Sparkly hotels opening around the world in 2014 come with features just as cool as their settings.
Luxury bathroom products and pillow menus are no longer enough.
Today’s travelers now demand (at least someone thinks) such extras as a marine conservation center, private cinema, oxygen lounge and in-room thermal baths.
Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles
Opening: January 2014
The Ace Hotel group’s fifth American property and the first to open since co-founder Alex Calderwood’s death in November, this LA hotel highlights everything the Ace brand stands for.
Set in the historic 1927 United Artists building and theater, the 182-room hotel’s eclectic style is a collaboration between local group Commune and Atelier Ace.
Guest rooms reflect architectural heritage and come with Rudy’s Toiletries, Pearl+ soaps and Revo Radios.
In addition to a rooftop pool and bar and pet-friendly options, the property will reopen the building’s original 1,600-seat performance space, which will house a theater.
Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, 929 South Broadway, Los Angeles; +1?213 623 3233; from $299 per night
The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto
Opening: February 7, 2014
Incorporating a traditional Meiji-era house and courtyard, this Zen-inspired property sits on the banks of Kyoto’s Kamogawa River, with many of the city’s 17 World Heritage Sites within walking distance.
From the Imabari robes in the hotel’s 134 guest rooms to artwork by local artists, Japanese design and style are featured throughout the hotel.
Some suites come with outdoor gardens modeled on tsukimidai (moon-viewing decks).
All rooms offer 600-fretted bed linens and featherbeds, luxury bath amenities by Asprey of London and Kyoto Shabon soaps and seasonal bath salts.
Those bath products are also found in the 2,000-square-meter spa at the base of a waterfall.
The dining room’s beautiful features include an 11-meter Uwajima-nuri lacquered counter and waterfall. The menu focuses on Edomae-style sushi.
The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto, Kamogawa Nijo-ohashi Hotori, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan; +81 75 746 5555; from $700 per night
Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam
Opening: March 2014
The upcoming Waldorf 93-room property encompasses six original patrician houses — each of them on UNESCO’s World Heritage list — from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Set on one of Amsterdam’s oldest canals, the Herengracht, in the middle of the city’s historic center, each house has exposed beams, sloping ceilings and large picture windows overlooking the canal or courtyard garden.
The hotel will house the same Peacock Alley restaurant as the New York flagship, a converted underground bar and a function space decorated with original 17th-century paintings.
Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam, Herengracht 542-556, Amsterdam; +31 20 710 6090; from $630 per night
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