Luxury Travel: Tested Picks and Reviews for 2026

Expensive is not the same as good. Here we unpack what a high price actually buys, from the room and the service to the transfers and the extras that quietly add hundreds to a bill.

Latest Luxury Travel reviews

Luxury Travel·Maya Ellison

Luxury Train Journeys in Europe: Five Routes Worth It

A great train trip is a hotel that moves. These five European routes earn their fares, and each has a cabin choice that is a waste of money.

Luxury Travel·Tom Baird

Luxury Safari Lodges in Kenya: What Your Money Buys

A Kenyan lodge can cost more per night than a city hotel for a week. Here is exactly what that buys, and what it does not.

What we look for

Every luxury travel guide is checked against the same standard: is it worth the money, does the detail hold up on the ground, and would we recommend it to a friend without a warning attached. When a stay or a route falls short, the caveat goes in the guide.

Where figures matter we defer to public bodies such as UN Tourism and the relevant national tourism board, then sanity-check them against our own trips before publishing.

Explore more sections

• Stays — Hotels, guesthouses and rentals we have actually slept in.
• City Guides — Neighborhood guides for a first or a fifth visit.
• Beach Escapes — Coastlines, islands and seaside towns worth the flight.
• Travel Tips — Packing, insurance and booking advice that saves money and stress.