This year’s ‘It List’ includes a €11,000 a night hotel in the Maldives, a six-suite tented camp in South Africa and a luxury ecolodge overlooking India’s second highest peak.
Forbes has already weighed in on the best new hotels debate, declaring The Red Sea EDITION in Saudi Arabia the greatest opening this year. For Esquire, Collegio Alla Querce, Auberge Collection in Florence captured the hearts of its editors.
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Now Travel + Leisure has released its 2026 It List, with 100 brilliant properties highlighted across the globe.
While there’s no overall winner, the listings are split into categories including best city hotels, cruise ships and “splurge-worthy stays”.
The latter is defined as any hotel that will set you back more than €1,000 a night, and 19 properties on the list are above that.
Here are the spenny stays to book this year that are “worth the hefty price tag”.
.Here, Maldives – from €11,000 a night
The most expensive stay on Travel + Leisure’s It List for 2026 was .Here, Maldives, with doubles from €11,000 a night.
Billing themselves as the “smallest and most exclusive architecturally designed boutique resort” in the Maldives, there are just nine villas of between three and five bedrooms spread across two private islands (which are aptly named Somewhere and Nowhere).
Everything is customised to you, from activities like snorkeling in the Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve to sunrise yoga sessions, and there’s a private chef on-hand to create customised menus you can enjoy in your villa from breakfast to dinner.
Masiya’s Camp, Amanda, South Africa – from €3,000 a night
Just steps away from Kruger National Park, South Africa’s famed safari destination, Masiya’s Camp is the fourth property from founders Liz and Phil Biden.
This time around, there are six tented suites with their own unique style, complete with floor-to-ceiling windows, private plunge pools and outdoor decks.
Guests can enjoy twice daily game drives, go on bush walks, or visit Sigagule Crèche, a local school supported by The Royal Portfolio Foundation set up by the Bidens in 2010.
The Pinnacle Kigali, Rwanda – from €2,600 a night
Named among TIME’s greatest places for 2026, The Pinnacle Kigali is one of this year’s biggest new openings.
The nine-suite property, located in Rwanda’s capital, has everything from a bowling alley to a padel court and comes complete with four restaurants, including a rooftop bar.
You can book a seat at the chef’s table and learn how to make pizza and cocktails, or you can go gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park or on safari at Akagera National Park.
Shakti Prana, Kumaon, India – from €2,550 a night
Luxury eco-lodge Shakti Prana is found at 7,000ft and boasts views of Nanda Devi, India’s second highest peak.
Guests at the seven-suite hotel are invited to relax in the mountain air, with treetop meditation platforms, a yoga pavilion, and a sauna to take your retreat to the next level.
Shakti Prana also offers walks, where you’ll pass from village to village while accompanied by a guide and a private chef.
Wilderness Magashi Peninsula, Akagera National Park, Rwanda – from €2,300 a night
Found on the shores of Lake Rwanyakazinga within Rwanda’s Akagera National Park, just two suites and a four-bedroom private village make up Wilderness Magashi Peninsula.
Your experience is totally customisable, with game drives that give you the chance to spot the Big Five as well as boating or fishing opportunities.
The rest of Travel + Leisure’s splurge-worthy stays:
- Huka Lodge, Taupō, New Zealand, from €1,660 a night
- Awasi Santa Catarina, Governador Celso Ramos, Brazil, from €1,610 a night
- The Chancery Rosewood, London, UK, from €1,595 a night
- Collegio alla Querce, Auberge Collection, Florence, Italy, from €1,580 a night
- Roki Collection Queenstown, New Zealand, from €1,365 a night
- Pensione America, Forte dei Marmi, Italy, from €1,360 a night
- The Carlton, a Rocco Forte Hotel, Milan, Italy, from €1,360 a night
- &Beyond Suyian Lodge, Laikipia, Kenya, from €1,270 a night
- Waldorf Astoria New York, US, from €1,270 a night
- Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, Thailand, from €1,190 a night
- Rosewood Amsterdam, Netherlands, from €1,180 a night
- Xugana Island Lodge, Okavango Delta, Botswana, from €1,170 a night
- Tinajani, Altiplano, Peru, from €1,030 a night
- Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, Florida, US, from €1,020 a night
