Esquire Best New Hotels in the World 2026

Reached through a tunnel blasted through the cliffs of the Baja Peninsula, Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal earned Michelin 2 Keys in 2024 and 99 points from La Liste Top Hotels in 2026. The 112-room resort sits at the convergence of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez, with private plunge pools, cliff-side dining, and a spa rooted in Baja folk healing traditions.

Selected by the Michelin Guide Hotels 2025, SLS Barcelona occupies a sharp address on Carrer de la Pau in the city's central grid. The property sits inside Barcelona's growing tier of design-forward international hotels that trade on atmosphere as much as amenity. For travellers who want a recognisable brand with editorial credibility, it earns its place on that shortlist.

On the road to Tibidabo, above the urban grid of Barcelona, METT Barcelona occupies a position few city hotels can match: refined terrain in the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district, with Leading Hotels of the World membership confirming its placement in European luxury's smaller, design-led tier. For travellers prioritising distance from the Eixample crowd without sacrificing city access, it represents a calculated trade-off worth understanding before you book.

A Michelin Selected boutique hotel in Taos, Hotel Willa transformed a 1960s motor lodge into a 51-room property rooted in New Mexican design: hand-troweled adobe walls, carved viga beams, and locally woven textiles. An on-site gallery curated by arts nonprofit Paseo Project, a farm-fed restaurant, and a courtyard anchored by a century-old willow tree make it the most considered address at the edge of Taos's Downtown Historic District.

Park Hyatt Tokyo occupies the top 14 floors of Kenzo Tange's 52-story Shinjuku Park Tower, where 171 rooms and suites sit above one of the city's most active commercial districts. The hotel earned 91 points in La Liste's 2026 Top Hotels ranking and houses four distinct dining concepts, including New York Grill and the kaiseki-informed Kozue. A major renovation completed in stages between May 2024 and November 2025 refreshed all interiors.

Ojai's oldest hotel, Hotel El Roblar has operated on the town's main avenue for more than a century. A Hollywood-tied ownership group spent six years restoring the Spanish Revival landmark after it went dark in 2017, preserving the mission-style arches and stone fireplace while adding 50 rooms, two restaurants, and a pool. Rates start from $550 per night.

A 58-room Brutalist hotel in Paris's 17th arrondissement, La Fondation is MICHELIN Selected for 2025 and designed by Roman and Williams to feel like a neighbourhood address rather than a visitor landmark. It suits travellers who want to read the city from the inside out, with a street-level brasserie, a four-storey gym with rock wall and hammam, and a fine-dining restaurant where the room speaks French.

Sonolux Montreal occupies a Michelin Selected address on Rue Saint-Jacques, placing it inside Old Montreal's dense concentration of heritage architecture and financial-district calm. The property sits in a tier of independent and boutique hotels that compete on location and character rather than chain-scale amenities, offering travellers a grounded base within walking distance of the city's most historically layered streets.

The St. Regis Cap Cana Resort occupies the Punta Espada enclave of Cap Cana, one of the Caribbean's most deliberately contained luxury corridors. Its 200 rooms, nine dining and leisure outlets, and Virtuoso Preview Program membership place it in the upper tier of Dominican resort hospitality, operating alongside properties that compete on address exclusivity as much as amenity depth.

A reimagined 1940s motel a 10-minute drive from Joshua Tree National Park's less-trafficked North Entrance, Hotel Wren trades resort scale for 12 rooms arranged around a saltwater pool and native California gardens. Designed by L.A.-based Manola Studio, the property runs on a no-television, adults-only philosophy that suits the high desert's particular tempo. Doubles from $330.

Opened in 1888 on the Coronado peninsula, Hotel del Coronado is one of California's most recognisable Victorian resort properties, spreading across 28 oceanfront acres minutes from downtown San Diego. The property divides into five distinct accommodation zones — from the restored original Victorian Building to the newly opened Shore House villas — placing it in a different category from the city's compact urban luxury hotels.

The Newman occupies a converted Fitzrovia townhouse at 50 Newman Street, offering 84 rooms in one of central London's most walkable and culturally dense neighbourhoods. Its compact scale and residential character place it in a different tier from the grand Mayfair flagships, making it a considered option for travellers who want proximity to both the West End and Marylebone without the weight of a large hotel footprint.

The Waldorf Astoria brand's first luxury resort in Central America, Punta Cacique sits on cliffside terrain above the Pacific in Guanacaste, thirty minutes from Liberia International Airport. Six dining venues draw on locally curated menus, while the spa ranks among Latin America's largest by scale. For those positioning a Costa Rica stay around genuine recovery rather than activity-stacking, this is the tier to consider.

Set on 483 acres of northeastern Puerto Rico coastline within the exclusive Bahía Beach community, Four Seasons Resort and Residences Puerto Rico occupies a former coconut farm flanked by two nature sanctuaries and two miles of beach. The property earned Star Wine List recognition in 2026 and positions itself in the upper tier of Caribbean resort stays, where scale, natural setting, and service depth define the competitive conversation.

On the northwest face of Lone Mountain, One&Only Moonlight Basin occupies 8,100 acres of Montana wilderness bordered by Yellowstone's protected lands. The resort sits within a valley shaped during the Cretaceous period, carrying nine millennia of Native American history and a ski culture that took root in the 1970s. It positions itself at the upper tier of Big Sky's premium lodge market, where anticipatory service and landscape-scale access define the offer.

Waldorf Astoria New York It’s been eight years, but the Art Deco queen is back, and we are grateful to once again meet up in the Peacock Alley bar. (Res recommended.)

Experimental Marais sits at 116 Rue du Temple in Paris's 3rd arrondissement, where the Experimental Cocktail Club group has extended its influence from bar programming into hospitality. The property places itself in the design-led, low-key end of Paris's boutique hotel tier, offering a distinct counterpoint to the palace hotels of the 8th. Check availability directly through the Experimental group's channels.

Set on a secluded hilltop north of Florence's historic centre, Collegio alla Querce occupies three adjacent Renaissance-era buildings — a former Jesuit seminary and two historic villas — transformed by Auberge Resorts Collection in 2023. Eighty-three rooms and suites look out over Tuscan countryside or historic courtyards, while multiple dining venues, an infinity pool, and 18 acres of gardens complete a property that reads as a country estate rather than a city hotel.

Mondrian Gold Coast sits at 3 First Avenue as the brand's first Australian outpost, bringing a design-led hospitality format to a city more accustomed to resort-scale properties. Michelin Selected in 2025, it occupies a distinct tier among Gold Coast hotels where architectural identity carries as much weight as room count. For travellers who track the Mondrian network globally, this is the address to know on the Queensland coast.

On the wooded banks of Oak Creek, L'Auberge de Sedona occupies one of Arizona's most distinctive resort settings — where the sound of running water meets panoramic red rock views. With 88 rooms and cottages, a European-style spa, creek-side dining at Cress on Oak Creek, and a La Liste 2026 score of 91.5 points, it sits at the serious end of Sedona's accommodation tier.

Opened in April 2025 within Osaka's Umekita regeneration district, Waldorf Astoria Osaka occupies the upper floors of the Grand Green Osaka South Building, designed by Andre Fu. Recognised by Star Wine List in 2026 and enrolled in Virtuoso's selective Preview Program, it positions itself at the upper tier of the city's international luxury hotel set, within an hour's reach of Kyoto, Kobe, and Nara.

Heights Hotel Daphne occupies a converted address at 347 W 20th St in Houston's Heights neighborhood, placing it inside one of the city's most architecturally layered residential corridors. The property sits in a tier of design-led independent hotels that position themselves against the neighborhood's historic character rather than downtown convention. For travelers prioritizing location over brand affiliation, it presents a different calculus than the city's flagships.

Ranked #20 on the World's 50 Best Hotels list in 2025 and named Best New Hotel in the Middle East by Tatler Asia, Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab sits on the Umm Suqeim waterfront where Dubai's beach hotel corridor reaches its most ambitious recent expression. The property operates at the upper end of the Jumeirah group's own portfolio, competing directly with the ultra-luxury tier that includes Atlantis The Royal and The Lana.