Summer has lost its monopoly on the best trips of the year. In August 2026, Virtuoso, the global luxury travel network, reported that fall bookings are up 59% and sales are up 69% compared with last year. November is up more than 70% on both measures. Virtuoso’s own summary: fall is the new summer.

These are the five places I would choose this season, counted down from V to I, with the hotel that makes each one worth the trip. Number one is my top destination to visit right now.

Why travelers are moving to fall

Travelers are choosing fall for what the season offers, not for what it saves. In Virtuoso’s words, “timing is the ultimate luxury.”

• Fewer crowds. The summer rush is over, so the places you came to see feel like themselves again.
• Better conditions. Many destinations are at their best now, from Kyoto’s autumn color to the white truffle season in Umbria.
• Longer stays. Virtuoso reports that the average luxury stay has lengthened, and travelers are going later and staying longer.
• More competition for rooms. Fall is no longer a bargain season. Fall rates in Europe are up more than 7%, so the best rooms need to be booked early.

One curiosity: only four of these five destinations are actually in fall. Buenos Aires is in the Southern Hemisphere, so November there is spring.

V. Los Cabos: Las Ventanas al Paraíso

Las Ventanas al Paraíso, Spanish for “windows to paradise,” has been a benchmark for Los Cabos since it opened in 1997. Today it holds Five Diamond and Forbes Five-Star status, and it ranked No. 44 on The World’s 50 Best Hotels list for 2025. It is an intimate resort of 84 suites and villas, on the corridor between San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.

Why now: Fall is the run-up to whale season. Tours officially run from December 15 to April 15 and peak from January to March, but the first sightings often come in early to mid-November.

The offer: Rosewood’s advisor-only Rosewood Beyond sale gives 30% off the Best Available Rate, plus an added benefit at each hotel. Book from November 3 to 10, 2026, for stays through June 30, 2027. There is no public booking link or promo code. Las Ventanas participates, but its villas are excluded, so the rate applies to the suites. Blackout dates apply.

IV. Marrakech: La Mamounia

La Mamounia has been Marrakech’s grande dame since 1923, but its story starts with the gardens. In the 18th century, the sultan gave them to his son, Prince Moulay Mamoun, as a wedding gift. They became known as Arset el Mamoun, and the hotel takes its name from them.

• Churchill’s favorite. Winston Churchill was a devoted guest. He brought Roosevelt to Marrakech after the 1943 Casablanca Conference, and the hotel now has a Churchill bar and a Churchill Suite.
• A designer’s hand. Jacques Garcia led the restoration, and the hotel reopened in 2009 almost entirely refurbished.
• The gardens today. Nearly 20 acres of historic gardens still surround the hotel.

Why now: November brings daytime highs of 21 to 24°C (70 to 75°F), far from the summer heat. Evenings turn chilly, so pack a layer.

III. Buenos Aires: Faena

Faena turned an abandoned grain silo into the hotel that helped define Puerto Madero’s cultural life. Alan Faena, a former fashion designer, opened it in October 2004 with designer Philippe Starck, after an investment of about US$40 million.

• A building saved from demolition. El Porteño was built on land bought in 1902 by the grain company Bunge y Born, using bricks from Manchester. By 1998 it was slated for demolition, until preservation groups saved it.
• A hotel made for its city. Faena told Starck he did not want to recreate New York in Buenos Aires, and the hotel was built to feel like its own city.
• Tango under one roof. The hotel’s El Cabaret stages Rojo Tango, so one of the city’s best-known tango shows is an elevator ride from your room.

Why now: November is spring in Buenos Aires. Jacarandas, among the city’s most common trees, flower in spring and early summer.

II. Umbria: Castello di Reschio

Castello di Reschio is a castle of more than 1,000 years that took one family over three decades to bring back to life. The Bolzas arrived in the 1980s, when almost all of the estate’s 50 farmhouses were in ruins. Architect Benedikt Bolza has since turned 31 of those ruins into houses, and the castle itself opened as a 36-suite hotel in 2021.

• A vast private estate. The property covers 1,500 hectares, about 3,700 acres, of hills, forest and seven artificial lakes.
• Snow-white horses. The family breeds Andalusians, whose coats turn white with age. They are not entered into competitions.
• A spa in the wine cellars. The Bathhouse spa sits in the castle’s former wine cellars.
• A papal telling-off. In the 16th century, the Pope reprimanded the castle’s owners over the Cesi coat of arms above the entrance.

Why now: Fall is white truffle season. The 46th Salone Nazionale del Tartufo Bianco Pregiato runs in Città di Castello, also in northern Umbria, on weekends through November 15, 2026.

I. Kyoto: Capella Kyoto

Kyoto is my top destination to visit right now, and Capella Kyoto is a big part of the reason. The hotel opened on March 22, 2026 as Capella’s first in Japan, in Miyagawa-cho, one of Kyoto’s historic geisha districts.

• A modern machiya. Kengo Kuma & Associates and Brewin Design Office designed the 89-room, four-story hotel, drawing on Kyoto’s traditional townhouses. It stands on the former site of Shinmichi Elementary School.
• Next door to the geiko. The hotel is part of a development that includes the restored Miyagawa-cho Kaburenjo Theatre, where geiko and maiko perform.
• Culturists. Capella’s Culturist team acts as your neighborhood guide. The Capella Curates program includes a private teahouse encounter with a maiko, a kintsugi workshop with a lacquerware master, and a visit to a 150-year-old sandal atelier. Some programs carry a charge.
• Twelve seats. SoNoMa by SingleThread, the signature restaurant, is built around an intimate 12-seat counter.

Why now: Kyoto’s color comes late this year. The Japan Meteorological Corporation forecast puts yellow foliage at its best around November 27 and red maples around December 11.

What Virtuoso perks are

Virtuoso perks are extras a hotel adds when a Virtuoso advisor makes your booking. The network includes more than 1,500 luxury hotels and more than 20,000 advisors. Amenities vary by hotel, but they typically include:

• Daily breakfast for two
• A room upgrade, subject to availability at check-in
• Early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability
• One special amenity per stay, usually a $100 property credit, a massage, a car transfer, or a lunch or dinner

A few details are worth knowing:

• No membership or minimum stay. You don’t join anything, and the perks apply even to a one-night stay.
• The rate is usually competitive. Pricing generally matches the hotel’s best flexible rate. Prepaid and promotional rates typically don’t qualify.
• Some hotels go further. Certain properties add discounts or free-night offers for Virtuoso guests.
• You keep your points. At co-branded hotels, such as Ritz-Carlton with Marriott Bonvoy, stays still earn loyalty points.

Where would you go first?

Five destinations, one season, and the best rooms are going faster than they used to. If one of these is calling you, send me a message and we’ll plan it together, including the perks that come with booking through an advisor.

Follow along on Instagram at @joao.donadel and @elite.wanderings.