Each year we turn to Jack Ezon, the CEO and Founder of EmbarkBeyond, a luxury travel agency that specializes in celebration travel. And each year Jack spotlights for us and you his picks for the top luxury hotel openings for the year. This week we go to Southern Europe.
France
1. Villa La Guittiere
We try not to use the word iconic. Still, it applies to the iconic Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, which will open Villa La Guitti, an exceptional, private 9-bedroom villa set on its own 22-acre estate with its own pool and full access to the resort’s facilities.
Greece
2. Four Seasons Mykonos
Situated along the stunning coastline of Kalo Livadi Bay, Greece’s newest Four Seasons offering will have 94 spacious rooms, villas, and suites, all with sea views and direct access to the beach.
3. Phaea Crete
This boutique 47-bungalow (all with private pools) resort on the mountainside in Elounda overlooks the dramatic island of Kalydon. Formerly the southern wing of the Blue Palace, Phaea now offers a highly personalized and private experience with beach access via funicular.
4. 1 Hotel Elounda Hills
1 Hotel Elounda Hills will be the newest sustainable property for 1 Hotels, slated to open on the Greek island of Crete in the summer of 2025. Located on Crete’s northeast coast, the resort will be surrounded by Elounda Hills and the rugged coastline of Mirabello Bay.
5. Kalesma Mykonos
Kalesma Mykonos will open a 25-room expansion in 2025. Though closer to the water, it is connected to the original hotel, offering guests smaller accommodations at a lower price point with access to the central hotel’s facilities. The new addition will also have its own pool, breakfast area, reception, outdoor gym, and pilates studio.
Italy
6. Airelles Venezia
One of the hottest hotel brands of the decade, the Airelles group has taken over the former Baur Palladio and Villa F, adjacent to Belmond Cipriani, creating a new Venetian palace wreathed in classical design with every modern luxury we see in their other properties. Featuring spectacular views over the Giudecca canal, it will have incredible gardens and multi-unit “villas” plus a luxe spa. Each of the 45 rooms is spread out between the original Palladio, the Villa F, and the adjacent Convento, which is surrounded by a sprawling garden. A three-bedroom stand-alone villa will also be overlooking the Piazza San Marco.
7. Aman Rosa Alpina, Dolomites
Rosa Alpina in the Italian Dolomites reopens with a head-to-toe redesign, fusing sleek Aman style with the soul of a family-run Italian resort under the close eye of the Pizzanini Family, who have owned the hotel for six generations. Once known for its three-star Micheline mainstay, the hotel will offer a more relaxed gastronomic experience, including informal alfresco fondues. The wellness space has been extended to nearly double the original size and reconfigured to incorporate an outdoor swimming pool and jacuzzi.
8. Casa J.K. Rome
Your new home in Rome. J.K. Place’s second property in Rome will have 24 apartment-style suites, all oversized accommodations with separate living rooms and kitchenettes, alongside the full hotel service experience, including a restaurant, lobby bar, and more. Done up by J.K.’s designer Michele Bönan, the room size will be the largest in the J.K. portfolio and some of the most generous in the city.
9. Rosewood Hotel Bauer Venezia
Originally built in 1880, we are looking closely at Rosewood’s reimagining of Hotel Bauer, set to open in 2025.
10. The Lake Como EDITION
A remodel of the former Britannia Excelsior Hotel, the 145-room Edition hopes to attract a younger, hipper traveler to Lake Como, overlooking Bellagio. It will be completely different from anything currently offered on the lake, with a reported buzzy beach club in the works, too. Let’s see if Como is ready for a St. Tropez scene.
11. Auberge Cllegio alla Querce
Encompassing three 16th-century buildings in Florence, including an original chapel and theater, this 82-room Auberge property will include 20 suites, an outdoor pool, a spa, and a fitness center.
12. The Carlton, Milan
This is not the Carlton in Cannes; this is the Carlton in Milan with Rocco Forte. Rocco Forte Hotels’ director of design, Olga Polizzi, collaborated with interior designers Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen to create 70 rooms and suites, a wellness center, and a panoramic rooftop bar befitting the Italian capital of design.
13. Six Senses Milan
Six Senses Milan will become the brand’s second hotel in Italy in the second half of 2025, following the opening of Six Senses Rome in 2023. The Milan property will have 68 guest rooms, including 15 suites and two with private plunge pools.
14. Mandarin Oriental Cristallo
By taking over the historic Hotel Cristallo in mountainous Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, this new Mandarin Oriental becomes the brand’s first alpine getaway. As if that weren’t enticing enough, the amenity-filled property (83 rooms, extensive dining options, an indoor-outdoor pool) opens in advance of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, which will host some events less than 20 miles from the hotel.
15. Six Senses Antognolla
Six Senses reimagines an ancient castle, borgo (village), and estate into a 71-room sustainable resort with 79 branded residences, a diverse wellness and cultural offering, an 18-hole golf course, an equestrian center, a cookery school, and an organic farm set on 1,335 acres in Tuscany.
Montenegro
16. SIRO Boka Place, Porto Montenegro
One&Only’s new sister brand will open in Q2 2025 near the Regent in Porto, Montenegro. It will focus on active and wellness experiences. The brand offers intensive Fitness Labs, boot camp workouts, biking or hiking trails in nearby Durmitor National Park, and sailing courses along the bay.
Portugal
17. Six Senses Lisbon
This 114-room urban resort is set in two historic buildings and will fuse a contemporary vibe with traditional Portuguese architecture and furnishings. The suites all have separate fitted kitchens (perfect for family travel) and outdoor terraces.
Spain
18. Mandarin Oriental Punta Negra, Mallorca
A sprawling resort with 131 rooms on a small rocky peninsula overlooking the sea (though no private beach) about 10 minutes from Palma, next door to the current St. Regis.
19. Oku Andalusia
A brand that Europeans love – a barefoot-luxury hideaway, Oku will be a new beachfront resort on a secluded stretch of white sandy shores about one hour from Marbella (25 minutes from Finca Cortesin). The property will offer a mix of swim-up suites, penthouse rooms with expansive terraces, and two-bedroom suites for families. The resort will have a contemporary boho-chic, minimalistic style ideal for people who want a more tranquil, remote resort option with a large spa and oceanside adults-only beach club.
20. Viceroy at Ombria Algarve
A modern golf resort community with 76 spacious rooms and suites, ideal for golfers, with an 18-hole on-site golf course, sprawling spa, and about 10 minutes to the sea.
