Get a taste of the suite life.
On Tuesday, US News & World Report announced its list of the world’s best hotels for 2018, evaluating 24,000 luxury hotels across the US, Europe, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda. To rank these properties, the company gathered information on four- and five-star hotels of 20 rooms or greater, considering both expert and ordinary traveler opinions expressed on TripAdvisor.
In the US, it was the uber-pricey Four Seasons Resort Lanai that took the top spot. The drool-worthy amenities explain why: For one, it’s situated on a private Hawaiian island, but the fruits of paradise don’t end there. You can also charter a 39-foot private boat previously used for the America’s Cup for an outing on the high seas, go whale watching or immerse yourself in Hawaiian culture and history with one of the island’s kapuna, or “elders.”
5 best hotels in the United States:
- Four Seasons Resort Lanai – $1,350 and up
- The Peninsula Chicago – $425 and up
- The Langham, Chicago – $350 and up
- Twin Farms – $1,900 and up
- Four Seasons Resort Hualalai – $1,399 and up
Should you be looking for more affordable accommodations, try The Peninsula and the Langham in Chicago. Both have renowned dining experiences: At The Peninsula, part of the legacy Hong Kong-based hotel chain, you’ll get Asian-inspired cuisine in the stylish Shanghai Terrace, and at the London-headquartered The Langham enjoy a lavish afternoon tea experience of its own, featuring a quirky pink British taxicab to amplify the English charm.
Canada:
- Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver – $328 and up
- Ritz-Carlton Montréal – $530 and up
- Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino, Vancouver Island – $240 and up
- Wedgewood Hotel & Spa – $184 and up
- Auberge Saint-Antoine – $165 and up
On TripAdvisor, guests continually praised top-spot earner Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver for its terrific location, excellent dining options, including a casual café featuring a delicious chocolate chai latte, and consistently strong service from the concierge.
Mexico:
- Rosewood Mayakoba – $5,000 and up
- The Resort at Pedregal – $800 and up
- Esperanza, an Auberge Resort – $900 and up
- One&Only Palmilla – $940 and up
- Las Ventanas al Paraíso, a Rosewood Resort – $1,255 and up
Top-spot earner Rosewood Mayakoba offers a world of entertainment derived from local sites and activities. It’s encased in lush natural jungles and on the shore of white beaches and travelers will have the opportunity to visit local Mayan ruins, dive in natural sinkholes utilized for ritualistic ceremonies by ancient natives, hike on picturesque cliffs and bask in the Riviera Maya sun.
Europe:
- Ritz Paris – $1,365 and up
- La Réserve Hotel and Spa, Paris — $1,303 and up
- Hotel Eden, Rome – $626 and up
- Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris — $1,694 and up
- J.K. Place, Rome — $683 and up
All five of these hotels are formidable, but the Ritz Paris is a special gem in the fashionable Place Vendôme, also home to one of Chanel’s flagship boutiques. Coincidentally, Coco Chanel herself once lived at the Ritz, part of the hotel’s long lineage of 20th-century icons who frequented it, like Ernest Hemingway — for whom the Ritz’s Bar Hemingway was named. The property was reopened in summer 2016 after an extensive restoration bringing it back to the gilded glory of la Belle Époque.