As December 2025 draws near, a fresh crop of hotels across Europe and further afield throws open their doors, giving travellers fresh spots to settle into amid the winter chill or year-end escapes.
- Frankfurt welcomes The Florentin by Althoff Collection on the last day of the month, a sleek urban retreat in the city’s Bahnhofsviertel district with 147 rooms blending mid-century lines and local art, doubles starting at €250 a night including a breakfast of rye bread and regional cheeses.
- Over in the French Alps, Rosewood Courchevel Le Jardin Alpin makes its debut mid-December at 1,850 metres, Rosewood’s inaugural continental ski property where 51 rooms come with stone fireplaces and private balconies overlooking the slopes, ski passes bundled into stays from €1,200 per night for those keen on piste mornings followed by spa afternoons.
- Greece’s capital gets a lift with Conrad Athens The Ilisian opening in late December, a 280-room tower in the Ilisia neighbourhood that mixes concrete brutalism with warm olive tones, rooftop suites at €450 a night offering Acropolis glimpses alongside a members’ club and outdoor pool laps for €20 day passes.
- Italy claims two arrivals: The First Cortina by The Pavilions in Cortina d’Ampezzo starts welcoming guests from early December, transforming a historic villa into 63 balcony-equipped rooms amid the Dolomites, rates from €300 including shuttle rides to ski lifts and evening aperitivi of prosecco and speck ham.
- Further east in Japan, Capella Kyoto arrives on 1 December in the Miyagawa-chō geisha quarter, Kengo Kuma’s design spreading 92 machiya-style suites across timber pavilions, entry-level rooms at €800 a night with kaiseki dinners and onsen soaks included for a taste of quiet tradition.
- The Maldives rounds out the month with RAH GILI on 15 December in the South Malé Atoll, a low-key island outpost of 74 villas—half overwater—with open-plan thatched roofs and lagoon views, beachfront options from €1,500 nightly covering snorkel gear and chef-prepared barbecues of fresh catch.
- Barbados chimes in too, as Blue Monkey Hotel and Beach Club opens its doors on 20 December along St James’s sands, 120 breezy rooms steps from turquoise shallows, cocktails at the beach bar running €8 apiece and surf lessons extra at €50 for half-day sessions.
