Gold Stay 2026
Aman Venice
Venice, Italy · Aman
The rare Venice hotel that feels like being lent a palazzo rather than sold a room.
Independent, First-Hand Reviews
Hotel Reviews
Every hotel on these pages has been slept in, dined in and scored by our editors — 159 in-depth reviews and counting.
Editors Pick
Amangalla
Galle, Sri Lanka · Aman
Sri Lanka's most atmospheric address: a living piece of Galle Fort run with Aman precision and worn like old linen.
Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France · Four Seasons
Still the benchmark for Riviera grand hotels, best taken in June or September when the funicular-pool crowd thins.
The Ocean Club
Paradise Island, Bahamas · Four Seasons
The Caribbean's old-money benchmark: Bond-film glamour, Versailles Gardens and Four Seasons polish on one very private beach.
Nayara Gardens
La Fortuna, Costa Rica
A rare Costa Rica resort that earns its 'best in the country' billing, immersive in the rainforest without sacrificing comfort.
Fairmont Peace Hotel
Shanghai, China · Fairmont
Shanghai's most storied address still earns the legend nightly, in the Jazz Bar.
Waldorf Astoria Ithaafushi
Maldives · Waldorf Astoria
A vast, polished private-island flagship with private-pool villas and standout dining, a benchmark Maldives blowout thirty minutes from Male.
Four Seasons Resort Maui
Maui, United States · Four Seasons
Hawaii's benchmark resort: 15 beachfront acres run with a precision that makes the nightly rate feel almost defensible.
Editors Pick
Bulgari Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan · Bulgari
Proof a fashion-house hotel can be serious: Milanese polish, Japanese precision and Tokyo arranged at your feet.
Bulgari Hotel Roma
Rome, Italy · Bulgari
Rome's most assured new grand hotel: jeweller's polish applied to a rationalist palazzo, with the Mausoleum of Augustus as the front garden.
Gold Stay 2026
Amanpulo
Palawan, Philippines · Aman
The full private-island fantasy executed with Aman discipline, priced accordingly.
Rome Cavalieri
Rome, Italy · Waldorf Astoria
A hilltop grande dame above Rome whose museum-grade art and three-Michelin-starred La Pergola justify the trek up Monte Mario.
Fairmont Banff Springs
Banff, Canada · Fairmont
A genuine icon that trades intimacy for spectacle, and wins the trade almost every time.
The Ritz-Carlton Fari Islands
Maldives · The Ritz-Carlton
Kerry Hill's minimalist rings bring rare architectural discipline to the Maldives, and the lagoon does the rest.
The Dolder Grand
Zurich, Switzerland
A genuine city resort: Alpine views, museum-grade art and Zurich's best spa, ten minutes above the Bahnhofstrasse.
Waldorf Astoria Punta Cacique
Guanacaste, Costa Rica · Waldorf Astoria
A brand-new Guanacaste cliff-hanger built so completely around slowing down that you may never leave the property.
Rosewood Baha Mar
Nassau, Bahamas · Rosewood
Rosewood calm on Cable Beach with the run of a vast resort campus next door, a rare balance of intimacy and scale done with real polish.
Rosewood San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico · Rosewood
The most complete hotel in Mexico's most romantic town, and the rooftop at sunset is worth the rate on its own.
Aman Le Melezin
Courchevel, France · Aman
The quietest address in a loud resort, and the only one in Courchevel where the piste starts at the boot room door.
Fairmont Kea Lani
Maui, United States · Fairmont
Space is the real luxury on Maui, and nobody else in Wailea sells it this well.
Rosewood Le Guanahani
Saint Barthelemy · Rosewood
The island's most complete resort: an eighteen-acre peninsula between two beaches, barefoot in feel and polished in execution, at full St. Barth prices.
Four Seasons The Nam Hai
Hoi An, Vietnam · Four Seasons
Vietnam's definitive beach resort, with a spa that has become the destination in its own right.
Amanyara
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos · Aman
The Caribbean pared back to sand, reef and silence, executed with a precision few resorts anywhere can match.
You & Me Maldives
Maldives
A romantic, adults-only Raa Atoll island where all-a-la-carte dining and a Michelin-backed underwater restaurant outweigh a modest house reef.