Travel style

Luxury Travel

Q: Is Amanjena or Amanjunga or Aman____ the best Aman?

Aman Tokyo, Aman Venice, and Amankora (Bhutan, the five-lodge circuit) are the three that editors most consistently name. Amanpuri (the original, Phuket, 1988) has its loyalists. Amanjena in Marrakech is more resort-pretty than destination-defining.

Q: Is New York luxury overpriced?

Relative to what you receive, yes — a $1,400 room at the Baccarat in New York includes roughly $280 of combined service charge, state and city tax, and the minimum-tip expectation before a guest has had their first coffee. See our Luxury-per-Dollar Index for the structural reasons.

Q: Does luxury travel really justify the price?

Situationally. For couples' anniversaries, honeymoons, or once-in-a-career trips — often yes, because the compound effect of every detail being handled is genuine. For routine travel or for travellers who will anxiously compute cost-per-hour — probably not. The best luxury trips are those taken rarely and committed to fully.

Six luxury destinations where the price multiple is worth what you receive — and two that are overrated.

By Margot Verhoeven · Verified April 2026

Luxury in travel used to mean thread count and marble bathrooms. It now means service ratios (the best properties run 3 staff per guest), hyper-localised expertise, and access — to restaurants, to tours, to reservations that are otherwise impossible. These are the destinations where the luxury tier is worth the multiple over the merely-excellent tier; where paying $2,000 a night rather than $500 actually gets you something.

Japan · Aman Tokyo and the Aman Kyoto

Where Japanese service meets destination.com's favourite hotel brand

Aman Tokyo's six-floor observation lounge in the Otemachi Tower (looking over the Imperial Palace) is the single most considered hotel space in Asia. Aman Kyoto (opened 2019, forested 3-hectare property outside the city) is the ryokan-luxury hybrid. The Tokyo rate is ~$1,800 a night; what you receive includes the best service in the country. If you can afford once-in-a-lifetime, this is it.

Our Luxury-per-Dollar Index →

The Maldives · Soneva Fushi

The benchmark private-island resort

Sonu Shivdasani's 1995 project on Kunfunadhoo island is the Maldives resort every other Maldives resort is measured against. 63 beach villas and over-sand villas, a library the size of some European bookshops, a restaurant programme that is somehow both relaxed and genuinely ambitious. The Villa 1-6 row on the north shore is the cult favourite. Cost: $3,000-6,000 a night. What you receive: a week that rewrites how you think about pace.

Our Maldives cover feature →

Paris · Ritz Paris and Hôtel de Crillon

Grand European hotels that still mean it

Ritz Paris (Place Vendôme, Coco Chanel lived here for 37 years) reopened after its 2012-2016 renovation better than it was — the bar Hemingway is still the bar Hemingway, the swimming pool in the basement is genuinely remarkable. Hôtel de Crillon (re-opened 2017, Karl Lagerfeld-designed suites) is the Place de la Concorde equivalent. Paris at this tier is expensive (€1,800-6,000/night) but unlike much of Europe, at this tier the service justifies it.

Our 10-day France itinerary →

Italy · Aman Venice

Palazzo Papadopoli on the Grand Canal

A 16th-century palace converted in 2013. 24 rooms and suites, frescoed ceilings signed by Tiepolo's workshop, private gardens on the Grand Canal, $3,500-9,000/night. The Aman Venice makes Venice feel privately accessible even during Biennale weeks. The Sala Portego (the piano-noble drawing room) is among the most beautiful hotel public rooms anywhere.

Our Venice neighbourhood guides →

Bhutan · Gangtey Lodge and Amankora

The only country that caps tourism by price

Bhutan's $100/day sustainable-tourism fee works — the luxury lodges sitting on a 700-year cultural baseline (Amankora runs five lodges across the kingdom, connected by private transfers; Gangtey Lodge is the standalone in the Phobjikha Valley). The access you receive is real — private monasteries, the Tiger's Nest trek with your own abbot-guide, the state-sanctioned cultural depth a normal traveller can't access.

Our Quiet Index →

Kenya and Tanzania · Singita, Serengeti Under Canvas

The safari tier where the price is the point

Private conservancies adjacent to the major parks (Singita Sabi Sand, Faru Faru, Lewa in Kenya) mean no other vehicles at sightings. Serengeti Under Canvas moves with the wildebeest migration. Nightly rates $3,000-6,000 per couple all-inclusive, which gets you 24/7 guides, bush dinners, and game drives with no vehicle queue at kills. The multiple over mid-tier safari ($800/night) is large but the experience difference is larger.

Our Luxury-per-Dollar Index →

— FAQ

Luxury Travel: common questions

What counts as luxury in travel in 2026?

Access (to restaurants, tours, experiences that cannot be booked independently), service ratios (2-3 staff per guest), and authorship (hotels created by a specific person with a specific aesthetic, not brand-chain output). Physical luxury (marble, thread count, menu length) is now the lowest tier of luxury — necessary but no longer sufficient.

Is Amanjena or Amanjunga or Aman____ the best Aman?

Is New York luxury overpriced?

Does luxury travel really justify the price?