Meet LXR Hotels: 15 One-of-a-Kind Resorts With Backing From Hilton

Most days of the year, Feisal Jaffer is on the road, helping curate and develop luxury hotels and resorts around the world. 

Though his experience in the travel sphere is now prodigious, his professional life began with him building non-travel businesses from scratch, then growing them. He was one of the early team members at music discovery app Shazam, helping launch the product and introduce it to international markets. Business school followed, as did work in private equity and commercial real estate. And just when he started to feel like he was ready for a professional pivot, an opportunity to work in luxury hotel and residential development came across his desk. 

“I immediately got so excited,” Jaffer recalled. “And I thought, ‘What if I was able to just work on this?’ That started a process by which I ended up shifting industries and developing luxury hotels.”

His deep dive into the hospitality world started then. He helped Raffles Hotels establish the brand in India and Southeast Asia first. Next, he worked in hotel investment, real estate development and brand expansions in destinations like Singapore, Fari Islands in the Maldives, Japan, Taiwan and Australia.

“Then one day I got a call from Hilton,” Jaffer said. “They had this brand called LXR — which had just one hotel at the time — and was oriented toward independent hotels, each with its own story, unique identity and authentic perspective on the destination. That was all very exciting, but then what made it even better was that the brand was supported by one of the largest hotel companies in the world.”

Jaffer joined LXR Hotels and Resorts in 2019 as its global head, and since then has overseen the incredible expansion of the brand. We talked with him to find out what travel advisors should know about the LXR portfolio.

What made you want to join the LXR team initially?

I knew I’d have access to all the teams, resources, technology and distribution of Hilton, and that was very exciting. I also knew that being able to have your independence and your own identity, and being able to deliver unique hospitality experiences while being backed by one of the largest hotel companies, was a winning combination. That was what did it for me.

Also, it was like being at a startup again, but within a big, big company.

You joined the team just prior to the pandemic. What did your first couple of years on the job look like?

There was one property in Dubai in the portfolio then, which has since left and gone fully independent. In my first two years, we were going around and trying to build this collection. And at that time, I didn't make myself very popular internally, because I said “No” a lot to new hotels.

What were you looking for in a hotel?

I wanted each hotel in the collection to really be unique — to be something that we could build a brand around. The core of our philosophy is one-of-a-kind hotels, each with its own identity and story to tell, and each one offering authentic immersion into the destination. We want to create unique stories that celebrate the timeless pursuit of personal adventure.

The collection is designed for travelers looking to have new experiences, and for those who revel in going off the beaten path. We're passionate about trying new things, new foods, new adventures. [The hotels are] rooted in the destination, but also bespoke, with personal service and immersive experiences that you can only access through one of our properties.

LXR properties are luxurious, but off the radar, which I think is kind of the best of both worlds.

What should advisors know in terms of their client's on-site experience at LXR properties?

LXR properties are luxurious, but off the radar, which I think is kind of the best of both worlds. LXR is part of the Hilton luxury portfolio, so clients have the reassurance that Hilton, a company that’s been a pioneer in hospitality for over 100 years, stands behind the property. The same teams that work on Waldorf Astoria and Conrad also work on LXR, including our incredible luxury sales team, who partner with top luxury travel advisors and consortia. LXR is also part of Hilton Honors. So with any of our properties, Hilton really stands by its customer promise to make it right before, during, and after the stay.

Then, there's a certain minimum level of standards that we look for from our properties, yet at the same time, we don't force them all to have a similar design or similar guest experience. They all are individuals. LXR was really designed for travelers who want both a luxury offering and an off-the-beaten-path and one-of-a-kind experience.

Our teams are working hard to foster the spirit of adventure and push guests slightly outside their comfort zone — but always at a very high level of luxury.

And our goal is for each property to be a jumping-off point or a gateway into the destination, so advisors can count on our team members to curate these story-worthy experiences that go beyond brochures, whether it's a surf safari or stargazing in the middle of the desert. Our teams are working hard to foster the spirit of adventure and push guests slightly outside their comfort zone — but always at a very high level of luxury.

What will travel advisors find in the property collection?

We have 15 properties in the collection now. Some of the hotels that opened in the first couple of years include Zemi Beach House in Anguilla, which is stunning and has just 76 rooms and suites. There’s also a 300-year-old Thai house on the property. It was bought by its owner in Thailand, brought to Anguilla and reassembled; he proceeded to live in it on the beach. When that owner passed away, the owner of our property acquired it and incorporated it into the resort as our spa and wellness facility. That's a really unique experience — having a treatment on the beach in the Caribbean in this home.

Then we have Susona Bodrum, which is on the Turkish Riviera on the Aegean coast [in Turkiye]. It’s focused on sustainability and local culture, and it’s really marked by this incredible food and beverage [program]. The executive chef grows a lot of the produce on the property, and gets the rest from suppliers that are within a certain radius of the hotel. And Turkish hospitality is quite spectacular. They embrace you and they overindulge you at every stage. Even breakfast is a feast. [Susona Bodrum is closed until summer of 2025.]

Then, in the U.S., we have Oceana in Santa Monica, California. This property is like a dream beach home — quiet and exclusive. A large number of its suites overlook the Pacific Ocean, and it’s built around a heart-shaped pool. It’s very high-end, with residential style. And they really tried to curate the wellness and healthy living of Santa Monica, which is such a special little place with such a fantastic microclimate. The food and beverage program centers around fresh ingredients from the farmer's market, and so it really embraces its locale. And we're completely renovating the restaurant there; it's going to be a superb venue by Martin Briski, who has done some of the most iconic hotel renovations in the last few years.

All so unique, just as the brand philosophy says. Can you highlight a few more properties for our readers?

Of course. We have Crockford in Las Vegas, which is part of a massive and integrated resort called Resorts World, a Hilton property. Within it, there's a Conrad and a Crossroads [Kitchen]. It's really positioned at the top end of the market — for the high rollers, or as I like to call them, “the distinguished players.” Crockfords is actually an English brand, and one of the oldest gaming and hospitality establishments in the world. (It was originally a club in St. James's in London, for high society.) 

Another property that is very special to me — because I spent a lot of time in this market — is Roku Kyoto. It's in the northern part of Kyoto [in Japan], on a site that was an artist colony in the 15th century. It’s where the very famous Rinpa school of painting was founded. Roku is surrounded by mountains and forests, so it offers immersion into nature, as well as culture, and there's so many experiences that the hotel gives you access to. For example, [guests can learn about] the dying craft of “kintsugi,” when broken pottery is repaired with lacquer and gold.

RELATED: Capella Hotel Group Announces Four New Luxury Asia Properties for 2025

We also have Mango House Seychelles, a 41-room boutique property that used to be the house of celebrated Italian fashion photographer Gianpaolo Barbieri. In the ‘70s, he frequently did the cover of Vogue. He went to the Seychelles on one of his travels, fell in love with the place, bought a piece of land on the beach and built a house there. He would go there every year with friends — artists, writers, designers, musicians, models, that sort of crowd — and they built up quite a reputation on that island.

When we had the opportunity to convert Barbieri’s property into a boutique hotel, we wanted to keep the spirit of his hospitality and life alive. And Seychelles is a very, very special place. It’s culturally interesting, with African, European and Indian influences. It’s also just stunning — it's these little islands, with giant volcanic boulders on the beach and volcanic sand and special flora and fauna that's particular to the Seychelles.

We created five different food and beverage experiences within our small property, and we invite not just our guests, but locals and guests from other resorts, too. We've got Barbieri’s photographs in one of the restaurants — and not photographs of the fashion, but he also took photographs of local people, animals and nature. 

What are the latest additions to the LXR portfolio, and what should travel advisors be on the lookout for in the coming year?

In the last 12 months, we’ve taken on five really exciting properties, including The Shore House at the Del [in San Diego, Calif.], Arizona Biltmore [in Phoenix, Arizona] and Umana Bali, where the villas start at about 3,000 square feet. The architecture of the [latter] property is sort of terraced, and it's a very spiritual place, with a fantastic wellness program and an amazing kids’ club.

Earlier this year, we opened Ka Lai Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, and the property currently is undergoing a full renovation under Brian O'Sullivan Studio, which has done some of the most iconic properties around the world.

RELATED: Review: Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, California

Then, in Lake Garda, Italy, we will soon offer the historic Grand Hotel, with 160 rooms, all with a lake view. We're really embracing the rhythm of the lake — you can go there and lounge around by the pool and soak in the rays, and we’ll have incredible food and beverage and extensive wellness and fitness and activities. This will be really exciting, and it’s coming in 2026.

Then we also have a property opening in Casablanca in 2026, which will be in a fantastic location again, with 150 rooms and a prominent food and beverage partner. 2027 will bring properties In Xian, China, and one on an island off the coast of Abu Dhabi. We've also signed a very special property in Hiroshima, Japan, which overlooks the famous floating gate, the Itsukushima shrine. We've got probably a dozen hotels in the pipeline. There's a lot to look forward to.