Size doesn't matter

The hottest hotel right now

The term hot is not something we throw around lightly at Condè Nast Traveler. Every year, we vet hundreds of new hotels that swing open their door promising all sort of industry catnip: raw-silk Italian sheets, customized Ayurvedic dining, views of some blindingly cerulean bay that no human has ever woken up before. Most of these openings are good. Many of them, great. But only a fraction are what we’d deem hot. To determine this, we’ve cultivated an army of the trusted contributors across six continents that we call on year-round- to make sure that nary a perfectly mixed lobby bar old-fashioned nor unfluffed swan-down pillow goes undocumented. We arm our scouts with a survey that’s been developed and refined over the past 22 years, with question that get at the pratical (Is the Wi-Fi signal strong enought to download a movie? What’s the must-order on yheroom service menu?) and the emotional, or even sociological (How does the hotel make you feel? Is there a lobby vibe? What celeb can you imagine hanging out at the pool?). We the cull close to a thousand pagess of hotel dossiers to come up with our final list. This year, 102 properties, fewer than 25% of the hotels we CSI-ed, made the cut; keep reading to find put why we think they’re extraordinary.

Let’s hear it for the little guy

If 2017 tought us anything it’s that size really doesn’t matter when it comes to hotels.. A number of last year’s most beautifully done properties clocked in at under 10 rooms, joining a growing genre that blends the service and infrastructure of a big hotel with the intimacy of a homestay.
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Ottantotto Firenze, Florence

Architect Fabrizia Scassellati used terracotta tiles and floral wall-paper in seven cozy rooms along the Arno.