This article contains affiliate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission.The T&C Hotel Awards 2026: Our New Favorite Places

Klara Glowczewska, Sara Clemence, and the Editors of T&CWed, April 22, 2026 at 2:24 PM UTC

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Above: Jnane Rumi, Marrakech; &Beyond Suyian Lodge, Kenya; Oberoi Rajghar Palace, India; Les Bassans, Brittany.

For Town & Country’s 9th annual Hotel Awards, we checked out reinvented historic piles and chic new boutiques, lodges in the wild and beachy retreats. We relied on our own travel experiences and the know-how of our roundtable of peripatetic travel advisors—passionate pros who throughly inspect every new property before sending their clients there, and who shared their findings with us. (You can see their names and companies at the end of this article.) Go ahead. Plunge in. And bon voyage!

The Charm of Old Walls: Historic Buildings Reinvented as Hotels.

Did they build better back then? All around the world today, hotels have you sleeping in history.

The lobby of Orient Express La Minerva: atmosphere, elegance, and a healthy dose of Roman excess.Alexandre Tabaste

ORIENT EXPRESS LA MINERVA Rome When the first Orient Express train was launched in 1883, it defined glamorous international travel. With the opening of the first Orient Express hotel—in a 17th-century palazzo where 19th-century Grand Tourists once stayed—the brand is reviving that atmosphere without ever tipping into nostalgia (hats off to designer Hugo Toro). There is restored marble statuary, Murano glass, hand-painted ceilings, and specially designed furniture subtly evocative of Belle Epoque travel. The central lobby and bar, beneath a historic skylight, are packed with actual Romans. The rooftop restaurant has what may be the best views in Rome (the Pantheon is right there), and you’re steps from Gammarelli, historical maker of liturgical garments. There’s always a phalanx of well-appointed holy men making their way past the hotel’s front door.

Interior of Mandarin Oriental, Vienna.Jack Hardy

MANDARIN ORIENTAL Vienna The city’s First District is one of Europe’s most walkable concentrations of serious culture: the Vienna State Opera, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Hofburg, and coffeehouses that have been perfecting the art of the afternoon for longer than most cities have existed. Mandarin Oriental’s first Austrian hotel is at the center of it all, in a former 1908 courthouse. The Art Nouveau bones are intact, and the guest­rooms nod to the style. And though most people don’t visit Vienna to swim, the hotel provides good reason to change that: a 43-foot pool.

THE CHANCERY ROSEWOOD London From the rooftop Eagle Bar, which looks out over Grosvenor Square, to the subterranean Asaya spa, there’s no corner of this Eero Saarinen–­designed former American embassy that hasn’t been remade for a cushy stay by David Chipperfield Architects. With eight restaurants and bars (including Europe’s first Carbone) and a lobby teeming with well-appointed locals and travelers, it still feels like a refuge amid the bustle of Mayfair. American travelers might feel particularly at home: The building’s former diplomatic life is reflected in vintage photos, and house-made peanut butter cups at turndown celebrate Yankee excellence.

THE CARLTON Milan Italy’s fashion and design capital doesn’t really need another five-star hotel, but what if there were one that was so fluent in the city’s aesthetic that it couldn’t exist anywhere else? Benvenuto. The Carlton has always had an unparalleled address—its oldest part is in a 19th-century neoclassical palace that has an entrance from Via Senato and another from Via della Spiga. The recent renovation under Rocco Forte’s ownership has taken it to new heights. The design borders on maximalist, but it stops short of too much. References to Gio Ponti and the strict geometry of 1930s rationalist architecture sit alongside animal prints, studded leather, and something approaching camouflage. Somehow it holds. Café Floretta, with its domed glass ceiling, is the kind of place that makes you want to dress for breakfast and stay through lunch.

Maanya, one of Oberoi Rajgarh Palace’s three restaurants, serves classic royal recipes and has views of Maniyagarh Hills and the lush palace grounds.Oberoi Hotels and Resorts

OBEROI RAJGARH PALACE Khajuraho Most travelers’ first trips to India encompass the “golden triangle” of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. With the arrival in Khajuraho of the Oberoi—in a crenelated 350-year-old fort cum royal residence—the city’s complex of 25 medieval Hindu temples, with their thousands of high-relief figures, has become a must. Also close by is Panna National Park, which has a thriving tiger reserve. If you’re not rewarded with a sighting of one of the elusive beasts, the hotel itself is consolation enough: interiors that retain the magnificence of their history; two restaurants; two pools; daily yoga and meditation; and a tent spa on the palace’s natural lake, to which you’ll be conveyed by boat, ­maharaja-style.

ROSEWOOD Amsterdam The city once had a lopsided reputation, with bachelor parties overshadowing the canal houses and the Rijksmuseum, but Amsterdam is reclaiming its identity as a serious cultural hub. A stellar example is Studio Piet Boon’s decadelong transformation of the 17th-century Palace of Justice, right on Prinsengracht Canal. The building’s grandeur remains, but the 134 rooms are warm and inviting (suede walls, embossed velvet, marble with veining that mirrors the movement of the canal water outside), and five “Houses” are tucked into architectural remnants, including a canal-level retreat. There are works by Dutch artists throughout, rotating exhibitions in the Gallery, daily art tours, and De Tuin, a garden by landscaping superstar Piet Oudolf.

Poolside at Collegio Alla Querce.Auberge Resorts Collection

COLLEGIO ALLA QUERCE Florence High above the city, in an 1868 school for boys, this Auberge Collection property blends classic Italian charm (sweeping views of the Duomo, excellent pasta at La Gamella restaurant, a gym with a frescoed ceiling) with all modern comforts. It’s a short ride by car to Piazza della Signoria and all the other Florence attractions, but staying put isn’t a bad idea. Local singers are enlisted to score soundbaths inside the historic theater, freshly made pizza is available from the poolside Il Bosco, and cocktail hour comes with a wink as inventive drinks are served in Bar Bertelli, which was once the headmaster’s office.

VISTA OSTUNI Puglia With its cascade of white buildings and labyrinthine medieval alleys, Ostuni finally has a hotel that matches its charms: in a sensitively restored 14th-century palazzo with imposing stone walls, barrel-vaulted ceilings, and views over a plain of olive trees and the Adriatic.The 28 rooms, three pools (including a rooftop infinity pool with views over the White City), give the place a resort quality (but not too much). Anew reason to go to Puglia.

The pool at Son Ermita. You will be lulled.Vestige Collection

SON ERMITA & BINIDUFA Menorca This has always been the quiet Balearic island; its northern interior, in particular, moves at a pace that feels almost defiant. These twin 18th-century fincas (from the Vestige Collection), on a 2,000-acre private, mostly wild estate, sit in the middle of all that. There are guided walks, mountain-bike tours, yoga platforms, exquisite gastronomy, and, coming soon, two glamorous bars. But what you might love most is the wonderfully sun-dulled feel of it all—the best of the ­Mediterranean.

THE FLORENTIN Frankfurt For many, Frankfurt is a place you pass through on the way to somewhere more exciting. Which is a pity. Beneath the banking towers is a city with a serious museum culture, a medieval old town and a food scene that is no longer a punchline. And now comes The Florentin. With the 1901 Villa Speyer at its heart (commissioned by a Jewish banker),it is located near the Museumsufer but at a remove from Frankfurt’s glass-and-steel skyline. The interiors balance classical and contemporary, a landscaped inner courtyard takes you from morning coffee through evening drinks,and dining is polished and seasonal. Frankfurt was always worth more than a night. The Florentin gives you a reason to book two.

CASTEL BADIA Dolomites Post-Olympics, we all have glam, spruced up Cortina d’Ampezzoimprinted on our minds.But just an hour to the north, in the very unblingy village of Brunico, is Castel Badia. An 11th-century fortress, then a Benedictine convent, it has undergone a three-year renovation by Aldo Melpignano, founder of the renowned Borgo Egnazia in Puglia. Ancient frescoes, vaulted ceilings, and the traditional wood-paneled stube were carefully preserved, and layered with modern comforts like a ski depot, kids’ club, and 10,000-square foot spa.

PALACIO DE TAVIRA Algarve Tavira, a town of Roman bridges, whitewashed churches, and cobbled lanes that slope toward the Gilão river, has largely escaped the overdevelopment of the western Algarve. It feels, in a good way, like somewhere that hasn’t decided to perform for tourists yet.The town’s first five-star hotel fits that spirit. The 18th- and 19th-century residence of the Tavares family has been restored with a palette of terracotta, linen, and pale slate that feels as much Moorish as Portuguese.The hotel’s Palácio side has spacious rooms overlooking the main square; the new Medina wing is more labyrinthine, with some rooms opening onto private terraces. Two rooftop plunge pools pull the whole thing together with views across the rooftops and the kitchen matches the simple mood, serving local octopus, spiced lamb, and creamy risottos that wouldn’t have been out of place a century ago.

CORINTHIA Rome Campo Marzio is the kind of neighborhood that makes you want to walk slowly,the better to take in the artisan workshops and independent galleries, the Pantheon around one corner and the Spanish Steps around another. At its center, the Corinthia occupies the former 1914 Bank of Italy headquarters, a neoclassical building whose bones were always too good to spend eternity processing loans.Original marble paneling, frescoes, andcarved woodwork complement new light-filled spaces that have the feel of dignified private residences. The 21 suites include a penthouse inspired by Nero’s Domus Aurea and the Theodoli Heritage Suite in the formercouncil chamber, with 1920s frescoes by Giulio Bargellini. The spa occupies the original bank vault. Above ground, celebrated chef Carlo Cracco oversees two restaurants: Viride for contemporary Italian and Piazzetta for traditional Roman dishes in the courtyard.

Uga Halloowella and views!Uga Halloowella

UGA HALLOOWELLA Sri Lanka Travelers come to Sri Lanka’s hill country to visit the tea estates and find themselves staying for everything else—the pleated peaks, the morning mist, the aromatic cuisine. Still, notable hotels don’t appear often, and Uga Halloowella is the first in at least a decade. A RAF pilot built the early-1900s “bungalow” and now leading Sri Lankan architect Channa Daswatte has turned it into a six-room retreat that retains the wood paneling and crystal chandelier from the colonial past but infuses it with Sri Lankan soul.Views from the property, which set in the middle of a 252-acre tea estate, extend to miles, over broad lawns and out to Castlereagh Reservoir. Stays are all-inclusive, with signature dishes including hoppers (fermented pancakes) with sour fish curry and an eggs benedict variation with seeni sambol and turmeric hollandaise.

LA RESIDENCE POU VAOS VILLAS Luang Prabang, Laos When we hear “Shinta Mani,” the Cambodian hospitality group founded by architect and hotelier Bill Bensley and known for its luxury boutique hotels blending modern design with local cultural influences, we tend to sit up and listen. This classic hotel, on a hill overlooking UNESCO-annointed Luang Prabang and one of the city’s first luxury properties, has just been beautifully renovated under the Shinta Mani aegis. (While not branded Shinta Mani, it is a sibling property and has the same ownership.) Its 34 rooms occupy four two-story buildings, all have either a large balcony or terrace (with day beds), are surrounded by gardens and mountain views, and come as well with a pool, spa, cocktail lounge, and restaurant serving elevated Laotian fare. If you want to be in the thick of things, you might choose the Amantaka, right in town. But for a heritage stay, this hotel, once owned by the Lao royal family, is it.

FAIRMONT GOLDEN PRAGUE Even if you do not love at first sight the reinforced-concrete Brutalist exterior of Prague’s newly restored Fairmont (it is a protected architectural style and could not be touched)—you’ll soon enough warm to the hotel as a whole, which has been transformed, over five years and many millions, into something akin to a resort in the city center. The back story is excellent: When it opened on the banks of Vlatva River in 1974, as an InterContinental, it marked one of the first American hospitality investments behind the Iron Curtain. The renovation was respectful of that history. Period interior elements by celebrated 20th-century Czech artists—stained glass windows, wooden sculptures, light fixtures—were preserved. The interiors of its 320 rooms are elegant modernist in mood—dark wood floors and walls, leather headboards, sculptural glass room dividers. But we love especially: The two roof-top restaurants, one facing the riverfront and Prague Castle, the other, through floor-to-ceiling windows, the Old Town and its famous spires; and the spa, which is situated in a below-street-level garden, is full of light, and has an indoor-outdoor pool. Just the thing after the city’s Gothic and Baroque drama.

Return of the Grandes Dames: Five storied hotels beautifully refreshed.

Everyone needs maintenance. Mission accomplished.

The Baronessa suite at the Splendido.Hotel Splendido/Belmond

BELMOND SPLENDIDO Portofino The archetype of Italian Riviera glamour is lighter and brighter, and it has Italy’s first Dior Spa. The unbeatable views are unchanged.

BRENNERS PARK-HOTEL & SPA Baden-Baden The most famous hotel in Germany’s most famous spa town has au courant facilities, seriously refreshed Beaux-Arts interiors, and an expanded menu of Black Forest adventures.

WALDORF ASTORIA New York It’s been eight years, but the Art Deco queen is back, and we are grateful to once again meet up in the Peacock Alley bar. (Res recommended.)

THE DORCHESTER London Some suites, the penthouse, and the rooftop pavilion are pending, but the time is right to celebrate. The new social spaces—such as Vesper Bar and Artists’ Bar—are outstanding.

PARK HYATT Tokyo The minimalist elegance that etched this hotel in film history remains: the New York Bar and Grill, the views from the top of Shinjuku Park Tower. Spaces and materials have been softened, the technology , the hotel, er, translated for a new age.

Scarlett Johansson in the Park Hyatt in Lost in Translation.Alamy

On Our Radar: You’ll soon hear this name a lot: Zannier Ile de Bendor. This tiny private island off the French Riviera, just minutes by boat from the mainland, was the 1950s hideaway of pastis tycoon Paul Ricard. It is being transformed by Zannier Hotels into a three-enclave “village”—one of the Med’s most glamorous revivals.

On Our Radar: The Imperial Hotel, founded in Tokyo in 1890 to host foreign dignitaries, is Japan’s Ritz. The brand’s first new hotel in 30 years, the Imperial Hotel Kyoto, is opening in a protected 1936 theater in the Gion geisha district. Expect a showcase of Japanese heritage and craftsmanship, and superlative service.

Small But Mighty: A New Crop of Chic Boutique Hotels.

Sometimes you just want the intimate and the unexpected.

By the main pool at Braccialieri.The Atlas Way

BRACCIALIERI This is the kind of place an indie filmmaker friend recommends, and you wish you’d found it first because, frankly, it would make you cool. Built in an ancient olive grove, it has none of the uniformity of a typical hotel. There are just three suites in the main house (two named for the geranium and tangerine wallpaper), one in the former kitchen, with its own pool, and six “eco-­glamping” bungalows that look like summer camp throwbacks but are furnished with Vispring mattresses and Rivolta Carmignani linens. The city of Noto, a triumph of Baroque architecture, is close, as are charming villages, Mount Etna, and the sea.

A public room at Jnane Rumi.Chris Wallace

JNANE RUMI Marrakech In this design-­obsessed city, this is the most talked-about new hotel. A historic property in the posh Palmeraie district, it was remade by a Dutch art lawyer and his wife into an 11-suite jewel. The interiors, a mashup of European contemporary design and Moroccan elements, are dazzling, with no two rooms even remotely alike. The large garden has a pool and lounging and dining areas (the food is Moroccan with a European twist). Best: You can shop the medina all day and be right back here in 10 minutes.

AVANTIKA BY THE GANGES ­Varanasi The holiest city in Hinduism is unforgettable—albeit not for the faint of heart: a maze of alleyways, cremation fires burning continuously, priests chanting, temple bells ringing, devotees descending the stone ghats (steps) to the river. This long-awaited 43-room hotel, from the parent company of Taj hotels, is directly on Ram Ghat, and it lets you take in the spectacle from a broad veranda—there is nothing like it in Varanasi. Booze and meat are not served in this holy place, but the vegetarian cuisine is exceptional, and there is daily yoga, meditation, and private sunrise and sunset boat rides.

The interiors of Chesa Marchetta feel wonderfully, cozily Alpine.Chesa Marchetta

CHESA MARCHETTA Sils Maria St. Moritz has long needed an intimate place to stay, removed from the theater of luxury that now dominates it. This nearby village, with credible galleries and a more discreet creative community, has lately emerged as the natural counterpoint. Now, after a four-year restoration of a 16th-century building by Iwan and Manuela Wirth (of Fife Arms in Scotland), arrives 13-room Chesa Marchetta. It has a restaurant but lacks ski-in/ski-out access and the exhaustive amenities of larger hotels. But that is its strength. It is not trying to compete with St. Moritz but to quietly redefine what staying in the Alps can mean.

The rooftop lounge at The Pinnacle gets lively in the evenings.The Pinnacle

THE PINNACLE Kigali Rwanda and its mountain gorillas are the hot safari ticket these days, and leafy, tech-forward Kigali is one of Africa’s rising design capitals. With this modern locally owned and operated hotel on 3.2 hilly acres with glamorous city views, you finally have a proper launching pad. The nine color­ful rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, and there’s a large pool and, importantly, a members club, which brings convivial local energy to the restaurants and bar. You’ll feel you’ve arrived.

If you happen to find yourself in...

It’s not easy to impress in a city. But these three hotels have people talking.

TAIWAN With Capella Taipei, André Fu, the genius of relaxed luxury in hotel design, has brought his brand of it to a city without much luxury at all. Huge windows, pools, world class dining (try Mizue), and a vibrant nighttime bar scene.

SINGAPORE The OG Raffles now has an all-villa sibling, Raffles Sentosa, on an offshore hillside. The soundtrack is cicadas and peacocks; you’ll have a pool, a cabana, and a butler; and the drink of choice is the Sentosa Sling.

BANGKOK For your first time here, you should stay in a hotel on the Chao Phraya river. Second time, at the new Aman Nai Lert, in the city center. The service is extraordinary, and you’re near the city’s top restaurants (some are in the hotel itself ) and nightlife.

On Our Radar: The French call Cap Ferret, on the Atlantic coast, the “anti-St.-Tropez”: less yachtie glamour, more Parisian creative crowd. Its first five-star hotel, the 28-room neo-19th-century Villa Colette, is bordered by both the ocean and Arcachon Bay. It was designed by Philippe Starck; it opens later this spring.

Far, Far Away: Hotels In Some of the Remotest Places.

Longing for respite from our cluttered, chattering world? We have some laid-back suggestions.

&Beyond’s Suyian Lodge on the Laikipia Plateau.Suyian Lodge/&Beyond

&BEYOND SUYIAN LODGE Laikipia Plateau, Kenya Sure, the Masai Mara has the Great Migration, but safari connoisseurs rave about Laikipia: its serene landscapes, rare wildlife species, near absence of vehicles, conservation-driven focus. And now, from one of Africa’s most acclaimed operators, &Beyond Suyian Lodge, 14 sci-fi-like domed earth-tone structures on a hillside in a 44,000-acre private conservancy. You’ll have forever views, plunge pools, a spa, fantastic food, and ancient rock art on-site. But don’t even think about skipping a game drive; here is one of the few known populations of melanistic (aka black) leopards. Keep your fingers crossed.

Part of the Himalayan walking circuit at Shakti Prana lodge.Gentl & Hyers

SHAKTI PRANA Uttarakhand, India Twenty years ago Jamshyd Sethna, the founder of Shakti Himalaya, set out to provide guided walks in the remotest areas of the Indian Himalayas with stays in luxuriously converted village houses. Shakti Prana is the latest evolution: seven glass-fronted wood and stone pavilions blending modernism and vernacular architecture, on a 6,300-foot summit. Hike ridges and rhododendron forests, then return to blazing fires, pashmina throws, and silk bathrobes. There are also yoga, a sauna, and meals by celebrity chefs.

MASIYA’S CAMP Thornybush Game Reserve, Greater Kruger When you arrive at South Africa’s Masiya’s Camp, the newest safari lodge from Royal Portfolio, you’ll feel as if a fairy godmother has waved a wand. Gone are all things khaki: The six tents with decks and heated pools are pink, the furnishings are every color of the rainbow, and the art is by contemporary artists from across Africa. But don’t let the maximalist vibe fool you. The wildlife sightings are epic, and the guides—another Royal Portfolio calling card—are outstanding. The camp’s namesake, Wilson Masiya, was a certified Master Tracker, one of only 13 in South Africa.

You’ll take your meals at Tinajani in this 19th-century adobe farmhouse.Tinajani by Andean

TINAJANI Tinajani Canyon, Peru In this remote spot in the Andes you’ll find out what “rugged luxury” means. Between Cusco, Lake Titicaca, and Colca Valley, the area teems with fantastical red rock spires and is genuinely, inconveniently remote. Each of Tinajani’s six “campamentos” consists of two round tents, plus a private deck and hot tub. The hub is a 19th-century adobe farmhouse. Hike canyons, visit villages, see pre-Incan petroglyphs, ride horses, eat meals rooted in ancestral Andean fare, and feel all around you thousands of years of human history. This is the latest from the Peruvian hospitality group Andean.

ROKI Queenstown, New Zealand It may not be all that remote, but New Zealand feels far away even when you’re near a town. Roki, a “lodge” on the city’s Lake Wakatipu, caters luxuriously to that reality. Helicopters will whisk you over mountains to glaciers and hidden valleys; Land Rover Defenders will take you hiking, cycling, kayaking, or rafting (with snacks like lobster rolls and caviar). Who said remote had to be rugged?

TIERRA ATACAMA Chile It’s one of the most extreme and visually arresting landscapes on Earth, where salt flats glow at sunset and flamingos blanket high-altitude lakes.The OG of its lodges,Tierra Atacama, has just undergone a $20-million renovation, transforming it from rustic-chic to Chilean desert sophistication. Picture windows frame Licancabur Volcano, interior design is locally grounded (handwoven fabrics, stone carvings), and after days built around desert excursions and spells at the pool and spa, dinner is served in a luminous main restaurant. Step out after, for the nightly spectacle of the stars.

MAHALI MZURI Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Kenya Richard Branson’s tented African camp Mahali Mzuri, has been renowned since it opened in 2013 for occupying the choicest location in the Masai Mara: in a private conservancy with the best game viewing of the entire Mara ecosystem, and including an extraordinary density of cats and birdlife. It has been sensitively redesigned and is better than ever. For one, new floor-to-ceiling glass doors come with screens, something rarely seen on safari—you can now sleep with the doors open and feel immersed in the African night.

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FAWN BLUFF British Columbia About two decades ago, Hollywood power couple Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley built a lodge in the heart of achingly beautiful British Columbia wilderness, where humpbacks, orcas and bald eagles are regular sightings. Now, thanks to a French entrepreneur who bought the 340-acre property in 2023, it has become an exclusive-use six-bedroom retreat facing a lake that’s all yours and a full-service staff that includes not just the chef who prepares your meals from ingredients foraged locally, but the naturalist who will guide you on rainforest hikes and the helicopter pilot who will take you on a glacier tour (picnic at the summit included). Come nightfall, you’ll want to be out on the deck to see the stars spilling out of the sky. Don’t worry, someone will be out there with you—armed with bear spray.

DESERT ROCK Hejaz Mountain, Saudi Arabia Key to understanding the country’s Red Sea Development (you can arrive here directly, landing at the beautiful Foster + Partners—designed airport) is that the area offers two distinct types of active resort experiences: beach/marine and mountain/desert. Within a 30-minute drive of the airport, you can reach either an island outpost with overwater or beach-front bungalows near the world’s fourth-largest coral reef, or a remote spot in the desert (similar, say, to the location of Amangiri) with hiking, climbing, and other desert things to do. The top beach resorts are Nujuma, A Ritz Carlton Reserve, and Shebara. The top desert ones are Six Senses and Desert Rock. The Saudi-backed ones—Shebara and Desert Rock—are, naturally, the most over-the-top. Desert Rock, which occupies a 30,000-square meter area of the Hejaz mountain, makes the most of its surroundings. Rooms and suites, some with pools, are literally carved into the rock face.Trails wind through slot canyons; a 120-meter long suspension bridge leads to an Observatory Bar hundreds of feet above the desert floor; and activities range from a zip line or via ferrata climb to quad and mountain biking in the desert. And there’s a massive spa for apres.

LEMALA OSONJOI Ngorongoro Crater The largest intact volcanic caldera on earth–a perfect, unfilled, immense bowl about 10 to 12 miles in diameter—the Ngorongoro Crater has been for millennia a natural sanctuary for Africa’s so called charismatic megafauna. Seeing the Big Five is not a game of chance here, but a near certainty. Its density of wildlife, however, and its startling beauty, also makes it a visitor magnet. Meaning: You can rarely have the sights to yourself. This 20-suite lodge (including two two-bedroom ones, ideal for families) was designed to give you just that—at least some time alone with the landscape and the animals. It sits on the quieter, eastern rim of the crater, and about halfway down into it. If you leave the lodge by 6AM, you’ll be on the crater floor 15 minutes later—up to one hour ahead of vehicles coming from the busier, more distant western descent. All luxuries await back at the lodge—including a well-placed deck and firepit. But the greatest luxury may be that you can just sneak right back down again near sunset—the other critical game viewing window.

On Our Radar: Think of Explora’s Patagonia lodges (in both Chile and Argentina) as base camps for adventure, with breathtaking views, exceptional guides, and great spas. The latest, Explora El Calafate, opens in December, creating a Patagonian circuit: a multi-stop trip of a lifetime, with Explora handling all logistics.

It Happens in Waves: New Beachy Hotels We Love.

Are you feeling oceanic? The perfect new places for days of sea and sand.

A Les Bassans guest room and sea view. Now imagine the “sound of waves and seagulls, the scent of seaweed and salt. Heaven.”TIPHAINE CARO

LES BASSANS Brittany Consider how many of your favorite French things come from Brittany: crepes and kouign-amann, the marinière you pack for summer holidays. Beurre! Yet for all its cultural capital, this coastal region has long flown under the radar. If you’re looking for a fresh reason to visit, you’ll find it at Les Bassans, the newest addition to the Fontenille Collection, which has chic and unpretentious properties in France and beyond that have inspired cultish devotion. This 25-room gem occupies a restored 1930s villa on a stretch of coastline that is famous for its pink granite rocks. Every room has floor-to-ceiling windows and faces the sea. It’s hard to look away.

THE VINETA HOTEL Palm Beach

Palm Beach has no shortage of places to stay, but few that feel like a genuine discovery.The Vineta is Oetker Collection’s first American address, and the spiritual sibling of Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc and Le Bristol in Paris.It occupies the former Chesterfield Hotel just two blocks off Worth Avenue, four from the beach and its Mediterranean Revival building looks precisely as a Palm Beach hotel should: stucco exterior, flower-bedecked courtyards,and a blush-and-pale-green pool area that could have been lifted from a 1950s postcard.The 41 rooms and suites feel light and feminine without being fussy, and the courtyard restaurant, Coco’s, is sure to be a local see-and-be-seen spot.

ROSEWOOD MANDARINA Mexico For a place that seems intent on convincing you to stay close to home—each of the 134 rooms has a plunge pool, lounge chairs, and thoughtfully decorated interiors—there are plenty of reasons to get out and explore this Riviera Nayarit resort. You could take in a professional polo match, stroll along the beach where newborn turtles toddle into the surf, or wander up the mountain,where some guests stay,for sunset drinks at Barra Peñasco before dinner at the Japanese-Mexican restaurant Toppu. It’s worth getting lost in all the hidden bits of paradise. And don’t worry, your pool will still be there when you get back.

At Nekajui, in a quiet part of Peninsula Papagayo.Ritz-Carlton Reserve Nekajui

NEKAJUI Costa Rica You’ll love the architecture: soaring but cozy, with excellent views. You’ll love the infinity pools and the spa, the attentive butlers and the lush landscapes. But these are things that pretty much all Ritz-Carlton Reserves are known for. This one is built into the cliffs of a quiet section of Peninsula Papagayo. (This is important, as there are more luxury hotels coming to this ­wildlife-rich “bio-development.”) The biggest surprise is the food—it’s fantastic. Seafood shines at the four restaurants, naturally, though you’re going to want to save room for the cowboy steak at Brisa on one of your nights.

ROSEWOOD MIYAKOJIMA Okinawa Prefecture Many of us have not gotten the memo about ending a trip to Japan with a beach stay.Consider yourself so advised.The setting for Rosewood’s first Japanese hotel could not be more alluring:in a cluster of five largely undeveloped islands (the Miyako) with aqua-blue, white-sand bays a short flight southwest of Okinawa’s capital, Naha, and known for the array of summertime water sports. All 55 villas—low modernist structures—have ocean views and plunge pools, there are four drinking and dining options (fish provided by local fishermen), and a large spa with treatments and classes, including, coming soon, karate, which originated in Okinawa

The Kalkudah Beach House, on Sri Lanka’s Indian Ocean coast.Kalkudah Beach House

KALKUDAH BEACH HOUSE Sri Lanka Few countries offer so much within easy reach: ancient Buddhist capitals, colonial forts, tea-covered highlands, wildlife safari areas, surfing beaches. This restored family home, set on a 25-acre coconut estate, has just five suites in two villas with pretty verandas, a pool, and lawns going down to a blissful stretch of Indian Ocean sand—just the thing after all your explorations. Luxe factor? This should give you an idea: The chefs hail from One&Only and Six Senses resorts in the Maldives.

SIARI RIVIERA NYARIT Mexico High-end hotel brands (and their fans) have been flocking to the stretch of jungle-backed Pacific coastline that lies north of Puerto Vallarta. Riviera Nayarit offers volcanic cliffs, mangroves, and warm, swimmable water in a setting that remains for now relatively underdeveloped—for now. This Ritz-Carlton Reserve is arguably the most ambitious arrival, staking its claim in the private 920-acre Nauka enclave. Bernardi + Peschard Arquitectura arranged Siari’s 91 suites and villas within the landscape so that every room has a sense of privacy and views of the water, and used locally quarried stone, native woods, and handwoven textures throughout. The 28,000-square-foot Há Yeka Wellness Center grounds its treatments in Huichol traditions and indigenous botanicals—though with more than four miles of beach at hand, you might not want to spend much time inside a treatment room.

The Absolute Peak: Three Top New Spots in the Mountains.

The pamper quotient here is as high as the elevations.

A private seating area at One & Only Moonlight Basin.Rupert Peace

ONE&ONLY MOONLIGHT BASIN Montana How do you get to the slopes of Big Sky from O&O’s first U.S. property? Via a heated gondola, natch. We also love: the cabin-but-modern architecture, the private decks with firepits and hot tubs, and the host assigned to every guest to help organize things.

ROSEWOOD COURCHEVEL Jardin Alpin Rosewood’s first winter resort occupies the village’s highest slopeside stretch, its vibe is modern chalet, and its concierge will organize dawn and dusk runs. How about sunrise coffee overlooking Mont Blanc?

AMAN ROSA ALPINA Dolomites What do you get when you fuse a third-generation family-run Italian resort with the Zen aesthetic of Aman? One of the sexiest hotels in Italy, with the beauty of the peaks around San Cassiano enhanced by serious gastronomy and a top-notch new spa.

Guestroom at the Aman Rosa Alpina.Aman Rosa Alpina

On Our Radar: There’s something about a desert island vibe with luxury trappings that hits a sweet spot. Voaara Hotels’ first beachy compound, on an island off Madagascar, hits it. Up next, in December: Voaara Grenadines, on private Palm Island. There will be 25 bungalows and a villa. We have very high hopes.

Our Method

To be considered, hotels had to have opened in the last 12 months and been nominated by T&C editors and our roundtable of globetrotting travel advisors. Their names and companies are below. They are invaluable in this process—as they are for travel planning. We considered 143 nominations this year and picked 47.

Our Roundtable

Ala Osmond and Gwen Kozlowski, Exeter International

Andrea Grisdale, IC Bellagio

Bertie and Victoria Dyer,India Beat

George Morgan-Grenville, Camilla Davidson, Clare Watkins, Dineke Verlineden, Nora Berberich, Rachel Cooper, Sam Goold, and Samantha Gordon, Red Savannah

Catherine Heald, Remote Lands

Cherri Briggs, Explore, Inc.

Dan Fraser, Smiling Albino

David Prior, Prior World

Deborah Calmeyer, Roar Africa

Dennis Pinto, Micato Safaris

Ethan Crowley, Asia Desk

Jack Ezon, Embark Beyond

Jennifer Virgilio, Queen of Clubs

Jonathan Esptein, Celebrated Experiences

Joe Sandillo, Exeter Latin America

Julian Harrison, Premier Tours

Marcello Baglioni, Agave Travel Creative

Maria Gabriella Landers, CIU Travel

Marisol Mosquera, Aracari

Meg Austin, The Travel Society

Melissa Biggs Bradley, Indagare

Michael Diamond, Cobblestone Private Travel

Miguel Cunat, Sri Lanka in Style

Paul Irvine, Dehouche

Philip Haslett, French Promise

Sarah Farag, Southern Crossings

Scott Gilman, Japan Quest Journeys

Virginia Irurita, Made for Spain & Portugal

Zach Rabinor, Journey Mexico

This story appears in the April 2026 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW

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