It’s a new year — why not check out a new hotel in a city you have yet to explore?
From Austin, Texas, to Osaka, Japan, here are five stylish properties to add to your shortlist. In vibrant cities where you can discover local cuisines, architecture and museums, they include a hotel perched above downtown Santa Fe, N.M.; a neoclassical gem near the Spanish Steps in Rome; and a glossy resort on the sands of Dubai.
Austin, Texas
The Inn at Green Pastures
This 63-room-and-suite inn, which opened last month in Austin’s Bouldin Creek neighborhood, offers live oak trees and resident peacocks amid the bustling capital of Texas. The area is home to standout restaurants, and popular sights like the Texas Capitol and Zilker Metropolitan Park are about a 10-minute car ride away.
While the inn is new, the land it’s on is part of Green Pastures, a more-than-130-year-old property on the National Register of Historic Places. A Victorian farmhouse there once housed a restaurant that was racially integrated long before most others in the city were; today, Mattie’s restaurant offers farm-to-table American fare. Or check out Henry’s, the inn’s bar and restaurant. After a day exploring Austin and its music scene, refuel with a Grassfield Farm beef burger, beef tallow steak fries and an Atomic Tanlines cocktail (bourbon, Meletti amaro, vermouth and peach).
The inn was spearheaded by La Corsha, the hospitality group that restored the city’s popular Driskill hotel, and designed by Clayton Korte, an architecture and interiors firm. The rooms have rich, earthy hues and hardwood floors. Some have balconies. Beyond them, a pool and patio are open year-round for basking in the Texas sun. Prices from $395 a night.
Santa Fe, N.M.
Hotel Glorieta
At this 128-room-and-suite hotel on a hill above downtown Santa Fe, you need not go far to experience attractions like the Loretto Chapel, Santa Fe Opera, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Santa Fe Plaza. Built in 1976, this relaxed hotel has been refreshed and infused with color and texture by the Santa Fe-based French & French Interiors. Rooms have black vigas (wood ceiling beams), pine furniture and graphic Southwestern-style rugs. All have free Wi-Fi, and some have mini-refrigerators and microwaves. (Balconies and wood-burning fireplaces are available in certain suites.)
Mingle with locals and check out live music at the hotel’s Marigold Room. Or get cozy at the property’s Lady Duff’s Lounge, where you can sip a cocktail and treat yourself to plates like chimichurri fries and sliders featuring grass-fed ground beef. (Bookworms might know that the lounge takes its name from Lady Duff Twysden, the socialite said to have been an inspiration for Ernest Hemingway’s character Lady Brett Ashley in “The Sun Also Rises.”) Come morning, wander over to the lobby for a free continental breakfast.
The hotel, set on six acres with views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, is near La Tierra Trails should you want to hike. Or simply relax in the outdoor hot tub. (The hotel’s pool is open seasonally, June through mid-October.) Prices from $165 a night.
Rome
Corinthia Rome
This neo-Classical hotel, inside what was once the headquarters of the Bank of Italy, is within walking distance of the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and other popular sites. Its 60 elegant rooms and suites — some with stained-glass windows and views of Parliament — will be available for stays beginning next month.
This is the first property in Italy for Corinthia Hotels, a luxury hospitality company founded in Malta in 1968. Historical features like frescoes and marble paneling embrace the building’s past, though there are plenty of modern comforts, like marble bathrooms with heated floors. In the bank’s former vault you’ll find a spa that nods to the city’s ancient baths with laurel leaf designs and shallow “relaxation pools.” The services, however, are very of-the-moment, including Therabody treatments that incorporate Theragun massage devices. There’s a fitness center, too, so indulge in as much pasta as you like.
Speaking of indulging, Corinthia Rome has two Italian restaurants, both overseen by the chef and television host Carlo Cracco, whose restaurants have garnered Michelin stars. At Viride, discover contemporary Italian dishes such as rombo in crosta di cacao (turbot in a cocoa crust). For traditional Roman fare, try Piazzetta, an all-day dining spot. Later, if you’re in the mood for a drink and a bite, check out the property’s Ocra Bar. Prices from 1,300 euros, or about $1,544, a night.
Osaka, Japan
Patina Osaka
The list of high-profile hotels opening in this foodie city now includes Patina Osaka, the first Patina in Japan. Part of the Singapore-based, luxury Capella Hotel Group, the 20-story hotel overlooks Osaka Castle, which has roots in the 16th century and features a museum where you can learn about the castle’s history as well as an observation deck from which to enjoy sweeping city views. Take the metro or go for a half-hour walk from the hotel to the Fujita Museum to view an impressive collection of Japanese and Chinese works of art.
Or immerse yourself in soundscapes on an audio system created by the artist Devon Turnbull, known as OJAS, in the hotel’s Listening Room by OJAS. In addition to state-of-the-art audio, the hotel offers high-tech spa treatments like far infrared sauna heat therapy. There’s also a heated indoor pool and fitness studio.
What Osaka is really known for is food, and at the hotel’s P72 restaurant you can dive right in, sampling locally sourced, seasonal dishes like grilled sea bream and kale, clam, kombu, and rice porridge, with tea. Stop into Barin, another hotel restaurant, for teppanyaki, or try Iñaki for meat dishes cooked over a Basque grill and rotisserie flame. Also on site: afternoon tea and French pastries at Nijiri, and cocktails, bar snacks and D.J. sets at the hotel’s Sonata Bar & Lounge.
Turn in for the night in one of the property’s 221 serene rooms and suites decorated in neutral tones with tatami seating areas, wood furniture, tea sets, and castle and city views through floor-to-ceiling windows. Prices from $473 a night.
Dubai
Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab
It’s not always possible to combine an urban stay with a luxury beach vacation, yet this new resort in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, does just that. Designed to resemble a superyacht, the hotel has 386 rooms and suites in hues suggesting desert sands and sunsets. Floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies keep things feeling light, and amenities go beyond the usual vanity kit to include Dyson Supersonic hair dryers, kimonos, music playlists, and Bang and Olufsen speakers.
While you’ll want to see the city’s architecture and landmarks like the Burj Khalifa, the resort, which is landscaped with thousands of palm trees, makes it tempting to stay put: There are four swimming pools, a private beach, a cinema, family-friendly activities, and a spa that spans three floors (one is an all-female floor) and includes a fitness center and a hammam.
Sate your appetite at the resort’s nearly dozen restaurants. Its Fore dining space acts as a single restaurant for breakfast and then breaks into separate restaurants for other meals, including Madame Li (for a taste of China and East Asia) and Mirabelle (for cuisine from the south of France), as well as the Bombay Club (for Indian) and Umi Kei (for izakaya-inspired fare). Other spots include Rialto, which highlights northern Italian cuisine, and Iliana, which offers flavors from Greece. Prices from $2,000 a night.
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