A stately refuge at the end of a cypress-trimmed drive, the 81-room Collegio alla Querce from the Auberge Resorts Collection, opening this summer, is made up of three 16th-century buildings. Once the home of a preparatory school, chapel and theatre, there is plenty of old-world ambience infusing this Florentine estate. Spend the afternoons strolling the terraced Baroque gardens with views over the city and evenings tasting rich Chiantis by candlelight. End the day with a warming digestif and Dominican in the cigar lounge, which inhabits the former academic admissions office, and bed down in the palatial, 209sq m signature suite for a sleep suitable for a Medici prince. As you would expect from the city of Michelangelo and Botticelli, the hotel boasts a substantial portfolio of renaissance art and antiques, presented around the premises as well as in its own on-site gallery.

aubergeresorts.com

Sitting at the centre of the wildlife-rich Okavango Delta, one of Africa’s most spectacular natural landscapes, Atzaró Okavango (a collaboration with African Bush Camps) is a micro-lodge with just 12 lagoon-side suites arriving in May 2024. This is a modern take on the safari with a natural design that feels at one with the setting, see the grass-topped roofs. It is not, however, lacking in high style, with antiques, curtain-draped beds, and overstuffed leather furniture. Atzaró is not only good-looking, but it is also a force for good with a new education programme supporting local students and a low environmental footprint with solar power systems and a wastewater treatment plant, as well as an in-house team largely hired from the local community. More than ever, a safari is a chance to properly engage with the environment and community, as well as snapping those elusive megafauna.

atzaro-okavango.com

Aman has a cult-like following with diehard devotees all around the world, so any new arrival is bound to garner hype, especially when it’s in Bangkok, one of the world’s most-visited metropolises. The futuristic 36-storey, 52-room Aman Nai Lert Bangkok will be Aman’s first urban resort in Thailand. Growing upwards from the tropical tangles of Nai Lert Park, this high-rise hotel is named after the revered Thai businessman Mr Nai Lert who brought innovations such as the first ice factory and five-star hotel to Bangkok. (The park is also the site of his family home, which now serves as a museum.) There’s no firm opening date for Aman Nai Lert just yet, but in the meantime, Amanjunkies (as the brand’s followers call themselves) can get a fix at Janu, a new lifestyle property from Aman, opening its flagship in March 2024 in Tokyo’s sleek and shiny Azabudai Hills.

aman.com

After last year’s international debuts from The Peninsula and Raffles, it seemed like London’s luxe hotel scene couldn’t get any hotter. It turns out it can. Say hello to Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, a second sibling (but never second fiddle) to the capital’s Hyde Park original, coming to Hanover Square in February. How will it stand apart? For starters, this ground-up new build will have just 50 keys for optimum intimacy, star chef Mr Akira Back at the helm and a skyline-showcasing rooftop bar. For those overstretched and overstressed (who isn’t?), there will also be a dimly lit spa with subterranean swimming pool, qi-balancing massages, and fitness collab with the chichi Knightsbridge wellness club BodySpace. A third London Mandarin Oriental is also en route, this time to the South Bank, so don’t play favourites just yet.

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Infusing of-the-moment charm into a heritage landmark dating back to 1890, the 10-room Todos Santos Boutique Hotel (opening this month) is a small and soulful retreat in keeping with the Pacific coast Pueblo Mágico of Todos Santos, a long-time haven for wild-eyed surfers and free-spirited artists. The setting is moody, evoking the private home of a bougie bohemian with a palette of tobacco, honeycomb, sage, and sepia, and hacienda-inspired architectural flourishes such as archways and long open-air corridors. Once owned by a Spanish countess, the building’s previous iteration played host to restaurant La Copa, which will be reimagined as the hotel’s swish bar, carrying on the name. While it’s sure to attract crowds, the chill poolside bar – backlit in gold and fringed in whispery palms – will be another hotspot at his bijou bolthole.

hoteltodossantos.com

Opening in February after more than three decades of planning, this new 14-villa pleasure island comes from one of the original five-star brands in the Maldives, Soneva, a portmanteau of the owners’ names, Mr Sonu Shivdasani and his wife Ms Eva Malmström Shivdasani. Expect elite-level pampering and plenty of tropical whimsy here. All villas have private chefs and butlers, and some include waterslides and retractable roofs (both of which are signatures at sister properties Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani). The most impressive accommodation is the Castaway Villa, the Maldives’ first and only floating villa. Accessible by boat, this two-storey castaway-chic escape can be moved via tug boat to different mooring points around the lagoon for an ever-changing view.

soneva.com

Legendary health retreat The Ranch gets a new East Coast outpost this spring in Upstate New York, a quick 45 minutes from the city. Like the OG in Malibu, The Ranch Hudson Valley will run heart-pumping multi-day wellness programmes; however, it may not be as intense as the SoCal version with later starts and shorter stays (should you prefer). True to its Californian roots, The Ranch serves an entirely plant-based, locally sourced organic menu. Meanwhile, if the ready-made programmes aren’t for you, a fully bespoke itinerary is an option. While the vibe may be less boot camp and more summer camp, the location is all Gilded Age grand: the property commandeers a 200-acre, 121-year-old castle-like estate originally built by Mr JP Morgan as a wedding gift for his daughter and new husband, the great-grandson of American Founding Father, Mr Alexander Hamilton. We are not throwin’ away our shot.

theranchmalibu.com

A legendary stronghold for pirates in the 17th century, Sainte-Marie (AKA Nosy Boraha) – a minuscule fleck of an island just off Madagascar’s northeast coastline – still retains an air of swashbuckling mystery. Nowadays, the famous buccaneers can only be found in the pirate graveyard in Saint-Pierre on the island’s southern side, but intrepid travellers can still sail the salty seas for diving expeditions and whale watching, as the area is famed for both. The new retreat of Voaara also provides a good reason to visit. A renovation of an existing property, this unfussy yet upscale retreat will have just eight beach bungalows and one three-bedroom villa when it opens in May, but it will eventually grow to 45 rooms. Visit this year and you’ll be able to say you saw it before it hit the big time.

voaara.com

Bonfires on the white-sand beach at sundown. Horseback rides through the surf. Mountain biking to hidden waterfalls. These are just a few of the al fresco adventures at the new Our Habitas Santa Teresa, opening in the surfing sanctuary of Playa Santa Teresa on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula in April. With 45 earthy-but-Insta-ready rooms and 10 explorer-style tents tucked in the jungles spilling from Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve (a short drive away), this is an escape that feels far removed without skimping on modern comforts. Expect a spa that merges science with earthy spirituality, and a signature restaurant Suawe, which means “exquisite” in the indigenous Chibchan language of Bribi, serving up a fresh local bounty cooked over an open fire.

ourhabitas.com