1. Kyoto’s Ritz-Carlton
Readers’ Choice Awards for the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2024
This Ritz-Carlton, located on the banks of the Kamogawa River, would be in a class by itself if room views were a separate category. The hotel provides views of the Higashiyama mountains, which are close by, as well as its great waterfront location. You may also choose to see a traditional Japanese Zen garden or the city of Kyoto. Try the Garden suite, where you can relax in your Imabari bathrobe and slippers after a relaxing bath with Shabonya handcrafted soap. The rooms are exquisitely detailed, including shippo, a sort of cloisonné, or painted metalwork, for which the city is famed.
Reserve now at Expedia.
Make a reservation right now at Booking.com.
Top Stories
31 Intimate Cabin Vacations to Reserve This Winter
This winter, reserve one of these 31 romantic cabin getaways.
Erdekian, Alex
The Most Amazing Holiday Light Displays in the World: Inspiration
The Most Amazing Holiday Light Shows in the World
Chen Kat
From Europe to the Caribbean, these are the seven nations with the easiest citizenship requirements.
News and Guidance
From Europe to the Caribbean, these are the seven nations with the easiest citizenship requirements.
Puckett, Jessica
France’s Top Ski Resorts: Where to Stay
France’s Greatest Ski Resorts
Wolstenholme, Teddy
The Robber Norway’s Oslo
The Jim Hensley Hotel
2. Oslo, The Thief
$$$ | Readers’ Choice Awards 2017–2019, 2021–2024, Gold List 2018–2019
For the sake of a few shoddy wall decorations, certain establishments used to refer to themselves as art hotels. Do you recall that? This was a major contributor to Oslo’s waterside makeover when it debuted in 2013, and it has the kind of collection that many city galleries would kill for. There are works by Warhol, Richard Prince, Niki de Saint Phalle, and Tony Cragg scattered around the public areas, as well as a genuflecting bronze by Antony Gormley outside by the rotating doors and an animation by Julian Opie in the elevator. Petter Stordalen, who has banned bacon from his hotels for sustainability reasons and drives a biofuel-powered Ferrari, is the artist behind The Thief. He straddles the water on the reclaimed islet of Tjuvholmen, a shiny place with glinting bridges and new construction, many of which are home to independent small galleries. The apartments are decorated in touchy-feely textures, golds, and grays, and have picture windows that swing wide open to let in gulps of Nordic sea air from the port below. The spa and pool are accessible by a hidden subterranean tunnel—locals come for the Sauna Guss experience. The bar has improved Oslo’s cocktail game (try the Michael Jackson and Bubbles—rum, banana cordial, green tea, Champagne, in a porcelain monkey head), while the rooftop FoodBar restaurant, run by British chef David Taylor, has fun with local delicacies (scallops, turnips, monkfish, lamb neck). Due to its abundant oil riches, Oslo never gave much thought to attracting tourists. However, this has changed, and it now boasts a vibrant global culture. This is the ideal spot to feel like you’re a part of it.
Reserve now at Skylark.
Reserve now at Expedia.
Hermann Bungalows Hotel Courteys
3. Palm Springs, CA’s Hermann Bungalows
$$$ | 2023 and 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards
With the most opulent embellishments and a natural setting that includes outstanding poolside views of the San Jacinto Mountains, this is the epitome of Palm Springs mid-century grandeur. A resort within a resort is also a unique experience. One is “ultra-luxury,” while the other simply luxury. The latter is the distinctively stylish 24-suite Hermann Bungalows, which designer-hotelier Steve Hermann opened in 2022. It is next to the 25-room L’Horizon Resort & Spa, which Hermann completed in 2015 after a $10 million makeover of an old mid-century building. Visitors to the bungalow enter via the lobby of L’Horizon to arrive to their own completely enclosed hotel, which draws inspiration from Richard Nuetra’s mid-century modernist architecture. Visitors may choose to remain in the seclusion of the Hermann Bungalows or take use of all the facilities of L’Horizon Resort, such as the spa, pool, and classy SO.PA restaurant.
Reserve now at Expedia.
Make a reservation right now at Booking.com.
Top Stories
31 Intimate Cabin Vacations to Reserve This Winter
This winter, reserve one of these 31 romantic cabin getaways.
Erdekian, Alex
The Most Amazing Holiday Light Displays in the World: Inspiration
The Most Amazing Holiday Light Shows in the World
Chen Kat
From Europe to the Caribbean, these are the seven nations with the easiest citizenship requirements.
News and Guidance
From Europe to the Caribbean, these are the seven nations with the easiest citizenship requirements.
Puckett, Jessica
France’s Top Ski Resorts: Where to Stay
France’s Greatest Ski Resorts
Wolstenholme, Teddy
The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Doha
4. Doha’s The Ritz-Carlton
$$$ | 2023 and 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards
Despite Qatar’s lack of beach appeal, Ritz-Carlton has created a tranquil haven in this emerging Persian Gulf metropolis. When the heat becomes too intense, go inside to enjoy the seaside gym with indoor tennis and squash courts, a spa with a luxurious hammam where you can feel rejuvenated after an Arabic clay and kese exfoliation, and a beautiful stretch of beach and a freeform pool surrounded by palm trees. Naturally, a good deal of luxury is also on exhibit, in keeping with the area: In other words, the house has 264 chandeliers, including the biggest in the Middle East, a Viennese Baakowitz masterpiece with 2,000 individual crystals.
Reserve now at Expedia.
Make a reservation right now at Booking.com.
Bodega Bay Lodge
Travis Watts/Bodega Bay Hotel’s Lodge
5. California’s The Lodge in Bodega Bay
$$ | Awards given by Readers’ Choice in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, and 2024
The Lodge at Bodega Bay is a relaxed retreat nestled into a hill on the vineyard-lined Sonoma coast. The lodge’s iconic breakfast sandwich, complete with all the trimmings, and french toast topped with seasonal, fresh compote are just a few of the staples served in the mornings at Drakes Sonoma Coast, the on-site restaurant. There are lots of local wine tastings and unrestricted access to the remote beaches throughout the day. Retiring in the fireside lounge with views of the Pacific Ocean is the ideal way to end the day as the sun starts to set. From the spa’s Ocean Shell Massages to the in-room jacuzzis to the little touches tucked into every nook and cranny of the lodge, such as the binoculars on each room’s windowsill that magnify the stunning balcony views, the guest rooms and suites with their cream and nautical blue themes and dark wood accents make you feel as though you’re at home away from home.