The best new openings in travel, from the fresh hotels we would plan a trip around to boundary-pushing dining, cruise ships, museums, and more.

27 April 2023

iBestTravel’s Hot List 2023

Nothing makes us more excited to get up and go than putting together our annual Hot List, now in its 27th year. This curated collection of the world’s best new hotels, cruises, restaurants, cultural destinations, and transportation projects is a labour of love for our global team. They spend the year researching, visiting, and vetting the entries to bring you a definitive directory of places whose style, ethos, and service set new standards for hospitality.

Think a family-run hotel making Lake Como even more sophisticated; a cruise ship that ups passengers’ access to places like Greenland; or a community-driven restaurant igniting Ecuador’s Indigenous dining scene. All that’s left is for you to decide where you’re going first. Here is our definitive list of the best new hotels, restaurants, museums, and cruise ships globally – plus a map of some of the winners we’re most excited about.

AFRICA

BOTSWANA

• Duke’s Camp
• Wilderness Vumbura Plains

MOROCCO

• Caravan by Habitas Agafay, Marrakech
• Fairmont Tazi Palace Tangier

NAMIBIA

• Onguma Camp Kala

RWANDA

• Anda Kigali

SOUTH AFRICA

• Emazulwini, Cape Town
• Future Found Sanctuary, Cape Town

TANZANIA

• andBeyond Grumeti Serengeti River Lodge

ZAMBIA

• Lolebezi

ASIA

INDIA

• Villa Palladio Jaipur

INDONESIA

• Buahan, A Banyan Tree Escape, Bali
• The Sanubari, Sumba

JAPAN

• Shiguchi, Hokkaido
• The Jade Room + Garden Terrace, Tokyo

MALDIVES

• Alila Kothaifaru, Maldives

SRI LANKA

• Kayaam House

TAIWAN

• Swallow Tainan

THAILAND

• Benjakitti Forest Park, Bangkok
• InterContinental Khao Yai
• The Standard Bangkok Mahanakhon
• Vilas Bangkok

VIETNAM

• Regent Phu Quoc

AUSTRALIA

• Ace Hotel Sydney
• Osborn House, Bundanoon
• Sydney Modern Project

MIDDLE EAST

DUBAI

• Atlantis the Royal
• Bab al Shams Desert Resort and Spa
• Jun’s

SAUDI ARABIA

• Banyan Tree AlUla
• Takya, Riyadh

QATAR

• The Ned Doha
• Museum of Islamic Art

EUROPE

AUSTRIA

• the cōmodō, Austria
• Rosewood Vienna

DENMARK

• Designmuseum Denmark, Copenhagen

FRANCE

• Alluma, Paris
• Capelongue, a Beaumier Hotel, France
• Hôtel Dame Des Arts, Paris
• Le Doyenné, Saint Vrain
• La Ferme HIbride, Villelaure
• Maison Proust, Paris

GERMANY

• Chateau Royal Berlin

GREECE

• Aristide Hotel, Syros
• Cosme Paros
• Pagostas, Patmos
• W Costa Navarino

IRELAND

• Cashel Palace

ITALY

• Portrait Milano
• Passalacqua, Lake Como
• Vocabolo Muscatelli, Umbria
• W Rome

NORWAY

• Sommerro, Oslo
• Nasjonalmuseet / The National Museum, Oslo

PORTUGAL

• Hotel Vermelho, Melides

SPAIN

• Enigma, Barcelona
• La Zambra, Spain
• The Madrid Edition
• RavioXO, Madrid

SWITZERLAND

• Mandarin Oriental Palace, Luzern

UNITED KINGDOM

• Gleneagles Townhouse
• Twenty Two, London

MEXICO

• Casa Chable Yucatan
• Casa Polanco, Mexico City
• Four Seasons Naviva, Punta Mita
• Mi Compa Chava, Mexico City
• Susurros del Corazón, Auberge Resorts Collection, Punta Mita
• Rancho Pescadero – Unbound Collection by Hyatt
• Waldorf Astoria Cancun

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

ARGENTINA

• SB Winemaker’s House and Spa Suites, Mendoza
• Kōnā Corner, Buenos Aires

BRAZIL

• Lasai, Rio de Janeiro

ECUADOR

• Foresta, Quito

PANAMA

• Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, Panama City

NORTH ATLANTIC AND THE CARIBBEAN

BERMUDA

• Cambridge Beaches

DOMINICA

• Coulibri Ridge

ST. KITTS

• Sunset Reef

TURKS AND CAICOS

• Rock House Grace Bay

UNITED STATES

• 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay
• 1 Hotel San Francisco
• Aman New York
• Ambiente, a Landscape Hotel, Sedona
• Conrad Los Angeles
• Her Place Supper Club, Philadelphia
• Hotel Chelsea, New York City
• Hotel Per LA
• Koji Club, Boston
• La Semilla, Atlanta
• Life House, Berkshires, Massachusetts
• The Loren at Lady Bird Lake, Austin
• The Madrona, Sonoma
• mak-‘amham/cafe ohlone, Berkeley, California
• Mayfair House, Miami
• Masalawala and Sons, New York City
• Museum of Broadway, New York City
• Nine Orchard, New York City
• Place des Fetes, New York City
• The Pinch, Charleston
• Ritz Carlton Nomad, New York City
• Sensei Porcupine Creek, Rancho Mirage, California
• Stanly Ranch, Auberge Resorts Collection, Napa
• Thompson Denver
• Ulysses, Baltimore
• Villa Mara Carmel, California
• The Virginian, Wyoming
• Wanderer Cottages, Maine
• Wildflower Farms, Auberge Resorts Collection, Gardiner, New York

CANADA

• Ace Hotel Toronto
• The Royal, Picton

CRUISE SHIPS

• Evrima, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
• MSC World Europa
• Norwegian Prima
• Seabourn Venture
• Silver Dawn, Silversea
• Silver Endeavor, Silversea
• Star Pride, Windstar
• Sylvia Earle, Aurora Expeditions
• Viking Osiris
• Valiant Lady, Virgin Voyages
• World Traveller, Atlas Ocean Voyages