What started as a fun article tied into the biggest awards night of the year – the Oscars – is now in its third iteration as I continue to travel the globe and discover our incredibly irresistible world of hospitality with its infinite interpretations and regional nuances.
Given a personal move that limited my travel – in actuality, the perfunctory empty-nester downsizing from house to condominium – 2017 saw only 30 properties visited versus the usual 50 in each of the preceding two years. Nevertheless, there were plenty to choose from.
While I’m excited to honor the following properties, bootlicking is not the purpose of these awards. Rather, I present these hotels because they offer exemplary lessons for you that can be applied to your own little slice of hospitality, wherever that may be.
Most Innovative Property
Opened just last year, the William Vale Hotel in Brooklyn, New York, exudes multiple initiatives that defy the traditional hotel. Some examples include lobby art that seems to wrap around the entire public space, ultra-modern ballrooms, small bespoke guestrooms that include large balconies to make the feel rooms expansive as they are bathed in natural light, a rooftop bar that has become the toast of the town with lineups starting in the early afternoon and even a second-floor podium terrace restaurant housed in an Airstream. The property reinforces the fact that exceptional architecture and interior design are the cornerstones of a fantastically successful new property because they offer locals a point of interest to generate national and international buzz.
Written by Larry Mogelonsky for Hotels Magazine