Haute hotels

Slated to open in April—just in time for the London Olympics—Bulgari Hotel & Residences will be the first brand new luxury hotel in the city for 40 years. The interiors will be resolutely refined (think custom made silk curtains with patterns inspired by some of the classic Bulgari jewellery designs, and bed side table lamps inspired by Bulgari’s silver candlesticks), but the real highlights to expect are the spacious spa crafted from onyx, teak and Vicenza stone, and the luxurious 47-seater state of the art screening room offering a curated library of 500 new and classic films. 171 Knightsbridge, London. Rates unavailable at press time. For reservations and enquiries, call +44 (0) 207 151 1010 or email london-reservations@bulgarihotels.com.

If you are a fan of Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela’s avant-garde aesthetics, it’s worth checking into the newly reopened Maison Champs-Élysées. Once a townhouse with fine Haussmann-era façade, the refurbished interiors bear hallmarks of Margiela's signature minimalist style: unusual proportions, clean lines, and lots of white. In the lobby, the monochromatic marble floor sports an irregular flagstone paving, and in the lounge, lights illuminate blank squares where paintings seem to have been removed, leaving a conspicuous absence.

The Couture Collection—a selection of 17 rooms and suites are also an attraction unto itself. In the Lost Mouldings suites, wooden mouldings are placed at seemingly random intervals and angles; the walls of the Gilded Lounge suite are covered in black and white photographs, creating a trompe-l’œil effect that is heightened by the fact that the real gilded lounge depicted is located downstairs in the same building. 8 Rue Jean Goujon, Paris. Rates from €243. For reservations and enquiries, call +33 (0)1 40 74 64 65 or email resa@lamaisonc.com.

Following its collaboration with Bottega Veneta and Tiffany & Co., the St. Regis Hotel in New York has partnered with Christian Dior to create its most recent luxury room, the Dior Suite. The décor is based on the Dior atelier in Paris and features the house’s signature shades of soothing greys, muted purples and hues of white accented by French furniture found in Dior stores worldwide. The decadently designed, 1700-sq ft space consists of a bedroom, one-and-a-half bathrooms, a dining room for eight and a living room filled with framed sketches of Christian Dior’s designs. Two East 55th Street, at Fifth Avenue, New York, United States. Rates from US$9,500 (S$11,813)  a night. For reservations and enquiries, call (212) 753 4500.

Excerpt from the March issue of epicure.