Design Hotels, an international hotel marketing company, announces 36 new member hotels, increasing its membership to 184 hotels worldwide. In 2009, less than 10% of the hotels applying for membership were accepted.

“Design and architecture are important features of our member hotels, but they must be components of a larger whole,” says Claus Sendlinger, founder and CEO of Design Hotels. “We place great value on a holistic approach to hospitality and always consider the entire concept.”

Throughout 2009 and 2010, Design Hotels welcomed new member properties into the collection: Crosby Street Hotel, the first venture by Tim and Kit Kemp outside London, opened in New York, bringing British flair and eclectic elegance to the Big Apple. In Milan, Maison Moschino, a fairytale-like hotel evoking Moschino’s quirky love for surrealism, opens in March. Conceived by hotelier Stefano Ugolini, the property is a fusion of fashion and hotel design. In June 2010 the charismatic duo behind Hotel Sezz in Paris, hotelier Shahe Kalaidjian and designer Christophe Pillet, will open the Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez. Although different in look and feel, the Mediterranean resort will share the Parisian hotel’s emphasis on personal interaction and bespoke services. The Waterhouse at South Bund, a new project by Loh Lik Peng, the man behind Singapore’s New Majestic Hotel, is a 19-room property set to open in Shanghai’s Pudong neighbourhood. It will be a modern take on the traditional Shanghai courtyard houses of the 1920s. In Italy, visionary entrepreneur, hotelier and philanthropist Daniele Kihlgren invites guests to step into another culture and time at Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita. As part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the ancient cave dwellings were transformed into hotel rooms which retain evidence of their use over the centuries.

“Our member portfolio continues to evolve, offering guests one-of-a-kind hotel experiences throughout the world,” continues Sendlinger. “These experiences reflect a shift in values and services, in which luxury is being redefined. Luxury nowadays has less to do with physical materials and more to do with intangible qualities; this means anticipating and fulfilling guests’ emotional needs rather than only providing brand-name amenities.”

The complete list of 36 new members with opening dates is below.

To view them online www.designhotels.com/newmembers

THE AMERICAS
MEXICO                
Maison Couturier, Veracruz (September 2009)
                                 
UNITED STATES                
The Standard Hollywood, Los Angeles (January 1999)
The Standard Downtown LA, Los Angeles (June 2002)
The Standard Miami (January 2006)
The Standard New York (December 2008)                                       
Crosby Street Hotel, New York (October 2009) 

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST

ISRAEL                
Mamilla Hotel, Jerusalem (June 2009)
                                 
MOROCCO                
Murano Resort, Marrakech (January 2007)

EUROPE
FRANCE            
Hotel Gabriel, Paris (March 2009)
Murano Resort, Paris (September 2004)
La Réserve Ramatuelle Spa & Villas, Saint-Tropez (May 2009)
Hotel Sezz, Saint-Tropez (June 2010)                                       
KUBE Hotel, Saint-Tropez (June 2009)
                             
GERMANY            
Hotel Cosmo, Berlin (January 2010)
The Weinmeister, Berlin (May 2010)
Hotel ÜberFluss, Bremen (November 2005)
Hotel Louis, Munich (September 2009)                                       

ITALY                
Maison Moschino, Milan (March 2010)
Portrait Suites, Rome (July 2006)
Metropole Taormina - Le Grand Hotel, Sicily (summer 2010)
Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita, Matera (May 2009)                                       
Sextantio Albergo Diffuso, Santo Stefano di Sessanio (September 2005)
 
SPAIN
El Palauet Living, Barcelona (August 2009)

SWITZERLAND            
The Cambrian, Adelboden (re-opening in November 2009)
Hotel Nevaï, Verbier (December 2007)
               
UNITED KINGDOM      
Boundary, London (June 2009)                                                                       
The Scarlet, Cornwall (September 2009)
Town Hall Hotel & Apartments, London (April 2010)

ASIA-PACIFIC
CHINA                        
The Waterhouse at South Bund, Shanghai (April 2010)
The PuLi Hotel & Spa, Shanghai (September 2009)

INDIA
The Park Hyderabad (June 2010)
Alila Diwa Goa (December 2009)

INDONESIA                                                                        
Alila Villas Soori, Bali (December 2009)

MALDIVES
Alila Villas Hadahaa, Gaafu Alifu Atoll (August 2009)

SINGAPORE
Klapsons The Boutique Hotel, Singapore (October 2009)
Wanderlust, Singapore (summer 2010)