Now Open: The Best New Hotels of Spring 2025 — Europe
New builds and bold restorations across the Med, the Alps, the cities, the villages.
She’s here and she’s a looker: Our second of three installments of spring hotel openings shows off a lot of fresh looks in Europe. There’s a big water theme (coastal, island, reefside, and lakeside retreats) as well as a great crop of city hotels from Stockholm to Vienna to Madrid.
How would you like to meet:
femme 4- and 5-star belles on the French Riviera
chic Italian beach town beauties
new island sirens in Greece
Alpine charmers that will take your breath away
If you want to add more to the dating pool, check out The Best New Hotels of Spring 2025: The Americas. Or deep dive into part 1, part 2, and part 3 of our hotel overview for the year. Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Australia are up next week.
New in the UK
Consider the 42 bedrooms and suites of the newly restored Seaton House in St. Andrews, Scotland, your home away from home close to the green. Even if you don’t golf, beyond the charming rooms, oyster bar, and restaurant, the coastal town has lovely shops, cafes, sites, old ruins, dramatic cliffs, and local characters to keep you entertained.
If you’re looking to trade in your apartment for something more regal, head to Crossbasket Castle in East Kilbride, twenty minutes from Glasgow. The 40-room hotel in a 17th-century palace is a spare-no-expense kind of project that promises immersive dining, lots of entertainment, and over-the-top service.
Also in Glasgow near the airport is Mar Hall Golf & Spa Resort, fresh from an impressive £20 million transformation of a 230-acre, nearly 200-year-old former hospital and Victorian mansion. Rounding out the five-star, 18-hole championship golf course are 74 rooms and suites, a private cinema, a billiards room, two restaurants and two bars, tons of cozy spaces, a library, and a social club for all guests.
Beyond golf enthusiasts hotly anticipating The 153rd Open Northern Ireland, hotel junkies will be pleased to know about Northern Ireland’s newly imagined Portrush Adelphi, a 34-room seaside hotel just a short walk to Whiterocks Beach. Perhaps a booking for the Salmon and Whiskey Festival (held every October) or a trip in conjunction with Ould Lammas Fair, Ireland’s oldest fair?
Treehouse Manchester
Manchester, England
They’re having a good time in Manchester, and they’re doing it at the fun and free-spirited Treehouse — in 224 rooms that brim with whimsical touches, in the rooftop lounge, in the low-waste-cooking restaurant, in the screening room, in the gym, and in the cultural programming. Sustainability and eco awareness are hallmarks of Treehouse (there’s even an apiary on the roof), and we applaud them for it.
Norther Europe
Stockholm Stadshotell
Stockholm, Sweden
Just looking at photos of hotels in Stockholm will make your heart rate drop into the extreme serene zone. But this reinvigorated landmark (originally designed in the 19th century for the king), in the adorable Södermalm neighborhood, is particularly calming — what with its dappled sunlight on a window seat, elegant wood floors, burl headboards, and Swedish limestone. An old chapel, converted into a dining room, offers a daily set menu, plated gracefully. (There’s a another point of serenity: You’re relieved of the stress of making choices).
Lilløy
Midtoy, Norway
In western Norway, not too far from Bergen, on a stark and beautiful nine-acre private island accessible by boat, we find a main house with four cozy rooms (a tribute to Nordic craftsmanship), that’s a lovely home base for gentle forays into nature: kayaking at dawn, feasting on locally foraged foods (including seaweed from the hotel’s underwater farm), chilling out in the sauna, stargazing at night.
Park Lane Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Denmark
The elegant newcomer in the Hellerup neighborhood in north Copenhagen, part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, has rooms, suites with working fireplaces, and apartments for long-term stays. The wellness center focuses on longevity and lets guests take toys like light masks and sauna blankets back to their rooms. Three on-site restaurants include Yves and Parsley Salon for fine dining and Rosé Rosé, a French-Danish bistro.
De Plesman
The Hague, The Netherlands
Talk about building on a travel legacy: This great-looking, 103-key hotel, located in the music capital of Holland (fun fact), was named for the founder of KLM, the oldest airline in the world, — Albert Plesman (a former pilot; another fun fact) — and occupies the airline’s former head office. The bar was named for Albert; the restaurant in the old canteen for his wife Suus.
Rosewood Amsterdam
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Rosewood entered the Dutch market along the picturesque Prinsengracht in the canal district, transforming the former Palace of Justice into 134 rooms and suites, a spa, three restaurants and bars, an indoor pool, and indoor garden courtyards designed by landscape architect Piet Oudolf.
The Standard, Brussels
Brussels, Belgium
The former World Trade Center in the Northern Quarter is now the ZIN multifunctional project with a Standard that has 200 rooms, suites, and the brand’s first longer-stay apartments.
The Lands with Germanic Tongues
Chiemgauhof Lakeside Retreat opened in Übersee with architect Matteo Thun’s version of contemporary Bavarian: Local woods were used to construct three modern barn-like structures on the shores of a picturesque lake in an ecologically sensitive way. This is the kind of upmarket alpine simplicity Americans fantasize about (and the kind that hearty Germans have embedded into their culture for centuries). You’ll want to hoard the fresh air.
Business travelers to Frankfurt will appreciate Kimpton Main Frankfurt — a modern, comfortable, and conveniently located in the financial district.
Anantara Palais Hansen Vienna Hotel
Vienna, Austria
Here’s another impressive restoration by a multinational hotel company. The palace originally created as a hotel for the 1873 World’s Fair went on to become a residential complex and then a public administration building. Now it’s back where it began, as one of the city’s grandest hotels, with the requisite marble floors and sweeping staircase.
Grand Hotel Belvedere
Wengen, Switzerland
French hoteliers Beaumier couldn’t have made their first Swiss hotel more alpine if they painted the walls with hot chocolate. Wengen, in the shadow of mighty Jungfrau mountain, is a car-free town, which means guests can only access the cute, 90-room hotel by cog railway, on foot, on horseback, or by, you know, following a herd of cows with colorful ribbons in their hair.
Hôtel Borsari
Martigny, Switzerland
More alpine action, this one a Design Hotel that took inspiration from the 19th century wine storage tanks in the winery that was once on site. It’s located in the Lô Dzè neighborhood of Martigny, the city near Montreux that’s undergoing a bit of a renaissance. (Then again, it’s been reinventing itself since ancient Roman times.)
Fairmont Golden Prague
Prague, Czech Republic
By now we are all familiar with brutalist architecture, Oscar winners notwithstanding, right? Then we’ll be extra appreciative of the newly unveiled 1974 brutalist landmark in Old Town. Czech creativity is also on display inside through the owners’ extensive art collection. Furnishings have been meticulously preserved in the public spaces and 320 rooms, suites, and serviced apartments, while a massive new spa has the latest gear and the city’s only outdoor pool.
Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard Bucharest
Bucharest, Romania
Corinthia Hotels has been on a roll in recent years (The Surrey opened in NYC last fall; Brussels last December, Rome is coming soon), converting grand old spaces into modern show-stoppers. Their latest is a Belle Époque makeover with 30 suites, three restaurants (one in the former grand ballroom), and a collection of experiences with local artists and cultural institutions.
French Kisses
Maison Barrière Vendôme
Paris, France
The luxury hotel is a stunner for its craft, details, and a theme that makes us stand up and cheer oui, madame: Twenty-six rooms, suites, and apartments pay homage, through their decor and artwork, to iconic women — Josephine Baker, Mata Hari, Mercedes Sosa, Camille Claudel, and Nina Simone among them. Bar Frida is the South American-inspired restaurant and cocktail spot on the ground floor; an underground spa with a cold plunge pool is coming soon. Let’s hear it for les femmes.
Hôtel Filigrane
Paris, France
The four-star hotel in the 2nd arrondissement took inspiration from its two prominent neighbors, the Bourse stock exchange and Bibliothèque de France library. The handsome design leans on monochromatic palettes (blues, reds, greens) and geometric patterns (lots of stripes, reminiscent of books on a shelf); the spa has a pool that can be reserved for private use and a mosaic-lined hammam. And because accessibility for varying levels of ability is something we’re going to hear hotels talk about a lot more in the coming years (or so we hope), we’re applauding this statement on the website: “The hotel is suitable for people with reduced mobility.”
La Fondacion
Paris, France
New York studio Roman & Williams designed the 17th arrondissement project with separate area devoted to a hotel (58 rooms, three restaurants, and an outdoor rooftop bar), work (meeting rooms, auditorium, a hanging wall), and wellness (a semi- Olympic pool, climbing wall, fitness classes).
Le Jardin de Verre by Locke
Paris, France
Because Locke’s aparthotel concept hasn’t left Europe yet, most American travelers aren’t as familiar with the brand as they are with Hoxton and Generator. But it’s one to know, for the fresh design and modern amenities like yoga mats in the rooms and cool bars that are work spaces by day. Their first Paris hotel in the Latin Quarter occupies a former Baroque mansion and 19th-century factory.
Sax Paris
Paris, France
There’s no shortage of terrific hotels in Paris, but we say: Keep ‘em coming. This newbie in the 7th has a gallery, a garden, an outdoor pool (ooh, la la), 360° rooftop terrace views, and warm and modern touches. It’s also part of Hilton Honors — so utilize your points.
Maison Heler Metz
Metz, France
This may be the most creative way to use your Hilton points — in a nine-story building topped by an 18th-century house. (Click the link to see for yourself.) Designer Philippe Starck, for whom no idea is too whimsical, was inspired by a novel he wrote to create “an inhabitable, surreal and literary work of living art.” Not what you’d expect from the average Hilton, is it?
Experimental Chalet Val d'Isère
Val d’Isère, France
We can always count on the team at Experimental and their preferred designer Dorothée Meilichzon to create vibrant, welcoming, and refreshingly affordable hotels in top destinations. Their sixth, a 113-room hotel on the slopes in the French Alps, has brasserie-style restaurants (have the raclette), a spa offering massages to soothe achy limbs, and, of course, an outpost of the Experimental Cocktail Club.
Cour des Loges Lyon, A Radisson Collection Hotel
Lyon, France
We’re digging the look of the exposed beams, stone columns, period furnishings, cloistered atrium, and glass-roofed spa at the historic Renaissance building in Vieux-Lyon.
Hôtel Le Soleia
Nice, France
The city that wants to be more than a stop on the way to the Riviera is giving visitors another reason to spend a few nights with this beautiful, feminine, light-filled, centrally located four-star from Inwood Hotels.
Villa Miraé
Cap d’Antibes, France
Of course, those who do want to summer on the Riviera have a light, airy, and beautiful new five-star option.
After the paywall: news from Italy, Spain, Greece, the Mediterranean. In other words, the sunshine, just in time for summer.