People often assume the most expensive hotel in a city is the best one. For me, that is rarely how it works. When I choose a luxury hotel, I am looking for the place that fits the trip: the right neighborhood, the right room, a breakfast I look forward to and a team that makes everything feel easy. A five-star rating is a starting point, not the answer.
After years of writing about hotels, from Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo to Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary, these are the rules I keep coming back to.
1. Location Comes Before Everything
A beautiful hotel in the wrong place is still in the wrong place. Before I look at a single room photo, I open a map. Can I walk to dinner? Is the hotel near the things I came to see, or will I spend every day in a car?
In a big city, I want to step outside and be somewhere. That is why a hotel like Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park makes so much sense in London: the park on one side, Knightsbridge on the other. On the coast, I want to be close enough to the water to hear it. My rule is simple: pick the neighborhood first, then the hotel.
2. Learn the Room Categories
This is where most people lose the value of a great hotel. Two rooms in the same property can feel like two different trips. One has the view, the light and the balcony. The other faces a courtyard.
I always read the room descriptions closely and compare square footage, view and floor. Often the best room is not the most expensive one, it is the category right above entry level that gets you the view. At Splendido, A Belmond Hotel in Portofino, the room type I point people to is the Premium Room.
If a hotel’s website is vague, I call and ask which rooms face the water and which categories are worth the step up. A good front desk will tell you.
3. Breakfast Is Not a Small Detail
I judge a hotel by its breakfast. It sets the tone for the whole day, and it is the one meal you are almost guaranteed to have at the hotel. I look for a real setting, ideally outdoors or by a window, fresh pastries and coffee made properly.
Splendido is the perfect example. Breakfast with a view over Portofino is the kind of morning that stays with you long after the trip.
If breakfast is not included in the rate, I check what it costs before I book. Sometimes a slightly higher rate with breakfast is the better choice.
4. A Spa Should Feel Like a Reason to Stay In
I do not need the largest spa in town, but I want one that feels like part of the hotel rather than an afterthought. I look for a quiet relaxation area, a pool or thermal space and a treatment menu with a clear point of view. On a longer trip, one afternoon at the spa can reset the whole week.
5. Design Should Tell You Where You Are
I love a hotel that could only exist in its city. Local materials, art from the region and a sense of the building’s history matter more to me than a famous designer’s name. The best hotels on the Riviera feel like the Riviera, and the best hotels in London feel like London. When I wrote about why I love Cannes in the fall and Hotel Belle Plage, that sense of place was a big part of the appeal.
6. Service Is in the Small Things
Great service is quiet. It is the concierge who books the table you could not get, the housekeeper who notices how you like the room and the staff member who remembers your name on the second morning. Reviews help here. I read the most recent ones and look for patterns about the staff, not complaints about the weather.
7. Book Direct or Use a Good Advisor
Third-party booking sites can look cheaper, but they are not always the best way to book a luxury stay. Booking direct often makes it easier to request a specific room or change plans. A well-connected travel advisor can often add perks such as breakfast, a hotel credit or an upgrade when available, at no extra cost to you. My rule is to compare the direct rate, an advisor’s offer and any loyalty benefits before deciding. If you choose a luxury hotel through an advisor, ask exactly which perks apply to your dates.
8. Know When to Splurge
I do not splurge on every night of a trip. I splurge where the hotel is the experience: a coastal hotel with a view, a historic grand hotel or a special occasion. In a city where I will be out from morning to midnight, I would rather book a great location and a comfortable room, then spend on dinners.
If you only splurge once, do it on the room category. A better view will change how a trip feels far more than a bigger lobby.
My Quick Checklist to Choose a Luxury Hotel
Before I book anything, I run through this list:
- Location: Can I walk to what matters?
- Room: Which category gets the view, and is the step up worth it?
- Breakfast: Included, and where is it served?
- Spa: Is it a real part of the hotel?
- Design: Does it feel like the place I am visiting?
- Booking: Direct, advisor or points, and what perks come with each?
The right hotel does not have to be the most famous one. It has to feel right for the trip you want to have. For more of the hotels I have been watching this season, see my picks against the 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards, and for more travel and lifestyle stories, visit Santé Magazine.
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