October 2026 has brought a wave of new luxury openings across the world, from a mountainside resort in the Canadian Rockies to six private apartments in a 15th-century Florentine palazzo. For travellers who judge a journey by its setting, its service and its sense of place, these are the luxury destinations to know now — each offering a different kind of indulgence, from mountain wellness to barefoot island calm.
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- Rimrock Banff opened on 7 October 2026 as the first Emblems Collection hotel in North America, with 320 rooms including 57 suites.
- La Réserve Firenze opened on 16 October 2026 with just six private apartments in Palazzo Segni, in Florence’s Oltrarno district.
- NIHI Rote launched in October 2026 on Rote Island, Indonesia, focused on barefoot luxury, surfing and equine wellbeing.
- The Webster Covent Garden opened in October 2026 in London with 167 rooms overlooking Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
- Canyon Ranch Austin opened in October 2026 overlooking Lake Travis, Texas, with a 40,000-square-foot spa.
- Experimental Roma opened in October 2026 in a former bank near Via Veneto in Rome, with 82 rooms and a rooftop pool.
Luxury destinations 2026: mountain grandeur in Banff
Rimrock Banff, Emblems Collection, has opened in Banff National Park, marking the North American debut of Accor’s curated luxury collection and only its second property worldwide, after Lucknam Park Hotel and Spa in England. Built into a mountainside above the town of Banff, within a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the resort’s terraced structure extends toward the Bow Valley, with expansive windows and natural materials framing the surrounding landscape.
The resort offers 320 guest rooms, including 57 suites, designed so beds, seating and quiet spaces face views of the Canadian Rockies. The standout Infinity Two-Bedroom Suite opens onto a wraparound terrace of more than 1,260 square feet, with a barrel sauna, a fire table and panoramic views across the national park. Wellness Studio Suites add movement and recovery amenities, wellness minibars and sleep-focused features.
The Bathhouse and the great outdoors
The 9,600-square-foot Bathhouse includes indoor and outdoor thermal environments, vitality and hot pools, a mountain-facing infinity pool, a salt sauna, an aromatic steam room and glacial cold plunges, plus a suspended meditation room and the Aurora sensory room. A 3,800-square-foot Active Centre offers Technogym and Peloton equipment, climbing and bouldering walls and guided movement classes.
Beyond the resort, the Expeditions Centre provides access to more than 50 seasonal activities, from privately guided hikes and forest bathing to alpine yoga, canyon ice walks, Indigenous cultural encounters and excursions to the Athabasca Glacier. This is luxury measured not in gold fittings but in mountain air, stillness and expertly guided wilderness.
Luxury destinations 2026: island calm on Rote
For a completely different luxury — bare feet, salt air and wide horizons — NIHI Rote launched in October 2026 on Rote Island, Indonesia. The resort focuses on barefoot luxury, premier surfing and a family-focused equine wellbeing programme, offering travellers a slower, nature-led escape far from city crowds.
Island luxury here means space, privacy and the natural world as the main attraction: surf breaks, open skies, horses and wellness woven into the landscape, rather than formal ballrooms and grand lobbies. It is the kind of destination travellers choose when they want to disconnect, recharge and return home restored.
Luxury destinations 2026: private palazzo living in Florence
Florence has added one of its most exclusive addresses with La Réserve Firenze, which opened on 16 October 2026. Rather than a conventional hotel, it offers just six private apartments inside the meticulously restored 15th-century Palazzo Segni, on Via Santo Spirito in the historic Oltrarno district — the quieter, artisan side of the Arno.
Each apartment ranges from about 180 to 210 square metres, with full kitchens, marble bathrooms and living space designed for extended stays. Services include 24-hour concierge support, a maître de maison, twice-daily cleaning and breakfast served inside the apartment, while guests can request a private chef, personal trainer, yoga teacher, massage or babysitter. A rooftop terrace attached to the three-bedroom duplex overlooks Santo Spirito and Palazzo Pitti. Reported rates start at around €1,890 per night with a two-night minimum, depending on apartment and dates.
This is luxury as a private residence: cook with ingredients from Santo Spirito market, ask a chef to take over the kitchen, or leave the entire day to the concierge — all while living inside Renaissance history rather than beside it.
Luxury destinations 2026: city elegance in London and Rome
London: The Webster Covent Garden
The Webster Covent Garden has launched in the heart of London, overlooking Lincoln’s Inn Fields, with 167 rooms across ten floors. Accommodation is joined by Italian restaurants, cocktail bars and cultural offerings, with interiors by London design studio Red Deer drawing inspiration from the literary tradition associated with Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez. Reported starting rates are 350 a night, and the property’s proximity to Covent Garden puts theatres, museums and shopping streets within easy reach.
Rome: Experimental Roma
Experimental Roma opened in October 2026 inside a former bank near Via Veneto, featuring 82 rooms, a rooftop pool and a restaurant centred on traditional Roman cuisine. It offers a stylish city base where heritage architecture meets contemporary hospitality — ideal for travellers who want Rome’s dolce vita with a modern edge.
Luxury destinations 2026: wellness on Lake Travis
Canyon Ranch Austin opened in October 2026 overlooking Lake Travis in Texas, featuring a 40,000-square-foot spa and a medical centre. It represents the wellness end of luxury travel: long stays built around health, fitness, rest and expert guidance, with water views and open Texas skies as the backdrop.
Together, these openings show how luxury travel in 2026 has diversified. Some travellers want mountain stillness, others island freedom, others a private palazzo or a wellness retreat. The common thread is personal service, distinctive settings and experiences that cannot be replicated at home.
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