Each year, Design Hotels™ presents its portfolio of the world’s best hotels – but best, not in the sense of the ones with sheets of the highest thread count, the fluffiest bathrobes, or the most expensive. Founder Claus Sendlinger puts it most accurately when he says he looks for the ones that are most “authentic”. It’s been the same since he first started it

20 years ago. This year’s Design Hotels™ Book Anniversary Edition is yet again proof of the hospitality platform’s exacting standards when it comes to locating some of the most original hotels around the world. Featuring 244 hotels, all of which are Design Hotels™ members, the book is at once catalogue, inspiration and Bible for the traveller in search of distinctive experiences. Each hotel featured is borne of a particular story of passion, risk-taking, culture, and place, and that’s the way they are presented. The book weaves one story after another, told through the eyes of renowned photographers, and the voice of international journalists. All this is kicked off with an introduction by publishing guru Angelika Taschen where she tells of her own adventures around the globe and traces the phenomenal influence that Design Hotels™ has had on the hospitality scene. Most interesting are the profiles of some of the most outstanding hoteliers of our time. Readers get to pick at the minds of the likes of André Balazs (The Mercer, Chateau Marmont, The Standard, etc), Des Gunewardena and David Loewi (South Place Hotel), and Pau Guardans (Unico Group), just to name a few. Also marking Design Hotels™ ‘s 20th anniversary it a limited edition XXL Collector’s Edition of the book, which is essentially a supersized, 25kg version of the book. Accompanying it are specially customised versions of Alvar Aalto’s famous Stool 60 and table from Finnish design brand Artek. To be sure, the 20-year Design Hotels™ journey has been nothing short of extraordinary, and it is only fitting that they celebrate it in a big way – literally. designhotels.com