Saturday, September 5, 2026

  1. Perched on the slopes of Helshoogte Pass above the Stellenbosch vineyards, this Forbes Five Star lodge and spa sits inside a working wine estate owned by the founder of Graff Diamonds, which explains the flagship jewellery boutique and why the interiors look the way they do. The gardens are lush and seriously considered, the food and wine program runs deep, and the whole thing reads less like a hotel than a private estate that happens to take guests.

    Two honors, in evidence:

    The record strongest first

    One number, weighted & current 95

    How we score

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Eat Score

The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

    How we score →

    Drink Score

    The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

      How we score →

      Stay Score

      The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

        How we score →

        Do Score

        The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

          How we score →

          Best Place Score

          The Best Place Score rates the area around a point, not any one place. Most of it is the record: the scored places within reach, weighed by distance, so more good stuff nearby means a higher score. The rest is how life is in that country and what it's like right there: how people rate their own lives, how long and how well they live, how safe they are, the air, and the weather. If it looks low, we probably haven't found enough critics out here yet.