A few more hotel openings
2025 is looking good for the US.
This week, I found myself in the usual spiral of studying hotels. I’m still disappointed by Canada’s lack of movement (more on that next week), but elsewhere, there’s momentum.
You might remember I shared a list of 2025 hotel openings towards the end of last year. You can find it here:
But a few more have since caught my attention, and some from the original list deserve another shoutout.
I find that the early days of a hotel are the most telling. The details, big and small, feel deliberate, the staff is still calibrating, and the mood or ‘vibe’ hasn’t yet been established—nor has it been flattened by press reviews or TikTok commentary.
It really is that brief window before a hotel becomes a capital-H Hotel.
As with the previous list, some of these newcomers arrive with serious design credentials. Others feel more like passion projects, albeit promising ones. They span coast to desert, but share a sensibility that feels very much aware of its audience. Stylish, of course, but, most importantly, directional.
Let’s take a closer look.
The Baby Grand - Coronado, California
A 31-room stay by CH Projects that leans maximalist in a way that works. Moody palettes, Roman-style café culture and a cocktail bar in what used to be a parking lot (now jungle-inspired). It sounds gimmicky. It doesn’t look it.
Hotel Lucile - Los Angeles, California
The one I’m probably most excited about. Casetta has restored a 1931 church in Silver Lake and turned it into a 25-room hotel with stained-glass windows still intact. The old chapel is now a restaurant and bar. A bold move, but it looks like they’ve pulled it off.
Hotel Willa - Taos, New Mexico
Another Casetta revival. This time, a 1960s adobe-style motel. It’s got 50 rooms and mountain views, but it’s Juliette, the on-site restaurant by Johnny Ortiz-Concha and Maida Branch, that makes it feel culturally grounded rather than aesthetic-first.
Larch House - Whitefish, Montana
Designed by Olson Kundig and set across ten lodge-style buildings in Whitefish’s Railway District. A speakeasy, an art gallery and a boulder garden (yes, really). Slightly cryptic on the hospitality side for now, but promising on paper.
Hotel Wren - Joshua Tree, California
Jessica Pell of Manola Studio has turned an old motor lodge into a 12-room desert retreat. There’s a saltwater pool, hot tub and a little bodega called Windsong. It could easily veer into social media bait, but it doesn’t seem to be. So far, so good. Enjoy 15% off your stay to celebrate the hotel’s first season.
The Shelborne by Proper - Miami, Florida
Proper’s first East Coast project. Over 200 rooms, a big-name chef and a members’ club with cultural programming. Feels iconic, but slightly corporate. While I’m not rushing to book, I’m definitely intrigued.
Hotel Saint Augustine - Houston, Texas
Bunkhouse meets Montrose—what’s not to like? The brand’s first Houston venture is housed in a 1930s warehouse with all the usual Bunkhouse details that feel warm and unshow-y, complete with a low-slung listening lounge. This one feels right (that’s the Texas in me speaking).
Delano - Miami, Florida
A revival of the iconic South Beach hotel, opening late 2025. The Rose Bar returns, as do the pools. It’s glossier now, with new additions like a beachfront amenity deck and a fourth-floor pool. If you’ve stayed before, maybe worth a revisit. If not, it depends on your appetite for nostalgia.
Now Now NoHo - New York, New York
I love the name. And I can appreciate what they’re trying to do—reimagine the solo stay as something chic and intelligent. Think sleeper cabins with Grown Alchemist bath products, a Women+ floor for women and non-binary guests, and no pretence. It's like a grown-up hostel minus the debauchery.
Belden House and Mews - Litchfield, Connecticut
Troutbeck’s sibling. A 31-room property that merges 19th-century architecture with modernist restraint. Highlights include a Japanese Ofuro tub, a seasonal pool and Chef Tyler Heckman’s (a Connecticut native) regional, seafood-forward menu.
White Elephant - Aspen, Colorado
Nantucket’s polished export is setting up in Aspen. Roman clay walls, rust and charcoal tones and a five-star restaurant in a glass pavilion. Slightly more traditional than what I’d imagined, but there’s a confidence to this that’s hard to ignore. The brand also has private chalets opening—more on that here.
Number one on my ‘to book’ list? Probably Hotel Lucile. With Belden House and Mews at a close second. But this list just serves as more proof that the hotels in this country are getting better and sharper… Thank goodness.