A relic from the Gilded Age, luxurious grand hotels are being reborn

As wealthy families continue to spend more on luxury travel, an icon of the last Gilded Age is making a return: the grand dame hotel. This June, Bless Ibiza The Site opened with 461 rooms, retail, restaurants, a poolside social hub, a speakeasy and a second adults-only hotel within the hotel, the Unexpected Ibiza Hotel.Sprawling, precise, expensive, it’s a self-conscious vision of a 19th-century grand hotel updated for the 21st century.“This project is positioned as a new flagship destination for Mediterranean travelers,” said Ana Morillo, corporate managing director at Palladium Hotel Group, the hotel’s developer.At the same time, existing grand hotels across the globe are seeing new life. In Manhattan, the Waldorf Astoria New York on Park Avenue celebrates its 95th anniversary this year, having reopened in 2025 after a massive $2 billion renovation.“We’re witnessing a renewed appreciation for places with genuine character and enduring legacy,” said Luigi Romaniello, the hotel’s managing director.New life is also being breathed into the InterContinental Grand Ankara in Ankara, Turkey.Though it’s a relative newcomer — it opened in 1966 as the Grand Ankara Hotel — it certainly lives up to its moniker with its 342 rooms and position directly across from the Turkish Grand National Assembly.Reopened this past June for a new generation of travelers while preserving its scale and glamour, the property boasts three ballrooms, a massive spa, indoor and outdoor pools, destination dining and 15 multifunctional meeting rooms for movers and shakers.In Coronado, the peninsula off San Diego, Hotel del Coronado, which bills itself as the birthplace of the American beach vacation, recently underwent a $550 million overhaul.

The renovation was about “striking a balance between honoring our 1888 heritage and reimagining the property for the modern era,” said managing director JP Oliver.From a business standpoint, Oliver believes that properties like �...