The most spectacular new hotels in California, Hawaii and around the world

Afar magazine's list of top new hotels spans the globe, from the Kalahari Desert to Santa Barbara wine country

San Francisco-based Afar magazine has just released its list of the 31 best new hotels around the world. It’s a rundown certain to inspire wanderlust, even if you weren’t planning to visit, say, Winston Churchill’s London digs or the highlands of Iceland anytime soon.

But if you were, Afar’s editors suggest Iceland’s Highland Base Kerlingarfjöll. The sleek Nordic retreat about three hours from Reykjavík is run by the same team behind the Retreat at Blue Lagoon. And the new Raffles London at the OWO nestles 120 guest rooms and suites inside the historic Edwardian building that once served as Winston Churchill’s Old War Office — that’s the OWO reference.

California gets a nod for The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos, a 19th-century stagecoach stop and tavern that is now a luxurious 67-room Auberge Resort in the heart of Santa Barbara wine country.

And if you’re planning a Hawaii getaway, Afar’s list includes the post-tsunami reimagining of Kona Village, now a Rosewood Resort on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawai‘i with individual thatched-roof hales, a cultural center, swimming pools and four restaurants and bars spread across 81 acres of dramatic, volcanic landscape.

Here’s a peek at the North American hotels and resorts on the list. Find all 31, along with details and photos at www.afar.com and on newstands April 23.

Best New North American Hotels

The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, Los Olivos

Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort, Island of Hawai‘i

The Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York City

Ambiente Sedona, Sedona, Arizona

ULUM Moab, Moab, Utah

Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo, Jalisco, Mexico

Maroma, a Belmond Hotel, Riviera Maya, Mexico