contemporary and cosiness, evident in its 196 pavilions and 384 suites.

Name: Alma Resort Cam RanhLocation: Cam Lam District, VietnamYear of Completion: 2020Architects & Interior Designers: ONG & ONG, Feigin Architects, ARA DesignLandscape Designer: Intaran Design
Size: 300,000 square metre
Number of Rooms: 580

True Colours

Eclectic, authentic, relaxed, casually chic, sleek, and very boutique, this gorgeous riad hotel El Fenn is imbued with joyful colour filled with modern British art and ancient Moroccan craft.

Name: El Fenn
Location: Marrakesh, Morocco
Year of Completion: 2004
Architects & Interior Designers: Vanessa Branson, Howell James, and Amine Kabbaj
Number of Rooms: 41

A Salut to Morocco

The Salut Maroc is a flamboyantly striking hotel in the stunning windswept port town of Essaouira, a hidden gem on Morocco’s Atlantic Coast.

Name: Salut Maroc
Location:Essaouira, MoroccoYear of Completion: 2004Interior Designer: Helen HowatNumber of Rooms: 11

Something’s Brewing

The B2 Hotel Zürich occupies the remarkable industrial heritage site of the former brewery Hürlimann and retains its industrial factory profile, complete with a brick smokestack.

Name: B2 Hotel Zürich
Location: Zürich, Switzerland
Year of Completion: 2012
Architect: Althammer Hochuli Interior Designer Ushi Tamborriello Size 35,000 square feet
Number of Rooms: 60

Proper Playground

The Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel sits on the fringe of the Fashion District, South Park, and the Historic Core, with the Ace and Hoxton Hotels as neighbours. This storied Renaissance revival building from the creative mind of Kelly Wearstler, known for her knack in blending vintage and California modern, has drawn on Mexican modernism with French, Spanish, Portuguese and Moroccan-style notes.

Name: Downtown L.A. Proper HotelLocation: Los Angeles, US
Interior Designer: Kelly WearstlerNumber of Rooms: 147

Bathing Beauty

The sleek modern Hoshinoya Guguan blends seamlessly with the stunning landscape, harnessing the breath-taking landscape, and the water from the ancient thermal hot springs. Taiwan has one of the greatest concentrations of geothermal springs in the world.

Name: Hoshinoya Guguan
Location: Taichung City, Taiwan
Year of Completion: 2019
Architect & Interior Designer: Rie Azuma
Number of Rooms: 49

Dune-in with Nature

Disconnect from the world while you connect with nature at Kwessi Dunes, located amid the remote and captivating beauty of the Namib Desert deep in Namibia’s striking NamibRand Nature Reserve. It offers guests an extraordinary experience that blends luxury, sustainable design, and a deep connection with the surrounding surreal and staggeringly beautiful landscape with panoramic views of the sweeping dunes.

Name: Kwessi Dunes
Location: NamibRand Nature Reserve, Sesriem, Namibia
Year of Completion: 2020
Architect: Natural Selection
Interior Designer: MOI MOI Interior Design Size 15,000 hectares
Number of Chalets: 12

Killer Views

The Reykjavik Edition has the brand’s overall ethos of a modern sophisticated design, combined here with Nordic splashes and fabulous material.

Name: The Reykjavik EDITION
Location: Reykjavík, Iceland
Year of Completion: 2021
Architects: T.ark, Ian Schrager Company
Interior Designer: New York-based studio Roman and Williams, Ian Schrager Company
Number of Rooms: 253

Gold Standard

The Londoner is the world’s first super boutique. It comes with a quirky playfulness, underrated luxury, and a superb art collection, and despite its staggering scale, it has an intimate and individual feel.

Name: The Londoner
Location: Leicester Square, London, UK
Year of Completion: 2021
Architects: Woods Bagot, The Edwardian Group, Arup.
Interior Designer: Toronto-based Yabu Pushelberg
Number of Rooms & Suites: 385