Origins of the World’s Most Beautiful Hotels
You’ve seen the hotels – splashed across “most beautiful stays” lists and filling the pages of Condé Nast Traveller. But the stories behind them? They’re far less familiar.
Forget big chains and glossy developers. Many of today’s most captivating resorts were dreamed up by unexpected minds – tilers, hairdressers, fashion designers, and island romantics – each bringing something deeply personal to the places they’ve created.
At the heart of it all is Slojourn Studio, the travel communications agency championing a new kind of luxury: conscious, design-led, and rooted in story.
Here are a few fun facts you didn’t know about the VIPs behind the stays you scroll, save and swoon over, and a bit about the founder who’s telling their stories better than anyone else.
Slojourn Studio: The Travel Communications Agency Prioritising Conscious Chic
Founded by sustainable travel pioneer Tess Willcox, Slojourn Studio is the creative engine behind some of the world's most beautiful, purpose-led stays. Last month, Tess also launched SLOJOURN, a curated consumer travel platform designed to help conscious travellers discover editorially reviewed, soul-stirring escapes.
She doesn’t just talk the talk either. Tess hand-built her own off-grid cabin, Lande Home, on her family’s property in Margaret River, Western Australia. Her approach? Design meets depth, beauty meets impact, wild meets chic.
The Mysa Motel: A Love Letter in Tiles and Terrazzo
Owned by husband-wife duo Eliza and Jason, this pastel-splashed roadside motel has become a design icon – and it was almost entirely DIY. Jason, a former tiler, laid every tile by hand (including the now-famous mermaid mosaics by the pool), while Eliza led the interiors and creative direction.
A regular feature in design publications, Mysa redefines the classic motel model with a functional, sun-soaked aesthetic that keeps surfers, creatives and design-lovers coming back.
Learn more about modern Australian motel culture here: themysamotel.com
Zannier Hotels Bai San Hô: Where Fashion Guides Architecture
Before launching Zannier Hotels, founder Arnaud Zannier led a successful French luxury fashion label. That same commitment to craftsmanship, texture and detail is now visible in every inch of Bai San Hô, a 245-acre coastal resort designed to honour traditional Vietnamese architecture and local materials.
With over 70 villas styled after ethnic hill tribe dwellings and fishermen’s homes, Zannier Bai San Hô is one of Vietnam’s few truly off-grid luxury experiences and has received widespread acclaim over the past year, with accolades spanning sustainability, design, and exceptional guest experience. Winner of Tatler Asia’s Best in Class Hotels Vietnam and one of Travel + Leisure’s Top 10 Resorts in Asia in 2024? You guessed it, Zannier Bai San Hô.
If a deeper dive into fashion-to-hospitality transitions is your cup of tea, Arnaud’s story is one worth knowing: zannierhotels.com
Song Saa Private Island: The Resort That Saved a Reef
Melita Koulmandas didn’t set out to build a resort; she set out to protect a fragile ecosystem.
While on a fishing trip in Cambodia’s Koh Rong Archipelago, she came across a pair of uninhabited islands – known locally as the ‘lovers islands’, or Song Saa – and made the bold decision to purchase them. What followed was not just the creation of a resort, but the launch of the Song Saa Foundation, now recognised as a leading force in marine conservation and community-led development.
Today, Song Saa Private Island is Cambodia’s most awarded luxury resort, with accolades from National Geographic, the World Travel & Tourism Council, and Condé Nast Traveller, among others. Powered by solar, built with reclaimed timber, and deeply rooted in local culture, the resort supports dozens of education and livelihood initiatives across the archipelago.
It has revitalised not just the surrounding reef, but the lives of the communities that call this region home, setting a new global standard for regenerative travel.
Looking to understand high-impact tourism done right? Song Saa leads the pack: songsaa-privateisland.com
Andronis: From Greek Hairdresser to Hospitality Royalty
Before he built one of Greece’s most iconic hotel collections, Miltiadis Andronis was shaping a different kind of beauty – behind a salon chair.
One of Athens’ most sought-after hairdressers, Miltiadis was known for his precision, creativity and eye for transformation: qualities that now define the Andronis brand. His move into hospitality wasn’t driven by trend, but by instinct and a desire to create spaces of quiet elegance, thoughtful detail, and emotional resonance. What began with a handful of cave-style suites carved into Santorini’s cliffs has grown into a portfolio of low-fi luxury escapes spanning Santorini and Paros, where minimalism meets mythology and wellness is built into every stay.
Andronis Luxury Suites was recently named among TripAdvisor’s Top 25 Hotels in the World, while Andronis Concept Wellness Resort continues to pioneer next-gen retreats in the Cyclades, combining ancestral healing with cutting-edge spa programs and panoramic Aegean views.
With a deft hand and a creative lens honed through years of detail-focused work, Miltiadis Andronis has given modern Greek luxury a fresh new do. Each property is a masterclass in restraint, romance, and curated escapism: andronis.com
Gundari Greece: The Island Obsession That Became a Masterpiece
Ricardo Larriera was living a fast-paced life in Australia’s corporate world when he stumbled across the remote Greek island of Folegandros – a sun-bleached speck in the Aegean with no airport, no glitz, and no intention of changing. But Ricardo was captivated. He walked the land, slept in a tent, and slowly began to imagine a different life, and a different kind of luxury.
That vision became Gundari, a raw and refined cliffside retreat that opened in 2023. Solar-powered and dramatically designed by Athens-based Block722, the resort fuses elemental architecture with deep-rooted sustainability. Think hand-cut local stone, wild herb gardens, a zero-kilometre restaurant helmed by a Michelin-starred chef, and suites that vanish into the landscape.
Named “One to Watch” by Condé Nast Traveller UK and lauded in design publications such as Monocle and Design Anthology, Gundari is already being hailed as the future of slow, soul-led travel in the Cyclades.
It’s a long way from Ricardo’s old life, and the traditional approach to Greek hospitality, and exactly what makes this story worth telling: gundari.com
