Stop Everything—These Boutique Hotels Are on Another Planet

Beautiful hotels that made our curated shortlist—plus the travel-centric stories everyone’s raving about right now.

Launched every other Tuesday, The Hotels Above Par Edit spotlights our best-performing travel stories and the newest standout entries in our uber-curated boutique hotel database. (If it’s featured here, it has been reviewed and approved by an expert journalist. NOT artificial intelligence.)

What’s one boutique hotel you think deserves a spot in our database? Drop your recommendations in the comments—we just might send one of our expert journalists to check it out in real life. 💬

Wanderlust has been activated. Read on, friends. ⬇️

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Whether you're dreaming up your next getaway or ready to book it now, we’ve got you covered. Anything with a ✔️ means you can reserve it directly on our site—and if you spot a 🎁, that means VIP perks are coming your way at no extra cost. Bookable or not, our FREE boutique hotel database is your go-to for the very best stays around the world. Discover the latest gems we’ve freshly checked into below.

The Shinmonzen (Kyoto, Japan)✔️

The nine-room property coincidentally sits on one of the rare streets in Kyoto without visible power lines alongside local art galleries, homey coffee shops, and traditional tea rooms. The flawless aesthetic of the property’s exterior location correlates directly to its interiors, which is only the beginning of The Shinmonzen’s story.

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Chateau Voltaire (Paris, France)

“Ah, bonjour Paris!” You will say this over and over again while staying here simply because it is right in the middle of the first arrondissement. Oui, oui, Emily in Paris feels for sure. Chateau Voltaire is more Sylvie in vibes: smart, sophisticated, and much less stupid.

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Santa Monica Proper Hotel (Santa Monica, California)✔️🎁

Joining the rise of exclusive members’ clubs—a trend booming in cities like New York and Los Angeles—Proper Club is committed to more than just happy hours and social perks. And that’s where the Santa Monica Proper’s Recovery Suite comes in. Think chic hotel suite, but instead of a plush king-size bed, there’s an Ammortal Chamber in its place.

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Sky Valley Boutique Hotel (Yunnan, China)

The sense of officialdom is very much at the core of Sky Valley Heritage boutique hotel’s ethos. Timings here are everything: arrival, check out, and even the exact time you want to sit down for breakfast. If you are a go-with-the-flow type, close this browser tab because this is not the one for you.

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Hotel Excelsior (Dubrovnik, Croatia) ✔️

Traveler tested, Lannister approved. Dubrovnik’s Hotel Excelsior is a property fit for kings and queens, boasting unobstructed views of Old Town and staking its claim as the Pearl of the Adriatic’s premier hotel offering. And while the coastal country of Croatia is so much more than the backdrop of Game of Thrones’ most iconic scenes, this uncontested crown jewel of hospitality certainly touts the amenities fit for historical fiction royalty.

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Hotel St. George (Helsinki, Finland) ✔️🎁

Stepping into Hotel St. George feels like discovering a secret—one you’ll want to keep to yourself. This isn’t just another luxury hotel; it’s a carefully curated experience that envelops you in understated Nordic elegance the moment you walk through its historic doors. Once a 19th-century printing house and artists’ studio, the building has been transformed into what might be Helsinki’s most delightful hotel, where every design choice feels intentional but never forced.

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