HOTELS
Janu Tokyo: Aman's Louder Sibling, Reviewed
Jean-Michel Gathy designed it, Pelli Clarke did the tower, and the brand is using it to test a more social register. A reviewer's notebook.
Vol. I · No. 2 · The Hotels desk
Hotels
Inspections, openings, and the long view on the upper end of hospitality.
28 pieces on file · most recent first
BOSTON
Raffles Boston, Two Years In
The first Raffles in North America has produced something the brand's Southeast Asian flagships do not have: a Back Bay tower with a working sky lobby.
TOKYO
Aman Tokyo, Six Years On: A Field Review
Six years after my first stay, the lobby still leans into shadow and the service has loosened — in the right way. A field review of Aman Tokyo, March 2026.
HOTELS
The Peninsula London: Hopkins, Marino and Claude Bosi
Hopkins Architects did the building, Peter Marino the interiors, and Claude Bosi runs the rooftop. A reviewer's notebook from Belgravia.
BANGKOK
Capella Bangkok at Five: The River-Facing Standard Holds
Five years after a pandemic opening, Capella Bangkok is the rarer kind of mature property: it has gotten quieter, not louder. A field review, January 2026.
HOTELS
Bulgari Hotel Roma: Maison in the Rationalist Palace
Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel converted the Morpurgo rationalist palace on Piazza Augusto Imperatore. The brand's most consequential opening to date.
BARNARD, VERMONT
Twin Farms, Vermont: The All-Inclusive That Still Earns the Premium
America's most committed all-inclusive — 21 keys on 300 Vermont acres, 1:1 staff-to-guest, no menus, no day visitors. A field review, February 2026.
HOTELS
First Look: Aman Niseko On Track for 2027 Opening
Aman's debut Japanese ski resort on Mount Moiwa is now on track for a 2027 opening after a one-year delay from the brand's original 2026 target.
NEW YORK
Aman New York at Three: The Crown Building Settles In
Three years after a difficult opening, Aman New York has loosened its grip on choreography and let the Crown Building do the work. A field review, March 2026.
HOTELS
Cheval Blanc Randheli: LVMH's Maldivian Maison
Jean-Michel Gathy designed it, LVMH has refined it over a decade, and the spa runs on its own island. A few nights on Noonu Atoll.
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, RIVIERA MAYA
Rosewood Mayakoba: Eighteen Years In, The Casitas Still Set The Standard
The freestanding-casita-on-a-lagoon model has been copied across the Caribbean and the Maldives.
GRUMETI RESERVES
Singita Sasakwa Lodge: The Edwardian Conceit, Without Apology
Singita's Sasakwa Hill flagship runs the most committed Edwardian-conceit lodge in East Africa — and the most disciplined service. A field review, March 2026.
HOTELS
Soneva Secret: The 14-Villa Outpost in Haa Dhaalu
Sonu Shivdasani's most distant island, his smallest and his grandest. A reviewer's notebook from the lagoon at Dhipparufushi.
HOTELS
The Carlyle: Bien, Draper, Tony Chi and Bemelmans
Sylvan Bien designed it, Dorothy Draper dressed it, and Rosewood has spent six years bringing it forward. A few nights on the Upper East Side.
HOTELS
Aman Kyoto: Kerry Hill's Forest, Six Years In
A 26-suite ryokan in a forty-acre forest at the foot of the northern hills. Kerry Hill's final completed project, audited at maturity.
PARIS
Cheval Blanc Paris: A Year Inside the Samaritaine
Five years after the Samaritaine reopened as a Cheval Blanc, Paris has its first hotel since the war designed to compete with the Bristol on its own terms.
HOTELS
Capella Sydney: The Sandstone Block, Reread
Make Architects restored the George McRae Edwardian baroque pile and BAR Studio dressed the interiors. A few nights in the heart of the CBD.
HOTELS
Hôtel de Crillon: Eight Years After the Rosewood Reopening
Richard Martinet led the four-year restoration, Aline Asmar d'Amman the design, and Karl Lagerfeld did two suites. A reviewer's notebook.
TOKYO
Bulgari Hotel Tokyo, Three Years In: The Yaesu Tower Reviewed
The 40th-to-45th-floor Yaesu Tower property has settled into Tokyo with less friction than its competitive set expected. A field review.
ISTANBUL
Peninsula Istanbul, Three Years In
Three years into operation, the Peninsula's first European property has produced the strongest Bosphorus-facing hotel since the Çırağan Palace.
HOTELS
One&Only Aesthesis Athens: A Reviewer's Notebook
One&Only's first European resort sits on a forty-acre coastal forest in Glyfada. A few nights, a long lunch, and what the place actually does well.
RAVELLO, AMALFI COAST
Belmond Hotel Caruso, Ravello
Ravello's most photographed pool sits above an 11th-century palazzo whose interior held up better than I expected.
HOTELS
Mandarin Oriental Mayfair: First New Build in a Generation
Rogers Stirk Harbour designed it, Studio Indigo dressed the residences, and Akira Back runs the restaurant. A few nights at Hanover Square.
HOTELS
Rosewood São Paulo: Inside Jean Nouvel's Vertical Garden
A Pritzker laureate did the tower, Philippe Starck did the interiors, and the property sits inside a restored maternity hospital.
MEDHUFARU ISLAND, NOONU ATOLL
Soneva Jani: The Slide, The Roof, The Stars
Ten years in, the retractable-roof water villa concept still has no peer in the Maldives. A field review of Soneva Jani, January 2026.
HOTELS
Six Senses Rome: Patricia Urquiola's Quiet Palazzo
Urquiola converted a fifteenth-century palazzo on Piazza di San Marcello into the brand's first European urban hotel. Notes from a few nights.
HOTELS
Six Senses Crans-Montana: The Alpine Debut, Audited
AW2 designed it, the site took the better part of a decade, and the brand finally has its Alpine flagship. A reviewer's notebook from the Valais.
HOTELS
The Brando: Marlon Brando's Atoll, Two Decades In
Pierre-Jean Picard designed it, Marlon Brando dreamed it, and the LEED Platinum certification holds up. A reviewer's notebook from Tetiaroa.