Elite Traveler HRS 2025

elite traveler HOTELS, RESORTS &SPAS2025 05

Welcome

Welcome to our annual guide of the fi nest hotels, resorts and spas on the planet. The Elite Traveler team has spent the last year journeying to the far corners of the globe, trying and testing the hotels you’ll fi ndon these pages to ensure each and every one is worth a visit. Alex Martin looks at one of the latest

Elite Traveler around the world For daily updates, follow us on Twitter @elite_traveler and on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest @elitetraveler KimAyling

soaks up the views at The Ritz-Carlton NewYork, NoMad

additions to Dubai’s already stellar skyline, Atlantis the Royal — “Balenciaga for breakfast, Louis Vuitton for lunch and Dior for dinner. Perhaps the only thing more impressive than the sight of Atlantis the Royal is the level of wealth on parade inside it.” Thea Halstead takes her toddler to InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort and waxes lyrical about the kid-friendly activities (noting that the resort has the kind of kids club that children actually want to go to), and Irenie Forshaw seeks tranquility at the Park Hyatt Kyoto: “The stress of my hectic journey from Tokyo dissipates almost instantly: it’s clear that while inside Park Hyatt Kyoto, it’s almost impossible to feel anything but a sense of calm.” If you’re craving a long jaunt at sea, Miriam Cain looks at the yachts that have the most scene-stealing master suites and owner’s areas — from 377.7-ft Ahpo ’s split-level deck with a fully equipped gym to 163.9-ft Anjelif ’s large master suite with a Jacuzzi, hammam and infrared sauna. Prefer a road trip? Toby Louch checks out a one-of-one Rolls-Royce that pays homage to one of cinema’s great villains, Auric Gold fi nger, with a bespoke iteration of its Phantom Extended. The project has numerous features that link to the plot and themes of the 1964 fi lm — some of which are the most extensively engineered bespoke touches Rolls-Royce has ever created, totaling three years of development. Perhaps you’re wanting to explore at a gentler (yet still uber-luxe) pace — The Britannic Explorer, A Belmond Train, is set to debut in July 2025 meaning there will soon be an entirely new way to see England and Wales. As Belmond’s vice president of trains and cruises, Gary Franklin, puts it: “The Britannic Explorer o ff ers something truly unique; an opportunity to discover the rugged Cornish coastline to Snowdonia’s untamed National Park and the vast expanses of the Lake District like never before.” Samantha Coles Editor samantha.coles@elitetraveler.com

Samantha Coles unwinds at Lefay Resort & Spa Dolomiti in Italy

Alex Martin checksout Dubai’s biggest opening, Atlantis The Royal

Samantha Coles drinks in the sunrise at UmanaBali