Best Of
Best ultra-luxury hotels by category
Curated lists of the highest-scoring properties in each category — city palaces, beach resorts, safari lodges, ski hotels, and desert retreats. Each list requires at least three qualifying hotels before we publish.
CityThe Best Luxury City Hotels
City hotels live or die on two things money alone can't guarantee: an address that actually matters, and a level of service that holds up under daily pressure. These are the ones that clear both bars.
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BeachThe Best Beach & Overwater Resorts
From Bora Bora's overwater lagoon to a former Rockefeller estate on Puerto Rico's north shore, these are the beach resorts worth the long-haul flight.
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SafariThe Best Safari Lodges
Safari luxury is a different discipline from a city palace hotel — it's measured in proximity to wildlife and quality of guiding as much as thread count.
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SkiThe Best Ski Hotels
Ski-in/ski-out access at this level is rarer than it sounds — most 'luxury' alpine hotels still put you in a shuttle.
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DesertThe Best Desert Retreats
A newer category, largely defined by one property — but the architecture-led, landscape-first approach it popularized is worth understanding on its own terms.
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