The Ainu have long lived in harmony with nature, and so the outside is very much brought inside at the 42-room resort, with each room overlooking peaceful Lake Poroto and incorporating plenty of silver birch and fresh, stone hues. The forests and lakes of southern Hokkaido are an evocative setting for this ryokan-style hot springs resort, but it’s the island’s indigenous Ainu culture that’s the main inspiration behind the 2022 opening, set outside the town of Shiraoi. Little wonder the hotel’s tagline is ‘a place to gather and be glorious’. You’ll find a cryotherapy chamber and infrared sauna in the building’s former vaults (it was once a bank), while the Lamplighters bar, which takes its name from a Robert Louis Stevenson poem, is a guest- and members-only haunt on the rooftop.
The vibe is more flamboyant than the original Gleneagles (think Victorian chic with a dash of Wes Anderson), with pink and blue furnishings, chandeliers, cushions galore and dark-green bathroom tiles. The 33-bed Gleneagles Townhouse is a des res with a difference in the heart of the Scottish capital, featuring a private members’ club, the all-day Spence restaurant and a roof terrace bar with views of St Andrew Square.
But the brand’s new urban outpost offers an elegant foil to the country pile. Think Gleneagles and images of the grand Scottish resort spring to mind: sweeping grounds, prestigious golf courses and Georgian facades.
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