NEW YORK
1. BACCARAT HOTEL
This year marks the 250th anniversary of the French crystal company Baccarat, and what better way to celebrate in style than by opening its first hotel in New York City? Nestled in prime real estate on 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue, across from the Museum of Modern Art, Baccarat Hotel & Residences New York will open in late-2014 and will be set in a 50-story glass tower featuring 114 guestrooms, including 26 suites. Not only is the location perfect for your fashion savvy clients—Tiffany & Co. and Cartier are a short jaunt away—its design is just as luxurious, starting with a grand entrance with light reflecting from 12,000 Baccarat glass pieces the moment guests step inside the hotel. baccaratresidencesny.com
2. THE QUIN
This past November, the Quin, a member of Small Luxury Hotels, graced the hotel scene in Midtown Manhattan makingits home in a 17-story, pre-war building, formerly the Buckingham Hotel. Inspired by its history of musicians, singers and composers making their home at the hotel, the Quin’s 1 bedroom Paderewski and O’Keeffe specialty suites’ designs nod these famous former residents. While the 208-room hotel offers views of Central Park throughout (the park is just two blocks away), the piece de resistance is the penthouse, which spans the top three floors of the hotel, and includes a 1,200- sq.-ft. private terrace overlooking Central Park. Standard room rates from $599. thequinhotel.com
3. SLS HOTEL NEW YORK
The SLS Hotels brand will make its mark in New York City with the opening of its third hotel, the 190-room SLS Hotel New York, later this year, on Park Avenue in the NoMad neighborhood. Expect a picturesque rooftop, and trendy dining and nightlife concepts that make the brand stand out. Call for rates. slshotels.com
MIAMI
4. HOTEL VICTOR SOUTH BEACH
The 91-room Hotel Victor South Beach reopened last fall after an $8 million renovation updating the Art Deco hotel’s rooms and suites with a St. Tropez-inspired design, adding a new lobby and freshening up the pool and cabana area. The hotel’s owners also bought a charming little beauty next door, formerly known as the Versace Mansion. While the mansion will begin as the setting for VIP and private events, the owners plan to transform it into a boutique hotel and restaurant, as an extension of Hotel Victor. Rates from $299 per night. hotelvictorsouthbeach.com
5. SOUTH BEACH HOTEL
Think Hotel Group started staking its claim in South Beach in 2010 with the opening of Boulan South Beach, and continues expanding this year with a string of boutique hotels, starting with South Beach Hotel in March, and The Ansonia House and The Plymouth Hotel in 2015. The 51-room, restored Art Deco South Beach Hotel in the Collins Park neighborhood will feature a modern design throughout the hotel with unique touches ranging from the hand-carved Guatemalan wood furniture in the lobby to guestroom artwork by local artist Santino Sverdlov. Rates start at $209 in high season and $129 in low season. southbeachhotel.com
SAN FRANCISCO
6. HOTEL ZETTA
Last February, Viceroy Hotel Group debuted its boutique Hotel Zetta in San Francisco’s SoMa district. The 116-room hotel opened in the former Hotel Milano on the building’s 100th anniversary, playfully blending the century of history into the hotel’s modern design. Even the property’s recent addition, lobby bar S&R Lounge—which stands for salvage and rescue—serves as a trendy meeting point with both its cocktail program and look paying homage to the hotel’s classical design. The Cavalier, a British brasserie, continues Hotel Zetta’s theme of Old World elegance. Rates from $279 per night. hotelzetta.com
