Words by Shari Mycek, Becca Hensley, Katie McElveen, Jake Emen, and Kathryn Romeyn. Each hotel is being equally honored in no particular order.
As any balneophile (a person who loves baths and bathing) will tell you. A bath is not a bath, and a bathroom is never just a bathroom. Both are a work of art — a place of tranquility and rejuvenation — where ambiance is of utmost importance (as is the size and shape of the tub). Always, in our opinion, bathtubs must be freestanding, deep soaking, preferably curvaceous, and come with a decadent — sea, mountain, desert, savannah — view. Private outdoor baths, especially those with lush foliage and giant rain showers, are always favored, preferred actually, because who doesn’t love bathing or showering under an inky sky twinkling with stars.
For our 2026 Very Best Hotel Bathrooms and Bathtubs list, we put our most discerning balneophiles to the test to soak, shower, and soak some more. Following are their favorite reveals.
Fairmont Pacific Rim Vancouver, Canada
Not only do the corner suites at sleek Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver have the best views of the harbor and North Shore mountains, but they also vaunt oversized marble bathrooms with deep soaking tubs facing the vista, veritably floating over the water. In keeping with the hip city’s Asian and contemporary influences, the hotel further elevates the bathing experience with its Signature Ofuro and Fairmont Gold Ofuro rooms, which pamper guests with Japanese-style jetted tubs — also designed to ensure long bubble baths that submerge you not just in cleansing water, but also in the ultimate sense of place.
Shangri-La London at The Shard, UK
There was a time when views of London weren’t about rooftop spectacles. But once skyscrapers like The Shard appeared, rubberneckers could at last roost between clouds and skyline — marveling at panoramas from St. Paul’s to the Canary Wharf. Soak in the view from a glamorous Shangri-La suite, set on the top floors of western Europe’s tallest building. There, deliciously anchoring the bathrooms, freestanding bathtubs gaze through floor-to-ceiling windows, enveloping the pampered bather into the glittery urbanscape.
The Cape, A Thompson Hotel
While all guest rooms at The Cape, A Thompson Hotel in Los Cabos brandish terraces with unimpeded views of the roiling Sea of Cortez, guests find themselves loitering instead, nude and happy, in their bathroom’s shiny copper-leaf tub. Oversized, it also faces the water — but sits back enough to offer desirable privacy. After bathing, wrap in your cotton kimono robe, sip complimentary tequila (branded for the hotel), and order room service from culinary star Enrique Olvera’s Manta.
Atzaró Okavango, Botswana, Africa
Balneophiles visiting Atzaró Okavango will literally have to discipline themselves — set their alarm, do whatever it takes to not miss a meal (or worse yet, a game drive) — to ensure they’re out of the tubs. Yes plural. Two decadent, deep soaking tubs: one black onyx and located in suite; the other, a giant copper tub on the outdoor deck overlooking the savannah where elephants, hogwarts, giraffes (aka ‘models of the bush’), and zebra roam freely by day; lions and hippos call out by night. There are also two showers — one indoors, the other next, outside next to the copper tub. Divine.
The Retreat at Blue Lagoon, Iceland
It will be the most otherworldly bath you’ll ever take. This iconic soak is positioned to envelop you into the inky, 800-year-old lava fields and milky blue bits of algae-and-silica-rich lagoon rivulets that flow outside your window wall. The tub, a Halo by Blu Bathworks dynamo, steeps you in nature, tempting a long bath, though you’ve been indulging in The Retreat’s healing, private lagoons all day. Just looking from the tub out to the endless black terrain mesmerizes and grounds on the deepest level. Note to shower lovers: just behind the tub, the shower also excels. It’s water, heated with geothermal outflow, rains down at a caressing hurricane force from a custom-made shower head, said to be amongst the most powerful in the world.
The Retreat Costa Rica, Atenas
Dramatic bathrooms come in two styles: those that ensconce you in watery, scented luxury and windowed aeries where the view (almost) steals the show. Constructed with two floor-to ceiling windows that look out over an endless sea of mountains that turn purple at sunset, the bathrooms within The Retreat’s new Santosha Luxury Lofts are definitely in the second category. No matter where you are in the bathroom — soaking in the oversized tub, soaping up in the glass-walled shower, or even standing at the sink — the view is on full display. Even better, since the bathroom doesn’t reveal itself until you slide aside a massive hand-carved wooden door, the view is an unexpected thrill.
Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto, Japan
Japan is dotted with onsen, natural hot springs that bubble up from deep within the earth; many resorts offer access to shared onsen where guests can participate in this ancient healing ritual. If you’re like us, though, and would rather soak alone, book a Banyan Onsen Retreat suite at Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto. Here, deep Japanese-style bathtubs are not just beautiful in their simplicity — they’re crafted from wood from the hiba tree, which is often called the tree of life — but faucet directly from the onsen, transforming your bath into a private spa. As you soak, take in the view of the forest as you inhale the aromas of the hiba wood and fresh tatami mats that line the floor.
Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Krabi, Thailand
Bathrooms at The Ritz-Carlton Reserve Phulay Bay are more akin to gigantic personal hammams. And for one of its guest rooms dubbed the Royal Beach Villa, the bathroom is indeed fittingly palatial. Thai artwork and decor mesh with architecture and materials — think keyhole doors and windows, and white slab marble — fit for a sultan, producing an incredible bathroom you’ll never want to leave. It incorporates full his-and-hers corridors with separate vanities and walk-in closets, a central lounging couch, indoor and outdoor showers, and a sultry soaking bathtub enclave, sunken into the floor within a glass enclosure with jaw-dropping ocean and sunset views. Almost too magical to believe. But trust us, it’s real and it’s spectacular.
Rissai Valley, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Jiuzhaigou, China
The bathrooms at Rissai Valley, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve located on the Tibetan plateau within Jiuzhai Valley National Park, match the ethos of the property on the whole: proffering an invitation to slow down, take a few deep breaths, and soak in the splendor and healing powers of the fresh mountain air and untouched natural environs. Oversized stone tubs stretch the full length of the bathroom — long enough to lie down flat, with room to spare for a few friends, perhaps. Alongside the tub is a double rainfall shower positioned in front of a full wall glass window with a view of the mountains and valleys beyond.
Kisawa Sanctuary, Benguerra Island, Mozambique
The bathing experience at Mozambique’s Kisawa Sanctuary is the definition of paradise. Gargantuan sliding glass doors open onto a bathtub and open-air shower and bathtub — as a fresh sea breeze rises from the cerulean Indian Ocean and across blinding white dunes. The tubs themselves, hand-carved from stone, are like something made in the sea itself, wavy, rippled ,and organic. Equal parts seashell and Botticelli’s famed “Birth of Venus” painting, the result is singularly stunning. Making the entire bathroom absolutely sing is a double-everything approach. It’s larger than many hotel rooms or suites, and features a long vanity, a generous closet, and private toilets on each side of the hallowed space.
Singita Kwitonda Lodge, Kinigi, Rwanda
Wrapped in brick walls, wood, and glass stretching floor to ceiling, the bathrooms at Singita Kwitonda Lodge — peering into Volcanoes National Park — are like a warm hug: nubby rugs underfoot and Rwandan woven baskets and terracotta pots enhancing the energy and sense of place. The freestanding bathtub is the preeminent place to light a candle or incense, pour in some Malee bath syrup, add a scoop of salts, and read “Gorillas in the Mist” with a glass of vino. But there is also a plump massage bed, made up with fluffy blankets and practically beckoning a therapist to bestow a gorgeously scented, deeply restorative post–gorilla trekking rubdown.
Feature image, courtesy of The Retreat, Costa Rica
