Rest, comfort and the quality of the room as a place of genuine restoration.
StayRatings Awards
Recognising the world's most exceptional hotels.
Each year, StayRatings will honour a select number of hotels that redefine luxury through design, hospitality and unforgettable guest experience.
The highest editorial distinction we confer.
The StayRatings Awards are not a competition. They are an editorial honour — reserved for properties that demonstrate exceptional consistency across every dimension of the guest experience.
Awards cannot be purchased. Hotels cannot apply. There are no sponsorships, no paid entries and no commercial pathways to recognition. Selection is entirely editorial, conducted by the same team that researches, visits and reviews every property we publish.
Very few hotels receive the award. Restraint is central to its meaning. To be recognised by StayRatings is to be acknowledged by an independent publication that values authenticity over visibility.
What the award stands for.
Recognition is never for sale. Editorial judgement stands alone.
Only a handful of properties earn distinction each year.
Properties are experienced as guests would — without curated previews.
Every assessment follows our published methodology without exception.
Awards reflect deep editorial engagement, not brief impressions.
Relationships with hotels never affect scores or award decisions.
Eleven distinctions. One standard of excellence.
Each category recognises a different expression of exceptional hospitality — always judged against the same editorial framework.
Hotel of the Year
The single property that most completely defines luxury hospitality in the current editorial cycle.
Best New Hotel
A recently opened address that already demonstrates maturity, vision and guest experience beyond expectation.
Best Boutique Hotel
Intimate scale, distinct character and a sense of place that could exist nowhere else.
Best Resort
A destination stay where environment, design and service converge into something genuinely transporting.
Best Wellness Retreat
Restoration through ritual, space and thoughtful programming — never spectacle.
Best Design Hotel
Architecture and interiors as integral to the stay — materiality, proportion and lasting impression.
Best City Hotel
Urban hospitality at its most refined — location, service and atmosphere in perfect balance.
Best Culinary Experience
Dining that elevates the entire stay — ingredient, execution and setting considered as one.
Best Service
Warmth, anticipation and discretion — service that feels effortless because it is deeply considered.
Editor's Choice
The property our editorial team would return to without hesitation — our most personal distinction.
A deliberate path to recognition.
Every award follows the same editorial process — measured, independent and without external influence.
Research
We study the property's history, design, reputation and place within the global luxury landscape.
Visit
An anonymous stay of at least two nights — experienced and evaluated as any discerning guest would.
Editorial Review
Assessment across our published framework — sleep, design, service, dining, wellness and overall experience.
Internal Discussion
The editorial team deliberates with rigour. No single reviewer determines an award alone.
Final Decision
Recognition is conferred only when consensus is reached — and only when the standard is genuinely met.
Award
The property is honoured with the StayRatings Award — our highest editorial distinction.
Consistency across every dimension.
No single category wins an award. Only exceptional consistency across the entire guest experience earns recognition.
Architecture, interiors and the integrity of aesthetic decisions throughout the property.
Warmth, precision and the invisible choreography of exceptional hospitality.
Culinary experience as an integral part of the stay — not an afterthought.
Spaces and rituals that restore — considered, not performative.
The intangible whole — atmosphere, place and the feeling of being somewhere that matters.
“We recognise excellence, not popularity.”
The inaugural StayRatings Awards will be announced in 2026.
As our editorial collection grows, a small number of exceptional properties will receive the first StayRatings Awards.
These awards will become our highest editorial distinction — conferred rarely, earned honestly, and held with pride by those who receive them.
Clarity on how recognition works.
No. Hotels cannot apply for StayRatings Awards. Properties are considered through our ongoing editorial process — research, anonymous visits and long-form review. Introduction by a hotel or representative does not guarantee consideration.
Never. StayRatings Awards are not for sale. There are no sponsorship tiers, paid entries or commercial pathways to recognition. An award reflects editorial assessment alone.
Very few. We intend to honour a select number of properties each year — restraint is essential to the meaning of the distinction. Not every reviewed hotel will receive an award, and many exceptional properties may not be recognised in a given cycle.
Through our standard editorial process: research, anonymous visit, assessment across six dimensions, internal deliberation and consensus. Awards are conferred only when a property meets our highest standard — not when a quota requires filling.
We intend to announce StayRatings Awards annually, aligned with our editorial calendar. The inaugural awards will be announced in 2026 as our reviewed collection reaches sufficient depth.
Yes. If a property undergoes material changes — management, design, service philosophy — that fundamentally alter the guest experience, we may revisit our assessment. Awards reflect conditions at the time of recognition and our ongoing editorial commitment to accuracy.