OPENINGS
They just keep coming, new wonderful places to stay, and some old ones made very new again…
ALMANAC PALAIS VIENNA, AUSTRIA
This glorious new hotel is located on the Ringstrasse, overlooking the Stadpark (the city’s first public green space) and just a short walk to many of Vienna’s landmarks, including world renowned Vienna State Opera House. Dating back to 1871, the property has been transformed and restored with 31 guestrooms and 80 suites, imbued with historic Viennese elegance.
But there is a fondness for new art too, with a collection of photographs and paintings by up-and-coming artists on display. The Donnersmarkt Restaurant is colorful and bright with a mural of the flora and fauna of the city. It’s named after the first owner of the palais and is a modern take on Austrian Alpine-inspired, “plant-forward” (their words) cuisine. The spa and wellness center is a marble-clad affair on two floors with a 14-meter (46 feet) indoor pool with thermal waters. You could be in the Alps! But you’re in Vienna!
https://www.almanachotels.com/vienna
RECENTLY OPENED
R48 HOTEL AND GARDEN TEL AVIV, ISRAEL
Rothschild Boulevard is the heart of the city’s most prestigious area, the “White City,” listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for its over 4,000 Bauhaus and Eclectic architecture-style buildings. In one of these historic buildings — a 1930s Bauhaus, to answer your question — is the new R48 Hotel and Garden, preserved and restored and finally opened in March. This small property has only 11 suites, starting at about $1500 a night, beautifully apportioned with furnishings created specifically for the hotel. There are two top restaurants and a rooftop pool surrounded by a Mediterranean garden, and an art collection featuring works by local artists, which is becoming a (welcome) theme in hospitality lately…
REOPENINGS
THE CARLTON CANNES, FRANCE
The ‘Grande Dame’ of Cannes, as the Carlton in Cannes is known, reopened in March following a $500 million renovation. It took two-years, and now the Old Lady is brand spanking new again, with the whopping pre-existing 332 rooms, 3 restaurants, a tearoom for before dining, and a bar for after. (Or, you know, the bar is open before dinner, so, you could be wild and get a drink earlier.) Thirty-seven new residences, a pool and bar, terraces to first-floor rooms and a shopping arcade have been added. The iconic Belle Époque façade has been preserved, framed by twin domes and occupying a whole block on la Croisette, the beachfront boulevard, so once again this is the place to see and be seen. Which is, let’s face it, the point of Cannes.
COMING SOON
THE OWO – RAFFLES LONDON, ENGLAND
After a six-year renovation the Old War Office (the OWO part of the name), which was originally built in 1906, this awesome new hotel will soon be ready for business, scheduled for this very summer.
Located on the corner of Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade in London,it’s a genius idea for a hospitality property — what a building! (and what history…). The 120 guestrooms and suites, 85 private residences, 9 — nine — what are these people on? — restaurants and 3 bars, were all created and restored by thousands of expert craftspeople. And, yes of course, an exclusive Guerlain spa and wellness facility by PILLAR, all caps obligatory, which will offer private membership for locals so they can work-out and walk the halls once walked by statesmen and spies. All under the watchful eyes of the King’s Life Guards, who stand guard opposite the hotel every day.
