demo

88 TIMESeptember 3–10, 2018

Stamba

features a

glass-

bottomed

pool and an

on-site

chocolatier,

among other

elements

DESIGNTHAT DEFIES EXPECTATIONS

VICEROY LOS CABOS,

SAN JOSÉ DEL CABO, MEXICO

CREATING A DESTINATION

STAMBA HOTEL,TBILISI, GEORGIA

A cookie-cutter hotel this is not.

Originally designed by Mexican

architect Miguel Ángel Aragonés

and recently refreshed, the

Viceroy Los Cabos resembles a series

of stark white cubes that seem to loat in

blue relecting pools. Elevated walkways

crisscross the property, meeting at Nido

(“nest” in Spanish), a latticed, nestlike

structure where guests can dine on ceviche

while gazing at the sea. New this year is the

addition of a beachfront pool and bar.—K.R.

Solidifying the buzz around

Tbilisi as an emerging travel

destination is the Stamba

Hotel, which opened earlier this

summer in a Soviet-era publishing house,

and features a glass-bottomed rooftop

pool, on-site chocolatier and an elegant

casino, all set around a ive-story atrium.

More than 80,000 books—scattered

throughout the hotel, as design elements

and for actual reading—pay homage to

the Stamba’s history.—Abigail Abrams

Sequoias are mighty trees that

can live for more than 3,000

years and grow to a height of

nearly 300 ft. But they’re not invincible.

And the more than 1 million people

who pour into Yosemite National Park’s

Mariposa Grove each year to appreciate

their splendor also potentially damage

them—mostly with car pollution

and water-blocking parking lots and

asphalt roads. So in a rare move, the

National Park Service closed the grove

in July 2015, launching a three-year,

$40 million efort to rework the park and

protect its sequoias. Among the changes

it made: ripping out the parking lot and

roads and revegetating the land, building

wooden boardwalks and bridges to

improve water low, and erecting a

visitors’ center. In order to visit the new

Mariposa Grove, which opened in June,

visitors must take a shuttle from a more

distant parking lot. But they can do so

knowing their grandchildren may one

day have the same awe-inspiring view

of nature.—Kate Rockwood

HISTORIC

MAJESTY
RAFFLES
EUROPEJSKI
WARSAW,WARSAW

LINKING PAST

AND PRESENT
TEOPANZOLCO
CULTURAL CENTER,
CUERNAVACA,
MEXICO

Over the past few
years, Poland has
quietly emerged
as one of Europe’s
most attractive
tourist destinations,
thanks to its low
prices, improved
infrastructure and
luxe new lodging
options. Chief among
them: the Europejski,
a majestic property
that began its life
as a hot spot for
Russian-empire intel-
lectuals in 1857 and
was recently restored
by Rafles, the luxury
Asian hospitality
group. It reopened in
June to rave reviews.
—Kaitlin Menza

In designing a
performance space
for Cuernavaca’s
future, architect
Isaac Broid and
design studio
Productora looked to
the region’s history.
The Teopanzolco
Cultural Center’s
triangular forms
mirror nearby Aztec
pyramids to create,
said Broid, a place
where “contemporary
cultural life
establishes an
ongoing dialogue
with our past.”
—Julia Zorthian

A SAFER PLACE FOR SEQUOIAS

MARIPOSA GROVE,YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA

THE WORLD’S GREATEST PLACES 2018

MARIPOSA GROVE, LOUVRE ABU DHABI: GETTY IMAGES; NOMA: COURTESY NOMA