This year, we skipped the crystal ball of travel trends and went straight to the source. Surveying SLH Club members on their most-wanted hotels for 2026 revealed a neatly edited mix: safari camps that migrate with wildlife, mountain retreats that prioritise wellbeing, and rainforest hideaways that rethink the villa concept. These are the boutique stays currently topping our members’ wish-lists that are worth rearranging calendars and air miles for — and setting the tone for the year ahead.
1. The Cellars-Hohenort, Cape Town, South Africa
Set among camphor trees and rose gardens in leafy Constantia (also known as Cape Town’s Vineyard), The Cellars-Hohenort is a fresh take on the classic country estate. This elegant 17th-century manor is framed by nine acres of botanically rich gardens and views towards Table Mountain, with a serious wine cellar and one of the city’s most lauded dining scenes housed within. Much of what arrives on the plate at The Conservatory and The Garden is picked just steps away, from garden-grown produce to local fynbos, while the wine list reads like a love letter to the surrounding Constantia Valley. Days can be spent vineyard-hopping and enjoying coastal adventures and botanical wanders through nearby Kirstenbosch, before retreating to the spa, where African botanicals and elemental rituals restore body and mind.
2. The Tokyo Station Hotel, Tokyo, Japan
The Tokyo Station Hotel is luxury hospitality running right on time, built directly into Tokyo’s grand red-brick terminus. A fixture of the city skyline for over a century, its domes, vaulted ceilings and gleaming floors recall the golden age of rail travel, while the experience is firmly express-line modern, guided by the principles of omotenashi, Japan’s famously intuitive service culture.
Mornings are made for unwinding beneath the atrium skylight, evenings pull into one of ten on-site dining destinations — from sushi and kaiseki to classical French — with cocktail stops en route in leather-lined bars that feel designed for lingering between departures. When it’s time to step off property, Tokyo’s greatest hits are already at the platform: the calm of the Imperial Palace Gardens, the gloss of Ginza and the mesmerising choreography of the station itself.
3. Hermitage Bay, Antigua, Caribbean
Folded into a perfect crescent of sand on Antigua’s west coast, Hermitage Bay is Caribbean escapism distilled to its purest form. Suites seem to rise organically from hillside and shore alike — all soft linens, natural woods and sea-breeze palettes — with private plunge pools perched above the bay or beachside terraces delivering the ocean straight to your doorstep. Life here moves to an easy, sun-warmed rhythm: mornings drift between yoga on the spa deck and swims in translucent water, afternoons dissolve into shaded loungers and salt-sprayed adventures, while evenings arrive right on cue with cocktails poured and the scent of grilled fish drifting on the air. The all-inclusive approach is refreshingly grown-up — daily-changing menus led by the morning’s catch, herbs from the kitchen garden and island-grown produce, served alfresco with sweeping views.
4. Lindos Blu, Rhodes, Greece
Etched into a sun-warmed hillside above a luminous turquoise bay, Lindos Blu is an exercise in elevated calm. This adults-only retreat is spread across a series of cascading terraces, lifts and pathways that gently draw the eye — and guests — down towards the beach, with glass-fronted rooms, suites and villas ensuring the Aegean is always in view. Design is clean and contemporary, deliberately understated, allowing sea, sky and light to take centre stage, while private pools, a penthouse sun terrace and two polished restaurants add coastal indulgence to the mix.
Just beyond the hotel, the whitewashed lanes of Lindos and its hilltop acropolis offer a change of pace before retreating to the spa, where sensory-led treatments, soft lighting and salt-tinged air restore balance. Whether dining at the refined Five Senses Restaurant or unwinding in the lounge bar with the bay glowing below, Lindos Blu offers a serene counterpoint to one of Rhodes’ most beautiful coastal villages.
5. Sowaka, Kyoto, Japan
Tucked into a quiet pocket of Kyoto where lantern-lit lanes meet temple walls, Sowaka is a sensitively restored ryokan balancing centuries-old Japanese hospitality with modern ease: sliding paper doors and hushed courtyards sit alongside cedarwood speakers, cloud-soft mattresses and spring-fresh water drawn from deep underground. Corridors unfold like Kyoto alleyways, gently slowing the pace after days spent temple-hopping or geisha-spotting in nearby Gion. Culture is quite literally on the doorstep — sunrise visits to the UNESCO-listed Kiyomizu-dera, private after-hours moments at Kodai-ji, and twilight strolls along Shirakawa-dori — before evenings return you to the calm rituals of the house. In the restaurant, seasonal Kyoto cuisine honours tradition with a light, contemporary hand, while the intimate bar pours exceptional sake, shochu and Japanese whisky.
6. Miramonti Boutique Hotel, South Tyrol, Italy
High above the spa town of Meran, between emerald forests and the dramatic peaks of South Tyrol, Miramonti Boutique Hotel delivers a mountain escape that feels both restorative and uplifting. Its architecture mirrors the landscape — gabled roofs echoing nearby summits, interiors softened by pale tones and rich woods — creating a sense of calm that deepens the moment you arrive. The spa leans fully into its setting, with glass-fronted saunas, heated pools and steam rooms seemingly hewn from rock, all designed to draw the outdoors in.
Three atmospheric restaurants take full advantage of the altitude, serving regional cucina and global influences under the guidance of a Michelin-starred chef, best enjoyed with a sweeping Alpine panorama. Beyond the hotel, the Dolomites offer year-round temptation: forest trails, lakes and Haflinger horse rides in summer; pristine ski slopes in winter. Whether you’re paragliding above the valley, soaking in an onsen-style pool or retreating to a Land Rover rooftop tent beneath a star-laced sky, Miramonti proves that wellbeing in the mountains can be as adventurous — or as blissfully still — as you choose.
7. La Casa Que Canta, Zihuatanejo, Mexico
Clinging to the cliffs above the Pacific with terracotta terraces cascading towards the water, La Casa Que Canta offers an intimate immersion into coastal Mexican life. Built to follow the natural curves of Zihuatanejo Bay, the hotel feels organically rooted in its setting, from the rock-carved freshwater pool pavilion hovering over the sea to suites crowned with traditional thatched roofs and filled with handcrafted details, fresh flowers and the sounds of gently lapping waves. Dining at the open-air Mar y Cielo places the bay front and centre — mornings and afternoons under a wooden palapa, evenings illuminated by lantern light and stars — while menus celebrate just-caught seafood and the vibrant flavours of the region. Between swims, spa rituals by Clarins and gentle explorations along La Ropa Beach or the local markets, the pace here remains beautifully unhurried.
8. FORESTIS, Brixen, Italy
Perched at a soul-lifting 1,800 metres in the UNESCO-listed Dolomites, FORESTIS is a masterclass in mountain serenity. Cool, calm and deeply connected to its setting, this former mountaintop sanatorium has evolved into a summit-level sanctuary where architecture seems to echo the landscape itself — pine wood and Ploseberg stone, snow-soft tones and windows-for-walls that frame forests and peaks in every direction. As a member of both the Considerate and Wellbeing Collections, sustainability is woven seamlessly into daily life here, from renewable energy and spring-fresh mountain water to a zero-waste ethos and forests replanted tree for tree, while wellbeing unfolds to ancient rhythms guided by Celtic Druid philosophy, Wyda yoga and forest-infused spa rituals. Evenings are devoted to foraged Forest Cuisine — herbs, roots and edible flowers gathered from meadows and mountainsides — enjoyed as the sun sets the Dolomites aglow in shades of pink and amber.
9. Siringit Migration Camp, Tanzania
Always exactly where the action is, Siringit Migration Camp is a safari experience that quite literally follows the herd. This mobile, eco-conscious camp tracks the ever-shifting path of the Great Migration across the Serengeti, placing guests front row for one of nature’s most dramatic performances — thundering hooves, dust-cloud horizons and predators on the prowl. Bedouin-style tents melt into the plains, dressed in rich fabrics, lantern light and wraparound views that blur the line between inside and out, while en-suite bathrooms and attentive butlers ensure the wilderness never compromises comfort. Wildlife doesn’t wait for game drives here: gazelle graze within sight of camp, birdsong replaces alarm clocks and the soundtrack after dark belongs entirely to the savannah’s nocturnal cast. Days spill seamlessly into guided drives, walking safaris and shaded picnics beneath acacia trees, fuelled by gourmet hampers prepared by the camp’s chefs.
10. Keemala, Phuket, Thailand
Keemala abandons the idea of the standard villa altogether, replacing it with clay cottages, tented pool villas, treehouses and sculptural birds’ nests suspended in Phuket’s rainforest. Each design draws on the mythology of four ancient island tribes, translating their elemental ways of life into architecture that feels grounded, purposeful and deeply connected to place. Streams and waterfalls thread through the resort, while handcrafted interiors favour natural textures, muted tones and a sense of quiet ritual. Jungle walkways lead to meditation caves, forest yoga decks and immersive Thai healing therapies — from Tok Sen treatments to herbal compress rituals — reinforcing the resort’s holistic approach to wellbeing.
Food follows the same philosophy, with garden-led, plant-forward cuisine shaped around individual health goals and traditional Thai wisdom. Villas are sensitively positioned to preserve mature trees, wildlife corridors are protected, and the resort actively supports mangrove restoration, tree planting and marine conservation initiatives including the Royal Thai Navy’s sea turtle programme.
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