Hotels with stories

Soon after opening in 1928, the George Washington Hotel in Manhattan became a home to creatives. Over the years, many celebrated writers, artist and musicians, including WH Auden and Christopher Isherwood, used the hotel as their permanent address. This year, it reopens as Freehand New York, rocking an edgy and artistic vibe its former residents would have been proud of. Freehand New York hotel is located in Manhattan's historic Flatiron neighborhood.

Freehand is a collection of hotels that combine the social culture of a hostel with innovative design, award-winning food and beverage, and a community-driven atmosphere. Each Freehand takes its cues from the surrounding neighborhood, with spaces that are a microcosm of the best each city has to offer. We can find Freehand Hotels in Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

One of Hong Kong’s latest contemporary lodgings is encased in a former government building completed in 1969. Spacious rooms and elegant restaurants are flanked by original architectural features. While celebrating the past by retaining the structures sweeping arches, the firm behind the revamp, Foster + Partners, also looks to the future, having been widely recognized for its sustainable designs. Hong Kong’s iconic Murray Building has been transformed into a five-star luxury hotel, The Murray, characterised by its brilliant white façade, majestic three-storey arches and recessed windows

This contemporary urban sanctuary features 336 sophisticated spacious suites and guestrooms across 25 storeys and five elegant dining destinations including a glamorous rooftop restaurant and bar with panoramic views. The hotel’s terraces around the arches, an architectural signature of the building also showcase views of the city, Hong Kong Park and Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

French designer Jacques Garcia has revamped downtown LA´s Giannini Place, a Neoclassical marvel built in the 1920s to serve as the local headquarters of the Bank of Italy (the predecessor of the Bank of America), as NoMad Los Angeles. Besides restaurants headed by Daniel Humm and Will Guidara, the standout feature here is the blue and gold italian lobby ceiling, painstakingly restored to perfection.

Each of the 241 rooms and suites at NoMad Los Angeles look to Italy for inspiration with a soft color palette drawn from the building's fully restored. Every room is appointed with custom-designed furnishings, original artwork curated by Paris-based design studio be-poles, Bellino linens, and large flat screen TVs. Many rooms also feature freestanding pedestal bathtubs and separate water closets.

This hotel´s story begins in 2002, when plans were laid for a reservoir in Fuzhou. The construction threatened the city’s villages and forests, so a local philanthropist conceived the mammoth task of relocating 50 Ming and Qing dynasty villas and 10.000 camphor trees to Shangai, about 700 km away. The houses were disassembled and reassembled to create a retreat brimming withe new life and living history.

Surrounded by the camphor forest, Amanyangyun's Suites and Pavilions are a mix of historic and contemporary dwellings that harmonise with their environment. Light-filled and embracing woodland views, Amanyangyun's Suites combine expansive living areas with tranquil courtyards, creating an inviting retreat throughout the seasons. Designed to complement the serene surrounding woodland, the 24 contemporary Ming Courtyard Suites create a pleasing balance of old and new that chimes perfectly with the village concept.