Where Design Defines the Experience
This is the heart of DNA Hotels. A design-led hotel doesn’t have to be created by a famous architect or interior designer—it can be carefully designed from the ground up or have evolved organically over decades. What matters is that everything feels connected: architecture, interiors, furniture, materials, light and atmosphere. These are hotels with a clear point of view, where design isn’t decoration or a marketing label, but part of the character of the place and the way you experience it.
Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel | Venice, Italy A Venetian Gothic legend reborn, with Pierre-Yves Rochon bringing light, colour and contemporary refinement to one of Venice’s grandest hotels Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● One of Venice’s great historic hotels, centred on the 15th-century Palazzo Dandolo and now meticulously restored rather than reinvented by…
read moreThe Westin Xi’an | China Ancient Chinese courtyard architecture reimagined by Neri&Hu — with a museum hidden beneath. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● Neri&Hu designed the hotel as a contemporary interpretation of Xi’an’s monumental architecture, courtyard houses and 3,100 years of history. ● Architecture does the storytelling: floating pitched roofs, deep red window reveals,…
read moreThe Sukhothai Shanghai | China An urban oasis where Neri&Hu translate Thai serenity into contemporary Shanghai. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● Neri&Hu created a distinctly Shanghai interpretation of the legendary Sukhothai Bangkok, replacing resort grandeur with intimacy, texture and calm. ● The monumental terrazzo-and-bronze staircase is one of the hotel’s defining architectural moments, wrapped…
read moreAlila Bangsar | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia An urban oasis in the sky, shaped by Neri&Hu’s rigorous architectural grid. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● Neri&Hu designed both architecture and interiors, turning the upper levels of a city tower into a coherent architectural world. ● A dramatic three-storey courtyard and open-air pool blur the boundary between…
read moreLe Méridien Zhengzhou | China Where Neri&Hu turns Henan’s history into a monumental architectural archive. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● One of Neri&Hu’s most ambitious hotel projects, combining architecture, interiors, furniture, signage, landscape and art into a single narrative. ● The 25-storey building is conceived as an “archive” of Henan’s culture, translating literature, nature,…
read moreThe Shàng by Artyzen | Shanghai, China Where Neri&Hu turns compact hotel rooms into contemporary curio boxes inspired by Shanghai, Qing dynasty collections and ingenious modernist design. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● Neri&Hu transforms an unusually compact 20 m² room footprint into the hotel’s defining idea rather than treating it as a limitation. ●…
read moreTsingpu Yangzhou Retreat | China An extraordinary architectural retreat where Neri&Hu turns the traditional Chinese courtyard into a labyrinth of reclaimed brick, water and landscape. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● Neri&Hu reinterprets Yangzhou’s traditional courtyard-house typology as an entire hotel, using walls and pathways to connect old buildings, new architecture and landscape. ● Reclaimed…
read moreMandarin Oriental The Landmark, Hong Kong | Central, Hong Kong, China Hong Kong heritage, contemporary residential luxury and one of Asia’s most formidable culinary collections, reimagined by Joyce Wang Studio. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● Joyce Wang Studio has transformed the 109-room hotel into a sophisticated Hong Kong pied-à-terre inspired by the city’s historic…
read moreVan Oys Maastricht Retreat | Eijsden, The Netherlands Eight centuries of history, reimagined through slow luxury, gastronomy and the landscape of South Limburg. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● A historic estate on the River Maas transformed into a contemporary retreat across a château, former farmstead and new-build Carré. ● Quiet, tactile interiors use stone,…
read moreKaboom Maastricht | The Netherlands Amsterdam School heritage outside, playful hyper-functionality within. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● A 1905 heritage building opposite Maastricht Central Station hides a radically contemporary interior by Roger Haan of INTER/ALTER. ● Almost every design decision has a practical purpose — from suitcase-proof tiled corridors to recessed linen-cart niches and…
read moreHotel & Swimclub Zenden | Maastricht, The Netherlands Wiel Arets turns three historic townhouses and a medieval vaulted cellar into a study in radical white minimalism. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● A striking intervention by Wiel Arets Architects, where three monumental Maastricht townhouses are stitched together into one continuous, almost abstract interior. ● The…
read moreKruisherenhotel | Maastricht, Netherlands Late-medieval Gothic architecture meets uncompromising contemporary design inside a 15th-century monastery. Why DNA Hotels Loves It ● One of the Netherlands’ most convincing examples of adaptive reuse: a Gothic monastery and church transformed into a contemporary hotel without disguising the original architecture. ● Henk Vos’ interiors and Ingo Maurer’s lighting installations…
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