Hotel Reviews

Every hotel review on The Boujist comes from a stay we booked and paid for ourselves. No press trips, no comped nights, no sponsored posts, no arrangements of any kind with the properties. That means we can tell you when a room was disappointing, when the service didn't match the rate, and when a property was worth every euro. Below is every review we've published, sorted by region, each with the short version of what we actually thought.

Why These Reviews Are Different

Most luxury hotel coverage is written by people who didn't pay for the room. That isn't an accusation, it's just how travel media works. Press trips and comped stays are the economic foundation of the industry, and a writer hosted by a property is in an awkward position when the shower runs cold or the restaurant is mediocre. The result is a genre where everything is wonderful and nothing is useful. We do it the other way round. Every stay on this page came out of our own pocket and we have no relationships with any of these properties to protect. That means when we say a property is worth it, we mean it. It also means we can say the opposite, and we do.

Italy

Our deepest Italian coverage is Puglia, anchored by a multi-generational summer week at Borgo Egnazia, which we reviewed specifically through the lens of travelling with hildren. In Tuscany, Hotel Il Pellicano on the Argentario coast and The Club House at Fontanelle Estate sit at opposite ends of the same idea, one a coastal institution and the other a quieter country estate. In the cities, we've reviewed Palazzo Talìa in Rome and Stella d'Italia in Florence.

France and Switzerland

In Provence, Airelles Gordes La Bastide and Crillon le Brave are the two we know best, and they make an interesting pair for anyone deciding between the polished and the rustic ends of the region. On Lake Geneva, Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne is the grande dame, and one of the properties we'd most readily return to.

Spain

Menorca produced two reviews of properties from the same group, Torre Vella Fontenille and Santa Ponsa Fontenille, which are close enough in spirit and far enough apart in execution to be worth comparing directly. In Madrid, the Mandarin Oriental Ritz is the city's most storied hotel and the one most people want to know about.

Mexico

Los Cabos and the Baja peninsula are where our Mexico coverage is deepest. One&Only Palmilla, Chileno Bay, Montage Los Cabos, and Four Seasons Costa Palmas are the four that define that stretch of coast, and they are genuinely different from one another in ways the marketing doesn't capture. Further down the Pacific side, One&Only Mandarina sits in the jungle above the Riviera Nayarit. If you're weighing it against Palmilla, we've written a direct comparison of the two. On the Caribbean side, La Zebra is our Tulum pick. And for something at the other extreme entirely, we spent nights camping on Isla Espíritu Santo, which remains one of the more memorable things we've done in Mexico.

Central America

Belize gave us two Coppola properties, Blancaneaux Lodge inland in the Mountain Pine Ridge and Turtle Inn on the coast at Placencia. They're usually done as a pair and the reviews are best read that way.

The United States

In California, Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito and Alisal Ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley are about as far apart as two properties can be while sitting an hour from each other. Sensei Porcupine Creek in the desert is the wellness outlier. In Arizona, Four Seasons Scottsdale at Troon North. Colorado is home, which makes the reviews here the most opinionated on the site. Kindred is the new ski-in ski-out property at Keystone's River Run Gondola, and our verdict on it was mixed. Halcyon in Denver is the city stay. In Utah, ULUM Moab is the glamping option we tested as a family. On the east coast, Winnetu Oceanside Resort on Martha's Vineyard.

The South Pacific and Asia

French Polynesia is where the overwater bungalow question actually gets answered. Four Seasons Bora Bora and Le Taha'a are the two we've stayed at, and they suit different trips. In Fiji, VOMO Island is the private-island version of the same idea and one of the strongest family properties we've reviewed anywhere. In Indonesia, Bawah Reserve in the Anambas Islands is the hardest to reach and the most singular.

How We Review

We book like anyone else, usually at rack rate, occasionally with whatever public rate we can find. We don't tell properties we're coming. We don't request upgrades and we don't accept them when offered on arrival, because an upgraded room isn't the room you'll be booking. We photograph everything ourselves. Nothing on this site is a supplied press image. And we write the review whether or not the stay went well. Some of the properties on this page we'd return to tomorrow. Some we wouldn't. The reviews say which. If a property ever does host us, that will be disclosed at the top of the review in plain language, not buried in a footer. It hasn't happened yet. C

FAQ

‍Are these hotel reviews sponsored? No. Every stay reviewed on The Boujist was booked and paid for by us at standard rates. We accept no press trips, comped nights, or payment from properties, and we have no commercial relationships with any hotel featured. We do earn affiliate commission if you book through some links on the site, which costs you nothing and does not influence what we write or how we rate a property. Do you tell hotels you're reviewing them? No. We book anonymously and stay anonymously, which means we get the same room and the same service as any other guest. A hosted stay is a different experience from a paid one, and reviewing the hosted version tells you nothing useful about the one you'd have. Do you only review hotels you liked? No, and that's most of the point. Because nobody comped the stay, we have nothing to protect. Where a property disappointed, the review says so and explains why. Where a verdict is mixed, we say that too rather than rounding up. What's the difference between a review and a hotel roundup on your site? A review means we stayed there. A roundup, like our best-hotels guides, is researched and compiled, and covers properties we haven't necessarily visited. The two are labelled differently across the site so you always know which you're reading. How do you choose which hotels to review? We review where we travel, which means the list is shaped by our own trips rather than by a publication calendar. That's a limitation and we'd rather be honest about it than pretend to comprehensive coverage. Do you accept payment to review a hotel? No, under any circumstances. If that ever changes, it will be disclosed at the top of the affected review in plain language.