These hideaways and flamboyant resorts provide something for every couple, regardless of whether they wish to prioritize rest or action.
30 Most Romantic Hotels in the World I Travel is inherently romantic, whether it’s the silence of an adults-only hideaway, the way an infinity pool disappears into the distance, the sound of champagne glasses clinking on an outdoor patio, or the peaceful intimacy of snorkeling beside one another in the crystal-clear ocean. Exploring a new place together may make the world seem like yours. Selected hotels worldwide provide these experiences and elevate them to a new level.
There are placesworldwided that are made to accommodate lovers, even though some places are unquestionably more romantic than others. Examples include candlelit dinners in the French countryside, overwater bungalows in the Maldives, a private retreat in Portofino, and cliffside plunge pools in Santorini. Whether it’s a honeymoon, anniversary, or a well-earned getaway, we’ve compiled a list of the world’s most romantic hotels that create the perfect backdrop for life-changing experiences. Experience is the key to true romance: Try something new together, take chances, and create memories that will last a lifetime.
The Bay of Hermitage, Antigua
2018 Readers’ Choice Awards $$$ | GOLD LIST 2018 2021, 2022
Antigua’s Hermitage Bay is a romantic haven, a veritable pocket of tranquil paradise. The 30 light-filled, modern villas include large patios, private plunge pools, and unhinderedocean viewsn. You two can savor unlimited gourmet meals, fresh sushi, and expertly made beverages at an all-inclusive getaway. Have a spa treatment as a pair at the Garden Spa on the hill, have cocktails at sunset on the beach, or go snorkeling in the pristine seas. Take a paddleboard or private boat hire in the serene cove for adventure.
Greece’s Mandarin Oriental
$$$ | 2024 2025 HOT LIST
The Mandarin Oriental is nestled amid Greece’s unspoiled Costa Navarino coastline, surrounded by dunes, secret coves, and gardens teeming with oleander and rosemary. The 48 pool villas and 51 suites, adorned with local plants, provide seclusion and peaceful elegance. Evenings are spent at Tahir over wood-fired pizza or velvety baba ghanoush, while mornings begin with milk cake and pistachio-studded yogurt on Oliviera’s balcony. It’s ideal to spend the day boating between isolated coves or lounging in the citrus-colored spa. In this type of setting, time seems to slow down just enough.
Spain’s La Residencia, A Belmond Hotel
$$$ | 2021, 2022, and 2024 READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS
Nestled in the foothills of Mallorca’s Serra de Tramuntana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies La Residencia, a charming haven that seems both spacious and private. This Belmond collection property, which Richard Branson once owned, combines historic structures with contemporary amenities to provide 71 rooms with individual terraces, some of which have plunge pools, and views of the village and the glistening ocean. Love is evident everywhere, from romantic dinners at El Olivo, which offers a variety of Mallorcan cuisines, to private boat excursions along the coast.
The Maldives, namely the Nautilus
Readers’ Choice Awards for 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 $$$ | GOLD LIST 2021
The Nautilus Maldives is romantic in every way. The property offers unmatched intimacy with just 26 individual bungalows, some on the beach and others sprawl out over the pristine ocean. Every villa has a separate living room, a private pool, and a personal butler who is ready to create your ideal retreat. This is a unique location where the everyday disappears, leaving just you and your significant other to unwind and enjoy, whether it’s champagne served in bed, a breakfast sail on a lavish yacht, or an afternoon swim with manta rays.
Austria’s Hotel Motto in Vienna
$ | 2022 READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS HOT LIST
Vienna, why not? With a hint of Parisian decor from the 1920s, Hotel Motto in the Austrian city offers a new, cozy interpretation of the city’s modern charm. With its striking murals of bellhops in pink suits and suites with art deco accents, the chic hotel welcomes couples to relax in an environment that blends classic elegance with contemporary comfort. Start your day with a crêpe and activated charcoal latte, or travel to the top-floor Chez Bernard, covered in cascading foliage, for classic bistro fare and local cocktails in the evenings. Tucked away on the seventh floor, the tiny wellness area provides a calm spa experience, making it the ideal refuge for a romantic getaway.
Ireland’s Adare Manor
Readers’ Choice Awards for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 $$ | GOLD LIST 2020, 2025 HOT LIST 2018
Adare combines the old and the new delightfully. One of the nearest country manors in Ireland for an ultra-green, romantic break is only 30 minutes from Shannon Airport for US visitors. (From Dublin, it’s also a simple two-hour trip.) Adare’s whimsical gargoyles, genuinely friendly staff, grand and intimate spaces, and incredibly comfortable rooms, while maintaining an old-school, aristocratic vibe, make it a place unmistakably the Ireland of today.
Professional architect Tom Fazio also redesigned the golf course, with falconry accompanying it. Notable features include four towers, seven stone pillars, fifty-two elaborate chimneys, and 365 leaded windows. Representing the number of days in a week and the days, weeks, and seasons of a year. (It was constructed in the Neo-Gothic “calendar house” style in 1860.) Isn’t that a sign of enduring relationships?
French Polynesia’s Brando
$$$ | HOT LIST 2015 READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 | GOLD LIST 2019, 2025
While filming Mutiny on the Bounty, Marlon Brando fell in love with Tetiaroa, and his vision continues to this day at The Brando. This remote atoll in French Polynesia is pristine and surreal, with only 35 thatched-roof houses, each with a private plunge pool and direct beach access. Explore the island’s untamed splendor by hiking past historic Polynesian temples, snorkeling with colorful reef fish, or taking in the resort’s innovative conservation initiatives up close. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience romance in its most authentic form, a location that seems incredibly connected and remote.
Guatemala’s Casa Palopó
$ | AWARDS FOR READERS’ CHOICE IN 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021
At Casa Palopó on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, romance flourishes in the little things. It offers an intimate setting ideal for couples, with just nine suites, each distinctively decorated with modern luxury and traditional Mayan influences. The lake’s glistening waters and volcanic peaks provide a striking background for peaceful mornings or sunset drinks, and the views are expansive from every suite. Spend your days together, strolling around neighboring villages, studying the local way of life, or just lounging by the lake. It’s a remote sensory experience where culture and environment combine to offer the ideal backdrop for a romantic (and possibly less expensive) retreat.
France’s Auberge Resorts Collection’s Domaine des Etangs
$$ | Readers’ Choice Awards 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024; GOLD LIST 2020, 2024; HOT LIST 2016
The perfect example of art de vivre is Domaine des Etangs, where romance, nature, and history all coexist. Surrounded by 2,500 acres of meadows, woodlands, and pastures populated with Limousin cattle, this 13th-century château overlooks a tranquil lake in the French countryside, creating a scene straight out of a fairy tale. The cozy suites, created by Isabelle Stanislas, combine the château’s historic charm—stone walls, antique furnishings, and gargoyles—with contemporary elegance. It’s a haven for couples: enjoy the farm-to-table food, stroll around the grounds, or row across the lake with a picnic. This is romantic, serene, and timeless leisurely luxury.
Italy’s Rocco Forte Hotel, Villa Igiea
$$$ | 2023 HOT LIST GOLD LIST The 2022 Reader’s Choice Awards
The aperitivo hour, on a fabulous outside terrace with a jazz pianist playing, is the focal point of life at this lesson in subtle elegance. Villa Igiea transports visitors to a bygone era when a couple would dress up merely to see one another, and the passion permeating this Italian atmosphere is only heightened by being around other couples doing the same.
Create an evening where you can spend time with your significant other while seeing those who have come seeking the same emotion—couples who have been together for decades sipping their hundredth martini, young loves from wealthy homes sneaking away for the weekend, and so forth. “This resort is so timeless and elegant that you almost feel nostalgic for a Sicily that never even existed during your lifetime,” executive editor Erin Florio wrote in her assessment.
Kenya’s Angama Mara
Readers’ Choice Awards for 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024 $$$ | GOLD LIST 2021 HOT LIST 2016
Redefining the safari experience, Angama Mara is situated on the Oloololo Escarpment and offers expansive views of Kenya’s Mara Triangle. With 15 tented suites each, the two camps combine glass and canvas to provide unbroken views of the savanna, even when showering. With its sophisticated Italian accents and a pavilion that houses a library, store, gym, and infinity pool, this is not your typical safari setup. The main show, however, is outside, whether it’s hot air ballooning before dawn, game drives across grasslands filled with lions, or just taking in the Great Migration below. With a touch of cosmopolitanism, it’s safari romance at its most cinematic.
Mykonos’s Santa Marina, a Luxury Collection Resort
Readers’ Choice Awards for 2017–2018–2019–2020–2021, 2023–2024–2025 $$$ | GOLD LIST 2023
Shannon McMahon, a destination editor, traveled here for her honeymoon and has no regrets about it. She considers it a hotel “to plan your entire trip around,” in fact. The Santa Marina stands out from other island hotels for more reasons than just being the only sandy section of private beach on Mykonos, which also happens to be the only place on the island where you can be sure of some prolonged peace from endless crowds of partygoers. There is a large spa with hammam-style treatments and swimming from an impossible-soft sand beach into unusually serene Mykonos settings. Both eateries are loaded with mild aphrodisiacs:
One serves taverna-style slow-cooked lamb and grilled octopus, while the other offers an abundance of Asian-fusion seafood. But don’t worry—the Dionysian date nights continue to have a lively party at the beachside bar into the early morning hours.
Italy’s Grand Hotel Tremezzo
$$$ | GOLD LIST 2018/2020/2023 READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS 2017/2019/2021/2022/2023/2024/2025
The Grand Hotel Tremezzo has been in family ownership since its founding in 1910 and is magnificent. Located directly on the shores of Lake Como, this location has long been a benchmark for European luxury hotels; it’s hard to find a review or mention of the hotel without acknowledging the constantly modern, top-notch staff and amenities (they do, after all, close for renovations every winter).
Don’t get me wrong, it’s formal, but this is a space that’s meant to be occupied by you all day—Sleep on silk linens and a feather mattress topper, swim in the pool that floats on the lake, enjoy a digestivo on the terrace of TBar, and eat Lady and the Tramp-style at La Terrazza with homemade pastas and shaved truffles.
Greece’s Perivolas Lifestyle Houses
The Gold List of the 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards, which includes the following years: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024
A more subdued, tranquil version of Santorini’s well-known cliffside views can be seen at Perivolas Lifestyle Houses. The property’s rooms, which are made of brushed concrete and have arched doorways and curving ceilings that feel like an extension of the surroundings, stand out from the more crowded, well-known hotels on the island. Floor cushions and bougainvillea are two colorful accents that add coziness to the otherwise simple design. Nestled next to the pool, the restaurant serves straightforward yet expertly prepared regional cuisine, and the tiny spa is flooded with natural light. There is a lasting sense of tranquility and a gentler pace that contrasts sharply with the island’s tourist-driven bustle; there is no frantic luxury.
Italy’s Forestis
$$ | 2021 HOT LIST
Situated on the South Tyrol Plose mountain’s south-facing slope, Forestis is the result of a century-old sanatorium that was transformed into a modern spa resort. Every moment is enveloped in the unadulterated beauty of the Alps thanks to the property’s simple, nature-inspired design, which is dominated by pine, larch, glass, and stone and offers expansive vistas of the snow-capped Dolomites. In this context, wellness fosters a connection with nature: consider evergreen wood massages and contemplative forest walks. After a substantial supper, guests congregate around a fire pit beneath the stars every evening to enjoy cocktails laced with herbs.
Portofino, Italy’s Splendido, A Belmond Hotel
Readers’ Choice Awards for the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 $$$ | GOLD LIST 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2025
Splendido, a Belmond Hotel perched above Portofino’s dazzling harbor, is a classic hideaway that elevates romance to the level of art. Originally a Benedictine monastery, this famous retreat has attracted celebrities like Ava Gardner and Elizabeth Taylor due to its seamless elegance and picture-perfect surroundings. After a multi-year makeover, its furnishings are now glowing in gentle pastels, and the Ligurian Sea is reflected in the saltwater pool. Couples can wander down to Portofino’s quaint piazzetta, stay for a while enjoying spritzes at La Terrazza, or wake up to the sound of birdsong and the dawn over the cliffs. Splendido is an absolute paradise for anyone looking for unadulterated romance.
Iceland’s Deplar Farm
$$$ | READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS 2019, 2021 | GOLD LIST 2019, 2023
The Troll Peninsula in northern Iceland—don’t let the name make you think of monsters—is one of the country’s most beautiful mountain ranges. Sheep outnumber people here, and this remote location is entirely romantic—as if you and your significant other have fled to a mist-covered Eden. As long as you are there, you are unconcerned with the outside world’s problems. With only 32 guests allowed at a time,
the former farm is always peaceful and reflective, and the variety of activities offered during the winter months is awe-inspiring. Fly-fishing and heli-skiing pristine slopes are only two examples of banner trips. Trekking to Langhus Farm offers views of the Arctic Circle over the Greenland Sea and the opportunity to ride Icelandic horses.
Puerto Rico’s Royal Isabela
$$$
Royal Isabela is a beautiful coastal haven that combines history, nature, elegance, and romance. It is perched on a cliff with a striking stone tower overlooking Puerto Rico’s west coast. The main structure, La Casa, was inspired by an old sugar mill and looks out over 426 acres of seaside land that are kept as a golf course and nature preserve. Sustainability is crucial, as an organic farm supplies the restaurant with rainwater recycling. See humpback whales (January–April), sea turtles,
and various birds that inhabit the trees and the cliffline. Couples can enjoy fresh farm-to-table meals, explore beautiful pathways, or enjoy expansive ocean views from their private casitas (near the exclusive adults-only pool). Couples can order a ride out through the western caverns, a snorkeling tour, or a private picnic on the beach through a new experience service developed in collaboration with one of their Experience Specialists. Royal Isabela is one of the most romantic Caribbean destinations without being very busy without being very busy due to its untamed beauty and cozy ambiance.
California’s Post Ranch Inn
2018; 2019; 2020; 2021; 2022; 2023; 2024; 2025; GOLD LIST 2022, 2025 READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS
Big Sur’s Post Ranch Inn is a masterwork of fusing luxury with the unadulterated force of nature. The 40 accommodations, which range from treehouses to clifftop suites, are set against spectacular cliffs and provide breathtaking views of the neighboring Pacific Ocean or the untamed mountain range. The main goal of the design is to blend in with the surroundings and create a haven that feels like it belongs there rather than above them. Hiking paths, exploring the chef’s garden, or even taking falconry lessons are ways for couples to get more involved.
Bora Bora’s Four Seasons Resort
The Readers’ Choice Awards for the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024
I have a question for you: What is preferable to doing nothing at all? Bora Bora, doing absolutely nothing. This French Polynesian paradise feels worlds away from the ordinary grind, whether you’re a parent needing a vacation or on your honeymoon. With kilometers of crystal-clear waters to gaze upon, you and your significant other will have nothing to divert your attention from one another. Numerous multi-bedroom beachfront villas and overwater bungalow suites (with views of the lagoon or mountains)
are available at this upscale Four Seasons resort. However, we would advise reserving one of the specialist overwater bungalow suites for the entire experience; These one-bedroom configurations provide about 1,600 square feet of living space, along with a private plunge pool or a terrace that extends the length of your bungalow. Reserve a couple’s treatment at the overwater spa suite to up the romantic ante. The outdoor tub overlooks neighboring Mount Otemanu, and the beds are above glass panels on the lagoon.
& Outside of Mozambique’s Benguerra Island
$$$ | Readers’ Choice Awards 2016, 2017, 2019, 2024, 2025, GOLD LIST 2020, 2021, HOT LIST 2016
Flying from Johannesburg to Vilankulos and then taking an eight-minute helicopter ride to Benguerra Island is the most efficient way to reach this resort off the coast of Mozambique, in the breathtakingly sun-dappled Bazaruto Archipelago. But the extra work is worth it for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Once there, you’ll discover a quiet haven with lots to explore. With only 10 casinhas, two cabanas, and one three-bedroom casa, and over 140 different bird species, including flamingos and kingfishers,
you’re almost as likely as anybody else to see the local fauna. You’ll want to relax on its gorgeous beaches for days. Beautiful views of the surrounding lagoon—but you can also go horseback riding, take a traditional dhow sunset cruise, and try your hand at big game fishing. Don’t miss the opportunity to see the flamingos that live in a nearby freshwater lake—especially if you bring a “castaway picnic” to go with you. From there, you may continue to an isolated beach.
South Africa’s Lion Sands Game Reserve
The Readers’ Choice Awards for the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024
This opulent 10,000-acre resort, which includes two villas and four lodges, is situated on the banks of the Sabi River. The cream and beige suites at River Lodge feature freestanding tubs and indoor and outdoor showers. In contrast, the ivory and ebony Ivory Lodge rooms feature African antiques and views of the reserve and its residents from private terraces with plunge pools. With lanterns, candles, the stars, and the moonlight, the three distinct treehouses—Chalkley, Kingston, and Tinyeleti—cannot be more lovely. Enjoy traditional Boma cuisine after taking an open jeep trip to see elephants and lions, and then spend the night surrounded by the sounds of the faraway world.
Cliff Walk, Rhode Island’s The Chanler
Readers chose the following awards: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
We wager that the Age of Innocence started and continued in this lavish beach resort, offering a genuine flavor of American history. You would have probably run into a Vanderbilt at The Chanler at Cliff Walk in the late 1800s, as Newport has historically catered to the nation’s top class. These days, rooms are furnished in various historical styles, each more ostentatious than the last. Our favorite is the Martha’s Vineyard villa, a stunning oceanfront home with prim blue chairs, a mantled fireplace, and a full-canopied four-poster king bed with an exquisitely carved hardwood frame, which is one or ten—why this location is frequently chosen as America’s most romantic hotel.
Bali’s COMO Shambhala Estate
The Gold List of Readers’ Choice Awards for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 can be found here.
When you arrive at COMO Shambhala Estate, a designer health retreat nestled in the jungle on a series of hilltops above the Ayung River on the island of Bali, you are met with breathtaking views. COMO Shambhala has been a five-star haven for affluent tourists hoping to bid stress a fond farewell and welcome spiritual growth for almost twenty years. Each of its 30 rooms, suites, and pool villas blends East and West, with tasteful antiques and hand-carvings adorning their otherwise minimalist decor.
(Retreat Villas with one bedroom have treatment rooms, whereas standalone villas have private pools.) There’s a reason why you seek wellbeing. One of our readers’ favorite Asian resorts is COMO Shambhala, which boasts every tropical scene appropriate for Instagram, is more opulent and elegant than traditional spas, and is more calming and transforming than corporate chain resorts.
Chile’s Tierra Patagonia
2018/2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025, GOLD LIST 2023, 2025 READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS
There’s something inherently romantic about feeling like you’re on the edge of the world, yet with the person you love. You and your significant other will feel like you are genuinely out there at the 40-room Tierra Patagonia Hotel & Spa, which is located on the outskirts of Chilean Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park. The low-slung hotel, which is banked with dirt and covered in lenga beechwood, winds for 650 feet down the base of a bluff.
Its aerodynamic shape hardly breaks up the gales from Patagonia’s Southern Ice Field. The guest rooms have simple wood, wool, and leather decor—all to highlight the breathtaking vistas of the surrounding peak and pampa. After touring the park for the day, return to your superior suite to continue admiring the views from the warm waters of a deep-soak bathtub. The hotel provides guided tours inside and outside the park, including hiking and horseback riding.
Mexico’s Hotel Esencia
$$ | Readers’ Choice Awards 2018–2024–2025 | GOLD LIST 2018–2023
Esencia is one of those hotels that bohemians in the know talk about in whispers, and nobody wants to share this secret. It is located right on Xpu-ha Beach, the best stretch of white sands on this section of Mexico’s Caribbean coast. However, on the brink of the falling sea lies a modest, naturally beautiful estate surrounded by palm trees. In addition to hammocks for relaxation, there is a dimly lit spa with custom blends prepared from elements gathered from the Caribbean’s waters and the nearby Mayan jungle and crushed into poultices to help untangle knots. When snorkeling with fish of various colors,
The hotel’s catamaran takes five minutes to reach the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Feeling peckish? A wooden beach bar under a two-story palapa serves the most excellent margaritas in Mexico. At the same time, Mistura, a restaurant with views of the moon-dappled sea, offers tacos and ceviches. Then, there are the rooms: the house’s interior, which was first constructed as a retreat for an Italian duchess, features large bedrooms with spacious patios and hints of 1950s art; Plunge-pool-equipped jungle suites (some indoors.
Japan’s Aman Kyoto
$$$ | Readers’ Choice Awards 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, GOLD LIST 2025, HOT LIST 2020
Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and the cherry blossoms that bloom every spring are just a few sights and activities in medieval Kyoto. However, the Aman, located in the city’s northern suburbs, is the place to go if you want a more potent dosage of nature with your daily dose of culture. It feels worlds apart from the strains of ordinary life, surrounded by hilly woodland and crisscrossed by flowing streams and moss-covered trails. After leaving the city, you can enjoy the resort’s incredibly serene atmosphere while touring the wooded hillsides it shares with the neighboring Kinkaku-ji.
Temple. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, a UNESCO-protected landmark, and taking a stroll through the property’s verdant garden, where azaleas arrive in the summer and camellias blossom in the winter. A thoughtful, almost unanticipatedly romantic journey that allows you both to unwind and reconnect on your terms is what you’ll find when you combine meditation sessions with a Zen Buddhist monk with the opportunity to take a dip in the resort’s onsen bathing pools’ mineral hot springs.
Antigua’s Jumby Bay Island
Readers’ Choice Awards for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 $$$ | GOLD LIST 2018, 2023
Off the north coast of Antigua, this 300-acre private island offers a degree of comfort unique to the Caribbean. There is a “no cars, no keys” rule in place, and the area is untamed and rocky, teeming with lizards and devoid of any vehicles that aren’t walking. You can go from your villa or suite as you like, visiting the three restaurants, the spa, the several beaches, and other locations throughout the island. Each suite includes a bright entry courtyard with swinging wicker chairs and a terrace with a view of the beach, so there’s plenty of space to play house whether you choose the villa or the suite.
Cap Juluca, Anguilla’s Belmond Hotel
The Gold List of 2021 Readers’ Choice Awards for the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025
When Cap Juluca initially opened in 1988, it immediately gained popularity among the jet-set, who were attracted by the immaculate Maundays Bay sands and the spacious, Moroccan-style domed houses that line them. A renovation was needed when Belmond purchased the property in 2017; however, Hurricane Irma devastated everything but the sugar-cube villas a week after they closed. With five villas, two new eateries (including a renovated Pimms), and a sparkling spa, it reopened in late 2018—but a few days later,
Although you will undoubtedly spend a lot of time lounging on the beach, don’t completely abandon the villas during the day; furnished with four-poster beds, linen curtains that open when the door is opened, and plush Beni Ourain rugs, they completely change.
California’s Malibu Beach Inn
Readers’ Choice Awards for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 $$$ | GOLD LIST 2023 HOT LIST 2017
Malibu Beach Inn democratizes the renownedly gorgeous “Billionaire’s Beach” in the Los Angeles area with its location along the row. The inn invites you to stay the night and enjoy the views our neighbors have paid unimaginable sums of money for. The rooms are clean, with many neutral colors and warm-finished wood, but you’ll want to spend as much time outside as possible.
By the way, it’s not just what you see; the whole sensory experience includes the sound of breaking waves that can be heard from the terrace restaurant and your balcony and almost everywhere else. And the cool, salty air lulls you into an unbreakable calm. See Wales, eat some branzino, drink a local wine, and have fun. The hotel has recently reopened after being miraculously unaffected by the fires in Los Angeles.
Portugal’s Douro Valley: Six Senses
$$ | GOLD LIST 2018, 2020 READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
If you follow other health-focused retreats’ austere, alcohol-free programs, wellness and wine might not seem like a good combination. However, they complement each other well at this hotel, which is surrounded by undulating vineyards in Portugal’s Douro Valley. Enjoy a deep tissue massage or an antioxidant grape facial in one of the spa’s ten treatment rooms after spending your days in the sun and relaxing by the outdoor pool (or indoor one,
if the weather isn’t cooperative); or enroll in one of the dozens of activities available. Comprising a trip to the nearby villages (by Tesla), you can visit the restored Cistercian monasteries of S. João de Tarouca and Salzedas from the 12th century. After that, you can tour Quinta Viscondes da Várzea, an 18th-century manor house, and take a culinary class in the ancient school kitchen. Try something new together by planning a trip to some local boutique wineries.
Hawaii’s Hotel Wailea
Readers chose the following awards: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Our readers say that one of Maui’s most lavish resorts isn’t on the beach. The 72 suites at Hawaii’s only upscale adults-only resort, which spans 15 acres and has 180-degree vistas of neighboring Lanai and Kaho‘olawe, make tEnsureuEnsuryou’ll haverpersonnelpewithothoseth ven thoug who trust holiday, our holidayh there is a bus to the beach (and workers to assist you with umbrellas, towels, and the like once you hit the sand). Let them plan a picnic on the beach—a wonderful meal to savor at dusk. Aerial yoga, sunset sailing, and kiteboarding courses are also available.
France’s Hôtel du Palais Biarritz
Readers’ Choice Awards for 2017–2018–2023–2024–2025 $$ | GOLD LIST 2023
When Napoleon III acquired a seaside property at Biarritz and built a massive holiday residence as a testament to his love for his wife, Empress Eugénie, in 1854, the bustling resort town gained international attention. This palace was converted into the Hotel du Palais in 1892, and following an incredibly ambitious four-year makeover, the hotel reopened in 2021. The feeling of sweet and decadent dedication not only endures but also triumphs after all these years and changes. Imagine a ballroom decorated with fairy tales that would be ideal for a waltz. And a lavish bar illuminated by a chandelier made of 900 pounds of crystal.
California’s Alila Ventana Big Sur
Readers’ Choice Awards for 2017–2018, 2019–2020, 2021–2022, 2023–2024 $$ | HOT LIST 2018
In 2017, this popular Big Sur resort, which is encircled by acres of woodland and has a breathtaking view of the Pacific, underwent a complete makeover. It hasn’t lost its relaxed 1970s vibe, even though the rooms have all been updated with lots of wood and neutrals, 15 opulent safari-style tents have been added to the roster (though tent guests aren’t currently able to access the resort and aren’t charged the resort fee). The spa has a relaxation deck with an ocean view.
If you wish to completely unplug and fill in those holes in your connectivity with yoga, spa treatments, hiking, and forest bathing, it’s worthwhile. With the possible exception of the type-A personality who requires a lot of planned activities, there is something for everyone here. Ventana aims to draw attention to and promote Big Sur, one of the planet’s most breathtakinglocationst.
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