From Florence to Malta, 5 New Boutique Hotels

The last thing you want to do on vacation is to spend your time in a crowded pool or waiting in line at a breakfast buffet. At these five new boutique hotels, you don’t have to. Their dreamy atmospheres and picturesque views — including a chateau amid a vineyard in Burgundy and a romantic hideaway in Malta — are just right for intimate summer getaways.

Attard, Malta

This former 18th-century home has emerged from a seven-year restoration as a 17-room boutique hotel — yet one that retains an inviting, residential feeling. Inspired by Malta’s Arabic and Italian influences, Casa Bonavita is the creation of Christopher and Suzanne Sharp, the owners of the Rug Company, based in London. High ceilings, frescoed walls, antique furniture, textiles and gardens where you might find yourself among jasmine and bougainvillea make for a place that is a homage to easy “faded grandeur,” as the hotel puts it. A number of the rooms have terraces or open to gardens or the pool. A restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating and offers candlelit dinners in a courtyard beneath palms. Choose from small plates like crudités and zucchini fritti, and main dishes such as Champagne risotto and spaghetti vongole. As the night unfolds, sip a cocktail or two at the hotel’s charming Valletta Bar.

The property is about a 15-minute drive from Valletta, the country’s capital that is home to the 16th-century St. John’s Co-Cathedral, where you’ll find Caravaggio’s “The Beheading of St. John the Baptist.” Another short car ride will take you to the walled city of Mdina (fans of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” may know the city as one of the television series’ locations). Ask the hotel for recommendations for things to do and the answers, including pottery workshops and temple visits, may be informed by the owners’ experiences in Malta, including Ms. Sharp’s childhood there. Prices are from 390 euros, or about $447 a night (based on two people sharing), and include breakfast.

In the historic center of the city — a short stroll from the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo and the Uffizi — this 69-room-and-suite hotel dates to the 14th century. While the renovations that began in March 2025 have been completed, various features keep the past very much alive, including vaulted ceilings and the words “Per non dormire” (“in order not to sleep”) in a stained-glass window. The rooms, inspired by Renaissance palazzo chambers, have canopy beds and embroidered wall coverings, as do fairy-tale suites like the Bartolini suite with its floor-to-ceiling, 18th-century frescoes, and the Torre Monalda signature suite, in a medieval tower with 360-degree views of the city.

The property is the first hotel to open under Minor Hotels’ new Colbert Collection brand, a group of independent hotels that aim to encourage community through food and cultural experiences (up next are hotel openings in London and Koh Samui, Thailand). The hotel’s new restaurant is likely to inspire you to stay in for a night or more. A bistro concept called Portale by Paulo Airaudo, the chef and restaurateur known for the Michelin-starred restaurant Amelia in San Sebastián, Spain, is expected to open in July (followed by an expansion of the restaurant in September) and will focus on contemporary Italian cuisine. Prices are from €300 a night and include breakfast.

Burgundy, France

A working vineyard, Clos de la Commaraine, is just beyond your door at this new 37-room-and-suite luxury hotel in Pommard, the Burgundy region village known for its red wine. The hotel — in a building that dates to the 12th century, and which was once owned by the Dukes of Burgundy — has undergone five years of restoration work and is now an elegant getaway with a spa and a pool with vineyard views.

The chateau, part of the Leading Hotels of the World collection of independent luxury hotels and resorts, has airy, romantic suites — wood beams, stone, soft hues — including the circular Rotonde suite in the chateau’s medieval tower, and the Mathilde suite with panoramic views and a fireplace. Viticulture and wine is the theme throughout the property, and many rooms overlook the vines. You can tour the cellar and participate in tastings. And Beaune, the town known for its medieval and Renaissance architecture in the heart of the Burgundy region, is less than a 10-minute drive away.

The chef Christophe Raoux is overseeing the property’s restaurants, including Le Clos, where you can savor bistro-style cuisine, like sea bass cooked in chorizo oil with razor clams and spinach, and regional wines. After dinner, wander over to the 14th-century tower, where you’ll discover a bar. In July, Le VIII, a fine-dining restaurant, is expected to open in the vaulted cellar, where it will offer eight and 12-course menus. Prices are from $704 a night.

Minorca, Spain

Set in a restored 18th-century agricultural building in the Balearic island’s quiet northern countryside, this new hotel has just 11 rooms and suites. All feature natural materials and earthy colors inspired by their pastoral surroundings, as well as contemporary art, antiques and locally made furniture.

Indulge in a massage with oil that’s been scented with herbs and flowers, or explore the walking and cycling trails through the nearly 2,000-acre estate that Binidufà shares with another boutique hotel, Son Ermità, which also has 11 rooms and opened last year. Together, the hotels are part of Vestige Collection, a Spanish luxury hospitality group (guests can take advantage of the facilities and offerings across both properties). At Binidufá, the restaurant Mesura emphasizes light, plant-based dishes inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine, while over at Son Ermitá, Brisa serves Mediterranean dishes with French flair, including plenty of seafood.

Minorca is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and archaeological sites, collectively referred to on the UNESCO World Heritage List as “Talayotic Minorca,” dot the island. Additionally, the city of Ciutadella, with its centuries-old palaces and cobbled streets, is less than a 30-minute drive from the hotel, while Mahón, Minorca’s capital that is known for its large harbor, is also around 30 minutes away. The hotel can arrange for boat excursions. Prices are from around $700 a night for two guests, including breakfast.

Penang, Malaysia

This new 13-suite luxury hotel consists of 15 restored shophouses in George Town, Penang’s vibrant capital, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Designed by the architect Soo K. Chan — who was born in the shophouses and is now the founding principal and design director of SCDA Architects — there are 13 one-bedroom Clan House suites. Each occupies an entire shophouse — almost 1,200 square feet — and includes an inner courtyard with a reflecting pool. A three-bedroom suite for families and groups is in the works and is expected to open by the end of the year. The suites come with butlers, and all are contemporary and streamlined with wood, granite, travertine and porcelain touches.

Request a tingkat, a stacked tiffin carrier filled with fare from the town’s hawker stalls, like char kway teow (the Malaysian and Singaporean stir-fried flat rice noodle dish), which can be delivered to your suite or to the lounge. Unwind in the spa with either a massage or a reflexology, private yoga or mindfulness session. Get your steps in by exploring Penang, which was included on The Times’ 52 Places to Go list this year.

Activities organized through the hotel (for an additional cost) include a day tour of George Town, a food walk and a trishaw tour to places like the Goddess of Mercy temple. As a guest of Soori Penang, a member of both Leading Hotels of the World and of the boutique hotel collection Small Luxury Hotels of the World, you also have after-hours access to the Khoo Kongsi temple, which is adjacent to the hotel. Prices are from $785 a night and include a daily breakfast for two and a one-way airport transfer.