Where are you dreaming of going this year? AFAR readers cast more than 150,000 votes in our annual AFAR Travelers’ Awards to honor their favorite hotels, cruises, airlines, trips, and destinations. This year, while we stayed rooted at home, our readers reminisced over memorable stays at Parisian icons, Moroccan riads, and Great Smoky Mountain retreats. We hope this comprehensive list of winners helps spark your wanderlust and inspire your next trip.
Beach Hotel
Winner:
Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Puerto Rico
It may be only 22 miles west of San Juan, but Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve feels a world away from any semblance of city life. The resort has a spectacular location on a three-mile stretch of beach on Puerto Rico’s north shore. Following a 2018 renovation, every room is beachfront, with floor-to-ceiling sliding doors that disappear into ocean views, plus deep soaking tubs, outdoor showers shaded by gardens, and either spacious balconies or private plunge pools. Book Now: expedia.com
Design Hotel
Winner:
Royal Mansour, Marrakech, Morocco
Commissioned in 2006 by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, Royal Mansour is like a medina within the city’s medina. Fifty-three private riads, each three stories high, feel like mini-palaces, with open-air courtyards and on-call butlers. Every detail is an homage to Moroccan craftsmanship, down to the gorgeous zellige ceramic tiles, intricately carved woods, and molded plasterwork created by local artisans. Book Now: expedia.com
Grande Dame Hotel
Winner:
The Ritz Paris
Our readers have flocked to the Ritz Paris since its 2016 renovation—a four-year, $450 million affair led by starchitect Thierry Despont. He wisely retained iconic features like the red entry carpet and the hotel’s signature amber scent, but also incorporated subtle touches like a heightened lobby ceiling and the addition of peaceful landscaped gardens, and bold statements such as a retractable glass roof on the patio. Overall, too, the number of guest rooms was reduced to 142, and the number of staff was raised to 630. Book Now: expedia.com
Wellness Hotel
Winner:
JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Resort & Spa
Back-to-back wins confirm our readers adore this healing experience in the Sonoran Desert. Arizona honey, agave nectar, adobe clay, and more infuse spa treatments at this Southwestern retreat. Guests stay active during one-on-one fitness classes (including one designed specifically for frequent travelers), refuel at Sprouts spa restaurant, or enjoy the mountain views from a poolside perch. Book Now: expedia.com
Epic Stay
Winner:
Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora
At this four-time Travelers’ Choice winner, guests rejuvenate during a massage in an overwater bungalow, learn traditional Polynesian fishing techniques on deep-sea expeditions, or simply relax looking out over the crystalline lagoon. Book Now: expedia.com
International Hotel
Winner:
Park Hyatt, Tokyo
Immortalized in the film Lost in Translation, the modernist Park Hyatt may have the sexiest cocktail bar in all of Tokyo. The rest of the hotel—set on the upper floors of the three connecting columns of the 770-foot Shinjuku Park Tower—is just as attractive, with a bamboo garden, swimming pool, and restaurant seated high in the sky. Book Now: hyatt.com
U.S. Hotel
Winner:
The Fairmont, San Francisco
Atop Nob Hill, the Fairmont sits like a queen on her throne, reigning over San Francisco with a century of stories behind her (the hotel opened in 1906). She’s also a bit mercurial, known to ask the staff of the Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar to stage the occasional indoor thunderstorm for the tourists in her court. Book Now: expedia.com
Food and Wine Experience
Winner:
Blackberry Farm, Tennessee
America’s dreamiest luxury farm retreat is on a 9,200-acre estate in the Great Smoky Mountains. In addition to several gardeners, the farm employs its own butcher, cheese maker, and beekeeper, along with a preservationist who makes pickles, jams, and jellies. The staff raise sheep, pigs, and chickens on the estate and forage the land for mushrooms, berries, ramps, wild crab apples, and muscadines—which you’ll share at the table with other guests (all meals are included in your stay). Book Now: blackberryfarm.com
>> Next: The Best Destinations in the World: AFAR Travelers’ Awards
