*Trendy spaces in idyllic surroundings* This boutique hotel in Laguna Beach, California is a special design hotel created by the famous Horst Architects. They have created a contemporary design in conversation with the quaint aesthetics of Laguna Beach. They used reclaimed wood from buildings demolished in east LA, over 100 ...

*Former fort in a revamped hedonic calculus* As you arrive via helicopter, Spitbank Fort initially looks like a military outpost from a classic strategy game like Red Alert or Total Annihilation. Indeed, when it was built in the 1860s its purpose was military: to defend Britain’s Portsmouth Harbour which was ...

*A Guest House with a Taste of Country Living* A relaxing get-away in the suburbs of Bangsar, Sekeping Tenggiri is a surprising mix of art and garden taste. The ambiance of country living is immediately visible in the vine covered screen marking the patio entrance. The feelings become more pronounced ...

*The English Manor House* Celebrating all that best about the fresh English countryside and its traditional estates, Cowley Manor is a vanguard of English finery. Indeed, it was a favourite of Lewis Carroll who authored Alice in Wonderland and other delightfully surreal works. Located on an estate that was assigned ...

*Caribbean Sun Selections* Located in the Mexican Caribbean and achingly hip, this hotel is built around a courtyard swimming pool: the blue iris in an eye of chicness. Around the pool are the designer day beds and a Jacuzzi. There is a DJ playing ambient music, hopefully with gratuitous lashings ...

*Cutting-edge culture in Italy* No-one goes to galleries to view art these days. In fact, everyone who takes art and design seriously knows that to truly appreciate art you have to live with it. But even if we can afford the best art, we can only choose to live with ...

*From the Future* This hotel blends stylist modernity with traditional hospitality in one of China’s most dynamic cities. The hotel has some arresting contemporary artworks and original designs. When you enter, the first thing you see is the three-storey glowing “waterwall” lit by 5000 LED lights; they’re choreographed to create ...

*Hip Post-Nonsense Hotel* Boeing (as in the airplane company) was founded here, so to commemorate that you'll find riveted metal cocktail tables to rest your specially crafted beverage. The massive circular fireplace in the Living Room which houses the resident DJ high above, riffs on a forest ranger look-out tower, ...

*Contemporary Baroque with mescal on the side* This stylish renovation project has brought one of the oldest buildings in Mexico City back to life. Once the home of a high-office government don, it is now a bohemian style hotel in an aesthetic which blends Spanish colonial, contemporary and indigenous mescal-colour. ...

*A secluded resort in Japan’s ancient forest* This hotel is eco all over. Set in the thrall to of a rocky volcano, the hotel harnesses the sulfuric heat generated below the soil to create geothermal power. It also captures the flow of the fast streams and rivers to create hydroelectricity. ...

*Architecture that’s way over the line* Built by maverick architects MVRDV this barn is a fine example of contemporary architecture. The balancing of the barn has half its mass hanging over a hillside. This adds an element of drama to the building, a sense of impending doom perhaps? Or is ...

Looking at the Red Stars from the outside, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is just another standard hotel inside a concrete cube. But this apparent ugliness is only skin deep. The interior of the hotel has been decorated by the best street artists in Russia creating a ...

No, the G here doesn’t stand for ‘Gangsta’ although they may serve Crystal Champagne. Interiors by Philip Treacy OBE (he was the guy who designed the Internet’s favorite hat – the one worn by Princess Beatrice’s at the royal wedding). This top designer used an eclectic style palate drawing from ...

Designed to enhance the beauty of the natural landscape traditionally used for farming and olive grows by the native Basque people, Aire de Bardenas is a great example of how contemporary architecture can be used to build excellent hotels. The main façade of the hotel is built from containers originally ...

It’s called the New Majestic Hotel so no-one forgets that it’s new and majestic. But that would be hard to do given that the lobby has a copper ceiling, white-washed walls and vintage fans. As is usual for modern design hotels, local artists have been allowed to splurge their creative ...

Hooray! Now we can finally combine Golf and modern art. This hotel might look like a giant coffin on stilts but inside you will find a flourish of top design to delight your eyes. Works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and Anish Kapoor hang in the private ...

A veteran hotelier’s wife gives birth to a child on a starry night. And when the proud father looks past the waving arms and feet into that child’s eyes, he was forever changed. Which is roughly what happened to make Dutch duo, Marco and Sam open a hotel aiming to ...

Located in a quiet Athenian suburb this hotel was designed down to the last detail by Karim Rashid who is regarded as the best designer of his generation with over 300 awards to his name. The idea was to create a vibrant, functional and relaxing space. Lollypop colours create a ...

Set in beautiful Tuscany this lovingly restored 14th Century villa is a haven of warm tiles, bare beams and stunning aesthetics. Acclaimed artist, Anna Izzo set out to create a hotel with soul allowing you to stay inside a living, breathing work of art. Vibrant contemporary artworks merge with medieval ...

The Byblos Art Hotel is unique among its peers. It houses a collection of contemporary art by 39 of the world’s most renowned modern artists. Pieces by Damien Hirst and Arnish Kapoor sit alongside classical Venetian paintings and interior design by Alessandro Mendini. Architect, Michele Sanmicheli worked alongside the artists ...