Hotel Openings to Watch Out For in 2018

It's going to be an exciting year for new hotel openings in 2018: On one hand, some of the world's most iconic properties are set to re-open after staying quiet throughout extensive renovations, while new properties will change the landscape at some of the most popular tourist destinations. Here are a few of the hottest hotel openings to look out for in 2018.

Hotel Lutetia, Paris

After shuttering in 2014 for a major facelift, one of Paris's most legendary landmarks, Hotel Lutetia, is set to reopen this spring and start a new chapter in its century-old history. Originally built as a luxury sister property to Paris's oldest department store, Le Bon Marché in 1910, the hotel on the Left Bank boasts a fabled past with clients that include Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Josephine Baker. When it reopens next spring, all 184 rooms including 47 suites and two penthouses will be updated with contemporary redesigns. The Lutetia Brasserie will also reopen under the supervision of three Michelin-starred chef Gerald Passedat.

The NoMad, Los Angeles

When the West Coast outpost of New York's buzzy NoMad hotel opens in January, it will bring with it a huge culinary talent to Los Angeles: chef Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park fame (the restaurant currently occupies the top spot in the influential World's 50 Best Restaurants 2017 ranking). The LA outpost will breathe new life into the historical 20th century Giannini Building, which served as the headquarters for The Bank of Italy. All 241 rooms including 31 suites, are designed by Jacques Garcia and draw inspiration from the lobby's fully restored gold and blue Italianate ceiling. The hotel will also add another rooftop pool destination and gathering space to the city's booming downtown renaissance.

Raffles Singapore

Declared a National Monument by the Singapore government a century after its opening in 1887, the Raffles Singapore is an iconic landmark that will re-open with new suite categories for short and long stays, modernized amenities, and refreshed dining concepts and meeting spaces. As the birthplace of the famous Singapore Sling cocktail, the hotel will also offer a range of new experiential packages that include master classes on how to make Singapore's national drink, epicurean classes, wine workshops, along with wellness classes for both mind and body. The Raffles Singapore re-opening is set for the second half of 2018.

The Retreat at Blue Lagoon

One of Iceland's signature tourist attractions, the Blue Lagoon is set to open its first on-site luxury hotel, which will offer its guests a more exclusive, private spa experience, closed off from the public. Built into an 800-year-old lava flow, all 62 rooms at The Retreat will feature floor-to-ceiling windows that offer sweeping views of the geothermally-heated, milky-blue, mineral-rich waters and Iceland's dramatic landscape and ever-changing skies. Guests will also have access to a new subterranean spa, and seven-course dining destination that will serve Icelandic cuisine with local ingredients. The opening is set for April 2018.