Top 15 South Resort Hotels Loved by Readers in 2025

This year’s World’s Best Awards survey closed on Mar. 2, just before widespread stay-at-home orders were implemented as a result of COVID-19. The results reflect our readers’ experiences before the pandemic, but we hope that this year’s honorees will inspire your trips to come — whenever they may be.

This year’s lineup of best resorts across the American South is recognized for various attributes, such as gourmet cuisine, rustic-chic mountain accommodations, and seaside barefoot luxury. However, they all emphasize the region’s incomparable genteel hospitality. This affable Southern charm keeps visitors returning time and again. From historic mansions like the Willcox (No. 10) to luxe waterfront retreats like the Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee (No. 13) and the Lodge at Sea Island (No. 6), as well as posh mountain hideaways like Old Edwards Inn & Spa (No. 3), these resorts showcase the best the South has to offer.

Every year for our World’s Best Awards survey, iBestTravel asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Hotels were rated on their facilities, location, service, food, and overall value. Properties were classified as city or resort based on their locations and amenities.

Barrier-island retreats abound on this year’s list, such as No. 11, the Inn & Club at Harbour Town, on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina; the No. 8 Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, off the South Carolina coast; and two resorts on Sea Island that occupy the fourth and sixth spots. Moreover, the 14th spot is held by Jekyll Island Club Resort, located on Jekyll Island, Georgia, which one voter called a “beautiful, beachy property,” while another praised that “the club is like going to another plane of existence.”

Montage Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton makes the list again, moving from No. 6 last year to No. 2 this time. This shift is attributed to a staff that is described as “so polite, so positive, and so friendly, without being overbearing,” according to one reader. “The kids (and adults!) will love the complimentary s’mores bar set up around the huge fireplace after dinner,” added another.

Continue reading to discover which resort nabbed No. 1, along with the rest of this year’s honorees.

1. The Fearrington House Inn, Pittsboro, North Carolina

Score: 94.55

More information: fearrington.com/inn

Surrounded by rolling pastures dotted with striped Belted Galloway cows, this year’s winner offers it all: expansive landscaped grounds, gourmet culinary offerings, and plush accommodations filled with antiques, sumptuous fabrics, and original artwork. As one respondent stated, the Fearrington House Inn is a “lovely place to spend a weekend,” and another wrote that “it is such a romantic place.” This 32-room Relais & Châteaux inn is also situated near the village’s restaurants, wine and cheese boutiques, and full-service spa, ensuring that everything a guest desires is a stone’s throw away.