The Best New Hotels in Central and South America: 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 nine best new hotels in Central and South America.
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.
Oliver PilcherhotelHacienda AltaGracia, Auberge Resorts Collection — Pérez Zeledon, Costa Rica
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Hot List 2016, 2022 
Readers' Choice Awards 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021Hacienda AltaGracia’s commitment to wellness and service begins from the moment you touch down on the property’s private airstrip. Grab a coffee from the on-site plantation before heading to one of 50 casitas, many of which include private plunge pools. From here, it’s up to you: Take a six-hour sunrise hike? Go horseback riding to a neighboring farm? Lounge by the pool with a pineapple-turmeric-ginger juice? Enjoy an immersive river bath and craniosacral facial at the spa? Done and done. A stay at Hacienda AltaGracia is like passing through a portal into another world—only here, everyone’s everyone’s biggest priority is you. Rooms from $1,410. —Lauren DeCarlo
Bronwyn KnighthotelVilla Bokéh — Antigua, Guatemala
$$ | Hot List 2022Set on the outskirts of Antigua’s cobbled downtown, this elegant 15-room boutique hotel offers a picture-perfect view of Volcán de Agua, one of three volcanoes that frame the colonial Guatemalan town. The property is part of the Relais & Chateaux group; as such, the service is more concierge-style and upscale. The in-house team can book bespoke experiences for guests, from an on-site tasting journey of local varietals of maíz through bite-size dishes to a natural dye workshop with a local textile studio. Most suites come with private balconies or enclosed gardens with firepits, while the greenhouse-style restaurant centers on elevated presentations of regional and Indigenous Guatemalan ingredients. Rooms from $264. —Michaela Trimble
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Marcos GuiponihotelPosada Ayana — José Ignacio, Uruguay
$$ | Hot List 2022Posada Ayana’s stylish yet relaxed approach toward luxury hospitality has quickly made its way onto the radar of HNW sun seekers and well-traveled art appreciators. The star attraction is Ta Khut, U.S. artist James Turrell’s latest Skyspace and first Uruguayan work. Two years in the making, this unexpected white marble pyramid jutting out of the sand dunes has significantly raised the culture bar in the area. When not taking in the sunrise light show, guests can be found swinging on their private terraces, mingling with art dealers and plastic surgeons at the communal dining table, and sipping orange juice alongside the green marble infinity pool. Rooms from $425. —Sorrel Moseley-Williams
Daniel PinheirohotelFasano Trancoso — Brazil
$$$ | Hot List 2022No travel destination in Brazil beats Trancoso’s laid-back and understated glamour, and Fasano Trancoso is its first full-service resort. The vast palm- and shrub-covered property is dotted with geometric white bungalows (most with private rooftop lounging decks), many of which face the ocean. Fasano classics like the beef carpaccio with black olives and three-fish crudo are on the menu at the main restaurant. Adults are often spotted sipping rosé by the pool, while kids are kept busy by a discreet army of private nannies and hotel monitors. Rooms from $520. —Alexandra Forbes
RosewoodhotelRosewood São Paulo
$$$ | Hot List 2022Rosewood’s first property in South America is already one of the city’s hottest destinations—the lobby restaurant and bar are buzzing every night of the week with Brazilian models and well-heeled entrepreneurs. And who can blame them? Though the hotel is unlike any other property in the city, it feels distinctly of São Paulo. Perhaps that’s thanks to the art commissioned for every space imaginable, from the illustrated rooftop pool floor to the custom pillow covers in each room. Or perhaps it’s the fantastic dining concepts, ranging from Brazilian-French fusion to pan–Latin American cuisine. It no doubt owes some thanks to the living and breathing Paulistas who are already flocking, infusing the space with life around the clock. Rooms from $530. —Megan Spurrell
SofitelhotelSofitel Barú Calablanca Beach Resort — Colombia
$$ | Hot List 2022Though Colombia once had a dearth of luxury beachfront resorts, it now has a superb one: the modern, scene-stealing Sofitel Barú Calablanca Beach Resort. The resort’s main building—it houses the lobby, two restaurants, multiple bars including a rooftop lounge, and the wellness center—is a striking piece of architecture, with stacked volumes and massive walls of glass that recall a contemporary-art museum. All 187 rooms are big and breezy, reflecting a neutral palette and pared-back mood board that wouldn’t look out of place in Montauk. There are also three restaurants and seven (!) bars, offering everything from lobster bao buns to spicy margaritas. Rooms from $390. —Paul Jebara
Explora El ChalténhotelExplora El Chaltén — Argentina
$$$ | Hot List 2022This excursion-based adventure lodge makes Patagonia both accessible and approachable from a comfortable base in El Chaltén, the youthful resort village at the northern end of Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park. Explora focuses on getting you away from the hotel more than it does on keeping you around—the members of the expedition team (almost all of whom are female) truly shine, answering questions before you can even think of them and effortlessly switching languages to assist different travelers. They help you not only navigate difficult landscapes but also understand them better. If you’re willing to forgo an outing, however, the simple spa and carnivore-friendly restaurant are good reasons to stick around. Rooms from $917. —Mark Johanson
