Sureño is located inside the stylish Opposite House. Its unique interiors were created by Lyndon Neri and Rosanna Hu, founders of architectural design practice Neri and Hu Design . At the heart of Mediterranean restaurant Sureño, which is styled in warm woods and blue olive grove patterns, is the wood-fired oven, with a surrounding counter allowing guests to watch the chefs at work. Through the à la carte and tasting menus, the restaurant focuses on seafood, hand made pastas, salads and tapas. It is headed by Australian-Italian Chef de Cuisine Stefano Pace, who underwent a traditional culinary apprenticeship at Melbourne’s most renowned Italian restaurant, Florentinos, and has run a number of highly rated kitchens in Asia as well as the famous Harry’s Bar in Rome. Sureño is the best Italian in town.

Located just minutes from the famous Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysees, the historic Le Royal Monceau has welcomed innumerable celebrities and artists since it opened in 1928. Le Royal Monceau opened in October 2010 with interiors designed by Philippe Starck, that combines Le Royal Monceau’s unique style, which celebrates the French tradition of “art de vivre”, and the elegance and residential charm. It has 149 rooms and suites, some with private balconies, with features unique in Paris, such as views of the hotel’s generous Sicilian garden – a rarity in Paris.  The style of the rooms and suites is inspired by the 1940s-1950s: warm, noble materials, rigorous lines, and a timeless notion of luxury.

It has 5 exquisite dining and bar options, including Italian favorites which can enjoyed al fresco style within a lush Sicilian garden, and French cuisine in a fine dining ambiance. Le Grand Salon is the central point of Le Royal Monceau, its heart. Located at the heart of the hotel, though slightly secluded, Le Bar Long is raised and located just behind Le Grand Salon. At its center, a high, long, narrow and luminous bar. Here people can sit and, depending on their mood, remain alone, think, dream or talk to the person opposite. For the bar, Philippe Starck wanted to break with conventional and the unique and repetitive face-to-face layout between patrons and a barman moving behind a bar.

Make a reservation at Amangiri

With its  incredible location and architecture the first US Aman resort  Amangiri is one of the best in the world..Meaning ‘peaceful mountain’ Amangiri is located in the southwest region of the USA also known as the Four Corners, where the states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona meet. Boasting one of the most dramatic landscapes in the USA with deep canyons and towering plateaus, the region has been home for centuries to the native Navajo and Hopi tribes yet is sparsely populated and presents the raw landscape for which the American Southwest has become famous. 

 The resort is on a 243-hectare (600-acre) expanse of wilderness in Canyon Point, Southern Utah, close to the border with Arizona. It is tucked into a protected valley with sweeping views over colourful, stratified rock towards the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument. Architecturally, the resort has been ver well designed to blend into the landscape with natural hues, materials and textures a feature of the design. The structures are commanding and in proportion with the scale of the natural surroundings, yet provide an intimate setting from which to view and appreciate the landscape. Arrival to the resort is via a winding road that descends into the valley and leads to the central Pavilion.  Within the Pavilion is the Living Room, Gallery, Library, Dining Room, Private Dining Room and Cellar.

Amangiri is built around the one of the most attractive swimming pools in the world, which embraces a dramatic stone escarpment. The amazing swimming pool is set within a sunken courtyard framed by the Pavilions and rock escarpment. It wraps around the rock to finish with a hot tub that sits at the base of a rock wall. The pool’s lounging terrace features king-sized day beds and sun-loungers. Two accommodation wings lead from the Pavilion into the desert: 16 suites are located within the Desert Wing and another 18 suites together located within the Mesa Wing. Design finishes of the suites include white stone floors and concrete walls that echo the natural stone of the surrounding landscape. The furniture features rawhide, natural timbers and fittings in blackened steel, while light-coloured cushions and soft throws add warmth.

These Mesa suites offer a panoramic view of the surrounding mesas which look particularly spectacular at sunset when they are bathed in hues of gold and rose. The desert suites enjoy uninterrupted views of the surrounding dunes and plateaus. Staying in Amangiri is a lifetime experience..One of the must see places before you die!!

Make a reservation at Amangiri

Located on a 243-hectare expanse of wilderness in Canyon Point, Southern Utah, inside Amangiri the Aman Spa at Amangiri is a 2,322-square metre  escape from the stresses of the outside world. As guests move from space to space within the Spa, their sense of discovery and peace echoes that of moving through the rock formations and canyons within the surrounding landscape. The entrance to the Spa is reminiscent of nearby slot canyons, and opens into an intimate reception and lounge area featuring a glass tiled sky-lit reflection pool and central fireplace. Leading off the reception are consultation rooms and a walkway opening to a private courtyard that in turn leads to either individual dressing rooms or a series of pavilions.

Caudalie invented the Vinothérapie Spas, the use of water from a hot spring combined with vine and grape extracts for sensual, intoxicating exclusive treatments.

The exclusive Caudalie Vinothérapie SPA is inside Marqués de Riscal hotel, designed by Frank Gehry has extensive facilities dedicated to well-being, in an elegant environment.  An exceptional gym,  a Hammam  ideal for the cleansing of toxins, a large indoor swimming pool, perfect for relaxing, as well as several health and beauty treatment cabins, including 2 Barrel Baths. A truly memorable experience for your senses in this uniquely designed hotel in wine country.

In order to apprecaite The Collection one must know Peggy’s life mission.  She was the chief patron of the world’s foremost collections of modern art of 20th century. Peggy used to say that it was her duty to protect the art of her own time, and she dedicated half of her life to this mission, as well as to the creation of the museum that still carries her name.

Palazzo Venier dei Leoni was designed in the 1750s by architect Lorenzo Boschetti. From 1910 to c. 1924 the house was owned by  Marchesa Luisa Casati, hostess to the Ballets Russes, and the subject of numerous portraits by artists as various as Boldini, Troubetzkoy, Man Ray and Augustus John. In 1949, Peggy Guggenheim purchased Palazzo Venier from the heirs of Viscountes Castlerosse and made it her home for the following thirty years. Early in 1951, Peggy Guggenheim opened her home and collection to the public and continued to do so every year until her death in 1979.
In 1950 Peggy organized the first exhibition of Jackson Pollock in Italy, in the Ala Napoleonica of the Museo Correr in Venice. Her collection was in the meantime exhibited in Florence and Milan, and later in Amsterdam, Brussels, and Zurich. From 1951 Peggy opened her house and her collection to the public annually in the summer months. During her 30-year Venetian life, Peggy Guggenheim continued to collect works of art and to support artists, such as Edmondo Bacci and Tancredi Parmeggiani. In 1962 Peggy Guggenheim was nominated Honorary Citizen of Venice. 

Peggy died aged 81 on 23 December 1979. Her ashes are placed in a corner of the garden of Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, next to the place where she customarily buried her beloved dogs. Since this time, the Guggenheim Foundation has converted and expanded Peggy Guggenheim’s private house into one of the finest small museums of modern art in the world.

by Andrea Sarti

by Andrea Sarti

by Ozlem Avcioglu

by Andrea Sarti

Make a reservation at Capri Palace

Set in Anacapri, the most exclusive and unspoiled part of the island, Capri Palace Hotel & Spa offers breathtaking views over the Bay of Naples and the islands of Ischia and Procida. A recent refurbishment program has lent the hotel the classical grace of an ancient palazzo caprese. Columns, arches, and vaulted ceilings blend appealingly with Louis XVI period furniture.

With its imposing arches, vaults and columns, the hotel reminds the ancient Neapolitan palaces of the 18th Century, together with the white architectures typical of the Mediterranean sea.
The design of the suites, some of them with private swimming pool, brings your mind back to the charm and glamour of the myths: Callas, Hepburn, Monroe,  In the others, paintings and pictures are a tribute to the experimental art of the Great Masters of Modern Art: Kandinsky, Mirò, Mondrian, Calder.

The L’Olivo restaurant, the only restaurant on Capri which boasts a Michelin star, serves Mediterranean cuisine interpreted with great originality by brilliant young chef Oliver Glowig.

Make a reservation at Capri Palace

Make a reservation at Mark

In elegant Mark hotel, located in the heart of the Upper East Side, only one block from Central Park, it is all about carefull details.
The Mark is housed, as it has always been, in the beautiful, 1927 landmark building at the corner of 77th Street and Madison Avenue. But inside it has been completely reimagined, and given a new life and identity for the 21st century. Old-world comfort blended very well with avant-garde design and technology.

Designed by Jacques Grange The Mark  combines French style, immaculate British service, and modern American technology and comfort.  Grange not only oversaw and designed furnishings, he collaborated with the Parisian design gallerist Pierre Passebon to commission a host of objets d’art, furniture and lighting fixtures, specially created by artists  including Ron Arad, Vladimir Kagan, Mattia Bonetti, Paul Mathieu, Eric Schmitt, Rachel Howard, Todd Eberle.

Each suite and guest room at The Mark is luxurious and very comfortable. The furnishings have all been personally designed or selected by Grange, in pale soothing tones that evoke the height of Parisian luxury in the 1930s. Mark is a perfect city hotel both with its location, interiors and services.

Make a reservation at Mark

Make a reservation at Belvedere

The Belvedere is based around one of the oldest, most inherently romantic mansions in Mykonos Town, the Mansion Stoupa dating back to 1850. The hotel is located in the heart of Mykonos Town, at the height of Rohari hill, opposite the School of Fine Arts. It has the panoramic views over Chora’s irresistibly pretty plateau of whitewashed Cyclades houses.

Emulating the form of a Cycladic village, seven small buildings including the Mansion Stoupa, which make up both the hotel’s public areas and rooms and suites, are arranged around the asymmetrical swimming pool. The NYC architecture firm, the Rockwell Group designed the new format of both the hotel’s public spaces and the series of New Generation rooms.

Belvedere does  partnerships with world renowned chefs. The first venue to house a Nobu restaurant in Greece, Matsuihisa Mykonos showcases the culinary flair of renowned sushi chef, Nobu Matsuihisa. The talented Greek Australian chef, George Calombaris, has crafted a menu of 15 signature dishes for the exclusive 25 seat Modern Greek restaurant, the “Belvedere Club”.

Make a reservation at Belvedere

Ann Demeulemeester Seoul store is located located in an alley, at a block’s distance from Dosandae-ro—a busy thoroughfare in Seoul’s Gangnam district—in close proximity to Dosan Park. The building is comprised of one subterranean level and three floors above. The Ann Demeulemeester Shop is located on the first floor, with a restaurant above and a Multi-Shop in the basement. The  shop in Seoul, is designed by Mass Studies. The walls are made of geotextiles planted with an evergreen perennial called Pachysandra terminalis.

The 1,000 square meter spa of Mandarin Oriental will is dedicated to relaxation and well-being.

With a conviction that surroundings have a profound influence on one’s state of mind, the Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola has conceived the Spa as an intimate and minimalist space, markedly modern in style with Oriental touches.

A soothing environment for guests to enjoy holistic treatments, the spa will feature a total of eight treatment rooms. This includes: two luxury couples’ spa suites, two oriental suites which includes a spa vitality pool and futon for traditional Thai massages and four luxurious treatment rooms, each with their own aromatherapy experience shower and a 12-meter indoor swimming pool.

Make a reservation at Sukhothai

The Sukhothai hotel takes its name from the capital of Thailand’s ancient Sukhothai Kingdom. The city thrived as a trade center; news of its beauty, magnificent style and architecture spread far and wide. The temples of Sukhothai emphasized their stupa and chedi as primary design features. The palaces of Sukhothai maintained an incomparable design and distinct style. Symmetrical colonnades, reflection pools, open-air arcades, combined with the best natural materials – bronze, teakwood and marble – together with fine fabrics and mirrors. Much of the décor in this world-famous hotel derives from that wondrous city whose name we proudly bear.

The Sukhothai is perfectly situated in the central business district and embassy district of Bangkok . All rooms and suites incorporate rich Thai fabrics, teakwood furnishings, impeccable detailing and luxurious bathrooms. Try hotels spa Botanica, which has many relaxing treatments.

Make a reservation at Sukhothai

Make a reservation at Crosby Street

Crosby Street,  the first New York hotel of Firmdale group,  is located on a quiet cobbled street (Crosby)  in the heart of  vibrant SoHo neighborhood. The most striking is the hotels lobby, that is light and bright with soaring glass windows and striking original artworks. It looks through to a tranquil private leafy courtyard garden.

The Drawing Room is a sumptuous and colorful residents lounge with fireplaces, deep sofas and original art that leads onto a spacious leafy courtyard garden. The Crosby bar at the other end of the lobby has a long pewter bar and tall windows facing a leafy garden.

There are 86 bedrooms and suites over 11 floors. Each has high ceilings and full length windows, overlooking downtown views.  Each room is individually designed by Kit Kemp using a clever  combination of colour and texture, modern and antique furniture and original art.  In this hotel you will feel like you are at your home but also you are only one block away from Soho shops and eateries like Balthazar.

Make a reservation at Crosby Street

Make a reservation at Browns

Set in the heart of Mayfair on Albemarle Street, Brown’s is one of the most historic hotels as it was the first ever hotel to open in London in 1837 by former gentleman’s servant, James Brown, when he acquired four adjacent houses in Dover Street.  Composed of 11 Georgian town houses, all 117 bedrooms (including 29 luxurious suites) have been individually designed in traditional English style and elegance.

The hotel is also known with historical events: Alexander Graham Bell made Europe”’s first telephone call from the hotel in 1876; it was the first hotel to have a lift installed; Rudyard Kipling wrote many of his works there, having first visited in 1892; Theodore Roosevelt stayed there prior to his second marriage in 1886, and Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt later spent part of their honeymoon there in 1905. Queen Victoria visited the hotel as did other members of European royalty including King George of the Hellenes, whilst he waited for the monarchy to be restored in Greece in 1935, and the Queen of the Netherlands.

During the Second World War – in room 36 – the Dutch government in exile declared war on Japan, an event that soon led to the occupation of the Dutch East Indies.  Brown’s Hotel joined The Rocco Forte Collection in 2003. The hotel has many amenities, like The Donovan Bar, which will be lined with iconic images taken by celebrated British photographer Terence Donovan; The English Tea Room, serving the most famous afternoon tea in London and a spa.

Make a reservation at Browns

Autoban, established in 2003 by  Seyhan Özdemir and Sefer Çaglar is a multidisciplinary interior and product design firm in Istanbul. Apart from their practice they opened their own gallery in the trendy Tünel district in the ground floor of an historic building, where they exhibit and sell their own products. They approach product design as ‘an exploration of natural and raw materials in new contexts’ Every Autoban product has a unique character, reflecting both designers’ playful approach to “almost cliché” items. The designers cite the material and its capabilities as the inspiration for each design, but as the product names imply, Autoban’s designs are also highly influenced by nature and the rituals of daily life. Autoban products are best summarised as emotionally expressive, visually inspiring objects with a timeless, pleasure-to-live-with quality.

Pauili family who are behind Via Quadronno and Sant Ambroeus opened Casa Lever as their last restaurant.   Pauli family combines superb Italian cuisine and a modern design sensibility in the iconic landmark Lever House building.  The restaurant continues the culture of Milanese hospitality and fine dining while upholding the building’s tradition of showcasing art and design in the beautifully appointed lounge and dining room where 19 Andy Warhol’s are hanging on the walls. Casa Lever is perfect setting for business lunches and elegant dinners.

Dior Institut or l’Institut Dior, the first hotel spa created by Christian Dior Parfums together with Plaza Athénée both known as their luxury and elegance.

The Institut is located downstairs from the grand Plaza lobby, and is an extravagant retreat with a very elegant relaxation lounge and five treatment rooms , where time seems to stand still, the primary aim is to revive the youthful beauty of the face and body through a comprehensive approach.

Dior Institut offers a wide selection of body and face treatments for both women and men. Some of them have been specially developed for the Plaza Athénée.

Make a reservation at Bulgari Milan

The first Bulgari hotel opened in 2004 and since then become the star of the Milan furniture fair and fashion weeks. Being in the center of Milan, in beautiful Brera district  you can see everybody, who is somebody either for lunch in the garden or at its lavish bar during evening.

The hotel is set in the center of a 4000m2 private garden next to the Botanical Gardens. Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga and La Scala Theatre are just steps away. Designed by architects Antonio Citterio and Partners, the hotel features black Zimbabwe marble , solid teak and oak rooms and suites. All spaces feature contemporary Italian furniture and details designed by Citterio. The hotel is comprised of 58 rooms and suites, most with garden views and some with meditation corners.  The restaurant, the bar with terrace and lounge in the garden, private dining room, cigar room and the spa have also been planned with the local Milanese residents in mind and are destined to become a local, social destination.

Make a reservation at Bulgari Milan

Make a reservation at Bulgari Resort

Bulgari Bali, 160-meter above the Indian Ocean is in a breathtaking natural location. 59 villa property is one of the world’s most exclusive and exotic destinations. The Bulgari Resort is located near the village of Pecatu and the stunning clifftop site of the Pura Luhur Uluwatu Temple, on the island’s far southwestern tip.Nestled between the cliff and the ocean, a 1.5 kilometer long beach is accessible only through the resort’s inclined elevator.

Designed by architects Antonio Citterio and Partners, the resort reflects a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Balinese design while conveying the distinctive Bulgari Italian style. The layout and overall design also incorporates the culture and natural elements of the location. The hotel has been built and furnished using hand-cut volcanic stones, rich exotic woods and refined fabrics.Natural lava and palimanan stone are used for the garden and interior walls, refined bangkiray hardwood in the villas, natural green colored sukabumi stone to clad outdoor showers, plunge and swimming pools. A collection of exquisite Balinese antiques and exotic art pieces, including more than 90 examples, adorn the entire resort.

Beside its setting,  the resort also boasts sophisticated facilities, such as the Italian and Indonesian restaurants, a very romantic lounge bar, the Spa and the cliff-edge pool..An impressive Hindu Temple rises on the highest point of the property, designated as a place of worship in accordance with the Balinese tradition, while, further inside, the imposing arrival pavilion with its magnificent proportions and masterful design welcomes guests.. Start sipping cocktails late afternoon at the bar looking to tranquil waters while sun is going down.

Photos courtesy of Bulgari and Ozlem Avcioglu

Make a reservation at Opposite House

The name comes from the guest house which sits on the opposite side of a traditional courtyard style home. Also inside the Opposite House there is a balanced mix of old and new.

In the heart of Beijing the hotel greets you with emerald glass exterior. The inside space is very seamless. The house is a mix of modern and traditional. At the center there is a large atrium, where the conventional boundaries of hotel parts are blurred. There is a contemporary art gallery on the ground floor of the hotel represent the Chinese artists.

The hotel’s cool bars and restaurants represent food from all over the world and are always full of beautiful people..

Opposite house brings a new sense of hotel approach to Beijing.

Make a reservation at Opposite House