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The best hotels our travel experts have reviewed around the world
Which? Travel pays for its stays and never accepts freebies, so we can give honest reviews you can trust. Here are 12 hotels worldwide our undercover inspectors rated highly, starting from just over £100
From the best beach hotel in Spain to a mountain onsen in Japan, Which? Travel writers have been fortunate enough to visit some spectacular locations. But the team always travels undercover and never accepts freebies. Our reviews are honest, and it takes a truly special hotel to score 4.5-5 stars.
A hotel rated five stars out of five in our rating system is ‘An exceptional hotel that we think is among the best of its type.’
Forget overpriced gimmicks, the best world hotels are steeped with authentic local charm, offer brilliant service and often reasonable overnight prices. Our inspectors found 12 exceptional hotels we think are world-class across the UK, in Poland, Spain, Cyprus and beyond. The cheapest costs just over £100 a night.
All hotel reviews here have previously appeared in Which? Travel magazine’s destination features, with stays taking place over the past two years.
For more hotel reviews, expertly researched destination ideas and unbiased travel advice and recommendations, subscribe to Which? Travel
Best hotels we’ve reviewed in Europe
Where to stay in Spain
Hotel Hurricane, Los Lances Beach, Tarifa
Score 4.5 stars
Peak price £240
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Verdict: With its lush gardens, classical arches and two outdoor swimming pools, Hotel Hurricane is like a kind of decadent Roman villa. The rooms either look out to the sea, through gaps in the palm trees, or up into the hills behind. Dinner in the restaurant, with local fish a speciality, is also fit for a Roman emperor. This would be the perfect place to stay, even if you weren’t right on a wonderful (albeit slightly blowy) beach.
Reviewed for July/August 25 Which? Travel
Where to stay in Switzerland
Schloss Wartegg, Rorschacherberg, Lake Constance
Score 4.5 stars
Peak price €275
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Verdict: With its gleaming white walls, this 16th-century chateau could be the perfect Swiss sanatorium. Just 25 rooms means it’s spacious and airy, especially if you wander in the English garden. We loved the old-style spa – a 1920s, five-metre ceramic bath, with views over the hills. Locally sourced food, home pickled and smoked, is pricey but exquisite.
Reviewed for July 2024 issue of Which?Travel
Where to stay in Cyprus
Casale Panayiotis, Troodos
Score: 4.5 stars
Peak price €181
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Verdict: Accommodation is scattered uphill throughout the village in a range of styles and prices, from cosy rustic studios (€173) to luxurious superior suites with balconies overlooking the mountain (€181). Our suite in traditional house Heliakos has a thatched, vaulted ceiling, modern bathroom, kitchenette and spacious terrace for soaking in the stunning panorama, giving you little reason to stray into the village.
Reviewed for July/August 25 issue of Which? Travel
Where to stay in Gran Canaria
Cordial Plaza Mayor de Santa Ana, Las Palmas
Score 4.5 stars
Peak price €138
Verdict: It’s simply a beautiful spot. From the swanky rooftop bar, the views over Plaza de Santa Ana – deep in the old town – are just as good as those from the top of the cathedral opposite. But book quickly, as getting one of the 20 great value rooms is like gold dust.
Reviewed for March 2024 issue of Which? Travel
Where to stay in Slovenia
Hotel Bohinj Lake Bohinj
Score 4.5 stars
Peak price £185
Verdict: Cowhide rugs and accent chairs with skis for feet complete the Alpine aesthetic at this chic lakeside hotel, which is crafted from natural materials. Its logo celebrates the four brave men who first summited Triglav in 1778 – the peak visible from front-facing rooms. Enjoy a soak in the outdoor hot tub and try the hotel’s signature almond chocolate cake.
Reviewed for May/Jun 25 issue of Which? Travel
Where to stay in Poland
Hotel Monopol, Wroclaw
Score: 4.5 stars
Peak price £117
Verdict: From a hushed welcome by sleek-uniformed staff to big rooms filled with expensive wood floors and fancy rainfall showers, Wrocław’s grandest address for more than a century offers the full-fat, five-star stay. Black mosaic tiles and arrow-slit windows make the basement pool feel like a private cavern; drag yourself away to try a maze of wet/dry saunas and a salt cave.
Reviewed for Sept 2024 issue of Which? Travel
Best hotel we’ve reviewed in Asia
Where to stay in Japan
Yama No Chaya, Hakone
Score: 5 stars
Peak price: £400
Check prices here luxury-ryokan.com
Verdict: Find spell-binding relaxation deep in a bamboo grove next to a river at this luxury ryokan. There’s a choice of Western or traditional rooms. Intuitive service and hushed tones meant we barely saw other guests, even in the indoor and outdoor hot spring baths. A complimentary private onsen experience added to the alchemy. The 10-course seasonal dinner and extensive breakfast cost an extra £97. An expensive stay, but if you can splash out, it’s a one-off experience to remember.
Reviewed for March 2025 issue of Which? Travel
Best hotel we’ve reviewed in the USA
Where to stay in the USA
Omni Hotel, Chicago
Score 4.5 stars
Peak price: $169
Verdict: Chicago is a bargain for luxury, so push the boat out on this 25-storey skyscraper just steps from the Magnificent Mile. Bellhops at the gold-coloured revolving door at the entrance, a marbled lobby and intricate stucco over the headboards in bedrooms, all of which are suites, let you know that you have arrived. Higher rooms have staggering views.
Reviewed for January 2024 issue of Which? Travel
Best hotels we’ve reviewed in the UK
Where to stay in Wales
Hotel Portmeirion
Score: 4.5 stars
Peak price £194
Verdict: This hotel dates to the earlier Aber Iâ estate – but nonetheless bears Williams-Ellis’ imprint, with its Italian fireplace, mirrored parlour, 18th-century staircase and guest rooms with period features. It is an exceptional place to stay. The hotel restaurant offers some of the best food in Wales: all savoured with panoramic views of the estuary outside.
Reviewed for July 2024 issue of Which? Travel
Where to stay in Scotland
The Marcliffe, Aberdeen
Peak price £185
Score: Five stars
From the moment you climb the sweeping drive of this Victorian manor house on the outskirts of Aberdeen, to the waistcoated staff who swing open the doors and usher you into a reception warmed by a blazing fire, every minute at the Marcliffe feels special. There is no bling, no gold wallpaper or cocktail-snapping influencers, not even a hot tub in the small spa. The tartan carpets, high tea in the drawing room and impeccable service feel almost old-fashioned, but it’s this elegance that appeals and keeps minor royals – who can’t fit into nearby Balmoral – coming back.
Rooms Bedrooms in muted greys and browns, with reproduction Chippendale desks, don’t especially wow, but they're spacious. The locally made mattresses are wonderfully comfortable, and crucially you’ll find snacks, robes, same-day laundry service and other amenities that are slowly being cut at other properties.
Food & drink Guests still dress for dinner, lending a sense of occasion to taking whisky in the deep armchair of the drawing room, before being escorted to tables with crisp white linen and rattan chairs in the Conservatory restaurant. Locally caught langoustines in chilli and garlic, and sirloin of Aberdeenshire beef, are exquisitely presented and taste excellent. With prices for mains starting at £25, it’s also brilliant value. You’re back in the morning for the sort of breakfast buffet Willy Wonka would dream up: smoked haddock, grilled kippers, salmon and everything else you could possibly want. Staff are exceptional. Able to answer any question you ask about the food, they're smartly dressed but make sure dining here still feels comfortable and relaxed.
Verdict: It's the value that makes this the best hotel we've stayed at in the UK in the past seven years. To be so completely swept off your feet for less than £200 (including breakfast) makes The Marcliffe remarkable.
Reviewed for March 2025 issue of Which? Travel
Where to stay in England
The Grand, Brighton, East Sussex
Score 4.5 stars
Peak price £320
Book direct at The Grand Brighton
Many know it as the hotel bombed by the IRA in a bid to assassinate Margaret Thatcher. In the 40 years that followed, at times, it was grand in name only. Fresh from a refurb, this seafront grande dame is shabby no longer – wowing from her plush art deco carpets up to her stately chandeliers. In the lobby bar, guests nurse champagne cocktails on dark-cyan, deep button-back banquettes – beneath the original 155-year-old marble columns that have been thoughtfully preserved. All of this comes without a hint of pretension: everyone from the coat-tailed bellhops to the friendly waiters were exceptionally attentive.
Rooms Nautical chic was the aesthetic in our newly revamped classic inland double: think navy and white striped cushions, herringbone throws and beach-themed prints. The spacious white marble rainfall shower pumped out lashings of hot water (welcome after a chilly sea dip). Our only complaint was the creaky corridor floor announcing every late-night guest with a groan. Sunday night stays are a bargain, but seafront king superior rooms, with wrought-iron balconies, typically set you back another £100.
Food and drink The restaurant specialises in seafood and grills. Afternoon tea is served in the sea-facing Victoria Terrace. Breakfast left us loosening belts: copious fresh continental and cooked options (which almost spanned the length of the sprawling ballroom-style Albert Room), plus a made-to-order omelette station.
Verdict: A high-end beachside stay without the haughtiness.
Reviewed for the July/Aug 2025 issue of Which? Travel.
No. 42 by Guesthouse, Margate, Kent
Score: 4.5 stars
Peak price £353
Check rates at No. 42 by Guesthouse
What’s stayed with us since our visit to No. 42 is not the sunset view over Margate’s Main Sands from our private balcony, nor the gorgeous interiors draped in thoughtful fabrics and embellished by hand with gold-leaf. It’s not even the record player and cleverly curated selection of vinyl in our room. No, it’s the free sweets. A vintage ticket booth on the second floor groans with glass jars of fudge, dolly mixture and jellybeans alongside serve-yourself striped paper bags. This, coupled with the traditional ice cream tricycle used to collect guests’ luggage from the station so they can enjoy the 10-minute seafront stroll, shows just how much care has gone into getting the breezy beach-club look and feel just right.
Rooms Our generous sea-view room felt like a suite. The bedroom, with its upholstered ceiling and the view that inspired more than 100 Turner paintings, is separated by glass and wood panelling from a little nook containing a cocktail fridge and a bag with towels for you to take to the beach.
Food and drink Breakfast is a luxurious two-course affair, served in the Pearly Cow brasserie with its luxurious corner sofas and stained glass. Pastries and overnight oats are served as ‘starters’, while a fancy full English and other classic ‘mains’ are cooked to order.
Verdict You’ll pay through the nose for a summer stay (off-season is more affordable), but if the sun shines it will be worth every penny.
Reviewed for the July/Aug 2025 issue of 'Which? Travel'.
Planning a UK seaside holiday but not sure where to choose? See how readers rated popular resorts in Devon, Dorset, Northumberland and beyond for scenery, peace and quiet, and more in our Best Seaside Town survey.
How we review hotels
Unlike all other national UK travel magazines and newspaper travel sections, Which? Travel never accepts freebies. We pay wherever we stay.
All our hotel inspections take place anonymously. We book a standard double room online, just as you would, and we sample the hotel’s facilities, just as you would. We never let on that we are from Which?
That means no special treatment, no reviewer upgrades and no opportunity for the hotel to influence our verdict.
And no matter how badly the hotel fares, we always publish the review, warts and all.
Our hotel ratings
We use an overall star rating for the hotel based on what we think you should expect for the type of accommodation (B&B, luxury hotel etc) and price.
All our ratings strictly adhere to the following criteria:
0 stars – A dreadful hotel. We would not recommend staying here.
1 star – A sub-standard hotel we think is well below average in its category.
2 stars – An adequate hotel we think has room for improvement.
3 stars – A solid hotel that meets our expectations.
4 stars – An excellent hotel we think is above average in its category.
5 stars – An exceptional hotel we think is among the best of its type.
All of these hotel reviews first appeared in Which? Travel
