NEW YORK — Condé Nast Traveler this week announced the winners of its annual Readers’ Choice Awards, ranking the best hotels, resorts, destination spas, countries, cities, islands, trains, airlines, airports, and cruise lines in the world. The list has more than 1,500 winners, including the 50 Best Hotels in the World and 50 Best Resorts in the World.
More than 715,000 Condé Nast Traveler readers submitted responses rating their travel experiences across the globe. The 33rd Readers’ Choice Awards represent the first time voters made their picks at a time when almost no one was traveling.
“The results of this year’s survey, conducted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, are a testament to the lasting power of a meaningful travel experience,” said Jesse Ashlock, U.S. editor of Condé Nast Traveler. “The winners represent the best of the best for our audience and offer plenty of trip-planning inspiration for all the adventures we can’t wait to have next.”
Each year, the Readers’ Choice Awards reveal new trends in the industry. This year saw small, punchy brands like Moxy and Under Canvas appear on the U.S. hotels and resorts lists alongside titans like Rosewood Hotels. For the first time ever, the United States got a dedicated spa category, evidence of the rapidly growing importance of wellness for both American travelers and foreign visitors to the country.
Readers ranked Baur Au Lac in Zurich, Switzerland, as the top hotel in the world in 2020, and L’Horizon Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, California, as the world’s top resort.
The Readers’ Choice Awards winners for the top 10 hotels in the United States included Olema House Point Reyes in Olema, California; Faena Hotel Miami Beach in Miami Beach, Florida; XV Beacon in Boston; InterContinental The Willard Washington D.C.; Freehand Los Angeles; Virgin Hotels Chicago; Rosewood Washington, D.C.; 21c Museum Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio; The Art, a Hotel in Denver; and Hu. Hotel in Memphis, respectively.
