Honest Luxury Travel Reviews — Hotels, Restaurants & Experiences

9.8

TastesOf Rating

Exceptional

Hotels

OnsenForest SettingJapanese DesignSpaKaiseki Dining

Japan·Kyoto, Japan·$$$$$

Aman Kyoto

The Forest Hotel

"The rare luxury property that earns the word "sanctuary.""

The most quietly extraordinary hotel in Japan. Hidden in a forest at the foot of the Kitayama mountains, Aman Kyoto is the rare luxury property that earns the word "sanctuary." The rooms are vast, the service is invisible in the best possible way, and the onsen is the finest we have encountered anywhere in the country. If you visit Kyoto once in your life, stay here.

TastesOf Contributors

Visited February 2026 · Published March 2026

Starting from

$$$$$

9.7

TastesOf Rating

Exceptional

Restaurants

Tasting MenuNordic CuisineFermentationForagingWine Pairing

Denmark·Copenhagen, Denmark·$$$$$

Noma

The Restaurant That Changed Everything

"The most focused, personal, and quietly radical cooking he has ever produced."

Noma has been declared the world's best restaurant four times, and the weight of that reputation is something you feel before you even sit down. What surprised us was how little it matters once the food arrives. René Redzepi's final chapter — the restaurant closed its permanent doors in early 2025 and now operates as a series of pop-ups — is the most focused, personal, and quietly radical cooking he has ever produced. We were there for the last winter season. It was worth every penny and every year of trying to get a reservation.

TastesOf Contributors

Visited December 2025 · Published January 2026

Starting from

$$$$$

9.6

TastesOf Rating

Outstanding

Hotels

Private ReserveBig FiveGreat MigrationTented CampConservation

Tanzania·Serengeti, Tanzania·$$$$$

Singita Grumeti

The Serengeti at Its Most Intimate

"You can drive for an hour without seeing another vehicle."

Singita Grumeti sits on a private 350,000-acre reserve in the western corridor of the Serengeti — a concession so vast that you can drive for an hour without seeing another vehicle. The lodges are extraordinary: Sabora Tented Camp feels like a 1920s explorer's outpost reimagined with every modern comfort, while Faru Faru River Lodge offers some of the most dramatic game viewing in Africa from its deck. The guides are the best we have encountered on the continent. This is what a safari should be.

TastesOf Contributors

Visited October 2025 · Published November 2025

Starting from

$$$$$

9.5

TastesOf Rating

Outstanding

Restaurants

Tasting MenuItalian CuisineThree Michelin StarsWine ListModena

Italy·Modena, Italy·$$$$$

Osteria Francescana

Massimo Bottura's Masterwork

""Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano" remains one of the great dishes of the century."

Massimo Bottura's three-Michelin-star restaurant in Modena is one of the most discussed restaurants in the world, and the discussion is entirely justified. The cooking is intellectually rigorous and emotionally generous in equal measure — dishes that reference Italian culinary history while dismantling it. "Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano" remains one of the great dishes of the century. The room is intimate, the service is warm without being cloying, and the wine list — focused on Emilia-Romagna and Burgundy — is exceptional. Book six months ahead.

TastesOf Contributors

Visited September 2025 · Published October 2025

Starting from

$$$$$

9.4

TastesOf Rating

Outstanding

Hotels

Overwater VillasSnorkellingCOMO SpaPrivate IslandDiving

Maldives·South Malé Atoll, Maldives·$$$$$

COMO Cocoa Island

The Maldives Distilled

"The design is calm rather than ostentatious — restraint as the ultimate luxury."

COMO Cocoa Island is built on a tiny private island in the South Malé Atoll — 33 overwater suites, a COMO Shambhala spa, and some of the clearest water in the Maldives. What distinguishes it from the dozens of luxury Maldives resorts is restraint: the design is calm rather than ostentatious, the food is genuinely good rather than merely expensive, and the service has a warmth that larger resorts struggle to maintain. The snorkelling directly off the jetty is extraordinary. Stay a minimum of five nights.

TastesOf Contributors

Visited August 2025 · Published September 2025

Starting from

$$$$$

9.4

TastesOf Rating

Outstanding

Restaurants

SeafoodFour Stars NYTTasting MenuMidtown ManhattanWine List

USA·New York, USA·$$$$$

Le Bernardin

New York's Finest Table

"A kind of clarity that is almost meditative."

Eric Ripert's Le Bernardin has held four stars from the New York Times for longer than most of its current diners have been eating at restaurants. The cooking is built on a single conviction: that the best thing you can do with exceptional seafood is interfere with it as little as possible. The result is a kind of clarity that is almost meditative. The room is formal without being stiff, the service is among the most professional in the city, and the wine list — particularly the Burgundy selection — is outstanding. One of the handful of restaurants in the world that genuinely deserves every accolade it has received.

TastesOf Contributors

Visited May 2025 · Published June 2025

Starting from

$$$$$

9.3

TastesOf Rating

Outstanding

Hotels

Place VendômeBar HemingwayEspadon RestaurantSpa RitzHistoric

France·Paris, France·$$$$$

The Ritz Paris

The Original

"The Bar Hemingway remains one of the great hotel bars in the world."

The Ritz Paris is one of those hotels that exists in the cultural imagination before you ever walk through the door — Hemingway's bar, Coco Chanel's suite, the Place Vendôme address. The question is whether the reality matches the mythology. After the €400 million renovation completed in 2016, the answer is largely yes. The rooms are magnificent, the Espadon restaurant has found its footing under a new chef, and the Bar Hemingway remains one of the great hotel bars in the world. It is expensive in a way that requires no apology. That is the point.

TastesOf Contributors

Visited June 2025 · Published July 2025

Starting from

$$$$$

9.2

TastesOf Rating

Excellent

Hotels

River ValleyPrivate Pool VillasSpaRice TerracesUbud

Indonesia·Ubud, Bali·$$$$$

Four Seasons Sayan

Above the Ayung River

"The arrival is one of the great hotel entrances in Asia."

The Four Seasons Sayan sits above the Ayung River gorge in Ubud, surrounded by rice terraces and jungle. The arrival — crossing a suspension bridge, descending through a lotus pond — is one of the great hotel entrances in Asia. The villas are extraordinary: private pools, outdoor bathtubs, and views over the river valley that make it genuinely difficult to leave. The spa is the finest in Bali. The food is better than it needs to be. If you are going to Bali, this is where you stay.

TastesOf Contributors

Visited March 2025 · Published April 2025

Starting from

$$$$$

Essential Reads

Aman Kyoto

Noma

Aman Kyoto

Noma

Singita Grumeti

Osteria Francescana

COMO Cocoa Island

Le Bernardin

The Ritz Paris

Four Seasons Sayan

What Our Ratings Mean

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