Europe’s next openings are as much about restoring familiar places as creating new ones. A Cretan coastal resort, a Swiss hotel with a long history and Budapest’s Gellért return in new forms, while Lily of the Valley takes its wellness-minded approach into the French Alps. These four names came from the ZOMA newsletter, but one date has changed: Mandarin Oriental’s own Gellért announcement now says 2028, not 2027. We have kept it here as a clearly labelled later opening.
Three 2027 targets and one later opening
Rosewood Blue Palace currently lists 2027. The Park Gstaad, A Four Seasons Hotel lists summer 2027, while Lily of the Valley Courchevel states December 2027. Gellért is now expected in 2028 according to Mandarin Oriental.
The images are hotel renderings and may change before opening, apart from the Gellért exterior photograph.
Rosewood Blue Palace, Crete
Opening position: Rosewood’s current property page lists 2027.
Blue Palace occupies the coast between Plaka and Elounda, looking towards Spinalonga. The Rosewood plans include 154 rooms and suites, 85 with private pools, reimagining an established setting with Cretan character at its centre.
It suits travellers who want to move between hotel time, local food and time on the water. For couples looking for privacy, room position and terrace outlook will be as important as the pool category.
For school-holiday dates, keep other arrangements flexible until the hotel confirms your stay.
The Park Gstaad, A Four Seasons Hotel
Opening position: the official Four Seasons page says summer 2027.
The Park Gstaad began life in 1910. Its reopening brings 75 rooms and suites redesigned by Joseph Dirand to an established Alpine address, with the town and surrounding landscape part of its year-round appeal.
Watch it if you enjoy a mountain hotel outside the main ski months. Summer can mean walks and village time; winter suits a different rhythm, with time at the hotel after a day in the mountains.
The summer target points to the 2027-2028 ski season, not the earlier 2026-2027 winter, so check the reservations calendar for your exact stay.
Mandarin Oriental Gellért, Budapest
Opening position: Mandarin Oriental’s official announcement now says 2028, not 2027.
The Gellért Hotel is an Art Nouveau landmark on the Buda bank of the Danube. Its restoration is intended to bring Mandarin Oriental’s service and wellness approach into a building associated with Budapest’s bathing culture.
It should appeal to travellers wanting a riverside city stay with architectural character. The hotel and the wider thermal-bathing tradition give you two good reasons to spend time on the Buda side of the river.
For a 2027 Budapest trip, choose an operating hotel and keep Gellért on your later list.
Lily of the Valley, Courchevel 2000
Opening position: the official project site states December 2027.
Lily of the Valley is extending beyond its Saint-Tropez-area home to Courchevel 2000, beside the altiport on the former Le Pilatus site. The plans bring Alain and Lucie Weill’s vision together with Philippe Starck’s design, with 30 suites, each with a terrace facing Mont Blanc, and ski-in ski-out access to the Trois Vallées.
Watch it if skiing and looking after yourself have equal importance in your mountain stay. The suite format should interest couples and smaller groups who want room to settle in between time on the slopes and at the hotel.
For Christmas or New Year, wait for clear operating dates before committing to an inflexible festive trip.
How ZOMA gets you in
Once a hotel opens reservations, we book through our partner relationships wherever the hotel offers them. That typically means an upgrade on arrival when available, daily breakfast for two, a hotel credit, early check-in and late check-out when available, and VIP recognition from the team, at the same rate as booking direct.
Tell us which opening you are watching and we will tell you the day it becomes bookable.
Keep the rest of the trip aligned
Crete and the Alps answer different travel briefs. Blue Palace is a coastal choice; Gstaad can suit summer as well as winter; Courchevel’s timing points towards the following ski season. Gellért stays on the later list.
If a spa, restaurant or family facility is central to your decision, make that requirement explicit. A phased opening is better understood before booking than after arriving.
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