Independent hotel reviews, destination guides and curated escapes. Trusted by travellers who expect more — and by the hotels that earn their place.
Explore the Guide →
Cover
9.4/10
There is a particular afternoon in the second week of October when Porto Ercole empties of the August crowd and Il Pellicano remembers what it is. The boats stop running. The bar reverts to locals. The cliff path is yours. We checked back in for the seventh time in twelve years — and stayed three days longer than planned.
The definitive annual ranking of the world's best hotels and escapes — independently visited, editorially reviewed, and scored against ten criteria.
Independence is not a marketing posture. It is a daily refusal to write differently because a hotel is paying for the page.
Holiday Reviews · Editorial
Every stay in our index is independently visited and reviewed against the same ten criteria. Each is scored from one to ten, weighted, and combined into a final Holiday Score. We name a weakness in every review. Hosted stays are labelled.
"We started Holiday Reviews because the world did not need another booking site, another listicle, or another influencer in a robe. It needed a single, signed verdict. Every stay in this index has been visited by one of our editors. The Holiday Score is what is left when the noise is removed."
Hotels, villas and retreats worth knowing — browsed by the way you actually travel.
A small list of hotels our editors return to — and recommend without hesitation.
Where to stay, what to eat, and what to skip. Researched by editors who actually went.
Twelve hotels worth booking — and four to skip — across Gion, Higashiyama and the north of the city.
When to go, where to stay and what to do once Positano stops feeling like Positano.
Six stays along the coast, ordered by how long we'd happily stay at each one.
Holiday Reviews works with a small number of hotels each year — never on placement, always on standards. Featured listings, sponsored guides and annual partnerships are available by application.
Independence is the brand. Partnerships sit alongside the editorial — never inside it.
One hotel worth booking. One guide worth reading. One place to save. Sent every Friday at 7am AEST.
