Time travel: The best hotels for luxury watch shopping around the world
Shopping for a new luxury watch? Wind your way through the world’s ultimate travel destinations for browsing elite timepieces. We’ve rounded up a guide to the best new hotels in each region — along with the chic watches you’ll be inspired to buy while you’re there.
FRANCE
If you’re a Cartier, Chanel or Van Cleef & Arpels fan, head straight to Paris, which all three luxury watchmakers call home. Stay at the glittering Le Grand Mazarin (rooms from $730 per night), a brand-new hotel named, of course, after the 19-carat pink diamond once the star attraction of the French crown jewels and located two blocks from the Seine in the artsy Marais neighborhood. It’s the latest project from Maisons Pariente, a family-run luxe hotel firm run by the namesake property developer Patrick and his two chic daughters. The interior is fittingly opulent, all custom tapestries and leopard-print chairs, a typically maximalist flourish from Martin Brudnizki. (His latest NYC project was the equally Gallic Fouquet’s Barrière hotel in Tribeca.)
SWITZERLAND
If you make it to Switzerland, don’t miss Audemars Piguet’s Hôtel des Horlogers (from $450 per night) property, right next to its headquarters. Fans of other brands, whether Blancpain or Breguet, might consider another ultra-luxe spot that just debuted deep in the Alps. The 45-room Six Senses Crans-Montana (from $1,400 per night) is intended as a year-round property. Sure, you can ski in and out from the runs in the surrounding pine forests of the Valais, but come summer, there are ample other outdoorsy appeals, like paddleboarding and water skiing on the neighboring lakes. All that, plus a Seve Ballesteros-designed 18-hole course, where the Omega European Masters is held each year, is nearby.
JAPAN
The latest addition to Tokyo’s sky-scraping skyline is a new five-star property in Shinjuku, The Bellustar (from $525 per night), housed in the topmost floors of a mixed-use building. A rarity in Tokyo, its 97 suites are roomy, capping off at 3,000 square feet. Spend a few days here if you’re a Grand Seiko collector; it’s a chance to experience the reassuringly particular approach to luxury that defines Japan. Expect minimalist, muted-tone rooms paired with a huge assortment of on-site food and drink options — the views of Mount Fuji from the Sushi Jin-È space on the 45th floor are Insta catnip.
ITALY
Watchmakers are increasingly operating their own hotels, but few brands best Bulgari for a commitment to hospitality. It partnered with Marriott more than 20 years ago to open a series of hotels for fans of its brand, who are keen to immerse themselves in 24/7 bejeweled luxury. After roaming the world to open sites everywhere from Dubai to Bali, Bulgari Rome (from $1,700 per night)has finally come home. This year, it unveiled a 114-room spot in the Eternal City, barely a five-minute walk from the store on Via dei Condotti where the brand opened a boutique in 1905. Interiors are fittingly posh — checkout the multicolored marble bathrooms — and make sure to have an aperitivo on La Terrazza, its rooftop bar.
THE UK
It might have been founded by a German and is now run from Switzerland, but where did that oh-so-proper brand, Rolex, start? Where else, but London? This fall, the British capital’s about to welcome the splashiest hotel debut there in decades: Raffles London (from $1,000 per night) at The OWO, a $1.7 billion, six-year reimagining of the Old War Office, which opened in 1906, just one year after founder Hans Wildorf created his iconic company. Stay in one of the 120 plush rooms here now to channel a throwback glamour — the Granville suite was named in honor of Britain’s answer to Mata Hari, Christine.
GERMANY
Germany is often overlooked as a luxury destination. But the opening this month of the newest Rosewood property, in Munich (from $640 per night), aims to draw attention to the country’s upscale offerings, including connoisseur-favored watches from Nomos Glashütte, the Saxony-based brand founded in the wake of the country’s reunification. A passion project for British-based interior designer Tara Bernerd, the Rosewood’s vibe is bold and elegant. The 132-room spot is a repurposing of two old buildings, including a palace (don’t miss the historic staircases); social spaces are arranged around a central courtyard, a typical Munich touch.
Shop the watches
Van Cleef & Arpels Pierre Arpels watch in 18-k white gold with diamond, $16,000 at London Jewelers
Breguet Classique 9068 watch in 18-k white gold with diamonds, mother-of-pearl and sapphire, $28,000 at London Jewelers
Omega Seamaster 300 Co-Axial Master Chronometer in stainless steel, $7,400 at London Jewelers
Blancpain Villeret Quantième Phase de Lune watch in steel with diamonds, $15,900 at London Jewelers
Bulgari Serpenti Seduttori watch in stainless steel, $5,050 at London Jewelers
Rolex Day-Date 36 watch in 18-k Everose gold with aventurine and diamonds, price upon request at London Jewelers
Nomos GlashütteTetra Die Fuchsteufelswilde watch in stainless steel, $2,080 at London Jewelers
