Hundreds of thousands of travellers have cast their votes in the 2026 Readers' Choice Awards, and the results for the Americas read like a potted history of the continent — told through hotel lobbies, ballrooms and beach clubs rather than museums.
Topping the list stateside is Hotel Bennett in Charleston, South Carolina, a property whose design leans hard into its setting: the rotunda at its heart carries a painted scene of the city's 18th-century harbour. Charleston has quietly become one of the most sought-after small cities in the US for short breaks, and a hotel that treats its architecture as part of the story clearly struck a chord with voters.
Out west, The Beverly Hills Hotel earned its place thanks to rooms with serious Hollywood pedigree — the kind of suites where John Wayne and Elizabeth Taylor once stayed. It's the classic Sunset Boulevard icon: poolside glamour, pink-and-green interiors and a guestbook that doubles as a film history lesson. If your idea of a US trip is celebrity-spotting through wallpaper rather than landmarks, this is the pick.
New York's newly reopened Waldorf Astoria also features among the winners, praised for its central location and food. The reopening has been one of the most anticipated hotel events in the city in years, and voters were evidently won over — the hotel even keeps a piano once owned by Cole Porter on hand and puts it to regular use. For a Manhattan stay with old-school Jazz Age atmosphere, it's now firmly back on the menu.
Beyond the US mainland, the list stretches across the hemisphere. In the Caribbean, Calabash Hotel took a top spot with beach-club-style rooms that voters clearly loved — the sort of laid-back, feet-in-the-sand setup that defines a proper island escape. And Mexico City makes an appearance too, a nod to how firmly the Mexican capital has planted itself on the short-break map. The city's hotel scene now stands comparison with any in the Americas, whether you're there for the museums, the food or the football at Azteca Stadium.
The scores behind the rankings are percentages representing overall average guest satisfaction, so these aren't critic's picks — they're the hotels real travellers rated highest after actually staying. That makes the list unusually practical: it filters out the places that photograph well but disappoint on arrival.
Why it matters for your next trip: if you're planning a US city break, an island honeymoon or a Mexico City long weekend, this shortlist does the vetting for you. A harbour-painted rotunda in Charleston, a Liz Taylor suite in Beverly Hills, Cole Porter's piano in Manhattan, a beach club in the Caribbean — each winner comes with a story attached, which is half the fun of booking it.
