Happy Travel Tuesday, friends! 

If you’ve ever walked into a hotel lobby and felt an immediate, giddy sense of too much in the best way — the fringed lampshades, the lacquered walls, the leopard print showing up somewhere you didn’t expect it — there’s a good chance you were standing in a Martin Brudnizki room.

The Swedish-born, London-based designer behind Martin Brudnizki Design Studio has spent the last quarter-century turning hotel interiors into full-blown theater: maximalist, layered, a little cheeky, and never, ever boring. I’ve been low-key obsessed with his work for years, so today I’m rounding up a few of his hotels that belong on every design lover’s travel list.

The Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York City

This one’s the big splashy debut everyone’s still talking about. Brudnizki took a restored 1907 Renaissance-style mansion and paired it with a new 24-story glass tower, landing on what he calls a “Bohemian romanticism” for the whole property. Think 30-foot entrances, a nearly 3,000-square-foot ballroom with 12-foot coffered ceilings, and guest rooms — 153 of them — dressed in tasseled curtains, shell inlay, and jewel-toned chandeliers. It’s Gilded Age meets modern traveler, and it does not hold back.

The Beekman, New York City

Ask any design-obsessed New Yorker about their favorite hotel lobby and there’s a solid chance they’ll say The Beekman. Its nine-story Victorian atrium, capped in a pyramidal skylight, was already a showstopper before Brudnizki got involved — his interiors lean into that grandeur rather than compete with it.

The Surrey, New York City

A more understated (relatively speaking) Upper East Side property, The Surrey pairs Brudnizki’s playful patterning with a residential, art-filled sensibility. It’s the kind of hotel that feels like staying in a very stylish friend’s townhouse — if that friend collected extraordinary furniture.

Le Grand Mazarin, Paris

Set in Le Marais, this five-star property channels the spirit of an old literary salon — the kind of room where writers and artists once gathered for good conversation and better company. Brudnizki and his studio wanted the hotel to feel as though it had always belonged in the neighborhood, so the 61 rooms and suites mix refined French classicism with his signature whimsy.

Broadwick Soho, London

Closer to home base for Brudnizki, The Broadwick sits right in the middle of Soho’s chaos and gives you a plush, colorful retreat from it. It’s part of the same universe as some of his most talked-about London projects — including Annabel’s, with its infamous golden-hooved unicorn stair rail (yes, really).

Four Seasons Astir Palace, Athens & Four Seasons Hampshire

Rounding out the list, Brudnizki’s touch shows up at Four Seasons properties on opposite ends of the map — a reminder that his style translates whether the backdrop is a Greek coastline or the English countryside. Same maximalist spirit, different scenery.

There’s a common thread through all of it: every Brudnizki space is designed to make you feel something the second you walk in — joy, a little wonder, maybe an urge to reach for your camera. Whether or not you know his name, you know his rooms when you see them.

Have you stayed in any of these? Which Brudnizki hotel is topping your travel list? Tell me in the comments!

xo, Holly

Sources: reporting from Wallpaper, Dezeen, Sleeper, Country Life, and Surface.*

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