Guides

Choosing a luxury hotel

Four ways to read the selection: what the distinctions are worth, when to go, what rooms really cost, and what is close to home.

Palace, Keys, Forbes, 50 Best: what each distinction measures

Four systems cross on the entries, and they do not measure the same thing. Mixing them up leads to poor choices. This portal gathers … hotels in … countries: all those that hold the highest rating in at least one of the four.

Palace, a decision of the state

It exists only in France and is decided in Paris, not in a guide. In 2026, 33 hotels hold it, 13 of them in the capital. Cheval Blanc Paris has just received it, after opening in 2021. The Ritz is not on the list, which surprises everyone and says nothing about its quality.

Michelin Keys, an opinion on the hotel itself

One to three Keys, on five criteria: architecture and interior design, quality and consistency of service, personality, value for money, contribution to the place. Three Keys is the "extraordinary stay" level. The 2026 selection counts 155 of them, and they are all here.

A detail that costs a lot to check: the Keys move every autumn, and lists published by third parties go wrong quickly. We recorded the three-Key hotels from Michelin's official list, and the two-Key hotels from its filtered list, rather than from a travel site.

Forbes Travel Guide, service above all

Its 2026 Star Awards give five stars to 343 hotels, after inspecting service. The list is very American: 78 hotels in the United States, 47 in China, Hong Kong and Macau combined, including several casino complexes. All 343 are here.

The World's 50 Best Hotels, a vote

More than 800 anonymous judges: hoteliers, journalists, seasoned travellers. The 2026 edition was published in Paris on 15 September. This ranking tells you what people want to visit. It favours recent openings (Capella Bangkok was first in 2024) and has only 50 places.

Our reading. The Keys say whether the hotel is excellent, the 50 Best whether it makes you dream, Forbes whether the service is flawless. The three almost never coincide: Rosewood Hong Kong, first in the world, has no Forbes five stars, and the Four Seasons Bangkok, third, has only two Keys. For a stay, take the Keys as a floor and the 50 Best as a bonus. The Palace mostly says one thing: the French state has approved the address, without checking whether you will like the room.

When to go: seasons, closures, traps

A luxury hotel has no price, it has a curve. On the Riviera, the same property goes from about €710 off-season to more than €2,500 in summer: a ratio of 1 to 3.5. The points below come from hotel pages, the Michelin Guide and travel magazines.

HotelGood to know
Hôtel du Cap-Eden-RocClosed in winter. In 2025 the season ran from 18 April to 19 October. Around the Cannes Film Festival, one source says it is booked a year ahead.
Grand-Hôtel du Cap-FerratAbout €710 off-season, over €2,500 in summer according to a 2023 blog.
PassalacquaClosed about two months a year, from early January to early March.
The Alpina GstaadWinter, December to March: from CHF 1,600 in low season to CHF 3,050 in high season. Breakfast and a CHF 200 daily credit included.
Badrutt's PalaceAbout £1,100 a night in winter 2024-2025, against Serlas rooms from £715 in summer 2025.
Atlantis The RoyalOver $1,000 in winter. June to August has the best rates, according to The Points Guy.
Cheval Blanc RandheliThe lagoon is clearest and calmest from December to April, according to the Michelin Guide.
Les Trois RoisDuring Art Basel week in June, demand rises across the whole city.
Four Seasons FirenzeThe Palazzo del Nero is closed for works until 31 March 2027.
Copacabana PalaceThe annex is being renovated until October 2026.
Our reading. If budget matters, aim for the Riviera off-season and for Dubai in summer: both gaps are documented. Badrutt's is better taken in summer: it is far cheaper, and the lake is still there. As for hotels that close in winter, that is one more reason to check the dates before dreaming.

The most and least expensive, and what price does not tell you

For now, … hotels have a detailed entry with a price; the others follow, one entry a day. The lists below therefore only cover those.

…

The five least expensive

    The five most expensive

      Price of an entry-level room in regular season, in Swiss francs, rounded and cross-checked across several sources. How to read these prices.

      Our reading. Price does not follow the ranking: on 10 October 2026, the world's No. 1, Rosewood Hong Kong, stays under CHF 1,000 a night. The five most expensive addresses are suite or villa hotels, or islands: you pay for space and isolation, not for the city. The comparison is therefore uneven. At the same price, an 80 m² suite is not a 35 m² room, and that is the first reflex to have when reading the list.

      Switzerland in … addresses

      The Swiss hotels of the portal, sorted by number of distinctions and then by price when it is known:

        Geneva: four houses, two logics

        The Beau-Rivage, on quai du Mont-Blanc, has existed since 1865 and has belonged to the same family for five generations. Its restaurant, Le Chat-Botté, has one star. The Woodward, on quai Wilson, occupies a 1901 building: 26 suites, 21 of them lakeside, and an American brand (Auberge) in charge since February 2025. The Woodward has three Keys, the Beau-Rivage two. The Four Seasons des Bergues and the Mandarin Oriental Geneva are Forbes Five-Star.

        Our reading. The Woodward if you want space: it has suites only, from 55 m² at least. The Beau-Rivage if you want history. The price gap is around 1 to 2.5, and it is justified more by square metres than by quality.

        Beyond Geneva

        Switzerland also has its grand mountain and lakeside hotels: Badrutt's Palace, the Kulm and the Carlton in St. Moritz, the Alpina in Gstaad, the Bürgenstock on Lake Lucerne, the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, the Baur au Lac in Zurich, Les Trois Rois in Basel. All have three Keys.