Top amenities: 24-hour fitness center, Italian marble bathrooms, curated art

Not to be outdone by arrivistes thudding onto the top-end scene, the Dorch has been shaking her tail feathers since 2023, when it unveiled its biggest refurb in three decades: public spaces supercharged, and two floors of new rooms and suites revealed. The hotel where Elizabeth Taylor signed her Cleopatra contract in the bath remains out-and-out fabulous—but with a Pierre-Yves Rochon uplift. The Artists’ Bar sparkles with a mirrored ceiling, Lalique crystal pillars girdling the bar, and Liberace’s mirrorball-clad baby grand. This is the spot for caviar, native oysters, and Petal Head cocktails (Stoli Elit vodka, kumquat, Aperol, and passion fruit) served from a trolley.

Martin Brudnizki’s Vesper Bar invites intimacy with its smoked glass and scalloped armchairs, and the spa (best for Dr. Uliana Gout’s medical-grade facials) is a pink girly haven. The Grill by Tom Booton, a fun slice of British culinary theater, has a fresh menu; don’t miss the squid bolognese à la Koffmann, given the tick of approval by Pierre Koffmann himself. The suites have the palettes of an English garden, in leaf green, rose, and heather. If Hôtel Plaza Athénée is the American fantasy of Paris, then this Park Lane dame’s rooms are the American fantasy of Britishness—one we are happy to buy into. —L.B.

Address: 53 Park Ln, London W1K 1QA
Closest tube station: Marble Arch

I was there when La Réserve Paris opened in 2015, and have returned on numerous occasions since. I was enchanted from day one, and more than a decade later, the spell remains unbroken. Outwardly, little about the hotel has changed. Its main restaurant, Le Gabriel, has accumulated first one, then two, and now three Michelin stars. Le Gaspard, its exquisite bar (which seats 18), has expanded slightly into the streetside terrace. The foliage in the serene central courtyard has grown ever more dense, treatments in the bijou basement spa ever more sophisticated. With just 40 rooms, La Réserve is by far the smallest of the city’s super-elite palace-designated hotels, and it retains a private quality that you might describe as residential—particularly if you are accustomed to discreet residences that are swathed in silk, velvet, taffeta, and cordovan leather, with Versailles-like parquet floors, gilded reliefs, and views across Paris from Notre-Dame to the Eiffel Tower. Owner Michel Reybier and designer Jacques Garcia have collaborated on several projects (La Chartreuse de Cos d’Estournel, on the estate of the same name in Bordeaux, is another glorious example). But La Réserve Paris is their masterpiece. —Steve King

A hotel built into a mountain in Saudi Arabia. A restored monastery overlooking the Ligurian coast. A lakeside retreat on the edge of one of China’s last matriarchal societies. The world’s most beautiful hotels have always offered more than a pretty background for your Instagram dumps. They create a mood, sharpen a sense of place and linger in the mind long after checkout. The Prix Versailles World’s Most Beautiful Hotels List 2026 celebrates exactly that—a collection of properties that balance striking design with a strong connection to their surroundings.

Spanning desert retreats, coastal hideaways, and city landmarks, this year’s selection reflects a growing appetite for hotels with personality and perspective. As Jérôme Gouadain, secretary general of the Prix Versailles, notes, the chosen properties embrace “a lifestyle based on enchantment and innovation” while remaining deeply tied to their local setting. Later this year, three of the selected properties will also receive further distinction with the announcement of the world titles for best interior and best exterior. This is everything you need to know about the 16 hotels featured on the Prix Versailles World’s Most Beautiful Hotels List 2026.

This iconic sky-blue hotel along beach-adjacent Ocean Avenue has been returned to its former grandeur thanks to an overhaul by BLVD Hospitality (the group also behind Downtown LA’s Soho Warehouse and Hoxton Hotel). After nearly a century, the 1930s property is, once again, a design lover’s paradise, with a mix of Art Deco and Old Havana decor, a heavy dose of jet-set photography, and a dash of Wes Anderson (including the bellhops, dressed in vintage-style, powder blue uniforms). You’ll feel the retro-luxe-meets-whimsical vibes as soon as you step into the opulent lobby, with its original arched ceilings and curved staircase intact, drenched in colorful velvet furnishings—plus fun relics like rotary phones and manual typewriters—all centered around a horseshoe bar of imported jade green quartzite that attracts both travelers and locals with Italian-inspired cocktails. Rooms are equally stylish and cheeky, with art-covered walls, gold finishes, and curvy custom-made headboards. Suites, meanwhile, come replete with ocean views, record players, and built-in bars, where you can order up Champagne or a dessert cart with the literal press of a button. —Lizbeth Scordo

This 20-bedroom wilderness camp is only accessible by raft or, even more adventurously, in a cage alongside the luggage, which is hoisted across the river on a hand pulley. Pacuare is right up there as one of the most scenic white-water rafting rivers in the world. Steep canyons alternate with swathes of lush tropical forest, where toucans and oropendolas weave in and out of the green, providing a palpable spectacle from the comfort of the verandas. These low-impact lodges of tight thatch woven by the Indigenous Cabécar people are candlelit at night and air-conditioning-free. To up the romantic ante, some include spring-fed pools on the decks, and the best suite has a suspension bridge across the gorge for an entrance.

Sitting in the heart of 2,500 acres of primary rainforest, water is a constant soundtrack, whether the roar of the river or fat raindrops drumming on the roof. Guided activities allow for full jungle immersion, from ziplining above the canopy, rappelling into waterfalls, or swimming in clear rock pools where blue morpho butterflies flutter like handkerchiefs and emerald hummingbirds cluster around hibiscus nectar. Since starting life two decades ago as a handful of tents in a clearing, Pacuare Lodge has garnered an impressive collection of awards for sustainable luxury. The shoreline spa uses native herbs and wraps for healing and detoxification treatments; the restaurant brews its own beer and harvests vegetables from a garden on the side of a volcano; and the infinity pool is eco-tiled and chlorine-free. Suspended above the rapids like a floating pontoon, it is the most sensational man-made feature in a natural Eden. —Catherine Fairweather

It depends on who you’re rooting for, as the venues are spread out. Arlington has Globe Life Field and the Texas Rangers, as well as AT&T Stadium, the home turf for the Dallas Cowboys, and where international teams will face off for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. My top pick for this area is the Loews Arlington Hotel, which is within walking distance of both stadiums (and close to College Park Center, where the city’s WNBA team, the Dallas Wings, play). That said, if you don’t mind a drive and want an insider tour, the Omni PGA Frisco Resort puts you in close proximity to The Star, the Dallas Cowboys headquarters and practice facility. Frisco is also the best location for FC Dallas soccer and the annual Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney.

Fans of the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars have several solid choices thanks to the American Airlines Center’s proximity to downtown. W Dallas – Victory is as close as it gets, while a newer option, Hôtel Swexan, is a 10-minute walk from the arena.

Last, but certainly not least, if you’re in town to cheer on the Dallas Trinity FC women’s soccer team, try The Adolphus. It’s got a storied past with ties to the Anheuser-Busch legacy and is only a six-minute drive to the Cotton Bowl.

Apartment hotels are ideal for a certain type of traveler, as they provide a more independent and self-contained stay. Wilde Aparthotels, Lisbon, is perfect for families as well as business travelers looking to hunker down for a while, with rooms providing all the amenities for cooking, such as a Smeg oven, toaster, and even pots and pans. There’s plenty of room for storage, with large drawers under the bed, a clothes rail, and kitchen cupboards that can be stocked with food. Interiors are minimal, clean, and neutral, which is a huge contrast to the communal areas of the hotel, which are plastered with modern artwork, bright tapestries, and blue mosaic flooring.

Guests who have booked for a short vacation should leave the cooking to the restaurant downstairs, Oscar’s, which serves up the most delicious breakfast—the fresh banana bread topped with nut butter and berries is a winner. Dinner is also worth popping down for, with Portuguese classics such as pica pau, as well as plenty of salads and pasta plates. Make the most of the open-air central courtyard, where sunbeds are shaded by palms, and Aperol spritzes are served with a side of house music by a resident DJ. Central Lisbon is about a 20-minute walk from the hotel, or you can hop on public transport a few feet away. —Sophie Knight