1. THE PINCH CHARLESTON, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Just off King and George, in the very heart of Charleston, South Carolina, two historic Victorian-era structures and one contemporary one have been joined together to create The Pinch, a 22-room luxury boutique hotel that’s as stylish as anything in town – and possibly more comfortable.
2. ASTERION SUITES & SPA, Chania, Greece
Set on Crete’s scenic northwest coast, which provides a pleasant measure of beachside seclusion, Asterion is the very picture of the modern luxury boutique hotel: no stucco or other faux-rustic touches, just a polished minimalist aesthetic, a palette of warm neutrals, and a mixture of subtly organic textures.
3. THE SHOALS SUITES & SLIPS, Southold, New York, USA
Shoals Suites & Slips sits on the road to Greenport on Long Island's North Fork, overlooking a marina. As its name promises, the hotel offers mooring for seaborne travellers, plus 20 luxurious suites that are full not only of Northeastern maritime character but a modernist European influence as well.
4. SO/ Paris, Paris, France
SO/ Paris is a welcome note of contrast to the city's abundance of grand hotels. It's set in a redeveloped high-rise municipal building that dates back to 1966 – and which retains its imposing silhouette, while adding architectural features that clearly mark it as a contemporary update of the Parisian luxury-hotel tradition.
5. InterContinental Phuket Resort, Phuket, Thailand
The InterContinental Phuket Resort, on the island’s Kamala Beach, aims to convey not a vague internationalism, but the specifically Thai conception of heaven – all of it culminating in the towering spire of the resort’s temple-like central pavilion. It should be said that all of this is done with the utmost taste.
Hero image: © InterContinental Phuket Resort
