The sexiest new hotels that are opening in 2024 includes two Aussie spots
CNN have shared their picks of the sexiest new hotels opening up in 2024 and not one, but two Australian spots have made the list.
Scroll through to see the new properties you'll be adding to your bucket list for this year.
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Mercure Darwin Airport Resort, Darwin (Australia)
Airport hotels aren't usually sexy – and neither, to be honest, are Mercures. However, pool villas, a larger-than-Olympic-sized regular pool and sustainability programs certainly are, meaning this resort by Darwin Airport might just become a destination in itself.
An amalgamation of two existing hotels – both completely renovated – the resort sits on the land of the Larrakia Nation, which takes centre stage in the décor, with aboriginal art all over the resort (including vast outdoor murals) and villas named after Territorians.
Different areas of the property are dedicated to different Northern Territory regions, and Larrakia guides will lead guests on walking tours to a nearby creek. There will also be an onsite Indigenous Training Academy to staff up the hotel.
But what are the rooms like? Existing ones have been refurbished, and new pool villas, suites and bungalows have been added to the mix.
Pool villas are cute cabins with patio doors opening on the open-to-the-elements plunge pools, while the bungalows will be wood-clad, tropical spaces. Even regular rooms have been given some va-va-voom with bright, clashing colours.
Matca, Transylvania (Romania)
Matca means "queen bee" in Romanian – and while that's officially in homage to the onsite colony (as well as the beekeeping tradition in Transylvania), it also doubles as a nickname for the hotel, which is bringing new levels of luxury to the Carpathian mountains, not far from the city of Brașov.
Transylvania's bucolic landscapes have long been a favourite of those in the know – the UK's King Charles has a house two hours north – and hilltop Matca fills its 16 rooms with the spirit of the region, from handcarved rustic wooden beds and wardrobes, to traditional rugs slung over the floorboards and rough, almost putty-ish walls.
The main hotel, with a spa and local-sourcing restaurant, is located across two fortified farmhouses, and there are also 10 private villas scattered amid the grounds. Opened January 1.
Gundari, Folegandros (Greece)
There are 80 acres of wilderness to explore at Gundari, which means you may never make it off Folegandros, an island in the Cyclades, but a world away from neighbour Santorini.
The hotel – just 25 suites – sits within a bird-filled nature reserve. Forget the blinding whitewash of traditional Greek island hotels – this brings a more international feel, with putty-coloured walls, feature headboards, local wood and stone galore and private infinity pools overlooking the Aegean Sea.
That's all yours. Then to share, there's a swim-up cocktail bar in the cliff-edge pool, a wine bar, and a subterranean spa, chiselled into the cliffs, which combines ancient Greek tradition with island herbs.
Kibale Lodge (Uganda)
Volcanoes Safaris has been known for its top-level eco-tourism lodges in Uganda and Rwanda for over two decades, and this new opening, in Kibale National Park, is one for chimpanzee lovers.
The park has a community of over 1000 chimps – the closest species to us humans, with 90 per cent odds of spotting one – as well as 12 other kinds of primate.
The lodge, meanwhile, will sprawl across a 150-acre site with views of the Rwenzori Mountains, Queen Elizabeth plains, and the beloved-by-hippos Kazinga Channel, which links Lakes Edward and George. Permits to go chimp spotting are cheaper than gorilla trekking – which helps with the rates.
It's opening in parts – three bandas (traditional cabins) by May, and five more by the end of the year. There will also be a spa, sauna and pool.
Anantara Mina Al Arab Ras Al Khaimah Resort (UAE)
Opening in January plum on the Arabian Gulf, this is under an hour from Dubai, but couldn't feel further away.
Ras Al Khaimah, the northernmost emirate on the border with Oman, is focusing on nature and adventure tourism, sprinkling visitors between the mountains, desert and beaches.
This is part of the latter, situated on Mina Al Arab, an island just offshore from the town of Al Riffa. Despite being close to civilisation, it sits in a mangrove lagoon, surrounded by protected wetlands where turtles, dolphins and flamingos frolic.
An eco resort, its 174 rooms feature recycled fabrics and plastics, and sustainable wood, while the overwater villas are the first for the emirate.
Mollie's, Manchester (UK)
In 1962, the Beatles made their TV debut in Granada Studios in the UK's Manchester. Six decades later, it's time for you to make an entrance, as the venue – now called the Old Granada Studios – will open a sassy hotel that also happens to be affordable.
The legendary Manchester landmark (soap opera Coronation Street used to be filmed here and the Sex Pistols also made their TV debut in the studios) will be reinvented this year, as Mollie's moves in.
The 130-room hotel will be the third for the budget brand created by Soho House, who'll also have a private members' club in the building. Mollie's venues always pair Soho House-lite décor with a retro US vibe, so you can expect boutique-style rooms (soothing wooden headboards, coyly clashing colours to the walls and furnishings, terrazzo flooring) with a classic diner featuring plenty of chrome and leather booths.
Hotel Casa Lucia, Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Argentina looks set to be entering a period of political and financial uncertainty in 2024, but this new Buenos Aires hotel is looking backward, not forward – to the city's golden age a century ago.
Opening later in January in the Edificio Mihanovich, an art deco skyscraper built by a shipping magnate in the Retiro district, the Casa Lucia is the new iteration of the former Sofitel – but it's moving up in the world, putting it on a similar swank level to the uber-fancy Faena.
With wood and chrome accents, the décor's relatively minimalist in the 142 rooms, perhaps to put the focus on the views of the city and the River Plate outside.
Downstairs is another matter, with contemporary Argentinian art, lashings of marble and a 52-foot pool. Wine buffs will love Le Club Bacan, officially a cocktail bar – but one with 400 labels of Argentina's best wines.
One&Only Za'abeel, Dubai (UAE)
In a city of superlatives, it takes a lot to stand out. One&Only's third resort in Dubai, which opened on January 5, manages to do that with no fewer than six Michelin-starred chefs working across 11 restaurants, and the longest infinity pool in the UAE.
The "vertical urban resort" is part of One Za'abeel, a twin-tower development whose two skyscrapers are linked by a glass corridor 320 feet above the ground. One&Only calls this corridor the "boulevard of the future," filled with a bar, restaurants from six Michelin-rated chefs, and that pool layered on top, with olive trees for shade.
As for the rooms, they're light and bright, thanks to the glass walls letting the Dubai sun in, with swirls of colour behind the beds and on the rugs slung artfully over the floor.
KAI Akiu (Japan)
Nowhere does hot springs quite like Japan, and April sees the opening of this new ryokan traditional inn at Akiu, known for its thermal waters for 1500 years.
While it might have been tricky to get there in the past, today it's an easy 90 minutes on the bullet train from Tokyo, or 30 minutes from Sendai.
There are views of the forested valley and river below from the couch-lined window seats in each of the 49 rooms, while outside are the onsen baths, including hot baths, a body temperature pool and a terrace-set foot bath – perfect for recovering after a day hiking and cycling around the nearby gorges and Akiu Otaki waterfalls.
