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From estate revivals in Genoa and Baja to extravagant villas in Egypt and Bhutan, the year's top hotel debuts are raising the bar with bespoke craftsmanship, garden romance, and all-out escapism.

- TRACEY MINKIN

Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay
CERNAY-LA-VILLE, FRANCE

What best pays tribute to a legend? In the case of a 12th-century Cistercian abbey that was dissolved during the French Revolution and later revived by a Rothschild, it's a new life as the apogean French country house hotel. And what a new life it is, thanks to Parisian designer Cordélia de Castellane's dazzling interiors in partnership with Gallic powerhouses like Pierre Frey and Bernardaud.

Palazzo Durazzo Suites
GENOA, ITALY

Talk about a birthday party. Still in the hands of the Durazzo family after 400 years, this Baroque palace takes a new turn as a 12-suite hotel. Architect and co-owner Emanuela Brignone Cattaneo, with Venetian artistic director Cesare Barro, blends the palazzo's historic grace, from terrazzo floors to frescoes, with assured Italian modernity.

At Sloane
LONDON

The French and English really should cooperate more if this is the result. Parisian designer François-Joseph Graf has created a decorative masterpiece, where each of 30 guest rooms features modern classicist elements, along with sumptuous William Morris textiles nodding to the circa 1888 Chelsea townhouse's Arts and Crafts origins.

1, Place Vendôme
PARIS