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MARK ANTHONY FOX<br />
THE SMART GUIDE<br />
is flying high with Australia’s<br />
tallest hotel. Soaring 80<br />
stories above the Victorian<br />
capital, the 257-room The<br />
Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne<br />
(ritzcarlton.com) will be filled<br />
to the brim with all the brand’s<br />
luxury offerings – including<br />
an infinity pool on the 64th<br />
floor – against a backdrop of<br />
jaw-dropping city views.<br />
MEXICO MARVELS<br />
From palm-fringed beaches<br />
to steamy jungles and<br />
archaeological ruins, Mexico is<br />
a beguiling and diverse country<br />
that offers a little of something<br />
for everyone. And with hotels<br />
like Nobu Los Cabos and the<br />
hip Grupo Habita collection<br />
of boutique properties, there’s<br />
no shortage of great hotels<br />
either. This year, the hospitality<br />
industry continues to up its<br />
game with a bunch of new<br />
arrivals, most notably along<br />
the Riviera Maya, a stretch<br />
of sunny Caribbean coastline<br />
on the country’s Yucatán<br />
Peninsula. Here, Belmond’s<br />
Maroma Hotel (belmond.<br />
com) will reopen after a tipto-toe<br />
renovation to include<br />
10 new waterfront villas<br />
and the first Guerlain spa in<br />
Latin America. The EDITION<br />
(editionhotels.com) brand will<br />
also make its Mexican debut<br />
with a 180-room property –<br />
including a sprawling <strong>20</strong>4sq m<br />
Penthouse Suite – a beach club<br />
and no less than six bars and<br />
restaurants located within the<br />
prestigious Kanai development.<br />
Keeping the luxury levels on<br />
an even keel in Kanai, St.<br />
Regis (st-regis.marriott.com)<br />
will open a 124-key resort that<br />
will include top-notch offerings<br />
such as private butler services,<br />
excellent dining across five<br />
restaurants, and access to two<br />
18-hole golf courses. One of<br />
11 properties from the brand<br />
due to open worldwide over<br />
the coming years, the Riviera<br />
Maya launch will also be<br />
joined by a new property in<br />
Los Cabos. Located within a<br />
13ha coastal development<br />
in Quivira, at the tip of the<br />
Baja Peninsula, the resort will<br />
unfold over 1<strong>20</strong> rooms and<br />
suites and 74 residences,<br />
each with spectacular ocean<br />
views. Also on the Baja<br />
California peninsula, Banyan<br />
Tree Veya Valle de Guadalupe<br />
(banyantree.com) – the<br />
group’s fourth hotel in Mexico<br />
– is located in the region’s<br />
emerging food and wine area<br />
and will include 30 villas,<br />
all with swimming pools,<br />
and a number of bars and<br />
restaurants spread over 16<br />
hectares of land. Meanwhile,<br />
following the success of its<br />
Tulum and Bacalar hotels,<br />
Habitas (ourhabitas.com)<br />
continues its rapid expansion<br />
with two new properties also<br />
on the Baja California. Habitas<br />
Todos Santos, particularly, will<br />
be a gem, its rooms fashioned<br />
from organic materials to fit in<br />
with the group’s low-impact,<br />
minimalist approach. Over<br />
in Tulum, on a remote white<br />
sand beach along a stretch of<br />
Quintana Roo’s coast, Casa<br />
Chablé (chablehotels.com)<br />
is barefoot luxury at its best,<br />
with only five rooms and five<br />
beachfront villas and a sense<br />
of wellbeing typical to this<br />
small, emerging Mexican<br />
brand.<br />
LONDON CALLING<br />
As one of the most visited<br />
cities in the world, London’s<br />
hotel scene has always been at<br />
the top of its game – not least<br />
with icons like Claridge’s, The<br />
Berkeley and The Connaught<br />
setting the standards. Part<br />
of the expanding Maybourne<br />
Hotel Group, these hotels will<br />
now be joined by The Emory<br />
(the-emory.co.uk), the brand’s<br />
first new-build in London<br />
designed by the legendary<br />
MARTIN MORRELL<br />
18 NetJets