The Jetsetters Journal

Pick a month

When to go: 17 places, month by monthThe whole year at a glance

At their best in November

Europe

Asia

Indian Ocean and Africa

Middle East and the Americas

Every hotel we shortlist170 hotels, one listFilter by place, by what each hotel is best for, and by the judges behind it.Browse all hotels

How the Shortlists work · How we choose

Journeys

When to go: 17 places, month by monthThe Shortlists

The dining car of the Orient Express

Rail · 5 trains

Luxury train journeys

Five great trains, from the Orient Express to the Andes.

Read the guide
The Colosseum lit up at night

Cities · 1 perfect day

One day in Rome

Sunrise to midnight: the walk, the tasting menus and a view of St Peter's.

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Overwater villas on a Maldives lagoon

Islands · 12 months

The Maldives, month by month

When the sea is glass, when the mantas come, and when the price halves.

Read the guide
Wildebeest crossing the Mara River

Wild · Jul to Oct

The Great Migration

Where two million animals will be, and where you should be waiting.

Read the guide
The Grand Canal in Venice at the end of the line

Rail · London to Venice

The Orient Express

When it runs, what each cabin costs, and the best month to board.

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An aircraft wing against a dusk sky

Flights · Door to door

Emirates business class

From the car at your door in London to the lights of Dubai, in ten moments.

Read the guide

How we choose

Every hotel passes the same five tests.

The Jetsetters Journal is independent. We choose hotels the same way every time, we say what each verdict rests on, and we tell you when a stay was hosted.

The five tests

  1. 01SettingIs the place itself worth the journey: the view, the build, the quiet?
  2. 02ServiceDo the people make the stay? We read for consistency, not one good night.
  3. 03Value for the rateIs it worth what it charges against the hotels around it?
  4. 04Who it suitsEvery pick names who will love it, and who should skip it.
  5. 05EvidenceA Michelin Key, a Forbes Travel Guide rating, two independent publications, or our own stay. We say which.

From shortlisted to verified

THE JETSETTERS JOURNAL · SHORTLIST 2026 ·BaliSHORTLISTED

Shortlisted

Passed the five tests on research: a Michelin Key, a Forbes Travel Guide rating, or two independent publications, with facts checked and dated.

THE JETSETTERS JOURNAL · STAYED AND VERIFIED ·BALI 2026

Stayed and verified

An editor stayed at least two nights and wrote down what we found. Earned, never bought.

The rules

What we will never do

No paid places
No hotel, villa or brand can pay to be on a shortlist or to earn a stamp.
Hosted stays, disclosed
If a stay was hosted, the review says so at the top. UK advertising rules require it, and you should know.
No guarantee
A hosted stay never guarantees a place, a stamp or a kind word. A hotel can lose its stamp at the next review.
Dated facts
Rates and facts carry the date we checked them. Every shortlist is revisited each year.
Affiliate links
Some links earn us a commission if you book, and they are marked with an asterisk (*). They never decide what we recommend.
Corrections
Spot something wrong? Tell us and we fix it, with a note saying what changed.
Theo Young, editor of The Jetsetters Journal

Editor

Who checks every guide

Theo Young edits The Jetsetters Journal. He was head of partnerships at Regit, formerly motoring.co.uk, one of the UK's leading motoring publishers, and has spent his career where publishing meets technology.

More about Theo · [email protected]

Where research-based evidence comes from

Named, independent judges with their own inspectors and standards. We link to them on every pick.

  • The Michelin Guide Keys
  • Forbes Travel Guide
  • Condé Nast Traveller
  • The Telegraph
  • The Times
  • The World's 50 Best Hotels
  • Travel + Leisure
  • Our own stays

See it in practice on the Shortlists, read how we are paid, or, if you run a hotel or villa, how hosted stays work.