Stories

Our guide grows slowly by design. This season we welcome five properties, each verified against official sources before publication: Capella Bangkok, Aman Tokyo, The Upper House, The Fullerton Bay Hotel and The Oberoi Udaivilas.

A note on the word “new”: these are new to Sortibelivelyloft, not new openings. For genuine openings, see our New & Noteworthy desk, where nothing is listed until the property itself has confirmed it.

Great hotel design in Asia rarely shouts. At The Upper House in Hong Kong, André Fu composed interiors of natural materials and generous space above Pacific Place. At Aman Tokyo, Kerry Hill Architects reinterpreted the traditional Japanese house — stone, timber and washi paper — for a skyscraper setting.

Our editorial take: the best design hotels make you lower your voice without being asked.

Beauty in a resort is about setting first. On Lake Pichola, The Oberoi Udaivilas frames the water and the old city beyond. Further afield, the atolls of the Maldives, the rice-terraced hills of Bali and Vietnam's long coastline set the scene for the resort profiles we are researching now.

We will add each one only after confirming its details with the property.

• Bangkok: the Charoen Krung riverside, for creative energy and river life — home to Capella Bangkok.
• Tokyo: Otemachi and Marunouchi, beside Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace gardens — home to Aman Tokyo.
• Hong Kong: Admiralty, linking Central and Wan Chai — home to The Upper House.
• Singapore: Marina Bay, for skyline views and easy walks to the civic district — home to The Fullerton Bay Hotel.