For the latest in our review of 2025, we explore the best hotel designs of the year – from a surrealist hotel by Philippe Starck to an Oaxaca hotel modelled on pre-Hispanic pyramids.
The hospitality industry stepped up its game this year, with a number of exciting openings ranging from the adapted reuse of existing buildings to brand-new designs.
Below, we’ve collected the 10 best hotels we saw this year.
Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto, Japan, by Kengo Kuma
An early contender for the hotel of the year was architect Kengo Kuma‘s Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto from January, which the architect told Dezeen was “inspired by the ethereal beauty of Noh”.
The classical Japanese theatre art is referenced in the hotel’s gardens, where Kuma hid a dedicated stage made from yellow cedar and Kyoto cypress.
Find out more about Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto ›
Puro Warszawa Stare Miasto, Poland, by GamFratesi
The Puro Warszawa Stare Miasto hotel was created by design studio GamFratesi to reference Scandinavian “simplicity and soft minimalism”.
Located in the historic Warsaw Old Town, the hotel features stylish design touches, including a “tunnel-like” lounge area with a curved ceiling that opens out onto an interior courtyard.
Find out more about Puro Warszawa Stare Miasto ›
Maison Heler, France, by Philippe Starck
Doubtlessly the most talked-about hotel this year, Starck‘s surreal Maison Heler is a nine-storey building topped with what appears to be a metal-clad 19th-century mansion.
The concept, fully conceived by Starck, aimed to tell the fictional story of Manfred Heler, whose mansion was thrust nine storeys into the air.
Find out more about Maison Heler ›
The Chancery Rosweood, UK, by David Chipperfield
Finnish architect Eero Saarinen‘s iconic US Embassy building in Mayfair, London, was transformed into The Chancery Rosewood by local studio David Chipperfield Architects.
The studio aimed to enhance Saarinen’s original vision of the building, which housed the US Embassy from the 1960s until 2017, as a “palace on the park”.
Find out more about The Chancery Rosewood ›
Telegraph Hotel, Georgia, by Neri&Hu
A former Soviet-era post office in Tbilisi, Georgia, was turned into a 239-room hotel by Chinese studio Neri&Hu.
The studio kept the distinctive modernist facade of the hotel on Rustaveli Avenue, while reimaging it for contemporary use with floor-to-ceiling glazing and a courtyard.
Find out more about Telegraph Hotel ›
Kymaia Hotel, Mexico, by Productora
The striking Kymaia Hotel in Oaxaca was designed to evoke pre-Hispanic pyramids, built from pigmented concrete blocks in a warm sand tone and muted natural wood.
Mexican studios Productora and The Book of Wa “sought to create a space where the built environment blends harmoniously with the Oaxacan coastal landscape”, Productora told Dezeen.
Find out more about Kymaia Hotel ›
Photo by Ema Peter Photography
Shebara Resort, Saudi Arabia, by Killa Design
Shiny, sci-fi-looking pods float in the Red Sea at the Shebara Resort on Saudi Arabia‘s Red Sea coast. The mirrored orbs were designed to evoke a string of pearls.
Inside, interior firm Studio Paolo Ferrari created bespoke rooms that respond to the complexity of the curved internal dimensions.
Find out more about Shebara Resort ›
Prospect Berkshires, US, by Alander Construction
Described as a “year-round landscape hotel,” Prospect Berkshires comprises 49 prefabricated cedar cabins set around a lake in Massachusetts, USA.
The cedar-clad structures come in two sizes and are mostly closed on one side, with large windows to frame landscape views. Inside, they feature pine interiors and pops of colour.
Find out more about Prospect Berkshires ›
Yangzhou’s ancient city centre is home to Jiangnan House Yangzhou Guangling, a hotel complex made up of a cluster of old and new buildings.
Its creators renovated and retrofitted existing old buildings and added contemporary ones for the project, which is one of several undertaken as part of an urban renewal program in Guangling Ancient City.
Find out more about Jiangnan House Yangzhou Guangling ›
The art deco Waldorf Astoria hotel in Midtown Manhattan underwent a “complete transformation” at the hands of global architecture firm SOM.
The studio aimed to faithfully restore blueprints and details that had been altered over the years, with the facade’s limestone podium and Waldorf Grey brickwork above cleaned and repaired to look brand new.
Find out more about Waldorf Astoria ›
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