The Best New Hotels in Africa and the Middle East: 2022 Hot List
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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 10 best new hotels in Africa and the Middle East.
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.
Amit GeronhotelSix Senses Shaharut — Israel
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Hot List 2022Luxury properties have been popping up in Israel, but this posh, remote destination deep in the Negev Desert is easily the standout. Seemingly sewn into a stark ridge, this luxury hotel is a seamless blend of artful pampering and site-specific architecture that has the most beautiful views you’ll ever see. Add in chic, meticulously designed accommodations (a modern fusion of local cultures with an emphasis on Israeli artisanship), an expansive spa, and a host of “experiences,” from hikes and camel rides to guided tours of historic sites, and you have a getaway of biblical proportions. Rooms from $1,000. —Roberta Bernstein
Inge PrinshotelSterrekopje Farm — South Africa
$$$ | Hot List 2022This is a deeply nurturing, therapeutic retreat on a 125-acre working farm; but rather than a farm stay or spa, think of it as a soft landing for the soul. Restorative rest is seen as the foundation for all healing to take place, as reflected in the 11 rooms—each a uniquely decorated, calming, meditative sanctuary. Harvesting fruits and vegetables with the chefs is a daily ritual, and the wholesome, organic food is honestly reason enough to book a stay here. Whether you stick with homemade herbal teas or try the handcrafted local wines, abundance rather than abstinence is the Sterrekopje way. Rooms from $1,463. —Jane Broughton
Wilderness SafarishotelWilderness Safaris DumaTau — Botswana
$$$ | Hot List 2022The latest premiere camp from luxury outfitter Wilderness Safaris is a fresh take on a familiar name. The new DumaTau is a collection of eight oversized tented suites overlooking the elephant-rich Osprey Lagoon, each with its own living area, shaded sundeck, plunge pool, and outdoor shower. A new wellness spa, The Osprey Retreat, and menus chock-full of locally sourced ingredients reflect the desires of today’s Botswana travelers to languish in nature and indulge mindfully while on safari. The combination of land- and water-based game viewing amplifies the immersive experience, as does the chance for close encounters with elephants, wild dogs, and rare-bird life. Rooms from $1,887. —Paul Rubio
Anantara World Islands ResorthotelAnantara World Islands Dubai Resort
$$ | Hot List 2022The Anantara World Islands have been in the making for a long time, starting and stopping over the decades due to financial and environmental reasons. Anantara World Islands Dubai Resort is the first resort to open on the man-made archipelago, and it’s hard to imagine that any subsequent properties will afford better views of Dubai’s glittering skyline. This is the kind of place you get to and then stay put, exploring the water by way of jet skis and hydrofoils. And though it’s still in its soft opening phase the family-friendly suites and incredibly lovely staff are already heading in the right direction. Rooms from $490. —Sarah Khan
Zulal Wellness ResorthotelZulal Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som — Qatar
$$$Zulal is a first-of-its-kind experience—a wellness resort of the region and for the region, celebrating ancient local methods and practices that have never been recognized in this way before, but doing it in a way that will appeal to global travelers. Combined with its unique setting on the coast in a destination that’s quickly becoming one to watch, it’s primed to become one of Qatar’s premier stays. Rooms from $1,815. —Sarah Khan
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Jerry RileyhotelEden Nairobi — Kenya
$$$ | Hot List 2022Fashion designer Anna Trzebinski transformed her longtime Nairobi home into this art-filled boutique hotel, close enough to the city's action while still feeling like a quiet retreat. It has everything you’d expect from a larger-than-life designer: rustic-chic decor in the nine rooms, mirrors framed by colorful blown-glass installations, a stylish bar hidden behind a curtain of ostrich eggs, and paintings and sculptures provided by Trzebinski’s own children. The serene hideaway really does feel like Eden, and both Nairobi residents and jet setters are already fans. On any given weekend, expect to see posh Kenyans on a weekend staycation and international crowds hosting destination weddings. Rooms from $500. —Sarah Khan
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SussurrohotelSussurro — Mozambique
$$$ | Hot List 2022Long before it even opened, Sussurro had developed a following almost exclusively through Instagram, tapping into a tribe of design-savvy, planet-loving creatives desperate to travel more consciously. The six bungalows encourage mindfulness with hand-stitched bathrobes, organic soaps, and heritage antique pieces. Everything on the restaurant’s seasonal menu aims to maximize support for local fishermen and traders, and the drinks have a similar sense of place—think cocktails made with tropical fruits and fair-trade coffee grown on the slopes of Mount Gorongosa. Whether you curl up on a Zanzibari daybed with a book from the library or join one of the dhow sunset cruises, it’s all extremely chill here. Rooms from $1,200. —Jane Broughton
Ingrid Rasmussenhotel25hours Hotel One Central — Dubai
$ | Hot List 2022This may be the most un-Dubai hotel of all Dubai hotels. Landing in the up-and-coming business district One Central, the imposing hotel marks a new chapter for the UAE—not only with the renaissance of a once-dreary area, but also with plucky concepts like a mixed-gender sauna and slogans like “Let’s spend the night together.” The predominant crowd is 30-something hipsters and creatives, who move between the co-working spaces, pottery and podcast studios, and craft coffee shop. Rooms and suites are all different, but you can expect hammocks, “sheik-sized” beds, and private bar areas with room for a DJ. But the real star of the show, Monkey Bar, is up on the rooftop, surrounded by jungle vines. Rooms from $175. —Isabella Sullivan
Fairmont TaghazouthotelFairmont Taghazout Bay — Morocco
$$ | Hot List 2022One of the first luxury resorts to debut in the windswept fishing village of Taghazout, this beachfront property—studded with gnarled olive trees and backed by the Atlas Mountains’ moss-green foothills—deftly melds the Fairmont's stalwart service and amenities galore with a distinctly laid-back vibe. The interiors are filled with locally sourced fabrics and bold accents of inky Moroccan blue, while floor-to ceiling windows afford views of the surfers (and occasionally a sauntering camel) on the beach. The 146 rooms are modern and sun-drenched, and the 15,000-square-foot spa—billed as Morocco’s largest—offers gob-smacking ocean vistas and transportive treatments. Rooms from $360. —Alexandra Kirkman
LXR Hotels & ResortshotelMango House Seychelles, LXR Hotels and Resorts
$$$ | Hot List 2022Mango House Seychelles is the former family home of Milanese fashion photographer Gian Paolo Barbieri, now operating as a 41-key boutique resort under LXR Hotels & Resorts. Its ultra-scenic seclusion on Mahé is the epitome of a laid-back yet luxurious Seychelles getaway: One can honestly gaze at the stunning bay views—from the beach, the two pools, or one’s own balcony—for hours and feel revitalized. And the championing of local artisans and suppliers makes one feel particularly connected to the location. The interiors inside each room read contemporary sea-breeze luxury, but you will be venturing out often for the resort's lauded upscale food and drink venues. Rooms from $925. —Travis Levius
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