The Best Places to Go in 2025: 16 Editor-Approved Hotels Worth the Trip
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Let’s be honest: we’re living in the golden age of trip planning. Flight alerts ping during meetings, group chats spiral into dream itineraries, and somehow your saved folder is now 80% hotel pools. Every year, our team of editors and writers comb through the world’s cities, islands, valleys, and coasts to pull together a list of places we can’t stop thinking about—and believe you shouldn’t either.
This year’s Best Places to Go list reflects what’s exciting now: bold new openings, cultural shifts, once-in-a-decade events, and destination-defining activities. In addition to the locations, we've tacked on accommodations that aren’t just photogenic, but also have a story to tell—and an exciting buzz you can feel when you get there; the kind of hotels that stay with you long after you unpack.
Whether you're chasing a solar eclipse over Mexico, sleeping in a rewilded lodge in Uganda, or rediscovering a city that’s quietly reinventing itself—2025 is all about travel that moves you. Below, 16 editor-approved hotels we think you should book in 2025.
Barbuda BellehotelBarbuda Belle
$$$ |
Hot List 2016Featured in: The Best Places to Go in North America & the Caribbean in 2025
If you like to travel for a healthy dose of isolation, Barbuda Belle might surely please. Fly to Antigua, hop a puddle jumper to Barbuda, then a speedboat to the uninhabited northern tip of the island at Cedar Point. Here, you’ll find eight modern bungalows, each with a private balcony and endless views of sand, sea, and sky. There’s solid Wi-Fi, unbelievably, and WhatsApp is used to contact the front desk, the restaurant, or simply to order a drink served on the beach. The staff is uncommonly accommodating, the mood is one of pampered isolation, and guests quickly get to know one another (or not, you often feel like the only person here). Daytime activities include kayaking through mangroves, bird-watching, and hiking the near-endless beach. This truly is an untouched piece of paradise—and worth every penny. —Madison Flager
Courtesy Paradero Todos SantoshotelParadero Todos Santos
$$$ | Hot List 2021 
Readers' Choice Awards 2023, 2024Featured in: The Best Places to Go in North America & the Caribbean in 2025
Though experience-based lodgings are old news in countries throughout South America and Africa, Paradero claims to be the first hotel brand to introduce the model to Mexico. Located on a previously unused five-and-a-half-acre plot within a farming community in Baja California Sur’s Todos Santos, it’s become the mission of Mexico City–based founders Pablo Carmona and Joshua Kremer to preserve the over 160 acres of family-owned farms that surround the property. The resort, set in front of a palm tree oasis about 20 minutes from the beach, is made up of a series of brutalist-inspired structures designed by architects Ruben Valdez and Yashar Yektajo. They took note of the landscape’s sunbaked hues and designed the property in golden shades to blend into the sandy natural surrounds. The buildings’ desert tones also allow the plants in the resort’s 100,000-square-foot botanical garden to pop: red sand verbena, Mojave yucca, and Shaw’s agave. Though the resort’s outdoor spa and half-moon-shaped infinity pool make it hard to leave the grounds, it would be a shame to miss out on guided hikes through cactus fields to reach the deserted Las Palmas beach, taco tours of the best local spots in Todos Santos, or private surf lessons. The hotel has custom boards positioned in the open-air living room, an airy sanctuary where guests kick back and relax post-adventure in anticipation of seafood-centric meals prepared by chef Eduardo Ríos, an alum of Enrique Olvera’s Mexico City restaurant, Pujol. —Michaela Trimble
Hermitage BayhotelHermitage Bay
$$$ |
Gold List 2018 Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2021, 2022Featured in: The Best Places to Go in North America & the Caribbean in 2025
This resort is a true slice of paradise, and the kind of place you'll be itching to return to the moment you leave. Expect utter peacefulness, relaxing accommodations, excellent food, and water activities galore. The spacious, contemporary cottages—30, in all—were recently redesigned to be lighter and airier, swapping out dark wood for light and granting unobstructed ocean views via large sliding glass doors. The decks are nearly as large as the bedroom, with lounge chairs, day beds, and private plunge pools to dip into. For those up on the hill, staff is on standby to ferry guests up and down in golf carts. As an all-inclusive property, your meals, afternoon snacks, and fresh sushi are covered, as are cocktails and beverages, like the juice of the day served at breakfast. You're here to rest and delight in the calm waters of the cove—swim, snorkel, paddleboard, or head out on a sunset cruise or deep sea fishing trip aboard one of the property's three boats. —M.F.
Ben Fitchett/Urban Cowboy DenverhotelUrban Cowboy Denver
$$$Featured in: The Best Places to Go in North America & the Caribbean in 2025
Irreverent hotel group Urban Cowboy's fourth location finally brings the brand’s nostalgic Western aesthetic to the actual West by respectfully preserving a landmark 1880s mansion on the outskirts of downtown Denver and infusing it with eccentric design and laidback hospitality. The property's 16 rooms—the most spacious in the brand’s hotel portfolio—are spread over two floors, each with its own unique layout and design. The wild patchwork of contrasting prints and patterns is reminiscent of maximalist designers like Kit Kemp and MacKenzie-Childs, but with a rustic twist. Of the five categories of rooms, the pony suites are the smallest, but perfect for a solo traveler. The Gambler, named for its black spade wallpaper, has a skylight directly above its bathtub. Tucked into the mansion’s "onion" tower cupola, the Honeymoon Suite is a real showstopper with two side-by-side clawfoot tubs set beneath jewel-toned stained-glass windows and surrounded by a shimmery black wall print reminiscent of lacy hosiery. —Jen Murphy
Yoshihiro Makino/PopulushotelPopulus
$$Featured in: The Best Places to Go in North America & the Caribbean in 2025
Populus brings loads of smart sustainability strategies to the game without sacrificing creature comforts, claiming its title as the nation’s first carbon-positive hotel. Two ultra-hip, on-site dining hubs, Pasque and Stellar Jay, serve up delectable, locally sourced Colorado meats and seasonal produce, while Little Owl cafe is the perfect spot to grab a quick coffee and pumpkin muffin to go. Guest rooms are relaxing and chic, with plush bedding, clean neutral tones, and a plethora of natural light, thanks to their aspen tree-inspired eyelet windows. —Emily Pennington
Baja Club HotelhotelBaja Club Hotel
$$ | Hot List 2022Featured in: The Best Places to Go in Central & South America in 2025
With the opening of Baja Club Hotel along the esplanade of La Paz, the coastal town now has its first proper boutique hotel. Attracting the creative, artistic elite of Mexico City and beyond, the 32-room, Spanish colonial–style property serves as a base for further explorations in the Sea of Cortez, from swimming with the area’s seasonal visitors—whale sharks and blue whales—to boating trips to the biodiverse Espíritu Santo island. The rooms all have either a balcony, terrace, or private outdoor patio, with cream-and-coral striped banquettes as well as Grupo Habita’s classic minibar staple: a house bottle of Mezcal for guests to enjoy. —M.T.
Courtesy Four SeasonshotelFour Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens
$$ | Gold List 2020 Hot List 2020 Readers' Choice Awards 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024Featured in: The Best Places to Go in Europe in 2025
It may not have the cachet of the Côte d’Azur or the unalloyed glamour of the Amalfi Coast, but the Athens Riviera is just as much a scene. At the heart of the action is Vouliagmeni, an arc of honey-colored sand sheltered by a pine-fringed peninsula. It was here, in the 1960s, that Bardot is said to have caused a stir in an itsy-bitsy bikini, just at the dawn of the golden age of Greek tourism. Despite hosting every playboy, president, and oligarch passing through Athens, the hotel slipped into a state-run funk until it was finally shuttered in 2016. Now it’s back with plenty of buzz, dolled up by the Four Seasons. Behind the original modernist façades, there are lashings of pale marble, extravagant floral displays, and intriguing contemporary art. The two wings have distinct personalities: Underdressed influencers and high rollers gravitate towards Nafsika, where sea-facing rooms hug the headland and the pool has floating olive trees and underwater speakers. Arion is marginally more sedate, the domain of deal-making shipowners, retired couples, and figures wafting in and out of the sensational spa, a paean to the healing powers of local herbs. A triumphant return from a legendary hotel brand, perfectly recalibrated for now. —Rachel Howard
Rupert Peace/One&Only AesthesishotelOne&Only Aesthesis
$$$ | Hot List 2024 Readers' Choice Awards 2024Featured in: The Best Places to Go in Europe in 2025
In its 1960s heyday, Asteria Beach was a playground for socialites and starlets; many black-and-white Greek movies were shot in the modernist cabanas and open-air restaurants. Now this peninsula on the Athens Riviera pulls an equally glamorous crowd to the One&Only’s long-awaited Greek debut—a resort so rigorously art-directed that it sometimes feels like a movie set. Following the low-density blueprint of the original structures, bungalows and villas built from local stone and pale timber are scattered between exuberant gardens and the shoreline. Self-indulgence is gently encouraged by the therapists at the Guerlain spa; euphoria-inducing facials and wellness rituals focus on deep relaxation and inner glow, which pretty much sums up a stay at this smoothly operated urban resort. —R.H.
hotelWaldorf Astoria Osaka, Japan
$$Featured in: The Best Places to Go in Asia in 2025
For a slice of New York extravagance in one of Japan's buzziest cities, head to the Waldorf Astoria Osaka. Five years in the making, it's the first outpost of the brand in Japan. Osaka is seeing a spate of new luxury hotels, so the pressure on this one to stand out was intense. The brand has done that by bringing its key features—Art Deco architecture, innovative dining, a grand ballroom, the Peacock Alley lounge where guests gather at all times of the day—and infusing them with an unmistakably Japanese spirit. The result is a signature Waldorf Astoria and still authentic to its location. With the largest room sizes in Osaka, even regular rooms feel like junior suites with separate living areas, large walk-in closets, and, best of all, floor-to-ceiling windows with dazzling views of the city and the river. —Divia Thani
Four SeasonshotelFour Seasons Hotel Osaka
$$$Featured in: The Best Places to Go in Asia in 2025
This hotel offers a smooth, modern taste of traditional Japanese hospitality in a shiny new skyscraper in the heart of Osaka. and is a much-needed addition to the city’s luxury hotel scene. An amber box-like space wraps around each floor’s elevator area, its jewel-like tone standing out from the otherwise neutral interior palette. These lead to seven floors (29th to 35th), which are home to 154 rooms and suites—all light and serene, with deluxe interiors defined by nature-inspired tones and crafted textures. The spaces, designed by Curiosity, are layered with light latticed woods, white linens, light gray headboards, and fabric lighting in geometric cubes and tubes. Despite its central location (within walking distance of Osaka Station), the hotel is located on a quietly sedate grid of streets that doesn’t feel busy. Yet it’s well positioned for exploring nearby cafes, bars, restaurants, shops, and local waterways—while many other key landmarks, such as Osaka Castle, are a taxi hop away. —Danielle Demetriou
Courtesy Ellerman HousehotelEllerman House
$$ | Gold List 2019, 2020, 2025 Readers' Choice Awards 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024Featured in: The Best Places to Go in Africa in 2025
Built for the shipping magnate Sir John Ellerman in 1906, this is one of the most splendid Edwardian mansions on one of Cape Town’s most beautiful coastal sites, with prime views of the boulder-strewn swimming coves below and of sunsets. In the exclusive Bantry Bay area, Ellerman House has 11 rooms, two suites, two villas, and one-and-a-half-acre hillside gardens, all verdant lawns, waving palm trees, and aromatic Cape fynbos beds. The staff members treat everyone like a houseguest by pressing clothes, running bubble-baths, delivering antique silver pots of just-picked mint for tea, and advising on the perfect wine. Each individually decorated sea- or mountain-facing bedroom features art belonging to the house’s owner, Paul Harris. He has one of South Africa’s finest private collections, including 19th-century landscapes by Thomas Bowler and contemporary portraits by Gerard Sekoto, which decorates the house and its adjoining gallery. The service within its airy, light-filled spa, its amply stocked cellar, and its sunny restaurant is personalized; chefs happily whip up individual favorites, like rich Cape Malay curries and fresh lobster salads, as well as treats that are set out daily in a help-yourself pantry. For families, two more contemporary villas enable children to splash about in their own pool without disturbing those indulging in a formal English tea on the shaded verandas, or lazing on a pool lounger while watching seagulls wheel above the Atlantic. This feels like a gracious grande dame of a hotel—a clubby space that encourages you to slow down and be spoiled. —Lisa Grainger
Roman Réglade / Courtesy Cheval Blanc SeychelleshotelCheval Blanc Seychelles
$$$ | Hot List 2025Featured in: The Best Places to Go in Africa in 2025
LVMH’s much-anticipated sixth property, Cheval Blanc Seychelles, sits on the southwest coast of the Indian Ocean archipelago’s largest island, Mahé. Its 52 private-pool villas, designed by architect Jean-Michel Gathy, are scattered along Anse Intendance beach and up into the thickly forested hillside that hides its Guerlain Spa. Inspired by Creole architecture, villas have high vaulted ceilings and sliding glass doors, designed to pull the outdoor deck and infinity pool into sharper focus. Palatial beds sit on a dais for no-need-to-move ocean or treetop views, while a palette of textured artworks, fabrics, and ceramics balances the vivid natural landscape. An intuitive butler-slash-personal-assistant, or majordomo, is on call 24/7, and wait staff are relaxed, thoughtful, and discreet. Five restaurants serve myriad cuisines from Japanese to French haute cuisine to Italian classics to Creole dishes. Many guests will be happy dialing room service, however, determined to enjoy Cheval Blanc’s triple promise: exclusivity, exceptional service, and privacy. —Clare Dight
Seychelles Waldorf AstoriahotelWaldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island
$$$ | Hot List 2024Featured in: The Best Places to Go in Africa in 2025
Imagine opening the floor-to-ceiling doors of your villa and strolling to the back of your garden to see baby hawksbill turtles emerging from the soil and waddling across the beach towards the sea. This is a reality for guests at the new Waldorf Astoria on Platte Island, a quarter-of-a-square-mile speck in the Indian Ocean. Lying 80 miles south of Mahé, the Seychelles’ biggest island, this sand cay has been transformed into a solar-powered Eden, reachable only by a 14-seater aircraft for an eco-conscious blend of nature and cosseting. Platte’s naturally protected reef teems with marine life, including the largest hawksbill population in the Seychelles. To protect the turtles’ egg-laying, all 50 villas are built slightly back from the shoreline. Snorkeling sessions led by the on-site marine biologist allow for joyful face-to-face encounters with the adult turtles, baby reef sharks, and stingrays that glide in crystal-clear shallows. Personal 24-hour concierges can organize whale watching, scuba diving, in-villa treatments, and more. In this far-flung setting, the restaurants must bring their A game—and they do, including Creole-Latin fusion dishes at Maison des Epices and Moulin’s plant-focused plates sourced from the resort’s garden. The Milky Way is splashed across the sky on clear nights, adding a celestial note to a place of happy nature worship. —Noo Saro-Wiwa
andBeyondhotel&Beyond Mnemba Island
$$ | Gold List 2025Featured in: The Best Places to Go in Africa in 2025
The East African coast has some of the most unspoiled beaches on earth, yet very few private-island resorts. Which is, in part, why &Beyond’s Mnemba, a tiny blob of white sand almost two miles off the touristy hot spot of Zanzibar, has been adored for so long. Opened in 1997 and rebuilt in 2024 by the esteemed Fox Browne team, with architect Jack Alexander, the diminutive 12-banda resort is lovelier than ever. Designed to mimic the curves of a nautilus shell, and to bring nature indoors, the rooms are curvaceous, wood-and-reed-clad Robinson Crusoe–esque spaces in which sea air (and an occasional bird, crab, or bat) can waft in and where shower views are of shady forest and chirruping seabirds. It’s a place loved by both seclusionists and socialites. Those wanting privacy can stay put 24/7 and ask a butler to pop by with a basket of sushi or a cooling coconut. Others might slip on a silk caftan and stroll barefoot along the blinding white sand to the bar for a Dawa lime cocktail or a glass of fine South African wine, then a romantic lamplit dinner on the beach—lobster ravioli, perhaps, or rare Kenyan beef followed by a chocolate tart or mango sorbet. For design lovers, a boutique is stocked with colorful local jewelry, clothing, and crafts; for the active, a gang of smiley chaps is on hand who can help you explore the clear, turquoise waters on catamarans, kayaks, or paddleboards, or dive the area’s famous reefs. At the island’s new spa, yoga lessons are offered on a cool, breezy beach deck, and world-class Healing Earth–scented massages administered by the island’s talented, intuitive therapists. Huge numbers of guests are repeat visitors—from America, France, Switzerland, and the UK. As one glam couple, on their eighth stay, explained: “We’ve explored the world and haven’t found anything to compare. So we just keep coming back. Yes, it’s a big treat. But there’s nothing like Mnemba.” —L.G.
Shaun S RitchiehotelVolcanoes Safaris Kibale Lodge
$$$ | Hot List 2025Featured in: The Best Places to Go in Africa in 2025
Standing on a ridge in Uganda's Western Region, with views over the Rwenzori Mountains and the Queen Elizabeth plains on a clear day, it’s a half-hour from Kibale National Park and its world-renowned chimpanzee trekking. It’s the vision of Volcanoes founder Praveen Moman, whose childhood memories inspired him to return after the 1972 Ugandan Asian exile. Built from scratch, the eight wood-and-papyrus bandas (thatched rooms) have a lounge and outdoor (and indoor) bathrooms, while Afro-chic interiors and local fabrics add color. Local chefs Loice Acom and Gad Hafashimana experiment with regional produce like matoke (green banana) and dodo (greens); the local traditional dish called Firinda, made with slow-cooked beans and eaten with steamed kalo (millet bread) or matoke, and served with groundnut sauce. It’s easy to relax here with complimentary massages, a sauna, and an outdoor pool overlooking the lush landscape. Meanwhile, community initiatives through Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust include Roots and Shoots, a Jane Goodall Institute program empowering youth in wildlife conservation. —Meera Dattani
Anson Smart/Melbourne PlacehotelHyde Melbourne Place
$ | Hot List 2025Featured in: The Best Places to Go in Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific in 2025
This striking rust-colored 191-room hotel, built from local bricks, concrete, and hardwood, is a distillation of what makes this thrumming city tick. The debut hotel by sought-after Melbourne-based architecture and design studio Kennedy Nolan, is chock-full of head-turning details, which start at the linen-draped check-in desk with its supersized video-art installation by Australian artists, and continue upward to the guest lounge blanketed in a retina-popping fuchsia carpet. The suites are light-flooded showstoppers tricked out in timber, burnt orange, and terrazzo with triple-height floor-to-ceiling windows and outdoor terraces with immense views of the cloud-busting peaks of skyscrapers. The rooftop, with its bar and retractable rooftop restaurant Mid Air, is encased by a soaring brick wall and feels like a floating fortress with dramatic portholes that look like giant eyes watching over the city. It's here where everyone from guests to locals gather, casually lounging on sofas and seated at tables, with some of the best views across the city. —Chloe Sachdev
