The Journal

Hotels & Lodges

Authoritative reviews of the world's finest properties — handpicked for design, service, and soul.

The 5 we'd book

Editor’s shortlist

Claridge's

Mayfair, London · Check dates for rates

Best for: Mayfair, art deco, faultless service

Visit the official site of Claridge's

The Connaught

Mayfair, London · Check dates for rates

Best for: Quieter London grandeur

Check rates on Booking.com

Aman Tokyo

Ōtemachi, Tokyo · Check dates for rates

Best for: Calm above the city

Visit Aman Tokyo's official site

Hoshinoya Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto · From ~US$680/night

Best for: Riverbank ryokan, arrival by boat

Check rates on Booking.com

Mandarin Oriental Tokyo

Nihonbashi, Tokyo · Check dates for rates

Best for: Skyline views, Nihonbashi calm

Visit Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo's official site

Rates and availability are shown on the booking partner’s site, or the property’s own where we have no partner. We may earn a commission.

Hotels & Lodges

Tokyo's Finest: The 5 Best Luxury Hotels for Design, Service, and Soul

Tokyo's luxury hotel scene has quietly become the world's most refined. We select five properties where Japanese precision meets genuine warmth.

Jan 28, 2026·11 min read

Hotels & Lodges

East Africa's Elite: 4 Safari Lodges Where Wilderness Meets World-Class Design

The best safari lodges in Kenya and Tanzania don't just put you close to wildlife — they transform the experience into something architectural, culinary, and deeply personal.

Feb 12, 2026·11 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Lake Como's Grandest Villas: Where to Stay on Italy's Most Storied Lake

From the legendary Villa d'Este to intimate boutique hideaways, Lake Como remains the ultimate backdrop for la dolce vita.

Feb 8, 2026·10 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Europe's 5 Most Extraordinary Spa Retreats for Mind and Body

These aren't hotel spas with a sauna and a treatment menu. These are destination wellness experiences that justify the entire trip.

Feb 1, 2026·11 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Patagonia's Luxury Frontier: 3 Lodges at the Edge of the Known World

At the southern tip of South America, a handful of extraordinary lodges prove that true wilderness and genuine luxury are not mutually exclusive.

Jan 10, 2026·10 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Kyoto's Finest Ryokans: Where Ancient Ritual Becomes Modern Luxury

In Kyoto, the ryokan tradition transforms hospitality into art. These five properties prove that the world's most refined hotel experiences require neither marble nor chandeliers.

Feb 16, 2026·12 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Best Luxury Hotels in Barcelona for Design, Service & Calm (2026)

Barcelona rewards travellers who choose their base carefully. We rank the six hotels where Catalan design, quiet luxury, and genuine service converge — no tourist-strip compromises.

Jul 13, 2026·10 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Luxury Tokyo for Couples: Where to Stay for Romance, Design & Privacy (2026)

Tokyo's grandest hotels are optimised for business travellers. These five are optimised for couples — quiet, high-design, with the kind of service that disappears at the right moments.

Jul 11, 2026·10 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Which Fiji Island Suits Your Family: Mamanuca vs Coral Coast vs Private

Fiji's family resorts differ less by property than by island group. Here is how the Mamanucas, the Coral Coast and the private islands actually compare on transfers, ages and cost.

Jul 8, 2026·9 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Phuket vs Koh Samui for Couples: Beach, Privacy and Transfer Reality

Choose by travel month, arrival route and exact villa position—not by a generic “best island” ranking.

Oct 2, 2026·8 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Amalfi Coast Hotels with Beach Access: Six Arrangements Compared

Six Amalfi Coast hotels with different beach-access arrangements — from hotel lifts and cliff tunnels to an independently owned beach club with a guest area. What each involves, and what to confirm before you book.

Jul 16, 2026·7 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Luxury Wellness Resorts With Sleep Programmes: What Bad Ragaz, SHA and Chiva-Som Offer

The sleep offerings at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, SHA and Chiva-Som compared by what their official pages list — tests, consultations, programme structure and stay length — plus Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa as a relaxation alternative, without promises about results.

Apr 30, 2026·7 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Best Boutique Luxury Resorts in Vietnam for Couples

Amanoi, Zannier Bãi San Hô, Six Senses Ninh Van Bay and Four Seasons The Nam Hai compared by exact room, scale, privacy, arrival and family presence.

May 25, 2026·8 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Best Bali Wellness Retreats for Couples: Programme, Privacy and Food Compared

Which Bali wellness retreat works when only one partner wants a structured programme? Four official options compared by programme, stay length, food and privacy.

May 31, 2026·8 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Bali Honeymoon Resorts Beyond the Usual Names: Five with a Clear Point of View

Five exact Bali room categories for a honeymoon that leans towards design, wellness or seclusion, each with a clear fit and an honest trade-off on privacy, children and arrival.

Oct 4, 2026·9 min read

Hotels & Lodges

The Best Private Island Resorts in the Caribbean for 2026

Jumby Bay, Petit St Vincent, Necker, Guana — where private-island Caribbean still delivers, and how the four compare.

Aug 1, 2026·8 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Adults-Only Luxury in Turks & Caicos: Where to Stay Without the Kids' Club

Turks & Caicos is a family island by default. These are the resorts, wings and private-island stays where the calm is genuine rather than advertised.

Aug 9, 2026·7 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Overwater Bungalows Outside the Maldives: Cost and Experience Compared

Bora Bora, Mexico and Cambodia offer three genuinely different overwater stays. The useful comparison is not the headline rate, but the exact room, transfers, meals, water access and weather risk.

Sep 30, 2026·8 min read

Hotels & Lodges

The Best Luxury Castle Hotels in Ireland (2026)

Ashford, Dromoland, Adare and the rest — which Irish castle hotels are genuinely five-star, and which are a beautiful building with an ordinary hotel inside.

Aug 16, 2026·8 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Belmond Hotel Caruso vs Le Sirenuse: Which Amalfi Coast Hotel to Book

The coast's two most-requested hotels sit thirty minutes and 350 vertical metres apart, and they deliver very different holidays. Here is how we choose.

Aug 27, 2026·8 min read

Hotels & Lodges

Luxury Hotels in Puglia: Borgo Egnazia and Choosing Your Base

Compare Borgo Egnazia with the kind of smaller countryside stay you want, then check the room, beach arrangements and touring plans.

Aug 27, 2026·7 min read

Hotels & Lodges

The Paris Palace Hotels, Ranked by What You Actually Want

Twelve hotels hold the French Palace distinction. Four of them are the real decision, and they suit noticeably different trips.

Aug 27, 2026·8 min read