The Best Hotels and Resorts in the World: The Gold List 2026 | Condé Nast Traveler

"Three flights and two and a half days later, I finally landed in the Kimberley, Western Australia’s northernmost region. My stay at El Questro Homestead, a cattle station turned luxury property, would end up being not much longer than the journey to reach it. Regardless of the length of my visit, nowhere else could I have experienced all that I did there. This member of Luxury Lodges of Australia has 10 rooms and suites on a clifftop overlooking the Chamberlain River. As part of a 2022 Indigenous Land Use Agreement, the traditional Ngarinyin landowners regained more than 400,000 acres of the property in a historic arrangement that El Questro’s owners say will make it possible to increase Indigenous employment. Many aspects of a stay at El Questro, however, will remain unchanged: In the morning screeching cockatoos act as an alarm clock. In the evening you can sit and watch crocodiles in the waters below. Later, a tree frog may hop its way into your bathroom. Four-wheel drive safaris and helicopter tours will take you to remote waterfalls and hot springs, and here, in one of the most sparsely inhabited regions in the world, new animal and plant species are discovered regularly. I happened to be standing next to a ranger when he came upon what appeared to be a new species of beetle. But I was even more impressed by Injiid Marlabu Calls Us, an immersive experience developed by traditional owners Mary and Nelson O’Reeri and their daughter Shonelle. The family recounts how Nelson's grandmother Injiid grew up on this land and how it was taken away from her by cattle barons; how her son was forced into a state home; and how she found him again decades later. To listen is to learn about the challenges and hopes that life holds for many Aboriginal people today. You will likely be deeply moved, and it may prove to be one of the most lasting memories of your visit. From $1,572. —Dennis Braatz" - CNT Editors