The Best New Hotels of 2025 are changing the game when it comes to sustainability, cultural immersion and community uplift. On this episode of Unpacked, Afar senior deputy editor and hotel expert, Jennifer Flowers, gives you an inside look into the extraordinary hotel experiences that made this year’s Best New Hotels list.
Transcript
Jennifer Flowers: It’s very much a luxury experience staying at the Warren Street Hotel. But what really stood out to me was actually a tea towel of all things. There was a tea towel with a bunch of fish with little bow ties on and I was with my partner. We were looking at it and I was just like: “Tony. This is the most amazing thing. I have to have this. This is incredible.” Fast forward to a couple months later, Tony has found this amazing Scottish Indian artist who lives near the birthplace of golf, his name is O.K. David, and it took like months and months of, uh, getting that towel to us. And in the meantime, Tony and O.K. David struck up a pen pal relationship.
Aislyn: Oh my.
Jenn: And he’s actually invited us to, to see him in Scotland, and now we have this, like, friend who’s this amazing creative person, just because I fell in love with a tea towel in a hotel in New York City.
Aislyn: How can a tea towel, and more broadly speaking a hotel help you unlock a destination? Well, we’re gonna find out on this episode of Unpacked where we dive into Afar’s newly minted 2025 Best New Hotels list.
I’m Aislyn Greene, and joining me today is Afar senior deputy editor Jennifer Flowers, who assembled this list of 25 extraordinary hotels, which you can now read about at afar.com/bestnewhotels.
Jenn, welcome back to Unpacked. You’re our celebrity hotel guest.
Jenn: Thank you so much. I’m so glad to be here. You know, this is my favorite time of year, Aislyn, just talking about our best new hotels.
Aislyn: Well, speaking of that, can you just give me a little overview? What is the Best New Hotels list? How many are on it this year? What’s, what’s the deal?
Jenn: So, Best New Hotels is our compendium of the 25 most game-changing hotels and resorts in the world. These are new and renovated hotels that were opened over the last year. So, this year it’s about January 2024 to December 2024. The idea behind these hotels is that all of them have some sort of component that changes the game for their destinations or for hospitality in general.
So, I want all our hotels on this list, and there are only 25 hotels on this list, so it’s a very, very exclusive list—I want all of them to embrace Afar values. So that means noteworthy locations, extraordinary design, unparalleled service, and remarkable guest experiences. We also paid attention to the work that every hotel is doing to tread lightly on the environment and better engage with the communities around them. All of those things that we embrace at Afar.
Aislyn: What are some of the key things that make a hotel stand out to you?
Jenn: Well, for me, it’s always about looking at what’s already there and figuring out what about this new hotel is offering something new to the traveler or how is it driving, how is it making the hospitality industry better? So there are a lot of examples on that list. One that comes to mind immediately is the Populous Hotel in Denver, which is the first carbon positive hotel. I mean, sustainability has never looked this beautiful.
Aislyn: Yeah.
Jenn: It’s all the things that an architect would love. It’s this white, tall building that looks like an aspen tree, which is really incredible.
Aislyn: Oh my gosh. Really?
Jenn: Designed by Jean Gang of Studio Gang, this amazing American architect, and it is a sight to behold, but it’s also super sustainable.
And our writer, Bailey Berg, who’s based in Colorado, says this is her favorite new hotel, and it happens to also drive the conversation forward in terms of sustainability. A lot of other hotels are going to look at this hotel and say, like, how can we innovate even more on sustainability?
Aislyn: Well, and to be carbon positive, I mean, for so long the, you know, phrasing I think has been carbon neutral, right? So what makes it carbon positive? Like, what are some of those interesting sustainability angles?
Jenn: So the idea behind the Populous in Denver is that everything is as sustainably run as possible, there is reduced water use, there is reduced energy use. There are all those sort of, kind of signposts of sustainability. But they also try to offset all of their energy usage and any sort of, more consumptive parts of the hotel hospitality process by doing things like offsetting their emissions by planting tens of thousands of trees in Colorado every quarter.
So it’s pretty impressive. They tried to manage the entire operation, the hospitality operation with an eye towards carbon net positive. Um, so it’s pretty impressive. They’ve already lowered a lot of their consumption use, but they’re also kind of getting us a little bit into the carbon positive area by doing these other extra things, like the tree planting.
Aislyn: Yeah, that makes sense. And I can see why that would be, you know, a model that other hotels are going to look to. Well, I know that you are fully immersed in the world of hotels and that crafting this list is not just something that you sit down and do in a month.
It’s like a year-round activity. You’re constantly traveling, checking out new hotels. So can you tell us more about what goes into creating this list?
Jenn: Yeah, it’s a really intense process that I adore. Uh, the ink is still drying on the current list as we speak, and I have already started thinking about the next year. I have been thinking about it for a couple of months. I kind of have an idea of the ones I’m really watching.
When I see or hear about a project from someone I respect, or maybe a travel advisor, or a writer I trust in a destination, says, “Hey, you know, this is one to watch.” Like, we have all these experts telling me all the time, like, this is, this is something we should look at. And so we’re thinking about this 24/7, 365 days a year at Afar.
It’s kind of incredible and you’ll, if you want a sense of where we’re going and what we’re excited about, take a look at our Instagram reels and our afar.com Stay Here Next reviews because when we’re reviewing a new or renovated hotel, that means we’re already closely watching it and we’re looking for that, those extraordinary qualities that I described before.
So if we’re already talking about it, we’re probably pretty excited about it. So that’s one little sort of insider tip.
Aislyn: You have a 2026 list building in your mind right now. I can see it. Yeah.
Jenn: I absolutely do, and it’s in the vault until next year. So hopefully I’ll be sharing those with you next year. But I have to say, every year I am constantly impressed by the hospitality world in terms of how they up the ante, not just on guest expectations and kind of responding to what guests want today.
But there’s also this incredible, like, there is more community upliftment that I’ve ever seen. I mean, you have hotels that are building community projects alongside the hotels themselves. You’ve got so many amazing hotels that are making travel better and it’s just super exciting to be thinking about hotels right now.
I would say we’re having a real hotel renaissance right now.
Aislyn: What do you think created that shift? Like, why do you think there’s been this investment in really making life better for people who live nearby?
Jenn: You know, I think there was just a turning point right before the pandemic where everyone started to realize that sustainability and leaving a positive impact on a community, kind of, it does impact the bottom line. Like, these are for-profit businesses. A lot of them who are mission-led, of course, but they’re also for-profit businesses.
And I think a lot of them have realized that there’s a, there is a benefit to being sustainable, to having great design, to, um, being good to communities. There’s a consumer need, I think is another big thing. I think, um, consumers, more than ever, want their hotels to embrace their values. So when they stay at, say, a Six Senses La Sagesse in Grenada, they know that they’re going to a place in the Caribbean, where when they stay there, they know that their, their footprint will be light, but they’re also going to have this incredibly immersive experience in the destination.
So I think it just makes, honestly, it just makes great business sense.
Aislyn: Well, you mentioned the Six Senses and some of the hotels on this list are in these lesser-visited locations. So, do you think that travelers are becoming more adventurous or do you think that hotels are leading the way in reshaping where we go?
Jenn: You know, I think it’s a mix of both. I think, when there are loyal travelers of certain brands who, when they see, say, a Four Seasons open somewhere, um, like Osaka, that’s one of the hotels on our list, they think, hey, I never thought about going to Osaka before, and I love the Four Seasons—so why not see that amazing city through the lens of this hotel experience? So there is that.
I also just think that, yeah, travelers want to go farther. They want to go more off-the-grid. I mean, another great example of that is there’s this wonderful hotel in Uganda, or lodge in Uganda, called Kibale Lodge. I don’t think Uganda gets nearly enough attention as it deserves, and this great company called Volcanoes Safaris by Praveen Moman.
He’s one of our Afar Vanguard, people who are kind of change makers in travel. When, when you stay there, first of all, you’re having this incredible, um, primate experience. Like, this is all about great, great ape tourism when you go into Uganda, but again, when you stay there, you know that Praveen and his team have created a whole kind of community upliftment program that when you stay, your, your stay is actually going to benefit those people who live alongside the, uh, habitats for these primates.
Aislyn: Wow.
Jenn:So, so I think when something like that opens, it does inspire us to go because we want to go and we want to go through the lens of a certain company that we really trust. So I think it’s a great kind of synergy.
Aislyn: You know, many of the hotels on this list, they offer more than just a place to stay. They’re telling a cultural or historical story in some way. So how do you see the role of hotels evolving and preserving and sharing local heritage?
Jenn: I think a lot of these hoteliers who create these amazing hotel experiences, they know that as much as they can bring local culture into their hotels, like the more they do that, the more travelers are going to really connect with that place and it’ll resonate with them.
It’s so interesting how many projects these days do prioritize immersing us into local culture.
So one that comes to mind is in Saudi Arabia. It’s called Dar Tantoura the House Hotel. It’s located in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, which is this new tourism development. It still has relatively few hotels compared to other destinations, but Dar Tantoura is special because it’s actually built into centuries old mud-brick houses.
So you are literally living inside of these ancient homes. And the other part that is so incredible is it’s lit only by candlelight. There is no electricity. So you are fully immersed. Like you are going back to another time and place when you stay there. And it’s funny, I polled a bunch of Afar readers recently about that hotel and asked them: Would you forgo electricity in order to have this amazing hotel experience? And overwhelmingly, I think close to 70 percent of readers were all for it. They’re like, you just provide a flashlight in case I need to get to the bathroom and I am all in. So I do think there’s this consumer hunger for, just this traveler’s hunger, for experiencing singular extraordinary things.
And hoteliers who really know what they’re doing know how to deliver that.
Aislyn: Shoot, I would give up electricity for a candlelit hotel visit. I mean, a lot of these sound— they’re so unique, they’re so extraordinary, but is there an unexpected winner on this? Like one that people might say, oh, that’s a surprise to see this on Afar’s Best New Hotels list.
Jenn: There’s a hotel that opened in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It’s actually a Sandals hotel. Now, Sandals has always been known as this sort of midrange, all-inclusive resort product that I think a lot of people know and respect. I think it never was known for luxury.
But recently, because of this new opening in St. Vincent, this new Sandals, Sandals is actually getting a kind of new reputation as an upscale, kind of more upscale brand. We’re calling it Sandals 2.0, where, you know, you get all of the benefits and ease of all-inclusive resorts, which is: You don’t have to sign any checks. If you’re with your family, everyone gets their pick of food and drink, and you don’t have to figure out, like, who needs what when. It’s a very simple way to do, especially, like, multi-generational travel. But everything is better. Like, long gone are these buffets with mediocre food. Um, the alcohol, I think, is a little bit better as well.
So you’re getting, uh, actually a better, um, just a better experience, staying at the Sandals. And I think that’s the sort of the positioning of the brand going forward. So I would watch that space, for sure.
Aislyn: That’s so interesting. And it ties back to earlier this year, that was one of the points of conversation was, you know, all-inclusives getting kind of a makeover, essentially, that they are becoming more a symbol of luxury and not a symbol of like the buffet and cheap alcohol.
Jenn: Yeah, absolutely. You know, it’s really incredible. All-inclusives on the luxury side of things have actually been around for a long time. They’re just not labeled as all-inclusive. Like you’ll find a lot of Amman’s are, or Singita, you know, these big, like, kind of benchmarks for luxury brands.
They’re actually quite generous with what they offer, even though one might think they’re a high price point, but they’re actually usually, not always, but you know, oftentimes you’ll find these as all-inclusive experiences, because I think the last thing that a traveler wants to do is feel nickel and dimed and part of the luxury there is to just have everything all in kind of one price.
I think all-inclusives just kind of got associated with the more midrange hotels that don’t quite offer that level of curation that a luxury traveler is looking for—but that’s all changing. I mean you see everyone from Marriott to Hilton to Sandals sort of either exploring all-inclusives for the first time through a certain luxury brand or someone like Sandals coming in and saying: Hey we can really up the ante on our products here and offer something new and different and, and better.
Aislyn: Yeah. Absolutely, because there is nothing better than just being able to have your vacation and not think about a bill or even a tip once, maybe at the end, but, um . . .
Jenn: Yeah, like there’s nothing more luxurious than not having to worry.
Aislyn: Exactly. Yes. You mentioned sustainability and social responsibility a couple of times, but it does feel like it’s more of an expectation. It’s not so much an option. It is something that travelers expect their hotels to do. So how do you see hotels innovating this in this space beyond the usual initiatives?
Jenn: Yeah, this is a really interesting one and it kind of goes back to when a traveler thinks about sustainability on their booking journey, and I think a lot of people do think about it earlier than ever. But I think people really think about sustainability when they’re at the place. So they’re in Botswana, in the Okavango Delta, looking at all the incredible wildlife around them and they’re thinking, like, is this hotel treating the landscape? Who is the community living there? Like our, our readers are asking those questions. Like, travelers are asking those questions now.
And I think the make or break of loyalty there is at the property itself. Like, if you see a single-use piece of plastic somewhere, and you’re in the middle of this beautiful landscape in the place, you’re gonna be like, hey, wait a second, and maybe you won’t be as loyal to that brand in the future, but then if you go to a place like Tawana in Botswana, which is a natural selection camp, which was actually a partnership with a local chief, that’s how that, that property got its land.
There was actually like a partnership with that chief, and they’re not as involved in the tourism product, but they are involved in how that land is being used, and they made that decision that they would like their land to be used for hospitality. So, you might not even know that if you’re looking to go on safari in Botswana. But when you get there and you start learning the things about that place that make it special, and you realize that that brand is embracing your values, that is when you feel aligned with that brand and you’re more likely to stay there again.
So I think it’s interesting. I think sustainability, to your point, as you were saying earlier, has become a necessity of luxury. Like, luxury is equal to sustainability. You can’t not have it now. You don’t have to brandish it as the headline necessarily when you’re, um, you know, a hotel telling a story about your, about your place.
But if it’s not there, then the reader or the traveler is going to know. And they’re going to, they’re going to respond to that.
Aislyn: So the idea that luxury is sustainability is an important one, and I’m curious how you see the meaning of luxury having changed for today’s travelers. So, what defines luxury in a hotel setting say compared to a decade ago, outside of sustainability?
Jenn: I think that hotels need to be as meaningful to locals as they are to guests in a lot of ways. Um, and I think that goes back to, you know, a hotel embracing its community, and the community ultimately embracing it back.
Like, what does this hotel mean to the community? Is it providing jobs? If it’s a city, like is it a place where locals gather? I think a big selling point for hotels, especially in cities is: Are locals in the bars? Are locals in the restaurants? And I think there’s an added value for the guests when they’re rubbing shoulders with locals, people who are like, say, in New York City, getting a drink or, you know, in Bangkok, there’s, uh, the Dusit Thani in Bangkok, which, full disclosure, my father, a hotelier, um, he actually worked with them for a little while right before he retired.
Aislyn: Oh my gosh.
Jenn: So I spent a lot of time in that hotel. It’s a Thai-owned hotel, and I know you recently talked to André Fu, the designer, about it, and we’ll be hearing about that more, but it’s this incredible hotel that’s always been part of Thai society in Bangkok and it had gotten a little long in the tooth.
It needed a bit of a reinvention and André Fu came in and did this incredible job of reimagining this hotel for another generation of travelers, but also for locals. Like a lot of people who love that hotel are so glad that it’s back. I mean it’s such an icon for Bangkok and people who live in Bangkok.
I also think hotels can be these incredible places for discovery and I gotta just tell you a personal example from one of our hotels on the list, just to kind of showcase what I mean by that. But, uh, the Warren Street Hotel in New York City, it’s a hotel designed by this British designer named Kit Kemp. She’s famous for Firmdale Hotels, a group of hotels in London and New York. She is maximalist. So whether you like maximalism or not, she will impress you by the way she puts pattern on pattern and color on color. She’s really amazing for that. The other thing she’s really amazing at is sourcing her hotel products.
Now she is very interested in art and craft and craftsmanship all over the world, and she has this amazing blend of really prominent global artists and all of these amazing like hyper-local, not quite on the global radar map. Like, like she finds these incredible artistic voices and puts them in her hotel and they, they create these whole, like, worlds of stories and so like it’s interesting. Like, it’s very much a luxury experience, staying at the Warren Street Hotel, but what really stood out to me was actually a tea towel of all things, of all things, and you might not think it’s like a luxury item, but there was a tea towel with a bunch of fish with little bow ties on and I was with my partner and we were looking at it and I was just like, “Tony, this is the most amazing thing. I have to have this. This is incredible.”
Uh, fast-forward to a couple months later, Tony has, um, has Google Lens this, this tea towel, found this amazing Scottish Indian artist who lives near the birthplace of golf, his name is O.K. David, and he creates these tea towels and other pieces of art in a very kind of small-scale production way. Now, the production of these tea towels is so small that he had to go to the, the maker of the towels, the person who actually prints the towels, to ask him to, like, rev up the machine again and print us another towel.
And it took like months and months of, uh, getting that towel to us. And in the meantime, Tony and O.K. David struck up a pen pal relationship.
Aislyn: Oh my God.
Jenn: They, they were exchanging ideas about creativity, and O.K. David sent us all these other amazing, just, gifts just because we were interested in each other’s lives, and he’s actually invited us to, to see him in Scotland, and now we have this, like, friend who’s this amazing creative person, just because I fell in love with a tea towel in a hotel in New York City.
And I think it’s that kind of discovery that a hotel can provide to guests through these little things that might trigger a little like: Hey, like, what is this? And it allows you to sort of go down a pathway that, I don’t know, there’s something so luxurious and wonderful about, like, that discoverer factor, right? And so, a tea towel sparked for us, like, an entire trip.
We’re actually going to Scotland in April and we might actually see O.K. David. All thanks, all thanks to Kit Kemp and all thanks to the amazing sourcing that she did on this hotel in New York City. It’s pretty wonderful, actually.
Aislyn: I love that. I love that story so much. I cannot wait, uh, for that photo. And if it comes out in time for this episode, we should for sure include it in the newsletter.
You know, what’s kind of interesting too about what you’re saying is, I feel like we’re in an era where vacation rentals have become so standardized and of course, there’s this pushback against vacation rentals because of how they have impacted the local economy. And hotels are like coming out more of the heroes in this way of like, they’re the ones who can connect you to the local artisans, to the local experiences.
They’re having a positive impact on the economy. And it’s just interesting to kind of sit here in 2025 and think about, you know, the conversations we were having 15 or 20 years ago. It’s so different. And I love that. It’s really made me invest more in my hotel experience, honestly.
Jenn: Oh, that is great to hear. And it’s also great to hear you say all these things just because I think hotels for the longest time and more than ever now have been the key to unlocking places in a way that very others . . . I mean, there are great ways to unlock a destination or figure out how to get kind of beneath the surface, but hotels are filled with staffers who know those places and are from those places, and I tell you, like, getting around Tokyo, like, if I didn’t have a concierge who could open doors for me there, I would be lost. And, you know, when I’m in the wilderness in Botswana, like, to have that guide who is from Botswana telling me about their land and their home, like, I couldn’t think of a more enriching way to experience things.
And so many times, hotels are the places that connect us to these concepts and people, and it’s pretty incredible.
Aislyn: So speaking of place, we have featured an absolutely gorgeous hotel in Dubai on the cover of the magazine, which is out on newsstands now. So pick up a copy. Can you tell me more about the hotel and why it made the cover?
Jenn: Yeah, so this is a pretty spectacular hotel. It is in Dubai like you mentioned. It’s called One and Only One Za’abeel. And Dubai, of course, is a city that is known for over-the-top and bling. And interestingly, there’s no exception here. It is in this great cantilevered building. I mean, it’s like a skyline change with this kind of building and this is where this hotel is located. But what I love about this hotel is it manages to offer this sense of peace and tranquility and even, like, a sense of place, in this kind of high-rise world.
So, like, you’re in this crazy cantilevered building called the Link. But your bathroom amenities smell like rose and saffron, like things you might find in an Arabian garden. And there’s this outdoor pool where you can lounge with a view of the city skyline. I mean, it is so Dubai and also so serene.
It’s kind of these interesting, um, paradoxes that, that I just, I just love. And One and Only, their service is just superlative. You will not find better service in the city. It is standard setting and the One and Only One Za’abeel in Dubai is a very special place, and it makes for a great cover, let me tell you. It’s pretty impressive.
Aislyn: Yeah, it’s a gorgeous cover. Well, Jenn, you mentioned your father and in last year’s Best New Hotel episode, you talked a little bit about your life growing up in the hospitality industry.
So we’ll link to that episode in the show notes, but I wanted to end with a question or two about what that life was like because we have had some interest from listeners, and I think it’s such a fascinating lifestyle that most of us never experienced.
I was wondering if you had a favorite part of hotel life or growing up in hotels as a kid, or was there something that you noticed that made you feel a little different than your peers?
Jenn: Well, I remember this one time, I think I was in first, I can’t remember, I think it was Mrs. Dindorf, and I was in Marymount School in New York City, and I was living at the Plaza Hotel, which is this iconic hotel, and they had this game that we were playing, or like, the teacher was playing, Mrs. Dindorf was playing this game of like: I’m gonna read off addresses, and if you can recognize your address, then you can go home. You can be the next person to like, leave the classroom and then go, you know, to your parents and go home. And so she’s reading off all these addresses, and I remember her getting to the Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, New York, New York, and I was kind of looking around thinking like: Well, I’m pretty sure everyone lives at hotels, so I’m just gonna wait and just kind of wait for who, like, I think it’s my house, but it might be someone else’s hotel.
So, little me, thinking that everyone lived in hotels, and that was just the norm. Like, I was, it was so funny, I was just like, wow, perceptions are . . . [laughter]
Aislyn: Yeah, of course.
Jenn: . . . I was a little, a little, uh, yeah, a little, uh, not quite, uh, based in reality there. But yeah, it was a really funny, like, um, moment for me where I was like, Oh, wait, not everyone lives in hotels.
OK, alright, noted.
Aislyn: Exactly. Like, of course it’s normal to you. That’s, that was your entire, you know, life up until this moment. Um, do you have any other memories that really come to mind, that stand out from, from those years in hotel living?
Jenn: Of course, I was a kid watching my father work as a GM and also later a hotel executive. He was a CEO of a company as well. But I, you know, whenever we were living in these hotels, he would be—I mean, you’re essentially, as a GM, you’re the CEO of this, uh, operation with F and B and housekeeping and, like, there’s so many different aspects to making a hotel run well that, you have to kind of have your hand in all of it and you also have to be, I mean, if you’re living on property, then you have to be on call. Which means your job is kind of 24/7 and you never know when something’s gonna go sideways or when you need to help a guest for something, or something on the property needs a closer look.
So, I just saw my father taking calls really late, making sure he connects with guests in the lobby or in the lounge or at the Palm Court or whatever where he was working, and it gave me an appreciation for just how hard it is to work in this industry and how you have to approach it as a calling more than a job, like you’re, you must be passionate about this, this type of work because it will, it’ll take a lot out of you, but I think it can be very rewarding as well because you’re ultimately delivering these life-changing experiences for guests.
And also managing a team of people, many people who are from that destination, who are relying on you for a good job and a job that makes them feel good in the morning and as a result makes them into better, better hospitality providers. So it’s like just this all-around, all-encompassing, 360, incredible work.
And having seen my father do it, I’m like, man, this is not for the faint of heart, but if you can do it well and if you have the passion, it actually does a lot of good. And, um, I think that hotels do play a role in making us see things differently, making us see these places differently, connecting with people in a more, in a more immersive way.
I think hotels provide a lot of those types of connections. And so, yeah, I’m pretty passionate about this and, uh, pretty passionate about, uh, covering hotels because I, again, just my, my father just, it played such a big role in his life and he bent over backwards to make it a good experience for so many people.
Aislyn: And that’s something, I mean, it’s always come through from you. Like you, think about, like, they’re not hotels, they’re hospitality, they’re places of hospitality, and that’s such a small but important distinction, but I feel like you embody that so much and have helped change my thinking around what a hotel is and what it can be, um, and what makes them great.
So, I’m curious to know if you thought twice about working in hospitality yourself or did it just make you appreciate when you see those moments of fantastic hospitality even more?
Jenn: Well, I definitely decided to cover and write about hotels rather than actually run them. I, I, because I, of course, I saw how challenging it was, you know, just seeing my father work in that career. Yeah, but it did lead me to a career in travel journalism, and it inspired me to become a hotel expert, and because my perspective is not just from the guest side but also from sort of like the inside, kind of inside in the industry and from the back of the house, I really do appreciate just how hard it is to make great hospitality happen.
And, like, covering hotels really is more of a calling than a job to me.
And with Best New Hotels, I aim to find those examples that are truly helping the hospitality world to evolve for the better. And I do encourage readers, just, just look over this list and find a place that piques your interest or kind of stokes a dream you have and go experience it and see for yourself what great hospitality can feel like and I promise you, it’ll be an amazing stay.
Aislyn: So yes, please look over the list. It’s linked in the show notes. Or you can go to afar.com/bestnewhotels. If you are a hotel fan, please sign up for Jenn’s biweekly “Stay Here Next” hotel newsletter. The link to that, as well as her social media handles are also in the show notes. See you next week.
Aislyn: Ready for more Unpacking? Visit afar.com and be sure to follow us on Instagram and Tiktok. We’re @afarmedia. If you enjoy today’s exploration, I hope you’ll come back for more great stories. Subscribing always makes that easy, and be sure to rate and review the show on your favorite podcast platforms. It helps other travelers find it.
And if you want to ask a question or suggest a topic for coverage, you can leave us a voicemail at the link in the show notes, or email us at unpacked@afar.com
This has been Unpacked, a production of Afar Media. The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland. Music composition by Chris Colin.
And remember, the travel world is complicated. We’re here to help you unpack it.
