Directions is the magazine published by Design Hotels, the Berlin-based network of over 300 independently owned and operated hotels worldwide. Published annually or biennially since the late 2010s, each issue is a 220-page, FSC-certified compendium that explores a single theme through the lens of travel, architecture, design, ecology, food, and wellness. The 2019 edition examined New Sanctuaries, with a feature on Vincent Van Duysen's first hotel project (a former Augustinian cloister) and the science of sleep. The 2021 Odyssey issue explored the act of walking, with a lead essay by travel author Jini Reddy and a Collector's Cover by Helsinki-based artist Linda Linko. The 2023 edition, A New Hedonism, marked the company's thirtieth anniversary with features on Balkan road trips, Gen Z travel attitudes, and Indonesia's Lombok.
The contributor lists span the creative spectrum: Stefan Sagmeister, Andreas Murkudis, Gisela Williams, Cassidy George. The design is handled by studios including The Rodina and PION. Each issue gathers the insights of artists, thinkers, writers, photographers, and illustrators into what the editors call a vividly rich travel compendium, and the production values match the ambition: large format, printed locally in Berlin, with photography given the generous space it needs to transport the reader.
For a hospitality company that has spent three decades curating hotels where design and culture are the point rather than the amenity, Directions is the editorial expression of that philosophy: a magazine that treats travel not as consumption but as a form of cultural engagement.
<a href="https://directions.designhotels.com/">Visit Directions