1. NORDELAIA, Cremolino, Province of Alessandria, Italy
Nordelaia begins with an 800-year-old farmhouse in the hills of Piedmont, extensively reimagined by the London-based design studio These White Walls; the result is still beautifully rustic but now also unmistakably modern, full of historical details interwoven with modern fixtures and furnishings.
2. COLUMNS, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
This late 19th-century Italianate villa is named for its most distinctive architectural feature. Columns was built in 1883 as a private residence for a tobacco merchant, before serving as a hotel in the Fifties. After a thorough renovation it’s a Victorian fantasy world, as ornate and colourful as any hotel in town.
3. THE ASTER, Los Angeles, California, USA
The Aster is, before anything else, a private club; a much-needed oasis at the very public intersection of Hollywood and Vine. The most obvious way in is to become a member – but the Aster’s 35 suites are open to overnight guests as well, and it’s perhaps no surprise that they’re up there with the finest suites in town.
4. MASHPI LODGE, Pacto, Ecuador
Mashpi is, first of all, a private nature reserve spanning some 3,000 acres in the cloud forest of Ecuador’s interior. In this spectacular setting you’d be happy with just about any old hotel, but Mashpi Lodge is not that – this is a very modern and very luxurious lodge, and one with a remarkably small ecological footprint.
5. ACE HOTEL, Sydney, Australia
Close to the central business district, in the upscale and fashionable Surry Hills, the Ace Hotel Sydney may be the first for the brand in the Southern Hemisphere, but it’s as confidently executed as any of their hotels. Set in an early 19th-century industrial building, it’s got patina in spades.
