The Best Hotel Transformations: 2022 Hot List
Each year, we index the best, brightest openings, but for the 26th edition of Condé Nast Traveler’s Hot List, we’ve upped the ante: This time, editors at all seven worldwide editions had a hand in scouting and selecting the entries. At its heart, this is still a hotel list—a whopping 96 made the cut this year, which is a true testament to the industry’s resilience. But because (almost) no hotel is an island, we’ve widened the lens to include the restaurants, culture, transportation, and cruises you need to know, and the destinations that are reinventing themselves. We mean it when we say this may be the hottest Hot List yet. Here, the six best hotel transformations.
Click here to see the entire Hot List for 2022.
All listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you book something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Renée KempshotelAirelles Château de Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle — France
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Hot List 2022Set within the gates of Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle provides an unrivaled exclusive glimpse into the lives of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette—every silver spoon, antique armoire, and gilded portrait tells the tale of life pre-French Revolution. The 14 rooms and suites take their cues from a more opulent era, with chandeliers and marble fireplaces setting the tone; meanwhile, dinner takes a theatrical turn, with waitstaff decked out in period costumes and a five-course meal serving up the Sun King’s favorite dishes (all helmed by Alain Ducasse). Ask for the “king’s wake-up call,” to rise to the tunes of classical music and a bubble bath accompanied by crystal glasses of orange-scented milk, and you might be spoiled for life. Rooms from $2,021. —Kasia Dietz
Courtesy Four Seasons Resort HualalaihotelFour Seasons Resort Hualãlai — Hawaii, U.S.
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Gold List 2019 Hot List 2022 
Readers' Choice Awards 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021Fresh off a multiyear, multimillion-dollar renovation that saw a refresh of every guest room, the expansion of its family-friendly villa offerings, a sleek new pool, and several updates to its world-class golf course, Four Seasons Resort Hualãlai is feeling better than ever. Every accommodation type—guest room, suite, or villa—is spacious, with a private outdoor area, while all of the ground-level rooms have outdoor showers made from lava stone and planted with birds-of-paradise and other tropical flowers. The newly expanded two-story villas are game changers for the property and offer next-level luxury for families or groups of friends traveling together. Rooms from $1,100. —Rebecca Misner
Ken Hayden/Rosewood Le Guanahani St. BarthhotelRosewood Le Guanahani St. Barth
$$$ | Hot List 2022The newly reopened Rosewood Le Guanahani is located along an 18-acre peninsula overlooking Marigot Bay, the so-called other side of the island. The resort feels considerably more secluded than some of its competitors because of this, with each of its discrete 66 cottages (all with private entrances; many suites have private pools) enveloped by lazily drooping palm trees and other local fauna. Another perk of its location along this quiet northeast-coast peninsula? The endless breeze wafting across the beachside infinity pool and into Beach House St. Barth, an airy eatery that feels more like a chic friend’s home in the Mediterranean or French Riviera than a resort restaurant in the Caribbean. Rooms from $1,253. —Lale Arikoglu
Richard MandelkornhotelThe Langham, Boston
$$ | Hot List 2022 Readers' Choice Awards 2017, 2021In the heart of Boston’s Financial District, this Langham offers as much style as it does comfort. The ground-floor whiskey bar and a cavernous Italian restaurant in the former bank’s grand hall, located off picturesque Post Office Square, have had Bostonians eager to get back in the building for cocktails or a brunch reservation since the property closed in 2019 for a two-year facelift. But the real treasures are in the rooms, where creature comforts like velvet-soft robes and a heavenly bed can make you forget the busy world outside. Book a suite for top-floor views and a massive white-marble bathroom. Rooms from $425. —Shannon McMahon
Saba Rock ResorthotelSaba Rock — British Virgin Islands
$$$ | Hot List 2022At just one acre, Saba is truly a speck on the map—and one worth traveling to, thanks to this new nine-room boutique hotel. The property’s rebirth after the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Irma and Maria brings this beloved island property off Virgin Gorda back to its former glory, with nautical designs, fresh Caribbean flavors, wellness experiences, and water sports galore. The accommodations boast big picture windows and sliding glass doors overlooking swaying palms and turquoise water. If you can swing it, the two spacious suites are well worth the splurge for their sprawling terraces, picturesque panoramas, and deep-soaking tubs. Rooms from $550. —Sallie Lewis
Matthieu SalvainghotelSaint James Paris
$$ | Hot List 2022 Readers' Choice Awards 2017, 2018, 2019Set in a neoclassical former private residence and surrounded by a sizable structural garden, Paris’s only château-hotel underwent a radical decorative transformation last year—courtesy of Laura Gonzalez, who made it feel like a one-of-a-kind Parisian home once again. The 50 rooms and suites are perfect examples of Gonzalez’s maximalist design style: Think nature-inspired wallpapers, ornate moldings, and plush fabrics in mixed colors and textures. The wellness program also got a total reboot and was relaunched in 2021 as a three-room Guerlain spa, with large vaulted spaces, a stone staircase, and an aesthetic reminiscent of Greco-Roman thermal baths. Rooms from $620. —Lindsey Tramuta