We pinpoint five new stays for the design-discerning traveller, from Sydney’s Surry Hills to the Puglian countryside.

If the last two-and-a-half years made us realise anything, it’s the luxury that is to travel. If you also spent your days daydreaming of laying on a sunny beach in Mallorca, these inspiring hotels and boutique holiday rentals are sure to pique your interest. Starting locally in Sydney, and then heading abroad, we’re taking you on a global design tour to five newly-opened stays by leading architects and designers. And the best part? You can stay and experience each of these spaces yourself. So dust off your suitcases, print your itineraries and pack your bags, because these design destinations are sure to inspire your 2023 getaway.

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Ace Hotel Sydney by Flack Studio and Bates Smart | Photography by Anson Smart

Ace Hotel Sydney by Flack Studio and Bates Smart

In 2022, Seattle-based hoteliers Ace Hotels opened their first Southern Hemisphere outpost in Surry Hills, Sydney. Designed by Flack Studio with architecture by Bates Smart, the 18-storey, 257-room hotel resides in a 1900s former brick factory. As a homage to Australia, the layered interior palette of ochre, burnt orange and tanned leather echoes the desert landscape, while accents of vivid green marble recall the vast countryside.

Works by local artists including Tony Albert, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Nadia Hernández adorn the walls throughout the staircase and lobby. On the 18th floor, the Ace Hotel Sydney enlisted Melbourne-based studio Fiona Lynch Office to create ‘Kiln’; a rooftop restaurant and bar headed by Sydney chef Mitch Orr that champions locally sourced materials and custom-made pieces.

Villa Copenhagen by Universal Design Studio

Villa Copenhagen’s central location, next to Tivoli Gardens and the Meatpacking District, isn’t just what put the hotel on the map after it opened two years ago. Villa Copenhagen is set in a century-old landmark Neo-Baroque-style building. The hotel, with interiors by London-based Universal Design Studio, plays host to 390 guest rooms – all tapping into the original architecture through a contemporary celebration of Scandinavian design.

Adding another string to its bow, Villa Copenhagen opened their redesigned Universal Penthouse Suite in collaboration with Danish design stalwarts &Tradition in 2022. A double-storey loft space, the penthouse features a spiral staircase, deep picture windows looking out onto Copenhagen’s rooflines and a considered showcase of & Tradition’s lighting, furniture and objects, including some of their latest designer collaborations.

Borgo Gallana by Studio Andrew Trotter

Barcelona-based design office Studio Andrew Trotter’s Borgo Gallana materialises as a trio of boutique hotels outside the Puglian town of Oria, owned by local Giuseppe De Vanna. “The best moments of my life have always been linked to my time in Puglia,” Giuseppe says, as he fondly recalls “summers spent by the sea” and “views between the olive trees”. Borgo Gallana was born out of a desire to recreate these simple moments and let others experience them too.

Dubbed ‘Casa Camino’, ‘Casa Luce’ and ‘Casa Limone’, each Borgo Gallana house has a living area, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, private garden, outdoor relaxation area and masonry bath and shower. Guests can look out their windows to an enchanting scene of native grass, olive trees and a 40-square-metre pool. Calling on local materials and traditional building methods, Studio Andrew Trotter have conveyed ‘the simple life’ of Puglia through an old farmhouse feel.

Camp Roig 31 by Durietz Design and Development

Camp Roig 31 is situated at the foothills of the Tamarama Mountains on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Spanish design firm Durietz Design and Development converted the 1910 townhouse into a seven-bedroom holiday villa, combining an Art Deco influence with Mallorcan heritage through an earthen palette, organic shapes and iconic design pieces.

Described by the designers as the “most precious gem of the house,” the kitchen features an Italian cream travertine bench and custom-made walnut cabinetry, complete with a breakfast corner and an original restored fireplace. The Mallorcan escape also includes a yoga room, laundry room, home office, and wine cellar. Downstairs, the cellar houses 150 bottles of Camp Roig 31 wine, produced locally on the island at Bodegas Son Puig.

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Hotel Château Voltaire by Festen | Photography by François Halard

Hotel Château Voltaire by Festen

Hotel Château Voltaire is a boutique 32-suite hotel in the heart of Paris, nestled between the Jardin des Tuileries and the Opéra Garnier. The hotel is a combination of three historic buildings, conceived by French fashion house Zadig & Voltaire founder Thierry Gillier in the brands’ former headquarters. With artistic direction by Atelier Franck Durand and interiors by Festen, the hotel evokes, as its name suggests, the feeling of being in a chateau in the French countryside.

Oriental tapestries, fringed furniture and decorative wall panels adorn the downstairs lobby. The hotel’s in-house restaurant, Brasserie l’Emil, offers a refreshing menu of modern French cuisine in an intimate candle-lit setting and leads to a discreet speakeasy behind a velvet and leather door.

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