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.

Read the guide
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.

Read the guide
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

The Shortlists

Where to stay

Hotels chosen properly, place by place. Every pick says who it suits, who should skip it, and what our verdict rests on.

THE JETSETTERS JOURNAL · SHORTLIST 2026 ·BaliSHORTLISTEDTHE JETSETTERS JOURNAL · STAYED AND VERIFIED ·BALI 2026

Two stamps, and what they mean

Read how we choose

Shortlisted

Chosen from research, before we have stayed. The hotel passed our five tests on the evidence.

  • A Michelin Key, a Forbes Travel Guide rating, or two independent publications
  • Facts checked, and dated
  • Who it suits, and who should skip it

Stayed and verified

An editor has stayed, and the review says what we found. A hotel earns this stamp. It cannot buy it.

  • At least two nights, on the record
  • Hosted stays always disclosed on the page
  • A stay never guarantees a place

The shortlists

Updated every year
Rice terraces near Ubud, Bali

Live · 8 areas · 23 hotels

Bali 2026

Ubud, Uluwatu, Canggu, Seminyak, Sidemen, Jimbaran and Nusa Dua, Sanur and the Nusa islands.

Open the Bali shortlist
Hvar Town's harbour and the Pakleni islands at dusk

Live · 12 hotels

Croatia 2026

Dubrovnik, the islands and Istria.

The Dubai Marina skyline

Live · 19 hotels

Dubai 2026

Beach, skyline or desert.

Terraced vineyards above the Douro river

Live · 18 hotels

Portugal 2026

Lisbon, the Alentejo, the Algarve and the Douro.

Rome at golden hour over the Tiber

Live · 16 hotels

Rome 2026

Five neighbourhoods, five kinds of Rome.

The curving bay at Mirissa on Sri Lanka's south coast

Live · 11 hotels

Sri Lanka 2026

The south coast, the tea country and Yala.

Boats in the bay at Phi Phi Don below green limestone hills

Live · 16 hotels

Thailand 2026

Bangkok, the islands and the north.

Overwater villas in the Maldives

Live · 20 hotels

The Maldives 2026

Atoll by atoll, by seaplane or speedboat.

Terraced hillsides above a curved beach near Ravello

Live · 14 hotels

The Amalfi Coast 2026

Positano to Ravello, plus Sorrento for Capri.

A leopard resting on a branch

Live · 10 hotels

Safari lodges 2026

The Mara, the Serengeti, the Okavango and Kruger.

A quiet street in Japan at dusk

Live · 11 hotels

Kyoto 2026

Tatami, cedar baths and kaiseki, area by area.

For hotels, villas and PR

On the shortlist? Here is how verification works.

Work with us