The Leading Hotels of the World adds six hotels, from the Dolomites to Bhutan’s luxury tents

A 1920s villa in the Dolomites, a 1912 hotel revived in Georgia, tented villas on the banks of a Himalayan river: The Leading Hotels of the World welcomed six new hotels on 19 October 2026. Four have already been covered in our pages; the two real discoveries are the Recess in Savannah and Pemako Punakha, in Bhutan.

☰Contents

1. Six addresses, from Cortina to Nairobi
2. Savannah: a 1912 hotel comes back to life
3. In Bhutan, 21 tented villas with pools
4. Cortina and Dubrovnik, two 1920s villas
5. A brand-new 201-room hotel in Florida
6. Kenya joins the club with Hemingways Nairobi

Six addresses, from Cortina to Nairobi

Founded in 1928 by 38 independent hoteliers, the alliance now brings together more than 450 hotels in over 80 countries. “Our October new members take travellers from the Dolomites and Dubrovnik to West Palm Beach, Savannah, Bhutan and Nairobi,” says Dean Bannon, vice president of member experience, for whom each property brings “its own character and a strong connection to its place”. In August, ten other addresses had joined the network.

Savannah: a 1912 hotel comes back to life

In Georgia, in the south-eastern United States, the Recess Hotel & Club occupies the Manger Building, a Beaux-Arts structure, the monumental architectural style of the early 20th century. It opened in 1912 as the Hotel Savannah and, according to the hotel’s historical timeline, offered the city’s first air-conditioned rooms. Renamed the Manger in 1954, closed in the late 1970s and then converted into offices, it becomes a hotel again in 2026 under LEFT LANE Hospitality, the team behind the Bardo hotel.

Designed by Left Lane and the studio Atelier Pond, the building keeps its original mosaics and tall arched windows within a retro-futurist setting. It has 221 rooms, artist-designed suites and even bunk rooms, with a lounge, the Rumpus Room, on every floor, plus a co-working space. Dinner is at the Le Flâneur brasserie, drinks at the Kilter rooftop bar and downtime at the Saltgrass Spa. On 26 October 2026, the Queen room was listed from 211 dollars a night for two, taxes not specified.

In Bhutan, 21 tented villas with pools

In the Punakha Valley in Bhutan, a small Himalayan kingdom wedged between India and China, Pemako Punakha lines up 21 tented villas along the Mo Chhu river, on 60 acres of forest (about 24 hectares). The concept is by designer Bill Bensley. It is the flagship of Pemako, the first luxury hotel group owned and run by Bhutanese. Guests arrive over a bridge draped in prayer flags; on site, the resident monk leads meditation and evening prayers, and you can try your hand at archery.

The entry-level tented villa, the Luxury category, covers 290 m², including a 72 m² bedroom, with a 35 m² private pool and a terrace facing the valley. There is also a two-bedroom villa (431 m²) and a presidential villa (720 m²). On 26 October 2026, the official booking engine showed 1,875 dollars a night for two on half board, taxes and fees included, with a two-night minimum.

Cortina and Dubrovnik, two 1920s villas

In the Dolomites, Le Graal Cortina will open this winter in a 1920s palazzo reimagined by Achille Salvagni: 30 rooms including 13 suites, a spa with an indoor pool and Le Monsù restaurant, with Italian and Sicilian influences and a menu created with chef Giovanni Guarneri. It will be bookable from the night of 8 December 2026.

On the Adriatic, Villa Argentina reopened in 2026 after a complete renovation, just beyond the walls of Dubrovnik. Its 96 rooms with private terraces look out over the UNESCO-listed old town, the sea and the island of Lokrum; it is home to Liz restaurant and the Cala beach club.

A brand-new 201-room hotel in Florida

In Florida, The Nora Hotel opened on 19 October 2026. It is the first hotel built from the ground up by BD Hotels outside New York: a new 201-room building at the heart of the Nora District, a neighbourhood born from restored century-old railway warehouses. It is home to the New York brasserie Pastis and Florida’s first Sisley Spa Paris; the Lillys rooftop, with its pool, will open later.

Kenya joins the club with Hemingways Nairobi

Opened in 2013, Hemingways Nairobi becomes the alliance’s first member hotel in Kenya. Its 45 suites are in Karen, the leafy district associated with the Danish novelist Karen Blixen, with gardens facing the Ngong Hills and Nairobi National Park close by.