Hotel Openings

🌴 LA-based Manola Studio transformed a 1940s motel into the 12-room Hotel Wren, located near Joshua Tree National Park, Twentynine Palms, California. Opened in 2025, this adults-only boutique hotel features a central courtyard with a pool, hot tub, and shaded lounge. Each suite includes a kitchenette and custom interiors mirroring the desert's hues. The design emphasizes peace by omitting televisions and incorporating local art and vintage furniture. A pantry store, Windsong, offers provisions for guest use.

🏖 Chet Pipkin, founder of Belkin, is launching Desolation Hotel, a hospitality brand inspired by nature and balance in the Lake Tahoe area. The project focuses on grounding and "feeding the soul" amidst constant digital connection.

🏨 Peachtree Group received I-956F approval from USCIS in November 2025 for The Scoundrel, a 133-room Tribute Portfolio by Marriott hotel under construction in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Peachtree secured $40 million in floating-rate financing for this project, expected to complete by mid-2027. The hotel is strategically located near Gatlinburg Convention Center and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This marks Peachtree’s fourth I-956F approval for hotel developments, highlighting Gatlinburg's supply-constrained market and high tourism demand.

🗄 Hotel Mundial, Lisbon, began a major renovation led by Broadway Malyan in 1958. The first phase updated the ground floor with a new entrance and lounge areas, inspired by 1960s design. The second phase, currently ongoing, focuses on the first floor, adding an events center with eight rooms and a new restaurant, 28 Restaurante & Terraço. Guest room refurbishments are planned for 2026. The hotel remains operational throughout, aiming to enhance guest experiences while preserving its period character.

🏨 DoubleTree by Hilton Boston-Andover, Andover, Massachusetts, completed a $6 million renovation started in November 2024. The remodel, inspired by Andover’s natural beauty, updated the lobby, rooms, restaurant, and meeting spaces, maintaining the hotel’s operation throughout. Designed by Baskervill, the redesign features earth tones and local art. Bob Anderson, president of Linchris Hotel Corporation, highlighted the blend of modern design with local elements to enhance guest comfort and connectivity.

🏨 Ian Schrager plans to open PUBLIC West Hollywood on the Sunset Strip in spring 2026. This 137-key hotel will feature design collaboration with architect John Pawson. Key amenities include a pool, social hub lobby, three food and entertainment outlets, and a 16,000 square-foot rooftop terrace offering 360-degree views of Los Angeles. Reservations open in January 2026. PUBLIC, known for its “luxury for all” approach, is currently located in New York's Lower East Side.

🏨 Peachtree Group's hotel development portfolio exceeded $2 billion by September 2025, with significant openings including the Embassy Suites Beach Resort in Gulf Shores, Alabama, featuring 257 rooms. In Dallas, a 19-story dual-branded hotel, with 264 rooms, is set to open in summer 2026. The 30-story dual-branded Embassy Suites and Tempo by Hilton in Austin will offer 480 rooms. Peachtree also opened The Ava Hotel in Paso Robles, California, in August, and plans further openings in 2025.

📍 SmartRental Group entered the UK market in November 2025 with its Malacuna hostel brand, opening locations in Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham, adding over 600 beds to its portfolio. Manchester offers 132 beds, Liverpool 362, and Birmingham 126. Headquartered in Madrid, SmartRental operates 5,000 rooms across 59 European properties, reporting a 2024 revenue of €67m (£59m), a 91.5% increase. Expansion plans include new sites in Greece, Italy, France, Barcelona, and Madrid.

🏨 Ruby Giulia, a new hotel in Rome's Monti district, opened in what was once the Ministry of the Interior on Via Agostino Depretis. It features 164 rooms, a 24/7 bar and café, lounge areas, and a rooftop terrace. This is the second Ruby-branded hotel in Italy, after Ruby Bea in Florence. The Ruby Group currently operates 21 hotels across Europe, with an additional 16 hotels in development or planning stages.

🏨 Retail entrepreneur George Davies and his wife, Arlene, opened The House of George, a 10-bedroom boutique hotel and restaurant, in Broadway, Cotswolds. Housed in a 17th-Century building, it features Moda, a 30-cover restaurant with a nine-course tasting menu by chef James Wilson. Lunch menus start at £40. The hotel's design includes British-made furnishings, and its cocktail menu honors Davies's career. Sundays feature roasts from local suppliers. 🌿