For decades, hotel categories were largely defined by star ratings, amenities and room rates. You would consider ‘designer’ finishes as marble-clad lobbies and personalised service, while budget accommodation prioritised function over form. Today, that distinction is becoming increasingly blurred.
Across hospitality, design has emerged as the great equaliser. A guest may spend US$75 a night in a rural Chinese guesthouse, several hundred dollars at an urban lifestyle hotel, or thousands at an Aman. Yet what increasingly distinguishes the world’s most memorable stays is not price, but how successfully architecture and interiors tell a story.
From Hong Kong’s waterfront to Bangkok’s urban sanctuaries and Shanghai’s countryside, a new generation of hospitality projects demonstrates that design has become the common denominator.
Upper Premium: Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
The newly opened Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui exemplifies how upper-premium hotels are increasingly using design to establish a stronger sense of place.
Built on the site of the former Mariners’ Club overlooking Victoria Harbour, the property draws directly from Hong Kong’s maritime heritage. Hammered steel ceilings in the lift lobbies mimic harbour ripples, while art installations reference the city’s iconic typhoon warning signals.
Rather than relying on generic luxury cues, the hotel uses architecture and design to root guests within the history of Kowloon and Victoria Harbour. Every detail serves as a reminder that this could only be Hong Kong.
The approach reflects a growing trend among lifestyle hospitality brands: creating emotional connections through local narratives rather than simply offering stylish accommodation.
Ultra-Luxury: Aman Nai Lert Bangkok and Aman Singapore
If Kimpton demonstrates design’s role in creating identity, Aman illustrates how architecture can shape an entire way of life. For almost four decades, Aman has cultivated a devoted following by allowing guests to trade the banalities of modern life for an elevated alternative. Defined by exceptionally high staff-to-guest ratios, the brand built its reputation on anticipating needs before they arise, eliminating friction from everyday experiences.
Yet Aman has always viewed itself as something more than a hotel company.
“The purpose of an Aman is not to sleep,” remarked the architect behind Aman Nai Lert Bangkok. The project feels unusually personal, shaped by the stewardship of the Nai Lert family’s fourth generation custodians of the land and integrated into the history of the estate itself.
Certain Aman principles remain sacrosanct. Among them is the belief that the bathroom should be more important than the bedroom — a reflection of the brand’s emphasis on ritual, wellness and retreat.
This philosophy will soon arrive in Singapore.
Occupying the upper levels of The Skywaters at 8 Shenton Way, Aman Singapore will become the brand’s first property in the city-state. The development will comprise a hotel, branded residences and the invitation-only Aman Club, reinforcing the idea that Aman is as much a lifestyle ecosystem as it is a hospitality brand.
“Singapore is one of the world’s most dynamic cities, yet it is also known as a garden city where nature is part of every day,” said Aman chairman and CEO Vlad Doronin when announcing the project. That balance between urban dynamism and nature mirrors the brand’s own identity. Rising above Singapore’s first supertall skyscraper, Aman Singapore represents a new interpretation of sanctuary: one suspended above a global financial centre rather than hidden within a remote landscape.
Affordable Design: Chun Li Guesthouse, Shanghai
At the opposite end of the pricing spectrum sits Chun Li Guesthouse near Shanghai. Team_BLDG, the project’s designers, reimagines two existing rural dwellings, preserving their original forms while introducing a perimeter wall that unifies the compound.
The achievement is remarkable not because of extravagance, but because of its price point. At approximately US$75 a night, Chun Li Guesthouse demonstrates that meaningful design need not be expensive. Existing structures are retained rather than erased, allowing the architecture to engage in a dialogue between rural vernacular traditions and contemporary intervention.
The project belongs to a growing movement across China, where adaptive reuse and rural revitalisation have become fertile ground for architectural experimentation. Here, luxury is replaced by authenticity; opulence by thoughtfulness. Its value lies not in what was added, but in what was carefully preserved.
The New Definition of Hospitality
What connects these three properties is not their room rates, clientele or market positioning. One caters to affluent urban travellers. Another serves the world’s wealthiest guests. The third is accessible to almost anyone seeking a design-led escape.
Yet all three recognise the same truth: travellers increasingly remember places, not amenities. Whether through maritime references overlooking Victoria Harbour, a sanctuary embedded within Singapore’s tallest tower, or the careful restoration of rural homes outside Shanghai, the most compelling hotels today use architecture to create meaning.
The future of hotels may not be defined by how much they cost, but by how successfully and authentically they run a narrative.
Featured Image: Rendering by Aman Singapore
