This year’s annual Hot List of the best new hotels from around the world is a story of resilience. Despite enormous hardship in the travel industry, exceptional properties have continued to open across the globe (nearly a thousand last year in the U.S. alone). As always with this endeavor, each of the 69 picks on this year’s list was safely vetted by our international network of correspondents.  But as we’ve learned in the past year, everything is connected, which is why we’ve also expanded the scope of hot to include restaurants, transportation, and destinations, as well as more news we’re excited about set for later this year. In spite of it all, the list is full of successes. We think they’re a pretty great way to mark the 25th anniversary of this list.

Clear here to see the entire Hot List for 2021. 

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  • Paradero Todos Santos
    Courtesy Paradero Todos SantosHOTELParadero Todos Santos$$$ |  HOT LIST 2021Though experience-based lodgings are old news in countries throughout South America and Africa, Paradero claims to be the first hotel brand to introduce the model to Mexico. Located on a previously unused 5.5-acre plot within a farming community in Baja California Sur’s Todos Santos, it’s become the mission of Mexico City-based founders Pablo Carmona and Joshua Kremer to preserve the over 160 acres of family-owned farms that surround the property. The resort, set in front of a palm tree oasis about 20 minutes from the beach, is made up of a series of brutalist-inspired structures designed by architects Ruben Valdez and Yashar Yektajo. They took note of the landscape’s sunbaked hues and designed the property in golden shades to blend into the sandy natural surrounds. The buildings’ desert tones also allow the plants in the resort’s 100,000-square-foot botanical garden to pop: red sand verbena, Mojave yucca, and Shaw’s agave. Though the resort’s outdoor spa and half-moon shaped infinity pool make it hard to leave the grounds, it would be a shame to miss out on guided hikes through cactus fields to reach the deserted Las Palmas beach, taco tours of the best local spots in Todos Santos, or private surf lessons. The hotel has custom boards positioned in the open-air living room, an airy sanctuary where guests kick back and relax post-adventure in anticipation of seafood-centric meals prepared by chef Eduardo Ríos, an alum of Enrique Olvera’s Mexico City restaurant, PujolRooms from $550. —Michaela TrimbleMAKE A RESERVATIONPowered by Expedia
  • Hotel Barriere Le Carl Gustaf
    Fabrice RambertHOTELHôtel Barrière Le Carl Gustaf$$$ |  HOT LIST 2021Those who knew and loved Le Carl Gustaf the first time around will have even more reason to fall for it now that the Barriere group has taken over. The hotelier company—known for reviving particularly beloved but withering properties—has made sure to keep the spirit of Le Carl, as it’s known, chic and easy. The raw wood and petite terraces still makes it feel like the beach house of a fabulous French friend, yet the hotel’s reimagined approach to the environment gives it a 21st century edge. Paris design firm Gilles and Boissier gussied up the 21 rooms with creams, stone, and linen, as well as a profusion of palms separating various spaces with a curtain of greenery. Suites have been reconfigured to catch sea breezes, providing natural air conditioning. And a fleet of electric bikes brings guests down the hill upon which the hotel stands like a lookout, over the town and coastline, to nearby Shell Beach, the perfect place for a picnic prepared by the hotel’s staff that feels, appropriately simple and chic—much like Le Carl itself.  From $1,085 per night. —Dan KodayMAKE A RESERVATION

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