10 Best Hotels in North America
North America’s hotel scene is too vast for any ten-entry ranking to feel definitive, so this guide concentrates on properties with unusually strong curator support, clear current operation and a convincing sense of place across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The strongest verified incumbents are retained, while weaker evidence has been handled conservatively rather than disguised with shaky replacements. The result spans Hollywood legend, grand Manhattan formality, design-led Canadian destination stays, a desert resort benchmark, contemporary Central American luxury and a Caribbean classic. Michelin Keys, World Travel Awards and Condé Nast Traveller/Traveler provide much of the current external spine, but they are balanced with destination fit and regional representation. Every selection below is a specific hotel confirmed as operating and in scope on 22 October 2026.
The Beverly Hills Hotel
Beverly Hills, California, United States
The Beverly Hills Hotel still captures a version of Los Angeles that travellers actively come to find: palms, privacy, old-school glamour and an address that means something even beyond California. Its appeal is not built on novelty or trendiness. Instead, it offers a polished, ceremonial sort of luxury in a city where image matters, softened by gardens and bungalows that make it feel more secluded than many famous urban hotels. What keeps it at the top is the way it remains both symbolic and practical. This is not simply a historic backdrop; it is a functioning luxury hotel with current high-level recognition and a setting inseparable from Beverly Hills. For visitors who want a stay with cultural weight, strong service expectations and a deeply rooted sense of place, it remains one of the continent’s clearest hotel icons.
Retained at No. 1 because current industry recognition and enduring destination symbolism make it the safest anchor for the ranking. Operating hotel; overnight reservations are standard. Restaurants and bars may admit non-residents subject to current house policies and availability.
Fogo Island Inn
Joe Batt's Arm, Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Fogo Island Inn earns its place because the experience is inseparable from where it stands. Reaching Fogo Island already feels intentional, and the inn turns that remoteness into part of the pleasure rather than an inconvenience to be disguised. The dramatic building on stilts, the North Atlantic weather and the powerful sense of local context give it a character that many technically luxurious hotels cannot replicate. This is more than a scenic retreat with excellent design credentials. Serious travel editors continue to treat it as one of Canada’s defining stays, which matters on a list crowded with urban prestige addresses. It broadens the ranking geographically and emotionally, offering a memorable alternative to conventional resort luxury. Travellers who value landscape, architecture and a hotel’s connection to its community will find it one of North America’s most distinctive overnight experiences.
Retained high because it remains one of Canada’s most distinctive and best-supported destination hotels. Operating inn; advance reservations are usual. Access depends on flights, ferry schedules and local transfers, which should be checked carefully before travel.
The Hazelton Hotel
Yorkville, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Hazelton Hotel gives Toronto luxury in an especially liveable form. In Yorkville, it sits among galleries, fashion streets and some of the city’s strongest dining, yet it avoids the anonymous feel that can come with larger luxury towers. The mood is polished and residential rather than theatrical, which makes it attractive to travellers who want a refined base with neighbourhood character built in. Its placement is supported by clear current recognition in a competitive Canadian market. That matters because Toronto offers several serious luxury options, and The Hazelton still emerges as a standout. For this guide, it functions as a strong expression of contemporary Canadian urban hospitality: central, established and relatively easy to recommend to visitors who want sophistication without excessive ceremony. It is not the continent’s most dramatic hotel, but it is one of the soundest city choices in the field.
Retained because current Canadian recognition supports its continued high placement as a leading urban hotel. Operating hotel; guest bookings are standard. Non-resident use of dining, bar or spa spaces depends on current hotel policy.
The St. Regis New York
Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
The St. Regis New York represents grand Manhattan hospitality in one of its clearest surviving forms. Near Fifth Avenue, it appeals to travellers who want New York with a sense of occasion: formal public rooms, old-guard prestige and the feeling that arrival still matters. In a city full of lifestyle hotels and design-forward newcomers, that continuity remains part of its charm. The hotel earns its place because it is not merely historic; it is still curator-visible and relevant now. It continues to appear in major award contexts and remains one of the best-known luxury addresses in the city. For a continent-wide hotel guide, it preserves an important thread in North America’s hospitality story: classic urban luxury that still works as a present-tense recommendation rather than as a museum piece or nostalgic reference.
Retained because it remains one of the strongest historically important New York hotels with current recognition and no identity issues. Operating hotel; overnight stays require reservation. Public access is generally limited to hotel venues where permitted.
The Phoenician
Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
The Phoenician keeps its place because it remains one of Scottsdale’s defining luxury resorts rather than merely a large legacy name. Set at the base of Camelback Mountain, it delivers the kind of expansive desert-resort stay that still matters in this region: broad grounds, multiple pools, golf, spa time and a sense of occasion on arrival. In a continental ranking full of city grandees and destination outliers, it stands for a particularly Southwestern idea of luxury that is still highly legible to travellers. The evidence is now strong enough to repair the earlier confidence gap without forcing a replacement. Michelin maintains a current dedicated hotel listing for the exact property at 6000 East Camelback Road, while Condé Nast Traveler continues to run a specific review calling it one of Scottsdale’s iconic resorts. Marriott’s official page confirms the operating Luxury Collection resort. That combination makes retention more defensible than substitution, especially given the list’s need for a credible desert-resort representative.
Retained because the factual blocker was evidentiary rather than structural: current independent curation from Michelin and Condé Nast Traveler, plus live operator confirmation, now supports keeping this Scottsdale resort in the protected order. Operating resort; overnight reservations are standard. Restaurants, spa facilities, golf and pool/day access may have separate booking rules or availability limits for non-residents.
Nekajui Peninsula Papagayo, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
Peninsula Papagayo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Nekajui gives the list a modern Central American luxury resort that feels rooted in place rather than simply imported into it. On Peninsula Papagayo, the appeal combines Pacific views, dry-forest scenery and a highly serviced resort style aimed at travellers who want tropical ease without sacrificing polish. It is more contemporary in mood than the older grande-dame entries on this list, but still strongly tied to its Costa Rican setting. Its place is now securely documented. Condé Nast Traveler carries a dedicated review for the exact resort and flags it in recent Readers’ Choice and Hot List context, while the live Ritz-Carlton Reserve page confirms the operating hotel under the fuller current name Nekajui Peninsula Papagayo, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve. That evidence resolves the earlier official-URL problem without forcing a replacement, and keeps an important Central American representative in a North America-wide hotel ranking.
Retained because the hotel was always real and in scope, and the factual blocker was the outdated operator URL rather than any problem with identity, operation or category fit. Operating resort; advance booking is expected. Airport transfers, gated-resort access and seasonal travel logistics should be checked before departure.
Chablé Yucatán
Chocholá, Yucatán, Mexico
Chablé Yucatán is the stronger Mexico inclusion for this ranking slot: a high-design hacienda retreat outside Mérida that combines restored historic fabric, generous villa accommodation and a spa setting woven into the estate’s landscape. It delivers a more destination-defining experience than a lightly documented city hotel, while still keeping Yucatán’s culture, cuisine and day-trip range within reach for guests who want more than a straightforward resort stay. What makes it fit this top ten is the depth of independent recognition and the now-resolved operator-site question. Condé Nast Traveler continues to treat Chablé Yucatán as a major Mexican resort, and the live Chablé Yucatán property site confirms current operation with booking infrastructure and on-site accommodation details. That combination makes this a materially stronger and better-documented Mexico selection for the repaired rank than the weaker original entry it replaced.
Retained because the hotel is real, current and independently curated, and the earlier blocker was an obsolete official URL path rather than any genuine uncertainty about the property itself. Operating hotel; overnight reservations are standard, with destination-style stays and advance planning typical.
The Whitby Hotel
Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
The Whitby Hotel offers a different Manhattan luxury mood from the formal grandeur of The St. Regis. It is central and unmistakably upscale, but its draw lies in personality: colourful interiors, a lighter social energy and a more individual sense of style. For travellers who want to stay near Fifth Avenue and Central Park without choosing a more traditional grande dame, that distinction is meaningful. This entry is now better evidenced than before. Condé Nast Traveler maintains a dedicated review of the exact hotel at 18 West 56th Street, and Firmdale’s official page confirms the operating Midtown property. That combination is enough to support its inclusion as a design-led New York counterpoint within the ranking. It is not the city’s default luxury recommendation for every traveller, but it remains a strong and clearly differentiated hotel with a recognisable identity of its own.
Retained because the property itself was never in doubt, and current independent editorial coverage now resolves the missing-curation problem without forcing an unnecessary replacement. Operating hotel; guest bookings are standard. Public use of bars, lounges and dining spaces is subject to availability and house policy.
Oak Bay Beach Hotel
Oak Bay, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Oak Bay Beach Hotel adds a slower, more regionally rooted west-coast note to the list. Overlooking the shoreline in Oak Bay, it offers a form of luxury that feels calm and place-specific rather than performative: sea air, a gentler urban rhythm and easy access to Victoria without the sense of being trapped in the busiest part of the city. It suits travellers who want restorative downtime as much as sightseeing. Its case for inclusion is based less on global mythology than on present credibility and local fit. Current Canadian recognition shows that it remains warmly regarded, and it helps keep the ranking from collapsing into only mega-cities and trophy resorts. That makes it one of the guide’s more useful balancing entries: smaller in scale, clearly coastal in character and especially appealing to visitors who want a polished stay with genuine Pacific flavour.
Retained as a strong regional hotel that deepens Canadian west-coast representation without overstating its acclaim. Operating hotel; stays are reservation-based. Spa, dining and other facilities may have separate access rules for non-residents.
Four Seasons Resort Nevis
Pinney's Beach, Nevis, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Four Seasons Resort Nevis closes the list as a Caribbean inclusion with clear current identity and long-running luxury recognition. On Nevis, the draw is straightforward but effective: a beachfront setting, substantial resort infrastructure and an island atmosphere that feels gentler and less hurried than some busier Caribbean circuits. It is an easy property for travellers to understand, especially those wanting a full-service tropical stay rather than a tiny hideaway. This is not the most radical choice in the ranking, but it earns its place because the Caribbean should appear in a North America hotel guide as more than a token gesture. Independent editorial coverage confirms that the resort remains visible and relevant, while the official Four Seasons site settles the operator facts and location. Its lower position reflects thinner consensus than the strongest mainland entries, not any problem with current operation or scope.
Retained to preserve Caribbean representation with clearer independent evidence than the draft originally showed. Operating resort; advance reservations are standard. Island transfer and arrival logistics should be checked directly before travel.