I find myself travelling for work more and more these days. It is a strange upturn, particularly in a world that has accepted and embraced the digital office and Zoom waiting room. And, while it is always nice to see new places, I must confess that the substantial size of my carbon footprint is starting to weigh on me—which has got me thinking of ways I can try alter my behaviour to offset it in different ways.
As I find myself spending a significant amount of time in hotels, I’ve started to develop criteria for selecting places to stay at. For example, they must be conveniently located, preferably within walking distance of my main destinations, and while not necessarily luxurious, they should offer easy access to amenities.
Besides the accessibility to good Wi-Fi, the attention and friendliness of the staff will always be a factor in my return visit to a specific hotel. Then, of course, there’s the quality of the bed linen. I don’t sleep much, but I sleep fast, so I need the bed to feel perfectly comfortable.
With almost half of last year spent on the road, I have taken to making little notes detailing typical design missteps that hotels often make—regularly where cost-saving measures are prioritised or the interior designer failed to consider the comfort of guests. Allow me to share a few of my findings.
In the hotel industry’s quest for smart automation, almost every property offers a whole set of challenges when it comes to operating the lights and curtains. Some can be so frustrating that I’ve needed to try to contact the reception desk for assistance, only to not being able to find the number to dial. In one stay, I had curtains without a window behind them; rooms with a single electrical plug socket; toilets that were located more than two metres from the paper roll holder; an ashtray in a non-smoking room; and confusing multiple elevator set ups with buttons that make no sense.
Then of course there are the overly "designed" rooms where the rooms have no mirrors, or feature glass windows between the bathroom and the bedroom—unthinkable when you’re travelling with a colleague or family member who isn’t your significant other. No, open plan bathrooms are not a design error, but rather an increasingly bizarre feature of modern hotels.
Failures in hotel design are always preventable, which is fascinating when there seem to be so many of them.
The concept of design is rooted in the traditions of hospitality. Since ancient times, the hospitality industry has served at the behest of making the journey of the traveller more amenable. The development of many diverse types of Inns, hotels, brands and other services has occurred in cultures all across the world—but they always start by design conception, some of them taking years on this stage.
The initial design phase is crucial, drawing upon centuries- old traditions of hospitality. Hotels often falter due to technological obsolescence or poor furniture choices, a problem not limited to budget accommodations but also seen in luxury resorts.
Ultimately, the staff’s attitude plays a pivotal role in creating a memorable guest experience, as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “True hospitality consists of giving the best of yourself to your guests.” When you travel, it there is no memory, there is no value. Well, it’s a good thing I’ve been keeping my notes then.
Orchard Road. The once plantation-lined country lane is now a hubbub of shopping. You have your usual great oaks (Ion Orchard; Paragon; TANGS Singapore); the buskers that dot the periphery of the malls; the annual Christmas light-up that encompasses the 2.2km thoroughfare. It is a tree-shaded Babylon. But westerly Cuscaden Road has its own share of flavours. None more than the appearance of its hotels.
There’s St Regis at Tanglin Road and further down, at the corner of Grange Road and Cuscaden Road is JEN Singapore Tanglin. But we are especially excited about the Singapore EDITION, Artyzen Singapore and the Conrad Singapore Orchard. The first two are new to Singapore, while the third took over the building that used to be The Regent, gave it a nip-and-tuck, and is now rebranded as the Conrad Singapore Orchard. (Ah, now it makes sense.)
Three hotels. All opened within the last few months. We look at each of them, what they offer and what to expect from these lodgings.
We’ve heard of the EDITION hotels and how hip and cool it is to stay there. So, colour us excited when we heard that it opened in Singapore.
From the outside, it doesn’t possess many of the trademarks that you see at a conventional hotel. You can’t see through the curtained glass doors; the row of plants that divides the structure and the public sidewalk, furthers obstructs the view of the main entrance.
But once you cross the threshold, it’s like stepping into another world, where hip sounds and new sights flood your senses. The lobby is lined with white marble, which contrasts with a gold-leafed domed ceiling. Windows stretch from floor to ceiling and bathes the space in natural light. And there are plants galore. Not as verdant as a forest but enough to catch your eye.
Then, as you walk towards the Lobby Bar, the scene changes and now you’re faced with their oversized display cabinet backlit in pink. (I’d come up with more descriptors of the different shades of pink but I’m a cisman and this is the best I can do at the moment.) You spend a minute there, agog, before you’re offered a drink to make full use of your open maw.
A spiral staircase leads to the lower level where the Punch Room is. Every EDITION has its own Punch Room and Singapore’s version is washed in "Yves Klein blue". Oak panels line the walls and ceilings; stone fan-shaped mosaics cover the floor. In the middle, a sculptural blue ceiling pendant hangs like a dew drop. The Punch Room serves punch (duh) that’s inspired by Southeast Asian spices.
Guests can choose from the hotel’s 204 rooms; each of the rooms is bedecked in shades of mostly white. I’ve a child, a ravenous thing, who wolfed down the welcome chocolate amenity and I was on tenterhooks, trying to keep him from sullying the bedsheets. We stayed at the Garden Premier King, which overlooks the garden courtyard.
The Roof is a semi-al fresco setting with a white-tiled pool. Sure, there’s the towering residential wing but you’ll forget all about them when you do laps in the pool; especially when you swim over the transparent acrylic screen that lets you look into the garden courtyard below. Freaky.
Over at FYSH at EDITION, the main dining room is inspired by a maritime passage from East to West. Nautical elements, while not overt, make their presence felt—a Christian Furr painting of a junk at sea hangs behind the bar; a backlit ceiling panel depicts a celestial navigation map.
Chef Josh Niland handles FYSH at EDITION. This is his first restaurant outside of Australia. Diners are served from a "sustainable seafood-focused steakhouse" menu. All, if not most, of the dishes, tie back to Chef Niland’s fin-to-gill approach. The FYSH egg tart is a decadent delight, with salmon roe on top of French creme fraiche and chives sitting in a shortcrust pastry, and the Brown Clams XO is a serving of Javanese brown clams with noodles made from, get this, cod bones. It’s chewy and goes great with their XO sauce (made of more cod bones and other fishy stuff).
The Singapore EDITION is located at 38 Cuscaden Road.
It used to be the storied Villa Marie, a two-storey colonial-style bungalow, once purchased by Tan Hoon Siang (the great-grandson of Tan Tock Seng). Shun Tak Holdings Limited bought the property in 2016 with plans to redevelop the site into "a five-star hotel facility".
Finally, in the year of our Lord 2024, we see the fruits of Shun Tak’s labour: Artyzen Singapore. This is the first Artyzen hotel outside of Greater China. Inspired by our Straits heritage, Artyzen Singapore presents itself as a contemporary vertical oasis thanks to the architectural savvy of ONG&ONG and the ID-know-how of Nic Graham & Associates.
Given the area it occupies, Artyzen Singapore is built with height in mind. It offers 142 rooms and suites, each boasting high ceilings and ceiling fans, and furnishings that give a sense of spaciousness. Stay at the Terrace Suite and you have your own outdoor Sky Garden to traipse in. You can find a bathtub and a separate rain shower in the ensuite bathroom; the his-and-her bathroom sinks give a sense of closeness and independence (unless you have a kid).
The hotel has Quenino, a dining concept helmed by Chef Victor Liong. Quenino (pronounced as /′ke-ni-nu/), we are told, means "little one" in Malaccan Creole Portuguese. Inspired by the Straits, dishes are a blend of traditional and modern techniques. The restaurant’s interior is something to behold as flora bedecked the space. If you’re uninterested in the beauty within, there’s always the lush outdoor terrace where you can set your peepers at the Orchard Road cityscape.
Other things of note: there’s the Roof Garden, where you can soak or swim in the infinity pool. There is also the fifth floor dedicated to wellness with a 24-hour gym and private treatment rooms. What was really memorable were the elevator walls of Artyzen Singapore. They are artwork created by local artist, Terence Tan. Depicting the outside of a shophouse, the artwork is akin to a stained-glass window. When the doors open and the outside light pours in, it paints the piece in a different... well, light.
Artyzen Singapore is located at 9 Cuscaden Road.
The Conrad Singapore Orchard is the second property of the Conrad brand. When news of it taking over the space from The Regent broke, many were worried that perennial favourites like Manhattan, Basilico and the Michelin-starred Summer Palace might relocate to another place. But after a meticulous refurbishment, the restaurants and bar remain where they were before.
Originally envisioned by the architect John Portman, and infused with the creativity of local artists, Conrad Singapore Orchard extolls Singapore’s garden city ethos through its design and programmes.
The hotel has 445 newly renovated rooms that are spacious and that blend botanical-inspired aesthetics with natural hues. The floor-to-ceiling windows with plantation shutters allow for natural light to stream in.
While we could go on about the room stay (excellent, by the way), we want to dive into the “Conrad Experiences”. These are tailor- made programmes that residents could partake in. It’s all part of the brand’s commitment to redefine luxury through impactful experiences. With a curated programme, guests get to have that purposeful interaction, that deepens this connection with the place that they are in. We applied for the Cheese Infusion Workshop in Basilico’s Cheese Room. There, we were taught how to infuse our own cheeses (while stuffing our faces with said cheese).
And while, cheese always filled the emptiness in our souls, it was the Edible Garden Walk activity that took the cake. This is a guided tour that took us from the hotel to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Singapore Botanical Gardens. As we hoofed it, we were taught about the plants that could be eaten along the way. Now, you’d think that we could eat them but no, we can’t because it is verboten under the Parks and Trees Act.
But even with this restriction, our guide brought along the cuttings of the same plants from his garden. It was an illuminating excursion that culminated with a sit-down at the Botanical Gardens as we dig into a packed lunch with ingredients made from these found botanicals.
Conrad Singapore Orchard is located at 1 Cuscaden Road.
Clearly, this is not a comprehensive list. There are possibly hundreds of new hotels opening each year, but 2024 marks openings that may be first of the brand in the region, like The Singapore EDITION was for Asia Pacific in 2023. Otherwise, portfolios in cities that make so much sense that we're excited to see how the rendition turns out. Here are a couple to put on your travel radar.
The edgy hospitality brand continues its expansion in the Southeast Asian market following two openings in Thailand. Located on Orange Grove Road, The Standard, Singapore will feature 143 rooms and is one of the rare ground-up hotels constructed within prime Orchard area.
Amanjunkies can look forward to the second half of 2024, where the brand will open in the Thai capital's embassy district. The unconventional skyscraper features 52 suites and 50 residences across 36 levels, as well as an infinity pool at its peak.
The boutique accommodation finds its thoughtful concept matched with the traditional landscape of the heritage city. Set to open the first half of the year, Six Senses Kyoto arranges its 81 rooms around a courtyard. From onsite spa to meeting rooms with fireplaces, guests can certainly expect a ryokan-style welcome.
The two prominent towers take aesthetic inspiration from coral reefs surrounding Qatar seas and comprise 155 guestrooms and suites, 162 serviced apartments and 276 residences for rent. The ultra-luxe destination will have a total collection of ten lifestyle outlets, including its signature Manor Club.
Alongside the recently opened One&Only Aesthesis, Athens, the second Greek outpost occupies 65 hectares worth of beachfront on the Cycladic island of Kéa. With private pools, terrace, courtyard and fireplace for each villa, the resort also offers private homes with nearly 360-degree views of the Aegean sea.
After the original in Naples, the sibling will open in spring by the city's Piazza del Popolo. In a palazzo dating all the way back to the 17th century, the hotel is also one of the last projects from the late Zaha Hadid, whose architectural touch you may observe in the furnishings and lashings of Italian marble.
Due to open this autumn, the hybrid hospitality pioneers of extended stay is developing the acquired historic property in a 145 room aparthotel across seven floors. The 18th century mansion on the Latin Quarter will see 1000 sqm of social spaces under a restored glass atrium.
On the heels and within the vicinity of Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park, the sister hotel will sit its 50 rooms and suites in Hanover Square. Besides a rooftop bar and urban spa, amongst its lifestyle offerings is the first namesake restaurant of Chef Akira Back to open in UK.
New hotels are incredible. We love them. Look over here where we just revealed our forty-nine favorite of just-finished or fully-revamped properties. The sheen of each is undeniable. But scouring for some place new is just one way to travel. Some of the very best properties in hoteling have been hosting travelers for decades. They've become synonymous with their city, the sole reason for many to visit a town at all. We want to honor those places too. Welcome to Esquire's Hotels Hall of Fame.
So what is the criteria that makes an establishment eligible for this list? Well, the doors have to have been open for five or more years for consideration. (You'll find one property on this list that has been at the top of its game for five times that, and another that debuted way back in 1910!) But it's not just having been in business for a half-decade or more that makes a place Hall of Fame worthy. They also have to have become constants in their community—defining or shaping the very region in which they stand.
Being great for any span of time is hard work, doing so for years on end is downright remarkable. What's more, though, is that for these five hotels, there's no end in sight to their reign. —Madison Vain
A quarter of a century into its tenure, there’s still no better place to stay in Cabo than right here. Rooms are spacious and warmly decorated, the service is unbeatable, and late nights at the on-site speakeasy, La Botica—hit the right button on the typewriter and the doors will swing open for you, too, revealing a revelrous Cuban band and maybe even a magician—absolutely delight. Of course there is also the ocean-facing infinity pool (plus seven others (!) waiting for you to come take a dip), the grassy slope littered with plush loungers, and Arbol, one of the best restaurants in town, on the property. But the allure of the Rosewood hotel is something more. It’s an escape to Mexico, a place that embraces its host country’s style, trappings, and natural beauty so completely you feel enveloped by every ribbon of the local charm. Trust me, you’ll be back. Summer rooms from $800; winter rooms from $1,540. —M.V.
Checking in at Lake Como’s Grand Hotel Tremezzo, the first thing that hits you are the red roses. The whole place is festooned with them—piled in giant silver urns, submerged in towering vases, wafting on the warm lake breeze. But these extravagant blooms (replaced every night) are just one stroke of splendor at a place where splendor is stock-in-trade. This jewel of Lake Como, opened in 1910 as a destination for Belle Epoque elites, gets better and bolder with age. Art nouveau opulence and old world hospitality still reign supreme here, but modern updates attract a glitzy coterie of younger jet-setters. The influencer set can be found snapping selfies by the breathtaking water-on-water pool, while well-heeled young honeymooners stay upstairs in sleek, contemporary rooftop suites. But for all its ultra-luxe updates, the Grand Hotel Tremezzo stands the test of time because of its rich traditions. Case in point: the astounding Italian breakfast, with heaping silver platters of meat, cheese, and pastries served buffet-style in a soaring ballroom. Dine on the terrace in awe of the lake’s glittering azure waters, or while away the morning with room service on your idyllic wrought-iron balcony. When the living is this good, you’ll never want to head back to real life. Rooms from $818 —Adrienne Westenfeld
The tiny original port a cochère is intimate, small scale, elegant. You feel like perhaps you are in the wrong place. This couldn’t be a Four Seasons like you’ve been to in countless cities. It’s more like something in the Riviera. But you see the sign and the kind bellman and you know this is real. That grandeur gets bigger once you step up the coral steps and are hit with a beamed lobby and a tower where Hemingway rested his head. These are the original bits of the Surf Club from back in the day, where rum runners kept the bar hopping and Sinatra honeymooned. It is the heart of the operation…you eat at Lido, newly helmed by Michael White (luscious pastas, impeccable seafood) or at the Surf Club Restaurant from Thomas Keller (old-school grandeur). You drink at the majestic Lido bar, a breezy, see-and-be seen, Mediterranean style lounge with deft cocktails. The socializing here feels analog, a throwback. Brought back to life in 2017, they knew not to mess too much with a good thing. The rooms and the pools, however, are gloriously, elegantly modern. Clean, classic lines by architect Richard Meier. Warm yet minimalist interiors by Joseph Dierand. You can live out your high-rise living fantasies and your beach cabana ones at the same time. The Surf Club straddles the best of two eras simultaneously. It is not the glitzy, contemporary Miami you may be used to, and that is a good thing. You come here not to be in Miami, necessarily, but to be at the Surf Club…it’s a vibe, as they say. Rooms from $1,600 —Kevin Sintumuang
Picking the right hotel in Vegas used to be a fraught experience. Would you like to stay at the one with the pirate theme or the one with the clowns? In 2010 the Cosmopolitan fixed that with a mix of sumptuous rooms, dizzying choices for food and drink, and a vibe that encouraged guests to be on their best worst behavior. More than a dozen years on and the Cosmo’s puckish spirit remains but has matured into the kind of place where bachelorette parties frequently mix with families and Formula One fans. The rooms have since been refreshed while chow and booze options are still unbeatable. There’s a Momofuku, an Egg Slut, and a Milk Bar within a couple dozen yards of each other. José Andrés has two restaurants plus there are spots for omakase tastings and mezcal flights. The secret unmarked pizza joint is still secret and unmarked, serving up hot slices late at night. In a city that seems to offer nonstop questionable choices, the Cosmopolitan has pulled off a magic trick worthy of David Copperfield: There are nothing but good options here. Rooms from $230. —Daniel Dumas
As you drive past the stone walls and up the winding carriageway, and the noble 1820s Greek revival mansion begins to emerge from behind the rolling green hills, the 21st century falls away immediately. Good riddance. The property began its life as a family home, then had a decades-long second life as a Catholic boys’ secondary school. Try as they might, the priests couldn’t stay ahead of the misty weather and keep the house in the condition it deserves. Now it’s a 15-room, five-star hotel that accommodates a maximum of 29 guests on its 614 acres. Shoot clay pigeons, ride horses, or—I swear to God—do falconry. Inside, there’s a pool fit for Hearst Castle, several treatment rooms, and a wine cellar where you can cop a daytime whiskey tasting. After a dinner of locally-sourced meat and fish and very-locally-sourced vegetables and herbs from the walled garden, go downstairs for a few drinks: the former servants’ hall has been spruced up into The Cellar Bar, where things get appropriately rowdy. (Hot tip: if you want to hang out with Irish people, stay upstairs. As our Cellar Bar bartender explained, “It’s exotic for the Americans and Brits to be relegated to the basement, but the Irish are too accustomed to it.”) Comparisons to Downton Abbey are unavoidable. Soak it up. Say the word “splendid” out loud like you’ll want to. What happens in the 1820s stays in the 1820s. Rooms from approx. $680 —Dave Holmes
