Design Hotels

Ceiling murals worth a long look. Furniture commissioned for the building it stands in. Architecture that doesn't just house guests but shapes how they spend the day. Our Design Hotels are the properties where the building is half the reason to book — sometimes more. Some are restored heritage spaces with contemporary work layered onto historical bones; others are entirely contemporary builds where the architect's vision is the property's defining feature. The very best design, we think, blends innovation with cultural personality: a Venetian palazzo with Murano-glass suites doesn't read the same as a Marrakech riad or a Bali village compound, and the difference is the point. Our editors have picked properties where the design earns its place rather than imitates the genre. Book a room in one of these designer hotels and see if you agree.