Here are some of the must-visit properties hitting the scene this year.
Can the hotel industry top 2025? What a banner year of openings, starting with Rosewood’s arrival in Amsterdam. The ultra-luxury hotel, occupying the historic Palace of Justice, landed the top spot in our roundup of the world’s 50 best luxury hotels, according to our Travel Masters—an extraordinary feat to win over such discerning experts almost overnight. Likewise, Ritz-Carlton Reserve’s debut in Costa Rica, the jungle-wreathed hideout Nekajui, was such an instant sensation that it was a no-brainer to include on our 2025 Best of the Best list.
Expect that home run to continue in 2026. We’ve corralled 12 of Europe’s most noteworthy new luxury hotel openings earmarked for this calendar year, in order of opening date. Get ready to start planning out the next 12 months of globetrotting now.
Corinthia Rome
Location: Rome, Italy
Expected launch: Q1
Malta-based hotel chain Corinthia is on an expansion spree, adding a grab bag of locations around the world from Budapest and Prague to NYC. One of the most exciting additions, though, is this reboot of the erstwhile seat of Italy’s national bank, an imposing palazzo-like building dating to the 1910s. The 60-key hotel is right in the heart of the Campo Marzio ‘hood, placing it within easy walking distance of Eternal City’s greatest hits. The team has cannily tapped Carlo Cracco, Italy’s answer to Gordon Ramsay, to oversee the F&B here, adding both pizzazz and know-how in equal measure (look for Cracco’s signature marinated egg on the menu).
Mercer Madrid
Location: Madrid, Spain
Expected launch: February
Mercer founder Pedro Molina got his hands on a spectacular landmark for his latest opening: the onetime headquarters of Sociedad General Azucarera de España, c. 1905, built by the same architect as Madrid’s Stock Exchange Palace. It’s sensationally located, just a short walk from all the major museums (Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza, and Reina Sofía). The 61-room property also has killer views out across those landmarks, and Molina’s managed to persuade Michelin-favored chef Eneko Atxa, the Spanish-Basque chef known for his sustainably focused ‘green gastronomy,’ to come run its fine-dining restaurant.
Airelles Venezia, Palladio
Location: Venice, Italy
Expected launch: April
Move over, Cipriani. While the Belmond-operated grande dame undergoes a sorely needed renovation, its thunder as the best property overlooking St. Mark’s Square could be stolen by French operator Airelles with its first hotel outside its home country. The three-building site, formerly where the beloved Bauer Palladio operated, has a rarity in urban Venice: a two-and-a-half acre garden, which will form the centerpiece of the 45-room hotel. There will also be three pools and a kids’ club, plus its own church, Santa Maria della Presentazione, to use for weddings. Standout, though, is the four-bedroom Presidential Suite, which sits in a separate building with superb views of the square.
Hope
Location: Sutherland, Scotland
Expected launch: May
Prepare for battle between this rewilding project and the Dunton-operated Kilchoan, both of which hope to be the go-to one percenter retreat in the far north of the Scottish Highlands. Hope operates under the aegis of WildLand, the conservation project founded by Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife, Anne. Named for its location with views over Ben Hope, this complex incorporates a hotel, guest cottages, and an adventure center; guests can go off foraging and on guided wildlife tracking, peatland walks from here. The project will operate safari-style, so all food, house drinks, and those activities are included; you can cold-plunge, stargaze, and sound bath on a whim.
Luura Paros Cliff
Location: Paros, Greece
Expected launch: May
Father-daughter duo Elie and Sophie Khoury have ambitious plans for their fledgling hospitality brand, promising to roll it out across Greece in the next few years. The trial site, though, will debut in Paros this spring: a 38-key, all-suite property on the southern side of the island overlooking tony, tiny Antiparos. The adults-only hotel will have a Japanese restaurant, Mimi Kakushi, and an all-day Parisian bistro-style La Cantine, as well as a sort-of concept store, The Luura Edit, and its own private chapel for both planned and impromptu nuptials.
Zannier Ile de Bendor
Location: Côte d’Azur, France
Expected launch: May
Arnaud Zannier’s madcap approach to luxury hospitality continues, as he adds another unexpected location to his globe-spanning portfolio (Namibia, Cambodia, and France, among others). He’s scored the right to operate a truly exceptional site, though, on an island off France’s Mediterranean coast, which was originally the playground of Paul Ricard, who made a fortune after inventing pastis. The 93-room property, intended to evoke the casual simplicity of village life in Provence, nonetheless features a raft of restaurants, its own art gallery, ateliers selling local artist-made treats, and even a private beach with its own diving center. The rooms will run across three different sites, but the best will be the five two-story Madrague houses, each with its own private garden.
Cambridge House
Location: London, England
Expected launch: Q2
This new central London luxury hotel with 102 rooms continues the madcap expansion of Auberge Resorts, which started out as an arbiter of all-American country casual cool and now operates an eclectic, hard-to-describe assortment of properties worldwide. Certainly, this one is intriguing, and yet another salvo in the ferocious landgrab for market share in London that we’ve already warned about. Its Mayfair location is the onetime home of the Duke of Cambridge before it became the In & Out Military Club, a clubhouse for the great and the good of the British armed forces. Designers Jean-Louis Denote and Laura Gonzalez have reimagined the site as a modern hotel and members’ club.
Kilchoan Estate by Dunton
Location: Knoydart Peninsula, Scotland
Expected launch: Q2
Mention the name Dunton and you’ll likely think of its Hot Springs resort, a restored 19th-century ghost town in the Colorado Rockies; it also operates several other properties nearby. This year, the same owners hope to export their casual, outdoorsy brand of luxury to the UK. The owners snapped up 13,000 acres of the Scottish Highlands in 2020, aiming to bring the same approach to hospitality to this site, which is right between Loch Nevis and Loch Hourn. On property are six cottages (one- to five-bedroom), a yoga studio and bar for communal experiences, and a picturesque barn, where shared dinners take place. The big draw from the landscape: four Munros and numerous Corbetts within the Knoydart boundary, an irresistible asset for any keen hillwalker.
Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch
Location: London, England
Expected launch: Q2
NYC’s OG Waldorf just received a multibillion-dollar makeover, but the true global flagship for Hilton’s fanciest brand may end up being this architectural marvel, which turns a landmark archway in central London overlooking Buckingham Palace into a five-star hotel. The arch itself was commissioned as a memorial for Queen Victoria by her son, King Edward VII, and its evolution into a hotel has been gestating (the first expected opening date was 2020). Six years later, it’s finally confirmed to open, after an extensive—and expensive—project that involved stabilizing the structure and reconfiguring the interiors while respecting the stringent preservation rules. Prices to come.
La Réserve Firenze
Location: Florence, Italy
Expected launch: June
Michael Reybier is a tycoon who built his fortune in meat processing before pivoting to vineyards and hotels, initially focusing on his home market in France. This six-key property in a 15th-century palazzo in the sleepier Oltrarno district across the river is his first venture in Italy, in partnership with restaurant operators-turned-hoteliers Olivia and Grégory Marciano. The hotel will offer one- to three-bedroom apartment-style living, where each suite has its own kitchen, dining area, and living room. If you want to socialize, head to the rooftop terrace and—shhh—a secret bar.
Palazzo Sozzini Malavolti
Location: Siena, Italy
Expected launch: Q3
Popular day trip spot Siena has long struggled to offer high-end accommodation for anyone wanting to linger longer. Thankfully, that problem’s solved via Palazzo Sozzini Malavolti, set to open later this year. “It’s the only luxury hotel that’s in the historical center,” says Jules Maury, head of Scott Dunn Private. “I’m literally planning that trip at the moment for someone.” Housed in an 18th-century palazzo, the space was recently repurposed as a language school, and will feature a superb spa in the old basement, or caves. This is the flagship entrant to the sneakily launched new luxury group Emblems, from French giant Accor—an attempt to rival the likes of Marriott’s Luxury Collection via a series of high-end, independently minded hotels. Watch out for other offbeat entries to round out that roster.
Six Senses Milan
Location: Milan, Italy
Expected launch: Q4
Six Senses continues its urban expansion with a second spot in Italy after its splashy Rome debut. This time, the wellness brand arrives in Milan’s Brera district, right across from the Pinacoteca where there’s a handful of masterpieces from some of Italy’s finest Renaissance talents, including Raphael, Caravaggio, and Bellini. Milan-based British designer Tara Bernerd’s been tapped to design it with her usual rockstar-ish glamour, so expected marble and antique brass–heavy interiors throughout the 69 rooms and suites; the best of the latter even has its own 41-foot pool, a dream whether you’re planning a party or just prone to a bit of skinny dipping.
