The 10 Most Anticipated Hotel Openings of Late 2026

The second half of 2026 is shaping up to be the most consequential stretch for luxury hotel openings in years. Venice’s most storied address returns from a top-to-bottom restoration under a new flag. Aman finally plants its flag in Mexico. And London’s Admiralty Arch — the ceremonial gateway between Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace — welcomes overnight guests for the first time in its history.

From a crystal-clad palazzo on Rome’s Via Veneto to a remote lodge deep in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, these are the ten openings we’re watching between now and New Year’s Eve, with confirmed dates, opening rates, and booking intel for each.

Late 2026 Hotel Openings at a Glance

1. Danieli, a Four Seasons Hotel — Venice, Italy

Opening: August 26, 2026

No opening this decade carries more weight than the return of the Danieli. The 15th-century Palazzo Dandolo has hosted royalty, doges, and Dickens since it first became a hotel in 1822, and on August 26 it begins a new chapter as Danieli, a Four Seasons Hotel. Interiors are by Pierre-Yves Rochon — the designer behind Four Seasons’ George V in Paris and its Florence palazzo — who has restored the famous gilded lobby and its Byzantine staircases while trimming the room count to 120 oversized rooms and suites at opening (176 by 2027). Rooftop institution Terrazza Danieli returns under Executive Chef Adriano Rausa, as does Bar Dandolo, with a three-room Danieli Spa to follow late in the year. Expect it to land immediately on any list of the most luxurious hotels in the world.

2. Waldorf Astoria London — Admiralty Arch, England

Opening: Autumn 2026 (stays bookable from March 1, 2027)

Commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of Queen Victoria and designed by Sir Aston Webb, Admiralty Arch has anchored the end of The Mall since 1912 — but it has never taken an overnight guest. That changes this autumn, when Waldorf Astoria opens 114 rooms, suites, and residences inside the Grade I–listed monument, some looking straight down The Mall to Buckingham Palace. The dining lineup alone justifies the hype: Coreus, a seafood-focused fine-dining room from three-Michelin-starred Clare Smyth, and a rooftop Café Boulud from Daniel Boulud. A subterranean spa adds a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, and steam room. Opening rates start around £660 per night — see where it fits among the best luxury hotels in London.

3. Amanvari — Los Cabos, Mexico

Opening: August 1, 2026

Eight years after it was first announced, Aman’s Mexico debut is finally here. Amanvari sits on the East Cape of Baja California Sur inside the 1,500-acre Costa Palmas community, about an hour from Los Cabos International Airport and a world away from the marlin-boat bustle of Cabo San Lucas. Just 18 standalone casitas — most around 833 square feet — come with private heated pools and terraces facing the Sea of Cortez, supported by Italian, Japanese, and regional Mexican dining, a full spa, and a yoga pavilion. Rates open around $4,500 per night in low season (from $7,000 in peak), with breakfast, in-room refreshments, and non-motorized water sports included — classic Aman math, and classic Aman scarcity.

4. Bulgari Resort Ranfushi — Raa Atoll, Maldives

Opening: Late 2026

The Roman jeweler’s tenth hotel — and its first private-island resort — lands on Ranfushi in the Maldives’ Raa Atoll late this year. Bulgari Resort Ranfushi keeps the count deliberately low: 54 accommodations in all, split between 33 beach villas (each with a private pool), 20 overwater villas, and the flagship Bulgari Villa. Expect the brand’s signature Italian polish — Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel design, an Il Ristorante likely bearing a starred chef’s name, and a Bulgari Spa — transplanted to some of the clearest water in the Indian Ocean. In a destination crowded with five-star flags, this is the most significant Maldives debut of the year.

5. Singita Elela — Okavango Delta, Botswana

Opening: December 2026

Singita — arguably the most respected name in African safari — enters Botswana for the first time with Singita Elela, opening in December on the Santantadibe River in the Okavango Delta. The year-round lodge pairs Singita’s low-density, conservation-first model with exclusive traversing across more than 420,000 acres of private wilderness — mokoro channels, big cats, and some of the highest concentrations of wildlife on the continent. If the brand’s Tanzanian and South African lodges are any guide, expect quiet contemporary design, exceptional guiding, and a wine cellar that embarrasses most capital cities. Safari planners should read our guide to the best luxury safari lodges in Tanzania for how Singita runs a camp.

6. Baccarat Hotel Rome — Italy

Opening: Late 2026

The crystal house behind Manhattan’s glittering Baccarat Hotel brings its brand of high-shine glamour to Rome, transforming the 1889 Hotel Majestic — the first hotel ever built on Via Veneto and a backdrop in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita — into an 87-room jewel box. Backed by more than €111 million in financing, the restoration promises crystal-laden interiors, a rooftop with views across the Eternal City, and a revival of the boulevard that once defined Roman café society. With the Danieli taking Venice and Baccarat taking Rome, Italy owns 2026’s two most glamorous restorations.

7. The Park Gstaad, a Four Seasons Hotel — Switzerland

Opening: Winter 2026–27 ski season

Four Seasons makes its Swiss Alps debut by taking over one of Gstaad’s grande-dame addresses, reopening The Park Gstaad in time for the 2026–27 winter season. The 75 rooms and suites put guests minutes from more than 130 miles of groomed pistes, along with the sledding runs, fondue huts, and famously discreet après scene that make Gstaad the Alps’ old-money capital. Between this and the brand’s Megève chalet across the French border, Four Seasons now brackets the Alps’ two most exclusive villages — a milestone worth noting in our roundup of the best luxury ski resorts in the world.

8. The Langham, Custom House — Bangkok, Thailand

Opening: December 2026

Bangkok’s most anticipated debut in years, The Langham, Custom House restores the neo-Palladian Old Custom House of 1888 on the banks of the Chao Phraya River — a colonnaded landmark that spent decades fading behind fire-station duty before this restoration. The Langham brings its signatures with it: Cantonese fine dining at T’ang Court, afternoon tea service honed since 1865 in London, and the Chuan Spa. In a riverfront arms race that already includes Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons, and Capella within a short longtail ride, a genuine 19th-century landmark is the one thing money hasn’t been able to build — until now.

9. The Cape Town EDITION — South Africa

Opening: Late 2026

Ian Schrager’s EDITION brand arrives in Africa for the first time with a 142-room hotel inside Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, the harbor district at the foot of Table Mountain. Expect the formula that made the London and Tokyo outposts scene-defining — sculptural lobbies, a serious spa, and a rooftop pool and bar aimed squarely at Table Mountain — grounded by one of the world’s great city-nature settings. Timed to the Southern Hemisphere summer, it gives Cape Town’s design-hotel scene its biggest jolt in a decade and a natural bookend to a Botswana safari at Singita Elela.

10. The St. Regis Costa Mujeres Resort — Cancún, Mexico

Opened July 2026 — now welcoming guests

The season’s first marquee arrival is already open: The St. Regis Costa Mujeres Resort debuted this July on a quiet stretch of coast north of Cancún’s hotel zone, joining St. Regis Kanai as the brand’s second resort on Mexico’s Caribbean coast. Its 163 rooms and suites all face the sea, with signature St. Regis butler service, three restaurants, and a beachfront pool scene that skews serene rather than spring-break. For more beach options in the region, see our guide to the best luxury all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean.

How to Book the 2026 Openings

Opening season is the sweet spot: rates are typically at their lowest the first few months, suites are easiest to secure, and staff-to-guest ratios are at their most generous while hotels chase early reviews. The trade-off is soft-opening reality — the Danieli’s spa, for example, arrives a few months after the hotel itself. Book directly or through a travel advisor with brand partnerships (Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Aman’s advisor program, Marriott STARS) for upgrades, credits, and breakfast that online rates won’t match — and if your dates are flexible, aim for the shoulder weeks just after opening buzz fades. For the full landscape of where luxury travel is headed this year, start with our Ultimate Guide to Luxury Travel in 2026.

Late 2026 Hotel Openings: FAQ

What is the most anticipated hotel opening of 2026?

The reopening of Venice’s Hotel Danieli as Danieli, a Four Seasons Hotel, on August 26, 2026 is widely considered the year’s most significant debut — a 200-year-old icon, a multi-year restoration, and Four Seasons’ first address in Venice.

Which new Maldives resorts open in late 2026?

Bulgari Resort Ranfushi in Raa Atoll is the headline Maldives opening of late 2026, with 54 villas including 20 overwater. Mondrian Maldives in Noonu Atoll is also slated to debut before year-end.

When does the Waldorf Astoria Admiralty Arch open?

The hotel is slated to open in autumn 2026, and reservations are already live for stays beginning March 1, 2027. It is the first time the 1912 landmark has ever operated as a hotel.

Lead photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.