Luxury hotels look different than they did 20 years ago. With different approaches to travel and business, the focus is shifting from material luxe to experiences, sustainability and wellness. Read more.

Chicago is a city that is defined by its architecture, giving rise to the term “skyscraper” with the construction of the first steel-frame Home Insurance Building in 1885. The city is also home to several historic hotels that helped define the modern concept of meeting and convention accommodations.

Victoria, British Columbia, is one of those special destinations in North America that offers a modern flavor all its own while also reverberating with the past.

Here are four standout luxury hotels that give groups some of the most unique settings and experiences imaginable for events.

Big Sky, Montana, is on track to get its first ultra-luxury resort in 2021. In September 2018, Montage International and CrossHarbor Capital Partners began construction on Montage Big Sky, a $400 million upscale resort set in the destination’s 3,500-acre Spanish Peaks enclave.

“For us, luxury is about authenticity and uniqueness,” said Alan Stenberg, founder and proprietor with partner Daniel DeSimone of the 18-room Glenmere Mansion in New York’s Lower Hudson Valley.

“Luxury” has an interesting etymology, originating from the Latin luxus (“excess”) and luxuria (“offensiveness”). In Elizabethan times, the English saw luxury as “lust” and “lechery,” while the French reinterpreted the Latin originals as “wealth” and “indulgence.”

InterContinental Hotels Group is buying Regent Hotels and Resorts and reestablishing the iconic Regent brand in Hong Kong.

Tilman J. Fertitta's ultra-luxe Post Oak Hotel at Uptown opened in Houston.

For hoteliers, few assets can match the versatility and impact of a thoughtfully conceived art program.