Journals research

City: Hôtel Americano, New York

Who would stock a Manhattan mini-bar with a harmonica and furnish a bathroom with denim bathrobes? The answer: cult-favorite Grupo Habita, the inventive Mexican company behind Hotel Boca Chica (It List 2010), in Acapulco. The steel-and-glass aesthetic of the 56-room hotel matches the creative vibe of Chelsea’s burgeoning gallery scene. The High Line is a stone’s throw away; contemporary-art dealer Paul Kasmin has a new annex across the street. Americano frequently hosts exhibition opening after-parties, and the tapas restaurant has become the de facto canteen for the city’s art insiders.

Beach: Lords South Beach, Miami Beach

Take an Art Deco building in the center of South Beach, add bright bursts of lemon and cerulean as well as campy details (oversize Cleopatra prints; a lobby sculpture of a giant polar bear holding a beach ball) to the 54 rooms, and you’ve got the first outpost of a new, gay-friendly hotel brand and already one of the city’s most talked-about properties. Sure, the design is exaggerated—the hotel’s gold-tiled Cha Cha Rooster bar channels King Midas—but it’s not all brazenly over-the-top. We found the daytime scene around the three pools subdued, and our 285-square-foot Cabana room was thankfully quiet.

Design: Mandarin Oriental Paris

If we were to choose one word to describe this 138-room property, which opened in 2011, it would be whimsical. There are butterfly-centric design touches throughout: purple winged clusters line the moody hallways, and the gastronomic restaurant Sur Mesure par Thierry Marx, designed by Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku and a T+L Design Award winner this year, feels like an ivory cocoon. Jewel-hued rooms, many with images by photographer Man Ray, start at more than 400 square feet—some of the most expansive in Paris. Though courtyard-view rooms are blissfully quiet, they lack the sense of place of street-facing suites (by far our preferred option), which look onto Rue St.-Honoré.