2025 Hot Hotel Preview, Part 2
Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica
Everyone wants a piece of Japan. Asia is clawing its way out of a post-pandemic slump. Things are looking camptastic in Africa. The world (as long as we all agree to take good care of it) is your oyster. For Part 2 of our 2025 preview of the world’s best new hotels, we’re taking you to Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.
If you missed it, here’s our 2025 Hot Hotel Preview, Part 1 for the USA, Caribbean, Latin America, Canada.
Asia
The Sun Is Still Rising in Japan
Luxury brands love to plant their flags in Japan, and since the country reopened after the pandemic, tons of names you know have done so (see: Six Senses Kyoto; The Tokyo Edition Ginza; Banyan Tree Higashimaya Kyoto). As this year unfolds, 1 Hotels is staking a claim in Tokyo in the Mori Trust's Tokyo World Gate retail-office complex in the Akasaka district. These overly planned urban environments with “pedestrian zones” usually bum us out, but somehow, in Tokyo, it all feels okay. For one thing, reducing energy and water, advancing gray water, and building a lush green oasis will be key initiatives for the eco hotel. And we know the look will be more wabi sabi than sterile perfectionism. On the 38th floor, the main lobby will have a sculptural stone water feature, a dining room with an open kitchen will have views of the Imperial Palace, and the spa will be inspired by Zen gardens.
In anticipation of its 30th anniversary, the iconic Park Hyatt Tokyo paused operations to undergo a comprehensive renovation that includes revitalizing public spaces, modernizing the infrastructure, reducing inventory, and introducing a new suite category. Don’t worry! The details that made you love Lost in Translation will look better than ever: Paris design firm Studio Join Manku paid homage to the property’s original designer, John Morford, and the New York Grill & Bar (on floor 52) will be restored to its original design.
In Kyoto, Pan Pacific’s The Hotel Higashiyama Kyoto Tokyu is opening 143 rooms in the ryokan style. The soothing, 92-room Capella Kyoto blends eastern and western design details in its bedrooms (low-profile furniture, rice paper room dividers), modern brasserie, and bamboo courtyard.
This spring, Rosewood Miyakojima will open a small (55 villas) and luxurious island beach resort off the coast of Okinawa. This is not the Japan of misty temples but of turquoise water, vivid coral, and local connections to Okinawan uchinanchu (“sea people'').
In April, funky foodie city of Osaka will welcome Patina Osaka in a new, 21-story building across from Osaka Castle. The look is contemporary and masculine, with lots of wood tones and expansive windows overlooking picturesque Naniwa No Miya park (where you can walk off last night’s yakitori). Waldorf Astoria Osaka is also taking reservations for April for the brand’s debut in Japan.
Openings in China
A surge in visitors are expected this year, as things finally mete out post pandemic. Americans are looking for offbeat destinations inspired by social media influencers and personal interests (maybe those things are one in the same). Anantara Xiling Snow Mountain Chengdu Resort will open this fall in the Sichuan province and focus on nature-based experiences like skiing, Huashuiwan Hot Springs bathing, and visiting the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding an hour’s drive from Chengdu. Could be nice paired with a city break at forthcoming The Langham Chengdu.
Anantara is heading to China’s Anji County in the eastern coastal Zhejiang province. A popular eco-tourism destination, it’s a three-hour drive from Shanghai. Anantara Anji Resort will be nestled in the mountains of a bamboo forest, among tea farms and ancient temples — a wonderful setting for contemplation and meditation. Or at least an immersive self-care moment.
Speaking of sustainability, the beautiful Salt of Anji is opening this spring as a high-design eco sanctuary. Get your fix of Gaudi-inspired contemporaneity (realized by South African architect Peter Rich) among serene mountains, bamboo forests, and rivers. There are stone villas, hotel guest rooms, and studios (108 in all). Food is a sensory experience from the bakery and cafe, a farm-to-table restaurant, a casual kitchen serving street food, and a “honey and tea lab” with unique infusions and harvests from the on-site hive. A wellness center gives guests the chance to swim, bathe, sweat, plunge, and stretch. This resort would be a nice balance with a Shanghai city trip (just 2.5 hours away).
All the way over in the Yunnan province in southwestern China, The Dali Edition will have 150 guest rooms, suites, and villas — with mountain or lake views — when it opens in December. Dali is a well-known destination with diverse cultures and nightlife and accessible public transport (there’s a rail station and airport). Here, too, the new hotel will offer multiple restaurants, bars, a recreational center, plus conference and event spaces.
Capella Taipei
Taipei, Taiwan
Taiwan has put a hiatus on luxury hotel openings for nearly a decade, so all eyes will be in this 86-room newcomer when it opens as an urban respite in the Songshan District. André Fu Studio is behind the design, a “modern mansion” with a personal, homey touch, plus five sophisticated dining rooms and an elegant spa. (Spring)
Read on for news throughout Asia, Africa, The Middle East, Australia, and Antarctica.