This Summer’s Best New Hotels, From a Wyoming Makeover to a Portuguese Beach Escape
If you’re planning a summer getaway, a handful of fresh hotel openings across the country—and one in Portugal—are worth your attention. These aren’t just places to sleep; they’re destinations in their own right, each redefining what a stay can feel like.
In Wyoming, the Faraway Jackson Hole has transformed the old Snake River Lodge into a mountain retreat with serious design chops. Think alpine style without the clichés: 90 rooms and 48 residences, a year-round pool, and a restaurant called Sure Hand where the food is as warm as the wood-burning fireplace. It’s the first mountain project from the team behind buzzy coastal properties on Nantucket and in Montauk, and it works.
Out East, the Hedges Inn in East Hampton is making a comeback. This 1873 landmark, with just 12 rooms, has been revived by Sarah Wetenhall—the hotelier behind Palm Beach’s Colony Hotel—and designer David Netto. Think toile fabrics, antique touches, and Swifty’s, a restaurant that’s already the hardest reservation in town. If you can’t get invited to Ina Garten’s place, this is your consolation prize.
On Washington’s Whidbey Island, the Inn at Langley has been reimagined with Japanese design principles that suit the Pacific Northwest’s raw beauty. Rooms and cottages offer water views, soaking tubs, and wood-burning fireplaces. The new restaurant, Passage, comes from Michelin-recognized chef Johnny Spero.
In Colorado, 84 Ranch in Pagosa Springs opens this July with just four cabins on a working organic farm. Guests can feed animals, plant trees, or soak in a wood-fired hot tub under some of the darkest skies in the state. It’s agritourism with purpose.
Astoria, Oregon’s Herondale Hotel sits on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River. Its 39 rooms offer sweeping views and tranquility, just a short walk from Victorian streets and waterfront trails.
Aspen gets the White Elephant treatment this summer: 54 rooms, 125 original artworks, and details like Byredo bath products and custom pajamas. The three-bedroom Ajax Penthouse comes with a private fire pit and mountain views.
In Big Sky, Montana, the Bison Lodge at Lone Mountain Ranch is a 5,000-square-foot cabin sleeping 16 guests, with a chef’s kitchen, five fireplaces, and a dedicated host to arrange horseback rides and fly-fishing.
Finally, Sublime Sand in Comporta, Portugal, opens a new wing of 43 villas with private pools, set among pine forests and rice fields. It’s a short red-eye from the East Coast and offers the rare mix of villa privacy and resort buzz. Worth the trip.