The journal
Honest writing on luxury hotels
What a night actually costs, which room to book and how the famous names hold up, written the way we’d tell a friend.
Latest Luxury hotel openings, October 2026: what opened, what’s bookable, what moved Rosewood Amaala opened on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast on 18 August 2026, two months ahead of schedule, with 110 pool villas at Triple Bay. Raffles The Red Sea on Shura Island is the one due this month, while Mandarin Oriental Cristallo in Cortina has slipped to 2027. 
Which room to book at One&Only Mandarina The treehouse villas at One&Only Mandarina sit cliffside above Riviera Nayarit, each with its own plunge pool and ocean view. A bottle that costs $100 at home can run $700 on the wine list, and guests have waited up to sixty minutes for a golf cart promised in ten. 
Four Seasons hotels compared: where the brand still holds up A basic room at Four Seasons Bangkok runs close to 900 square feet with river views and a free boat shuttle to ICONSIAM. At Four Seasons Tokyo at Otemachi, a front desk agent arranged an English-speaking doctor and off-menu chicken broth for a guest with food poisoning. 
What a night at Oberoi Udaivilas costs A Premier Lake View room at Oberoi Udaivilas starts at roughly $800 a night, before meals and boat transfers. The boat arrival across Lake Pichola, with rose petals scattered for the occasion, is one theatrical moment that lands the way it’s supposed to. Restaurant bookings have had real cracks, including one family whose confirmed dinner reservation simply vanished. 
Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula or Rosewood: which to book in Hong Kong The Four Seasons Hong Kong sits directly on top of the Airport Express and ferry terminal. The Peninsula’s lobby dates to 1928 and still runs a fleet of Rolls-Royces on airport runs. The Rosewood’s Grand Harbour View room has a walk-in closet and a wall of window facing Victoria Harbour. 
Hôtel de Crillon review: which room to book Managing director Vincent Billiard greets returning guests himself in the breakfast room at the Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel. The Karl Lagerfeld suites are the most distinctive rooms in Paris, but the base Deluxe rooms run small for the rate. 
Capella Bangkok or Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok: which to book Capella Bangkok runs a WhatsApp concierge system called the Culturist programme and every room has its own outdoor space. Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River’s base room runs close to 900 square feet, and a free boat connects it to ICONSIAM and the BTS. 
Which room to book at Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor Every room at this rebuilt 1929 hotel faces the water, so the usual “which view” question doesn’t apply. Ground-floor rooms with a private plunge pool and suites with a sea-facing terrace get the strongest reports, while even base Pine View rooms get a partial sea view. The one real trade-off is the mountain road in, which can take over an hour from Palma. 
Singita review: do Grumeti, Kwitonda, Boulders and Sabora deliver? Singita Grumeti sits on a 350,000-acre private concession with rates of $3,000–$5,000+ per person per night. Singita Kwitonda in Rwanda lays out trekking gear the night before and has guests’ hot tubs at temperature on arrival. Singita Boulders has glass-fronted suites cantilevered over the Sand River, though its WiFi is weak. 
Has Rosewood London changed in the last year? Rosewood London has always split opinion on its small rooms and Holborn address. The Monet-themed Mirror Room afternoon tea draws guests who never stay the night, and one recent report flagged a discretionary service charge added on an Amex FHR booking. 
Ballyfin Demesne review: are the Michelin star and the private house worth it? Ballyfin Demesne is a restored Regency mansion with twenty rooms and a Michelin star held by Chef Richard’s kitchen through 2025 and 2026. The tower staircase ends with hot port poured for guests at the top. The question is what you’re trading for the price of getting in. 
Has Aman Tokyo changed? What’s different about breakfast now The 33rd-floor arrival, the soaking tub and the Imperial Palace Gardens views are all still there at Aman Tokyo. What’s changed is the in-room Western breakfast: guests in mid-2026 describe broken hollandaise and dry bacon, compared with the exceptional Japanese breakfast reported in June 2025. - Singita Grumeti or Sabora: which to book Singita Grumeti spans Sasakwa’s Edwardian hilltop lodge, the nine-room Faru Faru, and the newly redone Serengeti House villa. Singita Sabora is ten ground-level tents where zebra and buffalo walk through camp. Both sit on the same 350,000-acre concession and guide pool.
Where to stay in London: which luxury hotel to book Claridge’s has an Art Deco arrival sequence and Foyer tea that still draw repeat guests. The Berkeley has a rooftop pool, the Surrenne spa and Cedric Grolet’s patisserie, though the pool is often unusable for families. Belmond The Cadogan has 67 rooms and COMO The Halkin has 41, with no meaningful spa at either. 
Como Shambhala Estate or Capella Ubud: which to book Como Shambhala Estate spans 31 residences across 23 acres above the Ayung River. Capella Ubud’s 22 tented pavilions, designed by Bill Bensley, include a fire-driven dinner at Api Jiwa. One suits a wellness reset, the other a honeymoon or anniversary. 
Is Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa worth it? Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa sits on a hillside above Champillon with views over the Marne Valley. Its Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Royal, and a spa with indoor and outdoor pools over the vines are part of what guests come back for, though breakfast extras and the second restaurant get flagged as poor value. 
Royal Mansour Marrakech review: what the tunnel explains Royal Mansour Marrakech houses guests across 53 separate riads, each a three-story townhouse with its own rooftop plunge pool. Several guests have reported rooms not made up by mid-afternoon and an erratic spa booking system for appointments made from outside the hotel. 
What earns a hotel a Fat Legend? A Fat Legend is the top of the three tiers. Here’s exactly what the score measures, and what a hotel has to hold across the board to reach 18.0. 
Cheval Blanc Paris or Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris: which to book Cheval Blanc Paris occupies the old La Samaritaine department store on the Seine, with just seventy-two rooms and custom Dior bath scents from François Demachy. Four Seasons Hotel George V has a breakfast buffet with near-mythic status among repeat guests and blackout shades built for sleep. One trades flowers and formality for art, scent and a three-Michelin-star dining room in Plénitude. - Rosewood London or The Chancery Rosewood London: which to book Rosewood London was built as an insurance company’s headquarters and keeps its porte-cochère courtyard and Scarfes Bar. The Chancery Rosewood London occupies a gutted former US Embassy with Joseph Dirand-designed suites, a 25-metre pool and an Asaya spa floor.
Is Rosewood Schloss Fuschl worth booking now? The stucco at Rosewood Schloss Fuschl was hidden in the tower until Rosewood found it during the rebuild. The hotel opened in 2024, and the first two years of reviews are a mixed bag worth reading before you book.