I’ve done the research. Now you just have to pack accordingly. Over the course of 2025, I checked into a steady stream of hotels across continents, some on assignment, others out of sheer curiosity. Some of these places impressed not just in the obvious ways, but with details that sneak up on you. So, instead of a standard “best of” list, I’ve broken things down into categories with a bit more personality. The Stellar Seven is my list of hotels that are turning heads, racking up column inches, and, more importantly, earning repeat thoughts long after checkout. You’ll notice a strong showing from Mexico, a country that continues to raise the bar when it comes to design, experience, and imagination.

1. The “I left glowing, inside and out” award: BodyHoliday, Saint Lucia

One of the most delightful perks at BodyHoliday, an “all-you-can-do” unlimited wellness hotel in Saint Lucia, is the daily complimentary 50-minute spa treatment. This is one of the best places in the Caribbean to work on your head, heart, and health, as each day, an ever-changing smorgasbord of 20 to 35 activities awaits. Think tai chi, archery, aqua fit, tennis, pickleball, therapeutic stretching, HIIT, Latin dance, foam rolling, various forms of yoga and Pilates, and tree-encircled cycling classes that might make you forget you’re exercising. Year-round, there’s an Anxiety and Emotional Balance program, and you can go for full-throttle adrenaline on the water: waterskiing, kayaking, sailing, wakeboarding, and scuba diving. If you hold a PADI certification, you’re welcome to join the included beach dives. The program is designed to meet you at your energy level, delightfully without the stuffiness, rigidity, or outright banning of fun that one may expect from some wellness resorts.

2. The pool of my dreams (and screensavers): La Casa de la Playa, Mexico

La Casa de la Playa in Mexico’s Riviera Maya is one of the most impressive all-inclusives I’ve ever been to, and I can’t wait to go back one day for more beachy shenanigans. The main swimming pool that you’ve probably seen on your feed is a whopping 131 feet long, and it drapes over the beautiful white sand beach below. There’s another stunning infinity pool at the sky bar on the fifth floor. And as if that wasn’t enough, the Muluk Spa has an infinity pool with jets of various intensities, which you can experience as part of the guided hydrotherapy circuit. And the aquatic flair comes into your high-ceilinged lodging as well. Every room has its own jellyfish habitat floating in a glowing blue circular tank. They’re bred on site, and you can actually tour the lower-level sea life lab by arranging it via your butler, which every room gets.

3. Most inviting reading nook or library: Casa Polanco, Mexico

Hidden behind a wrought-iron gate in the Polanco neighborhood, Casa Polanco is a Mexico City boutique property that feels less like a hotel and more like the home of someone who’s lived well and collected accordingly. Just off the marble-heavy lobby sits the library, a room that invites you to linger. There’s an honor bar stocked with Clase Azul tequila, shelves lined with books on Botero, Frida Kahlo, and lives well lived and art well made. I happily lost hours there in the velvety green chairs. Read my full review of Casa Polanco on Fodor’s Travel.

4. Best beachfront beauty: Live Aqua Cancun, Mexico

Live Aqua Cancun is a sleek, all-inclusive adults-only beachfront escape that seduces you with the good stuff: thoughtful details, sharp service, impeccable food, and an atmosphere that feels luxe but never stuffy. The beach is Blue Flag-certified and impossibly white with the kind of sand that makes you forget about emails, obligations, and whatever exists beyond this slice of the Yucatán. Part of the Fiesta Americana Travelty family (with resplendent resorts across Mexico and the Caribbean), Live Aqua Cancun benefits from years of hospitality know-how, distilled into a resort that delivers exactly what you need before you even know you need it. Once I stepped into the lobby, before I could even admire the bright, high-ceilinged space, someone was already working on your hands. Yes, check-in comes with a chocolate lotion hand massage. Everything—restaurants, bars, gift shop, pools—is on one level (Level P), so you’re never more than a few steps away from your next indulgence.

5. Best everything-included escape: Ambergris Cay, Turks & Caicos

I have stayed at plenty of all-inclusive resorts, but Ambergris Cay in Turks & Caicos (not to be confused with Ambergris Caye in Belize) thoroughly captured my heart. You fly in on a small plane from Providenciales, low over impossible shades of blue, and land on the longest private runway in the Caribbean. Upon arrival at this private island resort, you get the sense that whatever came before this doesn’t matter much anymore. My bungalow sat right on the white sand beach, glass doors wide open to the ocean, a plunge pool waiting, and with an outdoor shower for when I didn’t feel like going inside at all. You have endless room to breathe at this 1,100-acre private island as you zip around in your own golf cart, passing iguanas, cacti, and even ruins. And best of all, everything’s included. Not the watered-down version of “everything.” Flights to and from the island, delectable meals, Hobie Cat sailing, tennis, sea-facing yoga, and even a jaunt to an absurdly perfect floating tiki bar sitting in water so clear it feels fake.

6. Amenities worth flying for: Las Ventanas al Paraíso, a Rosewood Resort, Mexico

Las Ventanas al Paraíso, A Rosewood Resort doesn’t just offer amenities, it stages them. At this luxurious Los Cabos resort, I saw a man set up custom fireworks for his sweetheart at dinner, triggered at just the right second by remote control. There is a Director of Romance whose entire job is to orchestrate moments you’ll remember for the rest of your life. And a Music Curator ensured I was always swaying, soothed, or smiling wherever I was. The most showstopping experience I had was the Twilight Ceremony at the spa, whereby up to ten individuals chanted, danced, and blessed me before my treatment, akin to my own private concert. Las Ventanas is ranked among the world’s best hotels for a reason (it ranked 44th on The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2025 list). You notice the attention to detail in the hand-blown glass ornaments hanging from sculptural trees and in the way the staff members know your name before you sit down anywhere.

7. The stellar stay of the year: Onduli Ridge, Namibia

A few of my childhood years were spent living in Namibia. In 2025, I returned for the first time in decades with my sister, on a trip curated beautifully by Extraordinary Journeys with Ultimate Safaris as the on-the-ground partner. To say the trip was cherishable would be an understatement. Out in Namibia’s Damaraland, Onduli Ridge was one of our bases. Built into boulders between two inselbergs, with the Brandberg mountains staring you down in the distance, the camp feels like a hideout, something a Bond villain might claim as his own. Beds roll outside so you can sleep under a clear sky. No light pollution, no noise, just stars and dreams. You seldom have to worry about rain in these parts, as showers are a once in a blue moon occurence. You spend your days looking for desert-adapted elephants, tracking rhinos, wandering through ancient rock engravings, or doing nothing at all. A massage in the one-room spa left me weightless and suspended, but completely at ease, and the sunsets from Onduli Ridge’s pool deck were dense, saturated reds and oranges, and truly unforgettable.
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