How We Select, Score & Publish

World's Best Stays operates with full editorial independence. No hotel, hotel group, tourism board, or booking platform has any influence over our editorial decisions. Hotels cannot pay to be featured, reviewed, or ranked on this site.

We do not accept complimentary stays in exchange for coverage. Where editors have received hosted stays for research purposes, this is noted in the relevant editorial. Our scoring and recommendations are not affected by whether a stay was hosted or self-funded.

Hotels are selected for inclusion by our editorial team based on a combination of factors: industry recognition (Forbes Travel Guide, Condé Nast Traveller, Tatler, World's 50 Best Hotels), guest satisfaction data, architectural and design distinction, and direct editorial assessment.

We do not publish every hotel. We publish the best ones. Our current database covers over 1,100 properties across more than 50 destinations. We add new properties on a rolling basis as they meet our editorial threshold.

Each hotel is scored on a 10-point Editor Score, which reflects our editorial assessment across six dimensions:

• Service — quality, consistency, and character of the guest experience
• Design — architecture, interiors, and sense of place
• Dining — quality of food and beverage across all venues
• Wellness — spa, fitness, and restorative facilities
• Location — setting, accessibility, and contextual relevance
• Value — quality relative to price at the property's tier

Scores are reviewed annually and updated when material changes occur at a property (ownership change, renovation, leadership change).

All editorial content on World's Best Stays is original. We do not republish press releases, hotel marketing copy, or third-party content without attribution and editorial transformation.

Hotel descriptions, highlights, and editorial notes are written by our editors. Where we reference awards, we verify them against the awarding body's published records. Where we reference pricing, we note that rates are indicative and subject to change.

We are committed to accuracy. If you believe any information on this site is incorrect, please contact us. We will investigate promptly and issue a correction where warranted. Corrections are noted on the relevant page.