The 2026 edition of The World’s 50 Best Hotels was published on September 15, with Rosewood Hong Kong taking the No. 1 spot.
More than 800 hotel and travel experts across 13 regions vote on the list, ranking hotels they’ve personally stayed at within the past 24 months. Hotels can’t apply or pay for a spot, and at least 25 percent of the voting panel changes each year.
I pay attention to the list, but I don’t treat it as gospel. For me, it’s a discovery and research tool. Most of the names aren’t going to be complete surprises, but the list is useful for seeing which properties are gaining momentum, which classics are resurfacing and which hotels are suddenly entering the conversation.
A ranking can’t tell you whether a hotel is right for your trip—or whether the entry-level rooms deliver the same experience as the suites.
What interested me most were the ten hotels making their Top 50 debut this year. I think they fall into three clear buckets:
I’d travel specifically for the hotel: Casa Maria Luigia, San Ysidro Ranch and Amangiri.
The hotel could change how I experience the city: The Peninsula Istanbul, Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, Portrait Milano and Patina Osaka.
The classic I’d book when I want the full fantasy: Plaza Athénée, The Peninsula Hong Kong and San Domenico Palace.
On My Radar
Three hotels worth traveling for
Casa Maria Luigia
Modena, Italy · No. 18
Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore opened the property in 2019 on an 18th-century country estate just outside Modena, extending the world of Osteria Francescana beyond the restaurant.
The house is filled with contemporary art, books, vinyl, Italian cars and motorcycles. Rooms are individually designed, and the property has a pool, tennis court and an open kitchen stocked for guests. It feels less like a conventional hotel and more like being invited into Bottura and Gilmore’s version of an Italian country house.
Food is the center of gravity. Guests can eat at Francescana at Maria Luigia, Al Gatto Verde and Casa Lu—and even breakfast gets the full treatment. Modena is one of Italy’s great food cities: balsamic vinegar, Parmigiano Reggiano, tortellini, prosciutto and Lambrusco. It’s also Ferrari country.
Who it’s for
Lovers of food, lovers of Italy and anyone who plans trips around the meal they’re most excited to eat.
When I’d go
September or October, when Emilia-Romagna is in harvest season and the weather is better for walking, eating and day-tripping than in peak summer.
San Ysidro Ranch
Montecito, California · No. 22
San Ysidro Ranch sits in the foothills above Montecito, with just 38 cottages spread through gardens and along San Ysidro Creek. Each has its own entrance, and the property is intentionally residential rather than hotel-like.
The cottages are deeply comfortable: fireplaces, antiques, Persian rugs, four-poster beds, soaking tubs, private terraces and outdoor showers. Some have hot tubs. John and Jackie Kennedy honeymooned here in 1953, and the Ranch has been drawing people who want privacy ever since.
The property has botanical gardens, a heated pool, spa treatments, yoga, bike rentals, bocce, mini golf, private wine tastings, nightly live music and access to 17 miles of hiking trails. Stonehouse sits in the Ranch’s original 19th-century citrus packing house, and all dining is included with the stay.
Who it’s for
Couples who want privacy but still like having things to do. Hike in the morning, spend the afternoon at the pool or spa, then end the day with dinner and live music without ever really leaving the Ranch.
When I’d go
Any time of year. Summer is great for the pool and long evenings outside; winter makes the fireplaces and cottages feel especially cozy.
Amangiri
Canyon Point, Utah · No. 45
The resort sits on more than 900 acres of the Colorado Plateau, tucked into a protected valley surrounded by mesas, canyons, pale sandstone and enormous stretches of open desert. There are just 34 suites, and the architecture was designed to recede into the landscape rather than announce itself.
The main pool curves around a massive rock formation that was already there. Suites frame dunes, ridges and plateaus through enormous windows, with outdoor lounges and fireplaces facing the desert. Amangiri has more than 12 miles of hiking trails, plus via ferrata routes, horseback riding, mountain biking and access to Lake Powell and the surrounding canyon country.
Who it’s for
People who travel for landscape, architecture and a genuine feeling of remoteness.
When I’d go
Spring or fall—especially April through May or September through October. Southern Utah can be brutally hot in summer.
Weekend Ideas
Santa Cruz
From San Francisco
Santa Cruz is less than 90 minutes from San Francisco, which may be exactly why it’s so easy to overlook. Its familiar picture—the Boardwalk, surf shops, college kids and a downtown worn around the edges—isn’t exactly wrong. It’s just increasingly incomplete.
Santa Cruz has gotten noticeably better without sanding off all the weirdness that makes it Santa Cruz. The food scene is stronger, the coffee has been excellent for years and La Bahia finally gives the beach an overnight option polished enough to make a weekend feel intentional.
September and October are Santa Cruz at its best. The summer crowds thin out, the marine layer eases and some of the warmest, clearest days of the year arrive just as everyone else starts thinking about fall. No three-day weekend required.
Stay
La Bahia Hotel & Spa, right on Main Beach, with Spanish-Mediterranean architecture, a restored 1920s bell tower, ocean-view rooms and a rooftop spa.
Eat and drink
Verve for coffee; Hook & Line for local seafood; Mentone in Aptos for Riviera-inspired pizza and pasta; Pearl for a cocktail.
Do
Start early at Steamer Lane, hike among the redwoods at Henry Cowell, walk West Cliff and finish at Bad Animal—a rare-book shop that becomes a natural-wine bar and restaurant at night.
Greenport
From New York
Greenport is about two hours from New York City, but feels much farther away. The North Fork is Long Island’s quieter, vineyard-dotted counterpart to the Hamptons, with Greenport as one of its easiest weekend bases.
You get a real little town, a working harbor, very good oysters, shops and restaurants, with vineyards and farm stands just outside town. September remains mild; by October, the North Fork is fully into harvest season. It’s an easy change of scenery without using a vacation day.
Stay
Oyster Estate has 34 rooms in the heart of Greenport. The interiors lean warm and calm, and you’re steps from the waterfront with the North Fork’s vineyards a short drive away.
Eat and drink
North Fork Roasting Co. for breakfast, Little Creek Oyster Farm beside the harbor, The Frisky Oyster for dinner or North Fork Table & Inn for the splurge.
Do
Walk the harbor at Mitchell Park, browse Burton’s Bookstore and The Times Vintage, taste at Kontokosta and Sparkling Pointe, and stop at Sang Lee Farms on the way home.
Three Things
I’m traveling with
My backpack
I’ve had my KNOMO Beauchamp backpack since 2018. It has been to the office with me for years and comes on every flight. Laptop, Kindle, phone, glasses, toiletries, snacks, socks—it fits all of it without feeling enormous, and eight years in, it still looks almost new.
Coffee insurance
I am admittedly high-maintenance about coffee. What comes with me depends on whether I’m traveling by car, train or plane. But I always pack Verve Sermon instant coffee, just in case. And yes, I look at third-wave coffee shops before I book a hotel.
White noise
Hotel rooms can be too quiet, too loud or have one mysterious mechanical hum that your brain decides to obsess over at 2 a.m. My small rechargeable Dreamegg sound machine fixes that. It now goes in my bag for every trip.
Until next time. Use your vacation days.
Sara