For the quiet

Cheval Blanc Courchevel

The first Cheval Blanc, opened in 2006, and still the only true ski-in ski-out palace in 1850.

K2 Palace

The K2 Palace at the foot of the slopes — the four restaurants, the spa, the Tournier family alpine palace at its most ambitious.

Opened Dec 2025 · 5★

Rosewood Courchevel Le Jardin Alpin

Rosewood's first French Alps property — fifty-one rooms, direct slope access, the most ambitious new opening in 1850 in five years.

Hôtel Barrière Les Neiges

The Barrière operation on the Bellecôte piste — chalet codes, BFire by Mauro Colagreco, and a serious spa programme for 2026.

5★ · 1850

Hôtel Le Chabichou

The Rochedy family hotel — the two-star dining room downstairs, the village location, the alpine palace at a more familial scale.

5★ · 1850

LANA Courchevel

The new LANA hotel in 1850 — the contemporary alpine palace from the group behind the Athens Four Seasons, the discreet entrance and the long spa.

New York

5★ · Members hotel · Battery Park

Aman New York

The Crown Building on Fifth and 57th, eighty-three suites, the Aman Club above — the most considered new opening in the city in a decade.

5★ · Midtown West

Baccarat Hotel

The 28 West 53rd Street tower — the Baccarat crystal everywhere, the Grand Salon for the afternoon tea, the most considered midtown opening of the last decade.

Casa Cipriani New York

Forty-seven rooms inside the Battery Maritime Building, the Cipriani members' club above — the downtown answer to the uptown houses.

5★ · Tribeca

Four Seasons New York Downtown

The Tribeca Four Seasons — the limestone tower at 30 Park Place, CUT by Wolfgang Puck on the ground floor, the most considered downtown five-star.

4★ · Lower East Side

Public Hotel

Ian Schrager's downtown statement — the escalator entry, the rooftop at the top, the city's most considered affordable-luxury hotel.

5★ · Tribeca

The Greenwich Hotel

Robert De Niro's house on North Moore, the Shibui Spa under the lantern roof — the Tribeca address for the long downtown stay.

Paris

Cheval Blanc Paris

LVMH's flagship inside the restored Samaritaine, with the city's only true Seine-facing palace pool.

Hôtel Plaza Athénée

The Dorchester palace on Avenue Montaigne — geraniums on the façade, Alain Ducasse upstairs, and the most cinematic courtyard in the city.

Ritz Paris

Place Vendôme, the renovated bar, the Chanel suite, and the address that no other city has.

Le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris

The Philippe Starck palace on avenue Hoche — the Cinéma room, Il Carpaccio, Matsuhisa Paris, and the most cinematic late dinner of the 8e palaces.

The Peninsula Paris

The Peninsula on the avenue Kléber — the rooftop with the Eiffel Tower view, the LiLi cantonese dining room, the most ambitious technology specification of any Paris palace.

Buenos Aires

Recoleta · 5★

Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires

The Four Seasons in Recoleta — Belle Époque mansion and contemporary tower, the only hotel in the neighbourhood with a proper outdoor pool.

Heritage · 5★

Palacio Duhau · Park Hyatt Buenos Aires

The 1934 Duhau Palace and the contemporary Posadas building joined by a garden — Recoleta's most refined hotel, declared a national historic landmark in 2002.

Puerto Madero · 5★

Faena Hotel Buenos Aires

Alan Faena and Philippe Starck's 2004 hotel — the eighty-eight-room property that single-handedly turned Puerto Madero into a hotel zone.

Leading Hotels · 5★

Alvear Palace Hotel

The 1932 French-style Recoleta palace — 207 rooms, Leading Hotels of the World since the beginning, and the oldest five-star address in the city.

Marrakech

Palace · 53 riads

Royal Mansour Marrakech

The King of Morocco's private hotel — 53 individual riads behind the medina walls, each with a plunge pool, a butler and a roof terrace.

Resort · Palmeraie

Palais Namaskar

Twelve acres of garden and water mirrors in the Palmeraie — a Stark-cool palace twenty-five minutes from the medina.

Palace · since 1923

La Mamounia

The 1923 hotel set inside a seventeen-acre walled garden five minutes from Jemaa el-Fna — the most photographed address in Marrakech.

Palace · Arabian horses

Palais Selman

Jacques Garcia's Atlas-facing palace built around a haras of purebred Arabian horses — 80-metre pool, signature dinners in the stables.

Saint Tropez

Cheval Blanc Saint-Tropez

The LVMH operation on the quai, now in its seventh year and the most polished room in the village.

5★ · Maisons Pariente

Hôtel Lou Pinet

The Pariente operation — calm, garden, the largest pool in the village, and Tata Harper for the spa.

5★ · Wellness

Lily of the Valley

Philippe Starck's hilltop wellness resort above La Croix-Valmer, the serious option for a week of sleep and treatment.

5★ · Design

Hôtel Sezz Saint-Tropez

The Christophe Pillet design hotel on Route des Salins, with Colette (1★ Michelin) and a long pool in the pines.

Tulum

Eco-resort · Adults only

AZULIK Tulum

The 48-villa treehouse compound on Boca Paila — Roth's all-wood architecture, no electricity in the villas, and the icon that defined Tulum's eco-luxury moment.

Beachfront · 5★

BE Tulum

The 64-suite beachfront property at Km 10 — plunge pools in every room, the Yaan Spa, and the Mare'zia beach club that anchors the hotel zone.

Wellness · Beachfront

Nômade Temple Tulum

The 99-room wellness compound on Tulum Beach — treehouses, bungalows, the Gön spa, and the curated ceremonies that define the property.

Belmond · 5★

Maroma, A Belmond Hotel

The Belmond resort on Maroma Beach — Tara Bernerd interiors, the first Guerlain spa in Latin America, and Curtis Stone at Woodend.

Aspen

Five-Star · 5★

The Little Nell

Aspen's only Five-Star, Five-Diamond, ski-in/ski-out hotel — 92 rooms at the base of the gondola, opened 1989.

Historic · 5★

Hotel Jerome, Auberge Collection

The 1889 silver-mining-era landmark on Main Street, run by Auberge, with the J-Bar that has been the town's living room for a hundred and thirty-five years.

5★ Resort

The St. Regis Aspen Resort

The 179-room St. Regis at the base of Aspen Mountain, the most reliably American five-star in town.

Bali

Villa estate · 5★

Aman Villas at Nusa Dua

The Aman villa-only estate on the Nusa Dua peninsula — up to six bedrooms, two butlers, private chef, complimentary airport transfer.

Wellness retreat · 5★

COMO Shambhala Estate

The COMO wellness estate in the riverine forest above Ubud — twenty-two acres, the multi-day programmes, the proper reset.

Four Seasons Bali at Sayan

The Four Seasons over the Ayung River near Ubud — the lotus-pond rooftop arrival, the seven-suite refresh launching July 2026.

Ibiza

Opens June 2026 · Retreat

Opens June 2026 · 5★

BLESS Ibiza The Site

The BLESS Collection's June 2026 opening at The Site — 461 rooms, a serious wellness centre, the largest new luxury operation on the island.

Nômade Temple Ibiza

The Mexican Nômade brand lands in Portinatx — yoga, breathwork, soulful dining, the ritual-led answer to the BLESS scale.

5★ · All-suite

Ibiza Gran Hotel

The all-suite five-star on the marina — reopens April 22, 2026 with refreshed suites and a tightened culinary programme.

Koh Samui

Hillside villa resort · 5★

Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui

The Four Seasons across the bay — the White Lotus Season 3 location, the 20-day pan-resort itinerary May 2026, and the operating standard the show built on.

Cliff villa resort · 5★

Six Senses Samui

The Six Senses on the northern headland — sixty-seven villas, the Gulf of Thailand on three sides, Dining on the Rocks on the cliff.

Pool villa resort · 5★

Banyan Tree Samui

The eighty-eight-villa Banyan Tree on Lamai Bay — Best Spa Resort Thailand 2026, the Banyan Tree Connections wellbeing programme.

Marbella

Palace · 5★ GL · since 1954

Marbella Club Hotel

Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe's 1954 invention on the Golden Mile — the hotel that put Marbella on the European map and still its most considered address.

Resort · 5★ GL

Anantara Villa Padierna Palace

The Tuscan-Andalusian palace ten minutes inland in Benahavís — 132 rooms, three golf courses, and the only Roman amphitheatre on a hotel property in Europe.

Resort · 5★ GL

Finca Cortesín

The Cabell Robinson golf estate at Casares — Solheim Cup host 2023, Top-5 course in Spain, and the most considered hotel south of Marbella.

Miami

South Beach · Icon · Ennismore

5★ · Mid-Beach

Faena Hotel Miami Beach

The Alan Faena operation on Mid-Beach — Baz Luhrmann interiors, the gilded Damien Hirst mammoth, the most theatrical hotel in the city.

Delano Miami Beach

Six years of silence, one full renovation. The Starck building on Collins is back — and Paris Society just made it the most interesting hotel dining stack in South Beach.

5★ · South Beach

The Setai Miami Beach

The all-suite Asian-coded operation on Collins — three pools, the longest beachfront in South Beach, the most adult hotel on the strip.

Saint Barth

Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France

LVMH's Caribbean Maison on Flamands beach — the most consistently executed luxury on the island.

Oetker Collection · 5★

Eden Rock Saint-Barth

The Matthews family hotel on the volcanic rock at the centre of Saint-Jean bay — the social hub of the island since 1953.

Rosewood Le Guanahani

The 16-acre Grand Cul-de-Sac resort, fully rebuilt by Rosewood in 2020 — the largest plot of any hotel on the island.

Tokyo

Aman Tokyo

The Otemachi Tower address — eighty-four suites at altitude, the largest spa in the city, and the most considered service in Tokyo.

The Peninsula Tokyo

Marunouchi facing the Imperial Palace, Forbes Five-Star for the ninth consecutive year — the steady palace in the city.

Design · 5★

The Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon

Kengo Kuma for Ian Schrager, 206 rooms with Tokyo Tower views — the design hotel for the design-led week.

Capri

Boutique · 5★

JK Place Capri

The Ongaro family's 22-room villa above Marina Grande — the most consistently elegant address on the island for two decades.

Capri Palace Jumeirah

The Anacapri property with the only serious medical spa on the island and the gallery of contemporary art Tonino Cacace built over forty years.

Dubai

Beach resort · 5★

Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach

The marquee city-beach hotel — Coya, Nusr-Et, Scalini, Mercury Lounge in one block on the Jumeirah corniche.

Bulgari Resort Dubai

The Bulgari operation on Jumeirah Bay Island — the most discreet luxury booking in the city since 2017.

Geneva

Mandarin Oriental Geneva

The riverside house on the Quai Turrettini, the most polished room on the Rhône side of town.

Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues Geneva

The oldest grand hotel in the city, on the Rhône since 1834, now run by Four Seasons with the lake at the doorstep.

Hamptons

Oceanfront · 5★

Gurney's Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa

The only true oceanfront resort in Montauk, with the Seawater Spa that gives the place its name.

Relais & Châteaux · 5★

Topping Rose House

The 22-room Bridgehampton property that anchors most of the serious Hamptons weddings I plan.

Las Vegas

LXR · 5★

Crockfords Las Vegas · Resorts World

The 332-room LXR enclave inside Resorts World — Crockfords' first North American outpost and the newest top-tier hotel on the Strip.

Suite-only · 5★

The Venetian · Prestige Club Lounge

The Venetian is suite-only — every room is a suite — and the Prestige Club tier adds private check-in, the dedicated lounge, and breakfast in the salon.

Madrid

Palace · 5★ GL

Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid

The Belle Époque icon on Plaza de la Lealtad, restored by Mandarin in 2021 — the most polished room in the capital.

Boutique · 5★

URSO Hotel & Spa

Small Luxury Hotels' Madrid address — a 78-room palace conversion at the quiet edge of Chamberí, the under-the-radar five-star.

Singapore

Heritage · 5★

The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore

The Capitol Building and Stamford House restored as a Kempinski — heritage architecture in the civic quarter, the alternative to Raffles.

Waterfront · 5★

The Fullerton Bay Hotel

The 100-room waterfront jewel at Collyer Quay — 360-degree Marina Bay views and the Lantern rooftop bar.

Atlantic Coast

Eco-Retreat · Larache, Atlantic Coast

La Fiermontina Ocean

The Filali family's Lecce sensibility transplanted to the Moroccan Atlantic — eleven suites, a village hammam, Barb horses on the shore, and a kitchen that knows its cooperatives.

Cote Azur

Private island · Opened May 2026

Zannier Île de Bendor

Paul Ricard's private island reimagined by Zannier Hotels — seven minutes off Bandol, none of the crowd.

London

Bayswater · Longevity · IHG Luxury

Six Senses London at The Whiteley

The most complete longevity-hospitality stack currently open in Europe: physician-supervised protocols, London's first hotel magnesium pool, and the world's first Six Senses Place members' club — inside a restored Victorian department store.

Milan

Hotel · 5★

Bulgari Hotel Milano

The Bulgari flagship on Via Privata Fratelli Gabba — 58 rooms behind the Pinacoteca di Brera, the garden the size of a small piazza.

Montana

Relais & Châteaux · 5★

The Ranch at Rock Creek

The world's first Forbes Five-Star guest ranch, twenty miles outside Philipsburg, all-inclusive on ten square miles of Granite County.

Monte Carlo

Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo

The Société des Bains de Mer flagship on Place du Casino — the address Monaco was built around, fully reborn after the 2014-2019 renovation.

Mykonos

Adults-only · 5★

Omeon Mykonos

The reborn adults-only retreat (16+), reopened April 2026 — sixteen-plus age limit, Cycladic codes, Ora Mare as the signature room.

Provence

Palace · 5★ · Gordes

La Bastide de Gordes

The Sireh family palace on the cliff of Gordes — the long pool with the Luberon valley in the front, the Tigrr restaurant, the most ambitious Provence palace of the last decade.

Sicily

Palace · Four Seasons · Taormina, Sicily

San Domenico Palace, Taormina

A 14th-century Dominican convent, a Four Seasons since 2021, and the most structurally honest luxury conversion in the Mediterranean — the bones refused to be made generic.

Sotogrande

SO/ Sotogrande Spa & Golf Resort

Accor's SO/ brand on a restored 1960s cortijo at La Reserva — 152 rooms, four pools, the most ambitious thalassotherapy spa on the coast.

Southwest

Resort · Canyon Point, Utah

Amangiri

A concrete pavilion wrapped around a rock in the Utah desert — the landscape is the treatment, and the spa programmes have finally caught up to the architecture.

Tel Aviv