Your Year in Travel, Wrapped

Ever and always, food is front of mind for Traveler readers. When it comes to picking where to visit, 41% of you said restaurants and food culture are a critical component in determining your destination—and rightly so. Culinary experiences are some of the best ways to learn more about a place and its people, whether it’s through the creative restaurants of Guatemala, the wine scenes of Uruguay or even Thailand, or Indigenous foodways in the United States.

This emphasis on food also extends to where you stay. When selecting hotels or accommodations, 22% of you consider a property’s food and beverage offerings to be the top factor, after location (61%) and price (34%). In fact, you all love food so much (it makes sense, so do we) that 11% of you said that culinary experiences, from local cuisine to gourmet dining, encourage return visits.

Furthermore, 9% of you consider fine dining and award-winning restaurants an essential part of the luxury travel experience. Depending on the type of traveler you are, perhaps that sense of luxury is less about white tablecloths and crystal goblets and more about the creativity of the chefs who are cooking up delicious dishes that tell a story about the place you’re visiting. (And their opinions on where to travel for food are the most valuable intel you can get—for chef-approved recommendations for the tastiest places to eat all over the world, check out our global food map of the world’s best restaurants.)

“Luxury” still begins with the hotel room

When asked about your travel priorities, you told us that you define “luxury” as a more nuanced thing. Luxury is also about everything from opportunities to spend time away from home to the immersiveness of a food experience. But the absolute number one factor that makes a trip feel like a luxurious indulgence? It’s still all about the hotels. In the survey, 32% of you ranked lodging and accommodations as the primary component when it comes to luxury travel, emphasizing comfort and exclusivity in where you stay. We tend to agree; check out our latest iteration of the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2025 where we share our editor-favorite hotels that we keep coming back to again and again.

But your definition of what luxury can be evolved

Not far behind the hotel factor, however, was the importance of unique experiences; 27% of you ranked this highly, which tells us that you, as always, seek memorable and distinctive activities no matter which corner of the world you’re exploring. And fun fact: only 6% said that transportation options—as in, things like flying first or business class—are what make a trip feel luxurious. This could indicate your shifting priorities, proving that comfort at the destination and once-in-a-lifetime experiences are more prized than Champagne and caviar in the front of the plane. That said, a lie-flat bed at 35,000 feet in the air doesn’t hurt though, right?

Finally, you stayed loyal to your most trusted hotel brands. Here’s your top 10 (and some inspiration for where to book:

1. Marriott Hotels & Resorts
2. Oberoi Hotels
3. Taj Hotels
4. Hilton Hotels & Resorts
5. Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts
6. Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts
7. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
8. Ritz-Carlton Hotels & Resorts
9. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
10. Belmond

Already planning next year? For more inspiration, see our complete list of Readers’ Choice Awards winners here.

Credits

Lead editor: Lale Arikoglu

Editor: Arati Menon

Writer: Matt Ortile

Lead visuals: Matthew Buck, Pete Winterbottom

Visuals: Andrea Edelman

Social media: Mercedes Bleth, Fatama Choudhury

Audience Development: Abigail Malbon