Unique ways to stay at new properties around the world
ANN RUPPENSTEIN
With fall around the corner, Canadians are eager to pack their bags for sunnier climates or to make the most of cozy autumn nights by getting out in the great outdoors (and maybe even seeing the northern lights). Here’s a look at some memorable new hotels to check into for a memorable getaway.
citizenM, a brand founded on the concept of disrupting the traditional, stale hotel industry, has a fresh new location in Miami. The exterior of the 252-room hotel features five vibrant large scale pieces of artwork by Miami born-and-raised artist Jen Stark. Inside, eight societyM meeting rooms offer style, tech, and unlimited coffee to let ideas flow. The hotel is also home to the brand’s first rooftop pool, offering sweeping views of Miami’s downtown for in-house guests.
citizenM Miami Brickell’s entrance leads into a non-traditional lobby styled living room that feels like home, furnished with plenty of books, art and furniture from citizenM’s long-standing partner, Vitra. In the heart of the living room is a canteenM, serving food and drinks 24/7. The property also offers two terraces: one overlooking S. Miami Avenue and the other facing a lush green garden space.
Guest rooms are uniform in style and size — optimized for relaxation with a wall-to-wall window, an XL king-size bed topped with the finest European linens, a jetlag-bursting power shower, and an HD TV with streaming capabilities. Superfast free Wi-Fi is unlimited and perfect for streaming one’s own films or music straight to the TV. A MoodPad tablet controls the ambience – from temperature to blinds to entertainment. All of these features can also be controlled by a guest’s smartphone, thanks to the brand’s award-winning app.
Sommerro, Oslo
Photos © Francisco Nogueira
Oslo-bound travellers have a new option to stay as Nordic Hotels & Resorts announced the grand opening of its newest luxury hotel, Sommerro, located in the West End.
The 231-room Art Deco hotel is complete with 56 branded residences, seven restaurants and bars, meeting and event spaces with capacity for up to 150 people, a 100-seat gilded theater, a landmark wellness space with a fully-equipped gym, and the city’s first year-round rooftop pool, sauna, and terrace.
Opening in November, Vestkantbadet, one of Norway’s last remaining public baths from 1932, has been restored to its former glory and reimagined as an 15,000-square-foot subterranean urban wellness retreat. Designed as a haven for health and mindfulness, Vestkantbadet will feature a series of treatment rooms, original restored Roman baths, infrared sauna, gym, and cold plunge pool offering a traditional Nordic thermotherapy experience.
As the second stage in this exciting launch, Sommerro will open Villa Inkognito in March 2023. Housed in a former private residence that dates back to 1870, this 11-suite retreat is adjacent to the hotel with a private entrance and will offer the option to be rented in its entirety. The villa will boast several opulent living rooms, an open kitchen, an intimate bar, a fitness room in the basement and a lovely outdoor area. Guests can enjoy the privacy of their own villa with full access to all of the amenities and services offered at Sommerro.
Sommerro has also implemented an 8-hour rule for employees to ensure work-life balance is always considered – 8 hours of work, 8 hours of fun, and 8 hours of sleep.
Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo, Mexico
The all-new Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo, México is now accepting reservations ahead of its anticipated opening in late 2022.
The resort will offer 157 contemporary Mexican accommodations – many with private pools – plus four restaurants and bars, a golf course, a transformative spa and wellness experience, and much more. A defining characteristic of the resort is that just 2% of the surrounding nature reserve will be developed.
The centre of Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo is the Discovery Centre, a starting point to engaging in the natural cycles of the region from ocean to jungle across the Reserve. The resort’s on-site team of biologists can introduce guests to the area’s biodiversity, including its more than 70 endemic species of wildlife and hundreds of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles to be seen throughout the Reserve’s more than 3,000 acres (1,220 hectares).
While on-site chef’s gardens have become standard at many hotels, the resort team saw the broader possibilities offered by the region’s micro climate, and thus Rancho Ortega, a 35 acre (14 hectare) working farm, was born.
The Spa experience at Four Seasons continues the journey of immersion in the culture and landscape of the region, with treatments designed to connect guests with the elements and rhythms of this unique part of the world. Highlights include a temazcal ceremony, a pre-Hispanic tradition that brings together medicinal herbs and spiritual rituals to encourage personal reflection, contemplation, and re-connection.
Facilities also include a state-of-the-art fitness centre, three pools in addition to those found in many of the Resort’s accommodations, plus three beaches and numerous coves ringing the peninsula.
Seahorse Villa, Palm Island
Palm Island Resort & Spa in The Grenadines has debuted Seahorse Villa, a private 4,000 square ft. retreat with two bedrooms both with ensuite bathrooms. The standalone villa features a kitchen with all the essentials like a double door fridge with icemaker, a four-burner stove, a double sink, a stainless-steel dishwasher, coffee and espresso makers, toaster, full sets of cutlery, crockery, and glassware.
The spacious living and dining areas are perfect for guests looking to spend some evening downtime with an elegant dining table and chairs, comfy sofas and a large screen television with a sound system and the internet. Opening the sliding doors onto the veranda allows easy options for sunset cocktails or dining under the stars.
Palm Island is an adult-oriented all-inclusive resort and spa on a 135-acre private island in the Caribbean’s Grenadine islands. Accessible only by private launch, guests enjoy genuine heartwarming hospitality, with a choice of five exquisite white sand beaches by warm turquoise waters.
Dining choices include two restaurants, Royal Palm and the more relaxed Sunset, or more laid-back eating and drinking in the bars and beachside, and options for secluded picnics or romantic dinners.
There are a host of activities from a full gym to snorkelling, kayaking, Hobie cats and more, and music from local reggae bands plus the Manager’s weekly cocktail party.
Rates for 2023 range between $3,000-$6,000 per night and all-inclusive, so villa guests are able to enjoy all resort restaurants, bars and facilities.
