Given the blistering temps and wildfires across Western Europe right now, a “hottest destinations” list might seem a bit too cheeky. Many of our beloved spots, from the French countryside to Greek islands, are under nature’s siege. Under a different kind of siege, the Côte d’Azur is the latest filming location for Mike White’s The White Lotus, which will surely draw set-jetters to Cannes and St. Tropez for years to come.
Demand for new luxury hot spots is on the rise, as high-end travelers go farther, seeking five-star hospitality in the wildest of places. We’re following their lead with our new list of the 10 hottest luxury travel destinations—let it inspire you to venture beyond the familiar, even within a well-known spot, where new hotels and lodges, Michelin designations, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences await.
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Coastal British Columbia
Three makes a trend, and in coastal British Columbia, a cluster of luxury lodges has elevated a remote wilderness into a bona fide destination for UHNW travelers and their families. The first, Nimmo Bay, rebuilt a floating lodge on the edge of the Great Bear Rainforest into a nine-cabin ecoresort, the original family-owned all-inclusive in the area. (“All-inclusive” here extends to all activities and meals, given that the closest neighbors are the seals on the rocky outcrop just across the bay.) Then Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge arrived on 600 acres of remote rainforest and river valleys on Vancouver Island. And in 2025, Fawn Bluff opened to raves (FB and Clayoquot both landed on RR’s 50 greatest luxury hotels list this year). The former private home of Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley overlooking Bute Inlet, Fawn Bluff is now an exclusive-use timber lodge with gourmet meals rivaling any Michelin restaurant and heli-hiking to nearby glaciers. All profits go to the Homalco First Nations people.
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Riviera Nayarit
Sorry, Cabo: Los Angelenos are flocking to Riviera Nayarit these days, a 200-mile stretch of Pacific coastline where the rainforest meets the surf and wellness is prioritized. An hour north of Puerto Vallarta International Airport, One&Only Mandarina offers blissfully private, free-standing treehouses and villas—each with its own plunge pool—along a white-sand beach, as well as access to Mandarina Polo & Equestrian Club and a Greg Norman–designed golf course. Just north of One&Only, Rosewood Mandarina competes with its secluded suites and villas on Canalan Beach in Compostela; this wellness retreat focuses on nature and nurture, with healing rituals informed by the region’s Indigenous communities.
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Balearic Islands
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and Pedro Pascal can’t all be wrong—the trio was spotted enjoying a summer holiday aboard the superyacht Rising Sun off the coast of Mallorca in June, while the mega-yachts of Jeff Bezos (Koru) and Steven Spielberg (Seven Seas) have also been cruising around the Balearic islands. Telling you Mallorca is the place to be is a bit like saying rosé is a popular summer bev, but truly, the largest of the Balearics has seen a spike in interest among elite travelers and luxury hotel developers over the last three years. Mandarin Oriental celebrated its only opening in 2026 to date on Mallorca, along the peninsula of Costa d’en Blanes—“a cliffside perch to take in the Mediterranean and those crystal-clear blue waters,” as we reported upon its debut. And 17th-century estate Son Net, named one of Robb Report’s greatest luxury hotels on earth shortly after it opened, gives Tuscany vibes without the crowds.
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Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica
Ask any globetrotting adventurer and they’ll likely have a favorite Pacific Coast beach town in Costa Rica: Nosara. Santa Teresa. Tamarindo. Even Chris Hemsworth and family made a home base out of a Studio Saxe Cabo Velas property in Guanacaste this summer. But for the most elevated offerings, the front runner is Peninsula Papagayo, a 1,400-acre community of hotels and residences that includes a Four Seasons, Andaz, and crown jewel Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, which is as close to a jungle utopia as the world allows. Papagayo is managed like a golf club, with a native-grass golf course and Papagayo Park, a $26 million, 23-acre wellness and recreation hub available to all hotel guests and residents. Interest is up on Villa Guayacán, one of the most exceptional private homes on Peninsula Papagayo—a fully custom-built, design-forward estate that accommodates 40. Beyond the architecture, the Costa Rican government mandates that 70 percent of the peninsula’s dry tropical forest remains protected—paradise will not be paved.
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Paros, Greece
Paros is “having a moment,” as they say, as a more laid-back alternative to Mykonos and Santorini. The island is the first stop on a new Orient Express sailing yacht tour of the Cyclades to Constantinople. Within the beautiful Cycladic landscape is Luura, a clifftop boutique hideaway (opened August 1) by Morgans Originals, a collection of independent hotels deeply rooted in local culture. It landed on RR’s greatest luxury hotels list this year, with Travel Master John Clifford recalling how Luura is “sculpted like a stark-white minimalist village” overlooking Agia Irini Bay, creating a quiet, hyper-exclusive, adults-only retreat. All guest rooms face west, ensuring unobstructed sunset views over the Aegean for everyone. And don’t forget to stop by Siparos in Naousa for a divine dinner with stunning sea views.
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Big Sky, Montana
Yellowstone Club members don’t need to be told about Big Sky in southwest Montana—neither do avid skiers. Yet as we predicted, Big Sky has had a banner year, unveiling a new One&Only resort that, along with the new-in-2021 Montage, gave America’s second-largest ski resort the luxury lodging and dining it’s been lacking. “The arrival of One&Only Moonlight Basin (from $1,195 per night) is a game-changer for Big Sky,” wrote Amy Tara Koch. “The ultra-high-end brand’s first American property—and first alpine resort—opened in December on 240 acres bordered by 17,000 acres of protected wilderness called the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, a corridor rich with elk, bighorn sheep, moose, and even grizzly bears. The Olson Kundig–designed locale isn’t simply a hotel; it’s a five-star compound with its own gear hub, dining, and cocktail spots (including an in-the-woods whiskey shack), and a heated gondola to Big Sky Resort.”
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Miami
If Los Angelenos are heading to Riviera Nayarit, New Yorkers are decamping to Miami for a getaway—and not necessarily for the South Beach party scene. Families filled the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne over April spring break, where a $100 million transformation made the island hotel absolutely glisten (the daily treat-and-cocktail cart in the lobby also helped). Everything here has been elevated, from the top-tier Italian restaurant Luma to the new spa and Grand Lawn with complimentary fitness classes and family activities. In Surfside, high-end travelers go shopping at Bal Harbour and sip bubbles at the Champagne Bar at the Four Seasons Surf Club. Meanwhile, back on Miami Beach, A-listers unwind at the pool at 1 Hotel and the spa at the Palms.
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Turks & Caicos
“Providenciales, the capital of the coral island archipelago of Turks and Caicos, has grown into the Caribbean vacation destination of choice for A-listers,” writes Michelle Gross for Robb Report. “Provo to the initiated, its popularity was spurred by a best-in-the-Caribbean inventory of massive, ultra-private luxury villas—not to mention the no-filter needed, sugar-white sand beaches.” That was in 2024, and thankfully, the 38-square-mile island remains a retreat for travelers looking for barefoot luxury: low-density development, exclusive yet free of pretense. New development the Strand sits organically on the low cliffs of Cooper Jack Bay, while the Reserve at Grace Bay by Beach Enclave offers seven beautifully outfitted bedrooms across an open-plan, airy villa on postcard-perfect Leeward Beach. And deep within an 18,000-acre nature preserve, sky-high hedges shelter guests at Amanyara like it’s Bel-Air on the beach; here, stillness is a vibe.
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Venice, Italy
No one needs to be told about Venice. In fact, Venice would benefit from fewer people knowing about it. Yet there is a luxury hotel renaissance happening here that might change the landscape in the famously overtouristed city. The new 47-key Orient Express Venezia is an experience, housed within Palazzo Donà Giovannelli in the oldest and northernmost Cannaregio district, drawing high-end travelers away from the throngs. Airelles Palladio, Venice opened in spring 2026 on Giudecca Island, overlooking St. Mark’s Square. And “while the crowds jostle for space along the Grand Canal, the legendary Cipriani hospitality family is reminding the world that it planted its roots here on a remote island nearly a century ago,” writes Abby Montanez, with the reopening of Locanda Cipriani on the island of Torcello.
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Northern India
As we were compiling our list of the 50 greatest luxury hotels in the world, there were two places that stood out with the most recommendations: Italy and Northern India. Royal Rajasthan has long had palaces fit for the most discerning travelers—Amanbagh, Rajmahal Palace in Jaipur, and Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur were all recommended by Robb Report’s Travel Masters this year—while Six Senses Vara in Uttarakhand, an immersive wellness retreat in the Himalayan foothills, is a destination unto itself. Therapists have trained at Men-Tsee-Khang, the revered Tibetan Medical and Astro Institute, and are permitted to practice outside the traditional Tibetan medical setting—with the personal blessing of the Dalai Lama himself, who has visited Vana several times.