The Best New Hotels in Australia and Asia: 2023 Hot List
Nothing makes us more excited to get up and go than putting together our annual Hot List of the best new hotels, cruises, restaurants, cultural destinations, and transportation projects. Now in its 27th year, this curated collection is a labor of love for our global team, which spends the year researching, visiting, and vetting the entries to bring you a definitive directory of places whose style, ethos, and service set new standards for hospitality. This year's best hotels in Australia and Asia include openings in Sydney, Sri Lanka, Japan, and more. All that’s left is for you to decide where you’re going first.
Click here to see the entire Hot List for 2023.
This story appears in Condé Nast Traveler's Hot List issue. Never miss out when you subscribe to Condé Nast Traveler.
All listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you book something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
InterContinental Khao Yai ResorthotelInterContinental Khao Yai Resort, an IHG Hotel — Thailand
$ |
Hot List 2023Some two hours into the three-hour drive northward from Bangkok, the landscape starts changing. Concrete sprawl morphs into Khao Yai’s undulating hillscape bedecked in thick jungles and fruit orchards, and just off the area’s main road that snakes past pastiche European-looking country clubs and patchworks of farmland, the Intercontinental Khao Yai emerges from behind a hedgerow of towering trees. Dotted around the lush estate, you’ll see railway-themed buildings and train cars—which is the exact theme Bangkok–based hotel designer Bill Bensley was going for. The lobby is built like an old-timey ticketing booth, while suites are set up in upcycled vintage railway carriages and draw inspiration from different Asian railway journeys. Also set up in railway carts are two restaurants and one bar (head to Poirot for champignon-topped mushroom tarts and boeuf bourguignon) and a spa specializing in Thai and aromatherapy massage. Needless to say, this imaginative stay is a hit with little ones, but even grown-ups will appreciate the whimsical respite from busy Bangkok. Rooms from $280. —Chris Schalkx
Robert RiegerhotelLost Lindenberg — Indonesia
$$ | Hot List 2023Over the past decade or so, most of the boutique hotels in Bali have become a little predictable: the rattan lampshades, the swirling infinity pools, the bamboo yoga shalas. This whip-smart new arrival wants none of that and puts a delightfully different spin on hospitality. After traveling through the rice fields and past the near-deserted beaches of Bali’s little-visited west coast to the sleepy backwater of Pekutatan, guests are greeted by neon pop art and a narrow compound of four wooden watchtowers, each one as tall as the coconut palms flanking it. Elevated walkways, all wood and tillandsia fringes, connect them and lead to a turquoise pool where suntanned and salty-haired hotel guests warmly welcome new arrivals to their surfer tribe. Laid-back Pekutatan is lovely for everything it still lacks: There are no blaring beach clubs, no third-wave coffee shops, and no whitewashed (in every sense of the word) brunch spots slinging smashed avocado and spirulina smoothie bowls. Instead, there’s mile after mile of empty black beach, with Medewi Surf Point, Bali’s longest wave, just around the corner. Novice surfers can start in the calmer waves in front of the hotel with the help of Lost’s resident surf instructor. Rooms from $374. —Chris Schalkx
Regent Phu QuochotelRegent Phu Quoc — Vietnam
$$$ | Hot List 2023You’re forgiven if the Regent brand has slipped off your radar. After its heyday in the ’80s and ’90s, it failed to keep up with splashier newcomers and eventually lost its luster. Decades later, Regent Phu Quoc is the product of an ambitious brand revival and has already raised the bar in a country that isn’t exactly short of dreamy beach retreats. The message is clear: Regent has (re)entered the chat. This lush resort is laid out like a Rorschach test, with about 63 villas (126 in total) circling a lagoon and a tall hotel wing on either side. The suites and villas are effortlessly chic and comfortable, with plenty of fresh flowers and, in most cases, a full kitchen. I kept finding new ingenuities that made me think: I can’t believe they thought of that. A set of loungers on both ends of my private pool, so I wouldn’t have to drag them in and out of the sun. Dental kits with a choice between mint or ginger. Wireless phone charging pads on the bedsides, and—get this—a fully stocked second minibar in the bedroom, because god forbid I’d have to totter to the kitchen for a cold drink after bedtime. Phu Quoc isn’t as culture-rich as Vietnam’s other regions, but this luxury gem has all the trimmings for an idyllic long-haul fly-and-flop. Rooms from $400. —Chris Schalkx
Alan JensenhotelOsborn House — Australia
$$ | Hot List 2023Bundanoon in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales has always had low-key charm. Two hours from Canberra and Sydney, this well-heeled country town has buildings below tree lines, beautiful properties, and antique shops. But, since the opening of Osborn House, a fresh new crowd of movers and shakers have been revving their sports cars for weekend jaunts to Bundanoon. Surrounded by manicured gardens and giant pine trees, Osborn House, in its pretty palette of duck egg blue and soft greens, may look like just another twee country estate—but behind its heritage-listed, shutter-front façade is an interior by former Soho House Design Director Linda Boronkay, who has followed the tried and tested formula and transformed the space with the same clubby members’ house feel. Eclectic and quirky furniture, carefully curated prints and textures, cheeky artworks, and bric-a-brac from local designers and flea markets are scattered around—a squiggle bench here, a chubby desk there—creating playful nooks and crannies. The 13 suites inside the main house, some with four-poster beds, feature paisley print curtains and walls in rich shades of teal and navy, mixing English country style with on-trend details like scalloped marble counters, wavy lamps, and dressers by local Australian makers. Outside, the timber-clad cabins have a rustic farmhouse feel with fireplaces and outdoor baths. Dinner in the elegant powder-blue dining room “Dinah’s” attracts the Southern Highland’s smart set, but the hot ticket in town is the “fire feasts.” Here, chefs trained by Segundo Farrell, himself a protégé of Francis Mallmann, show off fire-cooking skills in a jovial Argentina-by-way-of-Australia barbecue, where locals and guests mingle around juicy carcasses of meat and vegetables that theatrically hang over coals and open flames. Rooms from $450. —Chloe Sachdev
Kayaam HousehotelKayaam House — Sri Lanka
$$$ | Hot List 2023Hoteliers Resplendent Ceylon upped the hospitality game in Sri Lanka with a trio of deep-nature Relais & Châteaux properties: Wild Coast Tented Lodge, Ceylon Tea Trails, and Cape Weligama. But now it’s the group’s intimate and affordable new sister brand, Reverie, that’s turning heads. The first opening is Kayaam House, off the beaten track in Rekawa, on the south coast near Tangalle. Built from scratch a few years ago, this whitewashed hideaway is a lesson in absolute peace, broken only by the soundtrack of crashing waves. The glorious pool, flanked by palm trees and frangipanis, sets the scene, stretching across the lawn towards a private beach sprinkled with sun loungers. Inside the house, pops of Persian blue provide a fresh zing while copper pots, planter’s chairs, and an ancient temple door from Jaffna add character. The nine rooms and suites, with ocean or forest views, are simple yet sophisticated, most coming with a four-poster bed, tub on the terrace, and Bang & Olufsen tech. Sleep-inducing Balinese massages await in the spa, and there’s a sea-facing yoga shala on the lawn. A Bawa-inspired dining room with cane lighting is the showcase for chef Namal Surendra, who brings his global cooking, including a very British roast rack of lamb, from the Four Seasons at Landaa Giraavaru in the Maldives. Blissed-out guests wake to the song of hornbills and tuck into Bircher muesli on the oceanfront terrace, as fishing boats bob in the distance. Rooms from $472. —Harriet Compston
hotelThe Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon — Thailand
$ | Hot List 2023There were barely any surprises left when I checked in just days after the hotel’s official opening at the end of July 2022—every one of Bangkok’s high-heeled fashionistas and socialites had already TikTok-ed every art-studded nook, DJ set, and Drag Queen Bingo party. And that’s unlikely to change anytime soon, because this high-voltage clout magnet in the city’s tallest skyscraper draws the Thai and international in-crowd like bees to a honeypot. The Standard is a five-star with a vibe Bangkok’s hotel scene was still missing, swapping out the predictably serene, Thai–inspired interiors and chi-chi fine dining restaurants of most of its competitors for a riot of colors, clubby restaurants, and the country’s highest rooftop bar. That’s not to say it’s all-out debauchery, though: The swirling pool, with the CBD’s skyline as its backdrop, is a lovely spot to spend a lazy afternoon, and most of the staff (a mix of Thais and peppy young expats) are a chatty, smiling bunch. Rooms from $170. —Chris Schalkx
Buahan BalihotelBuahan, A Banyan Tree Escape — Indonesia
$$$ | Hot List 2023Waking up at this “no walls, no doors” resort is nothing short of magical: Only a gauzy curtain hangs between your bed and the chlorophyll-rich Buahan Valley fanning out right below your villa. The air smells damp and jungly (in the best possible way) and is sweetened with a hint of frangipani. There are just 16 villas and a two-story central pavilion from which a dreamy, lounger-lined infinity pool protrudes into the valley. Before opening Buahan, the Banyan Tree group ran a five-year long research project to study how the hotel would impact the social, agricultural, and cultural aspects of the surrounding area. As a result, guests are provided with a level of immersion into the Balinese way of life that few other hotels of this caliber have managed to deliver. The 16 villas afford once-in-a-lifetime views of Bali’s jungles and terraced rice fields, and The Open Kitchen sources almost every ingredient from within a one-hour radius of the lobby. If you want to experience Bali in its purest form—but don’t necessarily want to rough it—Buahan is waiting for you. Rooms from $1,000. —Chris Schalkx
Anson SmarthotelAce Hotel Sydney
$ | Hot List 2023This hipster-hotel titan has spent two decades establishing itself as a shortcut to a city’s pulse. Its first iteration in the Southern Hemisphere, located in Sydney’s city center in the cool-kid neighborhood of Surry Hills, doesn’t disappoint. The Ace, 18 stories high with 257 rooms, is located in a magnificent early-20th-century building that vibrates with top-to-toe creative energy. Revived by Australia’s most in-demand interior architects, Flack Studio, the former brick factory has kept its old bones—high ceilings and exposed brick and concrete walls—offset with one-of-a-kind furniture, art, and bric-a-brac by the country’s best designers, artists, and makers. The deeply comfortable rooms come in varying sizes, some with terraces, living rooms, and marble-clad bathrooms with deep bathtubs and kitchens; all rooms are soundproofed, and some have turntables and vinyl. By day, the lobby, an homage to 1970s suburbia with a burnt-orange-and-tan sunken lounge, is busy with freelancers fueled by flat whites. By night, the lights dim, DJs move in, and olive-leaf martinis flow from the high-shine ochre-and-red marble bar, while the wine bar, Good Chemistry, is a striking mint-green terrazzo-and-tadelakt space that champions the natural-wine movement. Upstairs, the retractable-rooftop restaurant Kiln has been designed by Fiona Lynch with linen walls and colorful Pollock-style splotches, and chef-about-town Mitch Orr delivers an on-trend wood-fired menu, with views every which way across Sydney’s cityscape. Rooms from $150. —Kate Hennessy
.jpg)
Alila Kothaifaru MaldiveshotelAlila Kothaifaru Maldives
$$$ | Hot List 2023Situated on a lush, natural private island with pool villas and wonderfully friendly and professional staff, this is easily one of the most charming hotels in the Maldives. About 45 minutes north of Malé International Airport by seaplane, in the Raa Atoll on a natural island known as Kothaifaru, the setting here is blessed with long white beaches and endless palm trees. Throughout the 27.6 acres, there is also thick jungle vegetation that gives the new space an already settled-in feel. The 80 villas—all with pools—are split between overwater villas (with bathrooms that open up to the sea) and beach villas (with sunrise and sunset options). There are two restaurants and two bars to choose from, as well as a spa tucked away deep within the jungle vegetation. But the service here is what makes this resort stand out in the crowd of smart hotels in the Maldives. After a few days, it will start to feel like home with staff remembering your preference for still or sparkling water, the names of your children, and where your favorite table is—so much so that there is an urge to book a repeat trip before you have finished the first one. Rooms from $850. —Mary Lussiana
Villa Palladio JaipurhotelVilla Palladio Jaipur — India
$$ | Hot List 2023This boutique hotel, a third Jaipur project by Swiss Italian hotelier Barbara Miolini and her Danish design collaborator Marie-Anne Oudejans, is a riotous ode to Rajasthani craftsmanship and color, especially hot red. On the outskirts of the city, it is as much a bijou cabinet of curiosities as a retreat, with strikingly white crenelated walls above red awnings and a delicious confection of carved stone trellises, block-printed fabrics, hand-painted walls, and checkerboard-marble courtyards with bubbling fountains. Nine dollhouse-like rooms—including four on grounds dotted with rosebushes and jasmine and palm trees—come richly patterned in red and white with gold accents, each with plush beds, block-printed bathrobes, and soft Jaipuri slippers. Clear blue skies and the forested green hills of the lesser Aravallis are picturesquely framed in the multilobed arches of the breakfast terrace, and candlelit dinners are brightened by starlight. There’s a meditation room, a library, a small two-bed spa offering Tibetan treatments, and the sun-warmed pool with its candy-striped pool house and pavilion bar. At night, the gorgeous dining area overlooking the grounds serves up delicious Indian and Italian dishes. Rooms from $315. —Divya Mishra
ShiguchihotelShiguchi — Japan
$$$ | Hot List 2023From Shiguchi’s hot tub—a giant rock, sliced in half, its excavated interior filled with volcanic onsen water—the dazzling whites of the valley are broken only by an ink-line of trees and the scarlet legs of a woodpecker in a nearby birch tree. Such is life at this escapist nirvana in a wild corner of Niseko, on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido. Named after a traditional Japanese carpentry technique that joins beams without nails, Shiguchi is about connection: between humans and nature, art and architecture, and possibly bathers and birds. English artist, collector, and longtime resident Shouya Grigg, who was also behind the area’s beloved Zaborin ryokan, meticulously relocated five old kominka farmhouses from across Japan. Shiguchi’s heartbeat is its gallery and restaurant, Somoza, where impressive woodwork is tempered by shelves of ceramics, abstract paintings, and walls of glass framing valley views. Days might be whiled away drinking matcha in a floating tatami mat space wrapped in steel screens, discovering Ainu art artifacts in the lower-level gallery space, or talking art with Grigg over dinners of wild Niseko, from foraged mushrooms to melt-in-the-mouth venison. Pathways cut into walls of snow lead to five spacious and atmospheric villas, with high-tech kitchens, rock or cypress bathtubs, and deliciously soft Babaghuri pajamas. Sturdy timberwork is the backdrop for antique furniture, fire stoves, and artworks. But the real privilege here is switching off and tuning in to the rhythms of the woodpeckers. Rooms from $612. —Danielle Demetriou
Bali Interiors/The SanubarihotelThe Sanubari — Indonesia
$$ | Hot List 2023For the longest time, visiting Sumba either meant ponying up an eye-watering amount of rupiah for a stay at high-flyer hideaway Nihi, or roughing it at one of the basic homestays dotting the coast. Rowan and Micha Burn, the Bali–based British-Australian couple behind The Sanubari, saw an opportunity for a place pitched between these extremes—a toes-in-the-sand, away-from-it-all hideaway that’s actually affordable. The resort’s remoteness is part of its appeal—guests must take a 50-minute turboprop flight and 2-hour drive—but what awaits is well worth the effort: a 1.5-mile swoop of eye-blindingly white sand backdropped by rice paddies and rocky cliffs, with not a single other building in sight. Stroll down the hotel’s beach (or hop on a bike) to reach Pantai Watu Bella, one of southwest Sumba’s most beautiful stretches of sand, where The Sanubari will soon set up an umbrella-shaded cliffside deck for picnic excursions and sunset barbecues. Further inland, you’ll find frozen-in-time villages, eye-popping valley landscapes, and a river to SUP or canoe down for over an hour during the wet season. Rooms from $324. —Chris Schalkx
Recommended
